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

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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 gives facts you could check, and has no made-up characters
  • B.It always has pictures
  • C.It is always shorter
2.Which title tells you the author will explain a cause?
  • A.The Tall Building Song
  • B.Why Tall Buildings Do Not Fall Over
  • C.My Day at the Tower
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 make the text longer
  • C.To warn you not to run
4.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
5.Why would an author give a number like "eighteen hundred litres"?
  • A.To make the fact exact rather than vague
  • B.To fill up space
  • C.Because numbers look important
6.A text ends "which is why new buildings are made to sway". What is the author doing?
  • A.Describing a building's colour
  • B.Explaining why something is done
  • C.Telling a joke
7.An author writes "Glass is unusual." What are they about to do?
  • A.Explain what makes glass different
  • B.Give an opinion about bottles
  • C.Describe a glass factory worker
8.A text explains the five stages of recycling paper. What is the author's main purpose?
  • A.To make you laugh
  • B.To sell you paper
  • C.To explain a process

LessonPrint · RI.2.6 · Set 2 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What the Author Wanted

Set 2. Prints on its own sheet.

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

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.