Tone

1. Tone It’s all about attitude.

2. I have a present for you! Are you… Surprised? Excited? Very thankful? Annoyed? Sarcastic?

3. What do you want to know about tone? • What is tone? • How can I identify a tone? • How do authors create tone? • How can I use tone to become a better writer ? • How does tone influence the other elements of the rhetorical web?

4. Learning Targets • As a result of this lesson, you will be able to… • Define “tone.” • Identify the tone of passages. • Identify tone shifts. • Analyze the way an author uses various techniques to create a tone.

5. “It’s not what you said…” Tone= An author’s attitude toward his or her subject.

6. Which element of the rhetorical web contributes most to tone? • Syntax • Imagery • Organization • Diction

7. Practice makes perfect. “…The movement is dead to the white man because it no longer interests him. And it no longer interests him because he can afford to be uninterested: he does not have to live by it, with it, or for it, as Negroes must. He can take a rest from the news of beatings, killings, and arrests that reach him from North and South- if his skin is white. Negroes cannot now and will never be able to take a rest from the injustices that plague them, for they- not the white man- are the target.” -Alice Walker

8. Which word best describes the tone of the previous passage? • Sarcasm • Sadness • Frustration • Bitterness • Regret

9. Individual Practice • Read the paragraph you are provided carefully, circling words that contribute to the paragraph’s tone. • Underneath your paragraph, describe the passage’s tone. • When you are done, please hold onto your paragraph until I come around and collect it.

10. But wait…there’s more! Tone Shift= When an author’s attitude changes (usually subtly) within the text Watch for changes in word choice, paragraph breaks, different modes of writing, headings, transition words, contrast words, etc.

11. More Practice! “In my heart there may be doubt that I deserve the Nobel award over other men of letters whom I hold in respect and reverence- but there is no question of my pleasure and pride in having it for myself.” -John Steinbeck

12. Where did the tone shift occur? • At the first “I” • At “whom” • At “but” • At “pleasure”

13. What two tones were present in this passage (in order)? • Respect; joy • Humility; pride • Self-deprecation; excitement • Doubt; confidence

14. Tone as a reader AND writer • A writer’s tone depends on purpose and audience. • Two tone problems with student writing… • Tone is too harsh • Tone is too ambivalent

15. The Bigger Picture • What essays have we looked at that have used tone well to convey their messages? • How did the author use tone effectively?

16. I completely understand this lesson so far. • Strongly Agree • Agree • Neutral • Disagree • Strongly Disagree

17. Subtle Differences in Tone Let’s practice some more!

18. Directions • Read the passages on the “Tone Practice” sheet. Then rank them from the mildest tone (1) to the harshest tone (5). (In other words, write a number 1 in the margin next to the mildest tone, and a number 5 in the margins next to the harshest tone, etc.)

19. Which passage had the harshest tone? • Passage A • Passage B • Passage C • Passage D • Passage E

20. Passage A • Bob didn’t deserve to be treated that way. In fact, Chris didn’t even have the right to even walk in the same room as Bob. Chris wasn’t even worth one of Bob’s little fingers. Chris made Bob look like scum in front of the committee, the very committee that Bob helped create. Chris destroyed Bob’s dream, ruined his career, ruined his life. When Bob lost his job, he was never the same again. Chris got it all, and Bob got nothing. Chris ruined it for all of us.

21. Passage B • Bob had always dreamed of starting his own company. That job was his pride and joy. When Chris took over, well, Bob was just never the same. Chris and Bob had been friends for years. Who knew that Chris was planning to steal the company? It was shocking. Bob was the one who suffered the most. And he really was a nice guy.

22. Passage C • Bob started the company 5 years ago. He and Chris were partners. It always seemed like Bob loved that company. Chris was devoted to it as well. They both poured their hearts and souls into that company. The events that happened last month were a surprise to us all. This place really seems messed up at times, and this just adds to the mayhem. Chris is now running the company. Bob isn’t taking it too well, I suppose. He always was an emotional guy.

23. Passage D • Chris deserves to rot. He should suffer like Bob suffered. Bob worked his whole life for that company. What did Chris do? Nothing! That lazy scum just whittled away his time and the company’s money. I told Bob not to hire him. If only he listened! Now Bob’s life is over. He is a pitiful wreck, and he had his whole future in front of him! Chris robbed him of his life, his future, his happiness. He might as well have just killed him. I hear Chris might lose the company due to stock failures. Ha! Wouldn’t that be poetic justice? I hope he loses it all.

24. Passage E • Who wouldn’t be upset? I’ve worked at that company for 25 years. 25 years of my life! And now with all these changes I might lose my job. Experience certainly isn’t valued around here. Chris is instituting new changes, changes he says are “progressive innovations designed to maximize growth potential.” Yeah right. Maybe changes to maximize the growth of his pocketbook. I think this all just stems from Chris’s jealousy of Bob. He always wanted to get back at Bob. Bob always had everything. I guess Chris feels pretty good now.

25. What did you learn?  • How to define tone • How diction influences tone • How to identify tone in passages • How to locate tone shifts

26. Final Reminders • Tone Worksheet- Homework