Choosing Texts for a Purpose

By now you already know that your reason for reading should guide which text you pick. This lesson pushes that skill further. You will learn how to choose texts for specific research tasks, how to think about the audience a text was written for, and how to judge whether a source is actually trustworthy and useful.

Every time you need a text, ask yourself a simple question first: what do I need this text to do for me? Maybe you need to answer a research question, maybe you need to understand an opposing viewpoint for a debate, or maybe you just want a story that entertains you. Naming your purpose narrows down the huge pool of available texts into a much smaller, more useful list.

For example, if your purpose is to write a report on renewable energy, a persuasive opinion article will not give you the balanced facts you need. You would instead look for a factual article, a government website, or a nonfiction book with data and explanations.

Every text is written with a certain reader in mind, and that reader is the text's audience. A science magazine written for experts uses technical language and assumes background knowledge. A science magazine written for younger readers explains terms simply and uses more pictures. Neither one is wrong, but one will suit your needs far better than the other.

When you choose a text, check whether the intended audience matches you and your task. Ask: does this text explain ideas at a level I can understand, or does it skip steps because it assumes the reader already knows the topic? If a text constantly assumes background knowledge you do not have, it may not be the right fit yet, even if the topic is correct.

Research tasks require a sharper kind of selection than reading for fun. A good research text should directly address your research question, not just mention the topic in passing. Before using a source, ask yourself three questions:

• Does this text answer my specific question, or only talk around it?
• Is the information current enough for my topic?
• Does the text give evidence, such as facts, data, or expert explanations, rather than only opinions?

A text can be well written and still be a poor match for your research if it does not actually supply the information you need.

Not every text you find is equally reliable. Credibility means how trustworthy a source is, and relevance means how closely it connects to your purpose. You can check credibility by looking at who wrote the text, where it was published, and how recently it was updated. A source written by an expert and published by a known organization is usually more credible than one with no listed author or source.

The diagram below shows the order you can follow when deciding whether to use a text for a research task.

Strong researchers rarely stop at one source. Comparing two or three texts on the same topic helps you notice when information agrees across sources, which usually means it is reliable, and when sources disagree, which tells you the topic needs closer investigation. Comparing texts also helps you find the one written at the clearest level for your audience and purpose, instead of settling for the first text you come across.

Use preview strategies to compare texts quickly. Scan headings, read the introduction or summary, and check any charts or captions. This preview tells you whether a text is worth reading in full before you invest time in it.

Purpose: Your reason for reading or researching a text, which determines what kind of text you should look for.

Audience: The type of reader a text was written for, shown through its vocabulary, tone, and assumed background knowledge.

Research Question: The specific question you are trying to answer, which a useful text must directly address.

Credibility: How trustworthy a source is, judged by its author, publisher, and how current the information is.

Relevance: How closely a text's content connects to your purpose or research question.

Preview Strategy: Quickly scanning a text's headings, summary, or images to judge whether it is worth reading fully.

Pick a research question, such as how volcanoes form, and find three different texts on the topic. For each one, note the purpose it seems written for, the audience it targets, and whether it directly answers your question. Then rank the three texts from most useful to least useful and explain your reasoning.

Related lessons

• Purposeful Text Selection