RDG 081

Week 13

Quote:

6 Min. Fluency

Chapter 8 Purpose and Tone

http://www.pbcc.edu/documents/SLC/Purpose%20hints.pdf

Chapter Eight: Purpose and Tone

There is an author—a person with thoughts, feelings, and opinions—behind everything you read.

Authors write from a personal point of view.

That point of view is reflected in

• the purpose of a piece of writing—to inform, to persuade, or to entertain—and

• its tone: the expression of attitude and feeling.

Chapter Eight: Purpose and Tone

There is an author—a person with thoughts, feelings, and opinions—behind everything you read.

Authors write from a personal point of view.

That point of view is reflected in

• the purpose of a piece of writing—to inform, to persuade, or to entertain—and

• its tone: the expression of attitude and feeling.

The boss is insincere. If he decided to fire the worker, he most likely is not sorry. He doesn’t know if the worker will “land on his feet” and

find another job.

The worker, on the other hand, is sincere.He is angry at being fired and wishes that he could stomp on his ex-boss’s chest.

REAL LIFE ADVENTURES © 2006 GarLanco, Reprinted with permission of UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE. All rights reserved.

PurposeThe author’s reason for writing is called the purpose of a selection.

Three common purposes for writing:

To inform—to give information about a subject. Example: “Eating food between two slices of bread—a sandwich—is a practice that has its origins in eighteenth-century England.”

To persuade—to convince the reader to agree with the author’s point of view on a subject. Example: “There are good reasons why every sandwich should be made with whole-grain bread.”

To entertain—to amuse and delight; to appeal to the reader’s senses and imagination. Example: “What I wanted was a midnight snack, but what I got was better—the biggest, most magical sandwich in the entire world.”

Can you figure out the primary purpose of each of these books?

Primary purpose:

A. to inform

B. to persuade

C. to entertain

Primary purpose:

A. to inform

B. to persuade

C. to entertain

Primary purpose:

A. to inform

B. to persuade

C. to entertain

As you probably concluded, the main purpose of the textbook (Sociology in Our Times) is to inform.

The main purpose of The Overspent American is to persuade.

The main purpose of Dave Barry’s Money Secrets is to entertain.

MOODMood, or atmosphere, is the feeling

created in the reader by a literary work or passage. Writer’s use many devices to create mood,

including images, dialogue, setting, and plot. Often, a writer

creates a mood at the beginning of a work and then sustains the mood throughout. Sometimes, however,

the mood of the work changes dramatically.

Tone A writer’s tone reveals the attitude he or she has toward a subject.

Tone is expressed through the words and details the writer selects. Just as a speaker’s voice can project a range of feelings, a writer’s voice can project one or more tones: anger, sympathy, hopefulness, sadness, respect, dislike, and so on.

Understanding tone is, then, an important part of understanding what an author has written.

ToneTone is a reflection of a writer’s or speaker’s

attitude toward a subject of a poem, story, or other literary work. Tone may be communicated through words and details that express particular emotions and that evoke and emotional response from the reader.

For example, word choice or phrasing may seem to convey respect, anger, lightheartedness, or sarcasm.

Here are four different versions of a murder confession.

To appreciate the differences in tone that writers can use, read them aloud—in the tone of voice appropriate in each case.

“I just shot my husband five times in the chest with this .357 Magnum.”

(Tone: matter-of-fact, objective.)

“How could I ever have killed him? I just can’t believe I did that!”

(Tone: shocked, disbelieving.)

“Oh, my God. I’ve murdered my husband. How can I ever be forgiven

for this dreadful deed?” (Tone: guilty, regretful.)

“That dirty rat. He’s had it coming for years. I’m glad I finally had the

nerve to do it.” (Tone: revengeful, self-satisfied.)

Words That Describe Tone

Below and on the next two screens are some words commonly used to describe tone. Except for matter-of-fact and objective, each word reflects a feeling or judgment.

admiring cruel loving

affectionate curious playful

amused defensive praising

angry doubtful respectful

apologetic encouraging self-pitying

ashamed excited serious

calming forgiving sorrowful

caring frightened sympathetic

cheerful grateful threatening

conceited humorous tragic

concerned insulting warm

critical joyous worried

More words that describe tone—with their meanings:

ambivalent uncertain about a choice

arrogant full of self importance; conceited

bewildered confused; puzzled

bitter angry; full of hate

compassionate deeply sympathetic

depressed sad or discouraged

detached emotionally uninvolved

disbelieving unbelieving

distressed suffering sorrow; misery or pain

hypocritical false

impassioned filled with strong feeling

indignant angry about something unfair or mean

instructive teaching

ironic meaning the opposite of what is expressed

lighthearted happy and carefree

matter-of-fact sticking to the facts

mocking making fun of and/or looking down upon something

nostalgic longing for something or someone in the past

Still more words that describe tone—with their meanings:

objective not influenced by feelings or personal prejudices

optimistic looking on the bright side of things

pessimistic looking on the gloomy, unfavorable side of things

pleading begging

prideful full of pride or exaggerated self-esteem

remorseful guilty over a wrong one has done

revengeful wanting to hurt someone in return for an injury

sarcastic sharp or wounding; ironic

scheming tricky

scornful looking down on something or someone

self-mocking making fun of or looking down on oneself

sentimental showing tender feelings; romantic; overly emotional

solemn involved with serious concerns

straightforward direct and honest

superior looking down on others

tolerant respectful of other views and behavior; patient about problems

uncertain doubting

A Note on Irony

One commonly used tone—in conversation as well as in writing— is irony.

