Tone+Words

It's almost exam time! There aren't many tone words you will encounter, so ensure you know these few.

Example: “…there ain’t nothing in the world so good when it’s cooked right—and whilst I eat my supper we talked and had a good time…” In __The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,__ Mark Twain captures the ordinary speech used in the 1880s. Effect: A colloquial tone might make one's writing less serious by conveying everyday speech, therefore giving it a casual, relaxed effect. - Crystal
 * Colloquial** - The use of language that is used in ordinary conversation.

Example: "It is curious; but till that moment I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man." -Orwell Effect: Gives the reader insight on the speaker's perspective. -Vanessa
 * Reflective** - language illustrating the innermost thoughts

**condescending** - patronizing; disdainful example: "You're too young to know what I mean." effect: Gives the writer a sense of superiority, c an put the subject in a negative light -Tait

**confidential** - on a "need to know basis"; secretive. example: " I won't tell you exactly what happened. But I'll just say, he got what he had coming." effect: Writing like this can lead the reader to have curiosity as to what and why the writer did not share all of the information. This can be useful when a writer wants to build the suspense of a certain situation. -Kevin Jou

**confrontational** - hostile and argumentative, can be used in a way that alienates the reader Example: You probably think that living in poverty isn't all that bad and isn't so hard, but what do you know? You've never experienced it, you've never been in a shelter, or begged for food on the streets. Since you have no idea what it is like, your ideas on it are irrelevant and incorrect. Effect: Can be used to discredit the other side's argument or to create a side for you to argue against. However by being confrontational, you can sound melodramatic and you are also prone to fallacies such as slippery slope. -Kim

**dramatic** - using great emotion, sometimes exaggerating example: The sorrow in him overflowed like a flash flood as he wept in great grief. effect: to give the reader an idea of the true scale of an emotion through the use of metaphor, simile, hyperbole, etc. - Kevin Ma

impressionistic - a subjective view towards something; based off of an impression ex. she had impressionistic memories of her childhood -Kevin Ma

moralistic -

(These might not seem like hard words, but ensure you understand how they direct the TONE of a piece - Mrs. Rosen)

**objective** - unemotional; unbiased; straightforward (opposite of "subjective") Example: Studies conducted by undergraduate students at MIT have shown that the average American watches ten years worth of television advertisements in their lifetime. Effect: Suggests that there is distance between the writer and the subject being discussed -Cynthia

**pedantic** - overly concerned with details, formal rules, or inflated language Example: "Madam allow me an instant. You are aware that my plan in bringing up these girls is not to accustom them to habits of luxury and indulgence, but to render them hardy, patient, self-denying." - Charlotte Bronte Effect: Makes the author come off as condescending and boorish, as if trying to emphasize how much more important/better they are. - Frank

**playful** - full of fun and high spirits; frolicsome or sportive. example: If you want the piece of candy, you're going to have to catch me! effect: Makes the speaker seem light hearted and friendly. -lynette

**puzzled** - confused, unsure, cannot make sense of something * usuaslly the speaker is puzzled, not the author, because you cannot write about something you are unsure of. ex) In The Hanging, Orwell the speaker is puzzled about capital punishment, but Orwell the author is very certain for the purpose of his essay was to denounce it. effect: makes the epiphany more meaningful, and allows the audience to empathize with the speaker. -Ji Young-

rigid -

**skeptical** - having or showing doubt; questioning (ex) The woman's skepticism showed as she questioned the quality of the product. - Grace (But how is this the TONE of the piece? Consider an author as skeptical - s/he would question other's claims, often anticipate and refute and be very aware of the 'other side' of the argument - Mrs. Rosen)

**thoughtful -** absorbed in thought; involved in thought; something with a profound meaning ex: When Greorge Orwell in The Hanging sees the prisonor step across the puddle, he has an epiphany and is in deep thought about how capital punishment makes our world "one world less." effect: Includes the audience into his stream of thought and manifests an idea within them. - Ji Young-