It may help you to think of a sentence as a collection of ingredients (words and phrases) that result in a dish (idea). These elements of language and style are like the spices that you need to give that sentence a certain fl avor. Different spices will result in a different fl avor (tone).
Look at the following two letters. Both convey essentially the same information, but they have two rather different tones.
Letter A Dear Client:
Thank you for your letter. We will take your suggestion into consideration. We appreciate your concern.
Letter B
Dear Valued Customer:
Thank you for your recent letter regarding our refund policy and procedure. We are taking your suggestion quite seriously and truly appreciate your concern.
Which of these letters has a more positive tone?
As you can see, letter B is more positive. Why? What do you notice about letter B that is different from letter A?
List your observations below:
Example: I noticed that letter A is addressed “Dear Client,” while letter B is addressed “Dear Valued Customer.”
Perhaps you noticed that letter B uses key words like “valued customer” and “truly appreciate.” Letter B also refers to the specifi c contents of the reader’s letter, thus letting the reader know that his or her letter has been read. Furthermore, letter B tells the reader not just that the company “will take your suggestion into consideration”— which sounds a bit like an empty promise— but that the writers are taking the sugges-tion “quite seriously.”
You may also notice that the sentences in letter B are longer than those in letter A, whose sentences are shorter and somewhat choppy. If you read those short sentences out loud, how do they sound? They’re not very inviting, are they? They sound somewhat mechan-ical and empty of any feeling.
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Use your observations to answer the following questions.
1. The tone of letter A is best classifi ed as a. sincere.
b. complimentary.
c. indifferent.
Choice c, indifferent, best describes the tone of letter A. There is no indication that the writers of letter A have actually read their client’s letter, so there’s no indication that they plan to take the client’s suggestion seriously. They are indifferent to it. Also, the sentence structure indicates that the writers have not put much thought into writing this letter; as a result, the sen-tences sound abrupt and even unappreciative.
2. The tone of letter B is best classifi ed as a. cheerful.
b. sincere.
c. apologetic.
In contrast to letter A, the writers of letter B are sincere, choice b. They know exactly what their cus-tomer wrote about— there’s the importance of specifi c details again! They’ve also taken the time to individu-alize the letter, and they’ve added words that show they value their customer and their customer’s feedback.
Varieties of Tone
Just as there are endless varieties of tone when we speak, there are endless varieties of tone in writing.
Here’s a short list of some of the more common words used to describe a writer’s tone:
cheerful
If any of these terms are unfamiliar to you, please look them up in a dictionary now.
One way to identify an author’s tone is to read several passages aloud. Listen carefully to the tone of your voice as you read, since tone is reinforced by the author’s use of sentence structure and word choice: Does your voice sound as if you are upbeat and happy, or do you sound rushed, critical, or angry?
■ What type of tone does a smoothly fl ow-ing, medium-length sentence with posi-tive upbeat words convey?
■ What type of tone does a short, choppy sentence fi lled with dark imagery convey?
TIP
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Practice
Now look at several sentences and paragraphs to see if you can correctly identify their tone. As you read them, think of how the paragraphs sound. You may even want to read them out loud. With what kind of voice do you read? What’s your tone? Use your instincts, as well as your observations, to choose the correct tone for each paragraph. Answers and explanations come immediately after the practice paragraphs.
3. Mr. Jones, since you obviously appear to know everything, would you like to come up here and teach this class for me?
a. sarcastic never seen anything like it.
a. insincere b. critical c. disrespectful
6. This is one of the best essays I’ve ever seen. It’s clear, concise, and convincing.
a. complimentary b. wistful
c. hopeful
7. Bill had stayed up all night preparing for this presenta tion. He had everything ready: charts, graphs, lists, statistics. This was the biggest meet-ing of his career. He was ready. He smiled as the cab pulled up to 505 Park Avenue, and he gave the taxi driver an extra large tip. He entered the building confi dently and pushed #11 on the ele-vator. Suddenly, as the doors of the elevator closed, he realized that he had left his briefcase in the cab.
a. cheerful b. ironic c. critical Answers
3. a. Since it is generally understood that students don’t “know everything,” it is clear that the teacher doesn’t mean what she says in a literal sense. Teachers are there to instruct students because the students need to learn from their teacher. Therefore, the teacher is using sar-casm to point out that the student isn’t listen-ing to instruction because he or she feels they have nothing to learn from the teacher.
4. c. The exclamation mark that follows the ques-tion is a clue revealing that the observer is surprised. Exclamation points are often used to denote surprise.
5. a. Because of the opening question and because the next sentences are so vague, a reader can assume that the writer either hasn’t read the essay or didn’t like it. Also, really indicates that the writer is afraid the reader won’t be con-vinced by the statement, so he tries to empha-size it. Furthermore, “I’ve never seen anything like it” isn’t necessarily a compliment—it could really mean many different things, not all of them good.
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6. a. Unlike question 5, this paragraph really is complimentary. The writer specifi es three things that make the reader’s essay excep-tional: It’s “clear, concise and convincing.”
The use of more specifi c adjectives makes this writer’s praise seem sincere.
7. b. Irony is the mood created when things hap-pen in a manner that is opposite of what was expected to happen. Here, Bill had prepared diligently for the big meeting and had every-thing ready. But contrary to his expectations of having a very successful presentation, he had no presentation at all because he left his materials in the cab. The irony is heightened by his confi dence.
Summary
An ability to determine tone is an essential component of reading comprehension. Often, writers will let their tone convey their meaning, so you need to look care-fully for clues in their language and style to determine how writers want their words to sound.
When you want to defi ne an author’s tone, think about the author’s use of imagery. When you think about the imagery in Edgar Allan Poe’s works, do you visualize stormy nights and menacing black ravens, or chirping robins and bright sunny days? If you answered yes to the former description, you are correct, because with very few exceptions, Poe’s tone is mysterious and dark.
TIP
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LESSON
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