7th grade author's purpose worksheets

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Seventh grade passages put the author's view next to someone else's: a reviewer who disagrees with most critics, a speaker asking for something narrower than what others want. Questions ask how the author sets that position apart, and what a reader gets wrong by lumping the two views together.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core RI.7.6.

Each click picks one of the 15 passages written for this grade. Every sheet comes with its answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of passages you'll get

Read the passage, then circle the letter of the best answer. The questions ask what the author thinks and how the writing shows it.

Seven Mornings at Five

Every few months, someone online announces that waking up at five in the morning changed their life. They drink warm lemon water. They write in a journal. They watch the sunrise from a balcony, wrapped in a blanket the color of oatmeal. Last week I…

  1. Why did the author most likely write this column? to amuse readers with a week-long plan that kept going wrong · to persuade readers that waking up early is bad for them · to explain how to build a healthy morning routine · to report how sleep changes during a school week

    Answer: to amuse readers with a week-long plan that kept going wrong

  2. What is the author's view of people who really do wake at five? the author respects them but is not one of them · the author thinks they are lying about their mornings · the author believes everyone should copy them · the author thinks they waste the best part of the day

Each print picks one of the 15 passages written for this grade, and its questions come with it. With 15 to pick from, a second print can land on one you've used, so check the title before you hand it out.

What's on a 7th grade sheet

7th grade sheets draw from 15 passages, 394 to 428 words long. 6th to 8th grade print from the same 15 passages. What changes is the standard (RI.7.6 here) and the teaching notes below.

Some of the titles: Seven Broken Fountains, Fixing a Flat Without Losing Your Mind, The Group Project: A Field Guide, The Book Is Better, but Not for the Usual Reason, Minnow Market Earns a Spot on the Shelf, A Modest Parking Proposal.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Ask who the author is arguing with. Most passages at this level name another view, sometimes kindly, sometimes to set it aside. Have your student say both positions out loud, then say exactly where they split. A seventh grader who can do that has the standard.

Watch for: Students mistake the other side's view, quoted fairly, for the author's own. Check who is speaking in each sentence before deciding what the author thinks. Two views on the same topic are not the same view. The best answer names the exact point where the author parts ways with the others.

Common questions about 7th grade author's purpose

What does "distinguish their position" mean?
It is the grade 7 standard's phrase for how an author shows that their view differs from someone else's. A reviewer might agree the film is beautiful and still say it misses the point. The questions ask where exactly the two views part.
What kinds of passages are on the sheets?
Letters to the editor, editorials, reviews, how-to guides, humor columns and speeches, all written for this site. Each print picks one at random from the grade's set, with an answer key at the end.

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Aligned to Common Core RI.7.6. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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