This lesson develops students’ understanding that texts are made objects with purposes. Lesson 1 focused on how meaning is expressed directly and indirectly; Lesson 2 asks why that meaning is being expressed at all. Students must learn to separate the material or form of a text from its function or purpose. A text’s form is what it is: an article, letter, speech, advert, diary entry, blog post, report or story. Its function is the job it performs: to inform, persuade, entertain, instruct, advise, explain, describe, argue, warn, promote or reflect. Students should also understand that texts frequently have more than one purpose. The primary purpose is the main effect the text is trying to achieve, while secondary purposes are additional or supporting goals. This knowledge prepares students to move from comprehension into analysis because purpose explains why particular meanings, methods and choices matter.

By the end of this lesson, students should be able to:

• identify the form or material of a text;
• explain the function or purpose of a text;
• distinguish between a primary purpose and a secondary purpose;
• and support a judgement about purpose using evidence from the material.

Every text does something. A text is not only a collection of words; it has a job to perform for a reader. The form is the type of thing we are looking at. The function is what that thing is trying to do. For example, an advert is a form, but its function is usually to persuade or promote. A news article is a form, but its function may be to inform, explain or warn. Some texts have one clear purpose, but many texts have a main purpose and smaller secondary purposes. Strong readers identify purpose by looking at the form, the audience, the subject, the tone, and the language choices.

• Form: the type, shape or category of the material being studied.
• Material: the actual object being read, such as an article, letter, advert, speech or extract.
• Function: the job, role or effect the text performs.
• Purpose: the reason the writer created the text or the effect they want to achieve.
• Primary purpose: the main thing the text is trying to achieve.
• Secondary purpose: an additional, smaller or supporting thing the text is also trying to achieve.

• The form of this text appears to be…
• The material is a…, which suggests that it may be designed to…
• The primary purpose is to…
• A secondary purpose may be to…
• This purpose is shown by…
• The writer’s use of… suggests that the text is trying to…
• Although the text mainly aims to…, it also…

It is correct to say, “The form is an advert and the purpose is to persuade people to buy the product.” It is incorrect to say, “The purpose is an advert,” because an advert is the form, not the function. It is also too simple to say that a text only has one purpose if the evidence suggests otherwise. For example, a charity advert may primarily persuade people to donate, but it may also inform readers about a problem and create sympathy for those affected.

Try our new breakfast wrap today. Made with warm eggs, melted cheese and fresh bread, it is the perfect way to start your morning. Available before 10 a.m. in all participating cafés.

The form of this text appears to be an advert because it promotes a product. Its primary purpose is to persuade the reader to buy the breakfast wrap, which is shown by the direct command “Try our new breakfast wrap today.” However, the text also has secondary purposes. It describes the food as “warm,” “melted” and “fresh” to make it sound appealing, and it informs the reader that it is “available before 10 a.m.” This shows that one text can persuade, describe and inform at the same time, even though persuasion is the main function.

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Residents are being urged to attend Thursday’s public meeting about the future of the old library building. The council has confirmed that the site could be sold to a private developer unless a community plan is agreed by the end of the month. For more than eighty years, the library has offered a quiet place to read, study and meet. Former pupil Asha Khan said, ‘It was the first place I ever felt clever.’ The meeting will take place at 6.30 p.m. in the town hall, and organisers are asking people to bring ideas, questions and evidence of how the building has supported local families.

The form of the material appears to be a local news report or community notice because it gives information about a public issue and includes practical details about a meeting. The primary purpose is to persuade residents to attend the meeting, shown by the phrase “Residents are being urged to attend.” However, the text also has several secondary purposes. It informs readers that the old library “could be sold to a private developer,” which explains the seriousness of the situation. It also creates sympathy by including Asha Khan’s comment that the library was “the first place I ever felt clever.” This personal quotation encourages the reader to see the library as emotionally important, not just as a building. Therefore, the text mainly tries to persuade the community to act, while also informing them and creating an emotional response.