Students need to be given at least a brief introduction into the author's life. Teachers can use short biographical videos or other media to give students a glimpse at the aspects of the author's life that shaped him, such as information about where he lived, what kind of childhood he had, and other professions and interests he pursued. Providing this information makes the author come alive for students and helps them better analyze the author's perspective.
The title of a work can partially reveal the author's intent as the title sets the initial tone. From the title and tone students can predict if the author's goal is to inform, persuade, or entertain. Activities such as University of Houston's "Author's Purpose Middle School Worksheets" can be used to briefly review and practice analyzing various writers' goals.
The themes, or universal main topics of the story, help provide a glimpse into the author's purpose. After reading, teachers can ask students to identify as many themes as they can as a class, creating one big list. Then, they can begin to evaluate which themes are the most important based on how much the author focused on the themes. Make sure to ask students if they can identify any connections between the author's life and the themes she decided to write about as making these connections can help emphasize how the author's perspective was shaped by her life experiences.
Have students identify lessons that the characters learn as well as the lessons the author appeared to want the audience to learn from the work. Interpreting the author's intent in this manner gives students even more understanding of the author's mind. To identify lessons, students could write an essay or brainstorm in small groups and present their discoveries to the class.