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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 25 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.A text ends "which is why new buildings are made to sway". What is the author doing?
  • A.Describing a building's colour
  • B.Telling a joke
  • C.Explaining why something is done
2.A text says a polar bear can overheat if it runs too far. Why include that?
  • A.To warn you not to run
  • B.To show just how well insulated it is
  • C.To make the text longer
3.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
4.A text describes what a fire engine carries. What is it mainly doing?
  • A.Describing
  • B.Telling a story
  • C.Giving an opinion
5.Why would an author give a number like "eighteen hundred litres"?
  • A.Because numbers look important
  • B.To fill up space
  • C.To make the fact exact rather than vague
6.How can you tell an information text from a story quickly?
  • A.It always has pictures
  • B.It is always shorter
  • C.It gives facts you could check, and has no made-up characters
7.A text explains the five stages of recycling paper. What is the author's main purpose?
  • A.To explain a process
  • B.To make you laugh
  • C.To sell you paper
8.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?

LessonPrint · RI.2.6 · Set 25 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — What the Author Wanted

Set 25. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.Explaining why something is done
  2. 2.To show just how well insulated it is
  3. 3.Answer, explain or describe something
  4. 4.Describing
  5. 5.To make the fact exact rather than vague
  6. 6.It gives facts you could check, and has no made-up characters
  7. 7.To explain a process
  8. 8.How does a camel survive in a desert?

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.