Why did the author include this detail?

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RI.9-10.5CCSS RL.9-10.5England: SAT Reading and Writing (Text Structure and Purpose)England: GCSE English Language Paper 1 Q3

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Why did the author include this detail?.

I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
I can explain each step and say why it works.
I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Structural features in fiction (GCSE); Author's purpose

Leads to: Main idea of a short academic text (SAT)

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Structural features in fiction (GCSE); Author's purpose). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

Which structural feature matches this description? The writer speeds up or slows down the action through sentence length and detail. (zooming in / one-sentence paragraph / change in pace / cyclical structure) → change in pacePrompt: Think about what the writer is doing with the WHOLE text, not individual words.
Come to Sunny Farm this Saturday! Meet the baby goats, ride a pony and taste our famous apple pie. Tickets only $5! What is the author's main purpose? (to persuade people to visit the farm / to explain how goats grow / to tell a funny story / to describe the weather) → to persuade people to visit the farmPrompt: Is the writer mainly trying to inform, persuade, entertain or explain?
Which structural feature does this description of an extract show? Throughout the extract the narrator refers only to 'what happened last summer', and we never learn what it was. (one-sentence paragraph / shift in focus / zooming in / withholding information) → withholding informationPrompt: Does the focus narrow, move elsewhere, return to the start, isolate a line, hold something back, or change speed?

Hook · 3 min

Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
Share the objective: Why did the author include this detail?. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
Example: Many people assume that deserts are lifeless. In fact, a single square metre of desert soil can contain thousands of tiny organisms. What is the function of the first sentence?
Step 1: Every detail has a job: to contrast, illustrate, emphasise, prove or set up what follows.
Step 2: 'In fact' signals that the writer is challenging the assumption.
Step 3: So the answer is: it presents a common belief that the writer then corrects
Answer: it presents a common belief that the writer then corrects
Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

Is the proposed answer correct? The new bridge was hailed as a triumph of engineering. Within a week, however, it had begun to sway alarmingly in the wind, and engineers closed it for repairs. Why does the writer mention that the bridge was 'hailed as a triumph'? → to describe how the bridge was built (yes, it is correct / no, it is not correct) → no, it is not correctPrompt: Ask: what would be lost if this detail were removed?
Scientists studying the Arctic fox noticed something odd: one fox had walked more than 3,500 kilometres in 76 days, from Norway to Canada. What is the main purpose of the specific figures? (to explain why foxes migrate / to make the fox's journey vivid and impressive / to compare Norway and Canada / to show the scientists made errors) → to make the fox's journey vivid and impressivePrompt: Ask: what would be lost if this detail were removed?

You do: independent practice · 7 min

Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

Is the proposed answer correct? The new bridge was hailed as a triumph of engineering. Within a week, however, it had begun to sway alarmingly in the wind, and engineers closed it for repairs. Why does the writer mention that the bridge was 'hailed as a triumph'? → to contrast early praise with the problems that followed (yes, it is correct / no, it is not correct) → yes, it is correctPrompt: Ask: what would be lost if this detail were removed?
The new bridge was hailed as a triumph of engineering. Within a week, however, it had begun to sway alarmingly in the wind, and engineers closed it for repairs. Why does the writer mention that the bridge was 'hailed as a triumph'? (to praise the engineers' repairs / to prove the bridge was safe / to contrast early praise with the problems that followed / to describe how the bridge was built) → to contrast early praise with the problems that followedPrompt: Ask: what would be lost if this detail were removed?

Watch out for

Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

Review first: Structural features in fiction (GCSE).
Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

Move on to: Main idea of a short academic text (SAT).
Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-10.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

eurekami

Why did the author include this detail?

Name

Date

Score/ 6

1
Question 1
Mara's grandmother kept every letter she had ever received in a biscuit tin. When the tin was finally opened, it held sixty years of a friendship carried on across two continents. Why does the writer mention the biscuit tin?
- A. to suggest the letters were unimportant
- B. to describe the kitchen
- C. to show that something ordinary held something precious
- D. to explain what the grandmother ate

Beavers Come Home

Four hundred years after they were hunted to extinction in Britain, beavers are back. Small populations now live wild in parts of Scotland and England, and several other European countries have reintroduced them too. Ecologists describe beavers as "ecosystem engineers". By building dams, they create ponds and wetlands that slow the flow of water, trap sediment and provide homes for insects, amphibians and birds. In one Devon study, the amount of water flowing downstream during heavy rain was noticeably lower below beaver dams than above them, suggesting that dams can help reduce flooding. Not everyone is delighted. Some farmers report flooded fields and felled trees, and they worry about the cost. Their concerns are real, and schemes in some areas now compensate landowners or move beavers whose dams cause serious damage. Supporters argue that the benefits outweigh the costs. Wetlands created by beavers can store water during droughts, improve water quality and attract visitors. Yet researchers caution that results vary from river to river, and long-term data are still limited. What is clear is that the return of beavers forces us to ask a broader question: how much room are we willing to make for wild animals in a crowded country?

2
Question 2
Read "Beavers Come Home". Why does the writer include the sentence 'Yet researchers caution that results vary from river to river'?
- A. to show that the evidence is not yet conclusive
- B. to introduce a new animal
- C. to prove that beavers are harmful
- D. to praise the farmers

3
Question 3
Is the proposed answer correct? The new bridge was hailed as a triumph of engineering. Within a week, however, it had begun to sway alarmingly in the wind, and engineers closed it for repairs. Why does the writer mention that the bridge was 'hailed as a triumph'? → to prove the bridge was safe
- A. yes, it is correct
- B. no, it is not correct
4
Question 4
The company advertises its trainers as 'built to last'. Our tests found that the soles of three out of five pairs had split within two months. Why does the writer quote the slogan 'built to last'?
- A. to recommend the trainers
- B. to highlight the gap between the company's claim and the test results
- C. to describe the trainers' design
- D. to agree with the company
5
Question 5
Is the proposed answer correct? The company advertises its trainers as 'built to last'. Our tests found that the soles of three out of five pairs had split within two months. Why does the writer quote the slogan 'built to last'? → to highlight the gap between the company's claim and the test results
- A. yes, it is correct
- B. no, it is not correct
6
Question 6
Is the proposed answer correct? Mara's grandmother kept every letter she had ever received in a biscuit tin. When the tin was finally opened, it held sixty years of a friendship carried on across two continents. Why does the writer mention the biscuit tin? → to suggest the letters were unimportant
- A. yes, it is correct
- B. no, it is not correct

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Answer key: Why did the author include this detail?

1. C. to show that something ordinary held something precious
2. A. to show that the evidence is not yet conclusive
3. B. no, it is not correct
4. B. to highlight the gap between the company's claim and the test results
5. A. yes, it is correct
6. B. no, it is not correct