The TABE (Tests of Adult Basic Education) Reading section tests your ability to identify an author's purpose. This is the reason why an author wrote a particular text. The author's purpose is not always stated directly; you often have to infer it by analyzing the text's content and tone.
Most texts fall into one of 4 main categories for an author's purpose:
1. To Persuade: The author wants to convince the reader to agree with a certain point of view or to take a specific action. You'll find persuasive texts in advertisements, editorials, and speeches. Look for strong, opinionated language and words that appeal to emotions.
2. To Inform: The author's goal is to give the reader information, facts, or instructions. Informative texts include articles from encyclopedias, textbooks, and news reports. The language is typically objective and factual.
3. To Entertain (Amuse): The author wants to tell a story or describe something in an engaging way for the reader's enjoyment. This purpose is found in fictional stories, poems, plays, and humorous essays. The text will often have a clear plot, characters, and descriptive language. š
4. To Describe: In reading comprehension, to describe something means to provide a detailed account of its characteristics, features, or qualities. Authors use descriptive language to help the reader visualize a person, place, or thing.
When a question on the TABE asks you to describe something, you should look for specific details and sensory language in the passage. This includes words that appeal to the five senses:
Sight: What does it look like? (e.g., a bright red scarf)
Sound: What does it sound like? (e.g., a faint whisper)
Smell: What does it smell like? (e.g., the aroma of fresh-baked bread)
Taste: What does it taste like? (e.g., sweet and tangy)
Touch: What does it feel like? (e.g., rough and coarse)
These details help create a vivid picture for the reader and are essential for understanding the author's message.
On the TABE, you may be asked to read a short passage and then choose the best statement that describes the author's purpose. The correct answer will be the one that most accurately reflects the author's primary reason for writing the text.
Conversation 3 Normal.mp3
1. Hi everybody. My name is Grace. Today Iām going to talk about myself.
2. I am from Canada. I live in Montreal.
3. I am an engineer. I work in a factory.
4. I am married. My husband is Henry. He is a lawyer.
5. We have 2 children.
My son Jason is 12 and my daughter Lisa is 7.
6. I am 27 years old.
7. I am short. I am 5ā4āā tall
8. I have 150 pounds.
9. I have brown hair and blue eyes.
10. I want to buy a big house for my family.
My favorite room is the living room. Here I relax on the sofa, watch TV and listen to music.
Conversation 3 Slow.mp3
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