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What the Author Wanted is a free printable Grade 2 English worksheet on identifying the main purpose of an information text, aligned to Common Core standard RI.2.6. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 18 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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One paper per pupil

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

What the Author Wanted

RI.2.6

NameDate

Tick the right answer.

1.How can you tell an information text from a story quickly?
  • A.It is always shorter
  • B.It always has pictures
  • C.It gives facts you could check, and has no made-up characters
2.A text describes what a fire engine carries. What is it mainly doing?
  • A.Describing
  • B.Giving an opinion
  • C.Telling a story
3.A text says a polar bear can overheat if it runs too far. Why include that?
  • A.To show just how well insulated it is
  • B.To warn you not to run
  • C.To make the text longer
4.A text is titled "How a Camel Survives". What question does it answer?
  • A.Who owns the camel?
  • B.Where can I buy a camel?
  • C.How does a camel survive in a desert?
5.Why would an author give a number like "eighteen hundred litres"?
  • A.To make the fact exact rather than vague
  • B.Because numbers look important
  • C.To fill up space
6.What does an author of an information text mainly want to do?
  • A.Answer, explain or describe something
  • B.Entertain you with characters
  • C.Rhyme every line
7.Which title tells you the author will explain a cause?
  • A.Why Tall Buildings Do Not Fall Over
  • B.The Tall Building Song
  • C.My Day at the Tower
8.An author writes "Glass is unusual." What are they about to do?
  • A.Give an opinion about bottles
  • B.Explain what makes glass different
  • C.Describe a glass factory worker

LessonPrint · RI.2.6 · Set 18 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What the Author Wanted

Set 18. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.It gives facts you could check, and has no made-up characters
  2. 2.Describing
  3. 3.To show just how well insulated it is
  4. 4.How does a camel survive in a desert?
  5. 5.To make the fact exact rather than vague
  6. 6.Answer, explain or describe something
  7. 7.Why Tall Buildings Do Not Fall Over
  8. 8.Explain what makes glass different

More practice for RI.2.6

Say why the author wrote it and what they wanted to explain.

Teaching this next? What the Author Wanted to Do is the 40-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 2 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to RI.2.6 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.