GlossariesAP® GlossariesAP® English GlossaryPurpose

Purpose - AP® English Definition

Reviewed by: Nick Redgrove

Published

Purpose is the reason why a writer creates a text — what they want to achieve with their writing. In AP English, students learn that purpose can include persuading, informing, entertaining, or expressing an idea or emotion.

Understanding a writer’s purpose helps students analyse how they use tone, diction, structure, and rhetorical devices to reach their audience. In essays and rhetorical analysis, clearly identifying the purpose is key to explaining how a text works.

Example of purpose in an AP English text

In 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' by Martin Luther King Jr., the purpose is to defend the strategy of nonviolent protest and persuade others to support the civil rights movement.

King writes to respond to criticism, but he also aims to inspire moral action and highlight the urgency of justice. His use of ethos, logos, and pathos all serve this purpose.

Examiner-written AP® English revision resources that improve your grades 2x

  • Written by expert teachers and examiners
  • Aligned to exam specifications
  • Everything you need to know, and nothing you don’t
AP® English revision resources

Share this article

Nick Redgrove

Reviewer: Nick Redgrove

Expertise: English Content Creator

Nick is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and King’s College London. He started his career in journalism and publishing, working as an editor on a political magazine and a number of books, before training as an English teacher. After nearly 10 years working in London schools, where he held leadership positions in English departments and within a Sixth Form, he moved on to become an examiner and education consultant. With more than a decade of experience as a tutor, Nick specialises in English, but has also taught Politics, Classical Civilisation and Religious Studies.

The examiner written revision resources that improve your grades 2x.

Join now