Comparison of Texts with Different Types of Point of View

Comparing Texts – Comparison of two texts based on two dimensions – similarities and differences. These are visually presented through a Venn diagram.

Comparisons made Commonly on the Basis of

• Author’s Purpose
• Main idea and theme
• Point of view
• Audience (Reader)
• Content
• Style

Author’s Purpose- The author’s purpose is the intent or the reason for writing the text, be it a fiction story, personal narrative passage, biography, autobiography, report, article, etc.

The author’s purpose is primarily divided into three types,

• To persuade readers- Convince readers about the author’s opinion or the argument and the reader takes action on it.
• To inform readers- Educate readers about the topic. Make the readers aware by providing facts and information. It also includes instructional manuals.
• To entertain readers- Engage readers by tapping different genres –humor, action, horror, science fiction, fantasy, etc.

 Main Idea – Most important point or central thought which tells the reader what the text is about.

• Main idea can be stated directly by the writer. It is expressed as a topic sentence in paragraphs. The main idea can be stated indirectly by the writer called an implied main idea in paragraphs.
• Writer states the main idea directly or implied in the text and the rest of the details are given to support the main idea.

Theme– It is a universal idea, moral lesson, or central message conveyed by the writer to the reader

Common types of themes in literature:

Courage, friendship, love, revenge, honesty, loyalty, perseverance, redemption, compassion, etc.

Point Of View -The perspective from which a story is told is called its point of view.

Types of Point of View

• First-person point of view-Everything is told from the viewpoint of the main character usually protagonist
• Second person point of view- The narrator speaks to the reader directly. The reader is brought into the action.
• Third person limited point of view-Narrator access to the thoughts and experiences of just one character.
• Third person omniscient point of view-Narrator has access to all experiences, feelings, and thoughts of all the characters in the story. It is not limited to one character

Content

• Type of content – Fiction /non-fiction
• Structure- story, passage, poem, article

Style

• Tone- Author’s attitude towards the topic
• Diction- Formal, informal, abstract, poetic, concrete   

Diction

• Formal- word choice used in academic, business, or legal writing.
• Focus on a persuasive style of writing and an informed tone.
• Informal – word choice used in less formal contexts.
• Fiction, Personal narratives, and blogs often use informal diction. Slang and contractions are used in speech and dialogues.
• Concrete – word choice includes specific words to add to the details.
• Abstract – word choice that relates to ideas or feelings.
• Poetic – word choice used often in literature. It includes poetic devices like rhyme schemes, figurative language, etc.