When writing has an ironic tone, it says one thing but means the opposite.

• After seeing a terrible performance in a movie, someone might say about the actor involved, “Now there’s a person with a great chance for an Oscar.”

• While standing in a long, slow line at a supermarket or bank, you might say to people in line with you, “My, this is exciting.”

• If a friend arrives at your place two hours late, you might say, “Well, thanks for showing up on time.”

• If you’re suffering from the flu and someone asks how you feel, you might say: “I feel terrific today.”

In each example, what the person says is the opposite of what is meant.

What is the irony in the cartoon below?

GRAND AVENUE reproduced by permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc. .

The irony in the little girl’s comment that “People are all so self-absorbed” is that she herself is self-absorbed.

All she seems to care about is whether people will notice her ponytail.

GRAND AVENUE reproduced by permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc. .

Chapter Review

In this chapter, you learned that part of effective reading is to do the following:

Be aware of an author’s purpose: the reason why he or she writes. Three common purposes are to inform, to persuade, and to entertain.

Be aware of tone: the expression of the author’s attitude and feeling about a subject. A writer’s tone might be objective— the case in most textbook writing—or it might be lighthearted, sympathetic, angry, affectionate, respectful, or any of many other tones shown on pages 326-327 of the book.

One important tone to recognize is irony: saying one thing but meaning the opposite.

The next chapter—Chapter 9—will explain another part of effective reading: recognizing the point in an argument and evaluating the support for that point.

Online Quiz

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http://wps.ablongman.com/long_henry_sr_1/0,7967,1663702-,00.html

What are purpose and tone? Tone is the

emotion or mood of the author’s written voice.

It is the author’s attitude toward the topic.

Purpose is the reason the author writes about a topic.

How does the husband feelabout the mother-in-law?

Objective words are impartial and factual.

They are alsoUnbiasedNeutralFormal

Subjective words are personal, opinionated, and emotional:

They are alsoBiasedEmotionalInformal

What characterizes tone words?

“Mom, please,” she said as she rolled her eyes, “I would rather do it myself.”

How does the girl feel?

__a. emotional__b. neutral__c. factual__d. opportunistic

Are there any tone words?

How does the woman feelabout her hypochondria?

“Mom, please,” she said as she rolled her eyes, “I would rather do it myself.”

How does the girl feel?

X a. emotional__b. neutral__c. factual__d. opportunistic

Here is the author’s tone:

How does the woman feelabout the imaginary friend?

What is the author’s tone? “Father, I would like

to introduce you to Professor Monte Salyer,” said Nisha with a great smile.

The tone in this situation is:__a. casual__b. sarcastic__c. rebellious__d. formal__e. humorous

Whose greeting ismore casual?

Here is the author’s tone: “Father, I would like

to introduce you to Professor Monte Salyer,” said Nisha with a great smile.

The tone in this situation is:__a. casual__b. sarcastic__c. rebelliousX d. formal__e. humorous

Who skipped the normaltone of introductions?

“My father’s name is Henri Powell, and he was born in 1943.”

__a. subjective

__b. objective

__c. ridiculous

__d. imbalanced

“Mom, I’m having a terrible time; could you please, please come over?”

__a. details of facts

__b. details of experience

__c. details of inconvenience.

What characterizes tone words?

“My father’s name is Henri Powell, and he was born in 1943.”

__a. subjective

X b. objective

__c. ridiculous

__d. imbalanced

“Mom, I’m having a terrible time; could you please, please come over?”

__a. details of facts

X b. details of experience

__c. details of inconvenience.

Here are the tone words:

The author’s purpose is to

a. Inform

b. Persuade

c. Entertain

__1. Required physical education classes should be a part of public school education from elementary through high school

__2. A healthy diet includes several daily servings from each of the major food groups.”

__3. If clothes say much about a person, a woman risking life and limb to wear 6-inch- high heels to the office must be screaming something about herself.”

What are the writer’s purposes?

The word “should” tells us it’s persuasion.

This one is just factual.

It’s fun to watch a woman in heels!

B 1. Required physical education classes should be a part of public school education from elementary through high school

A 2. A healthy diet includes several daily servings from each of the major food groups.”

C 3. If clothes say much about a person, a woman risking life and limb to wear 6-inch-high heels to the office must be screaming something about herself.”

Here are the writer’s purposes:

Is it to inform, persuade, or entertain?__1. The National Hurricane Center

predicts a record number of hurricanes in the upcoming months.

__Age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.

__Rely on Denta-Fresh toothpaste to stop bad breath just as millions of others have.

Here are the author’s purposes:

I The National Hurricane Center predicts a record number of hurricanes in the upcoming months.

E Age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.

P Rely on Denta-Fresh toothpaste to stop bad breath just as millions of others have.

Can you figure out the primary purpose? The primary purpose

is the author’s main reason for writing the passage.

Ask, “What is the author’s main idea?”

That will reveal the primary purpose.

Business writing, for example, is to sell product!

Can we trust all of the purposes of big business?

What is the primary purpose? Think of long-term memory as a

“data bank” for all of your feelings and ideas. Information you heard hours, days, weeks, even years ago is stored in long-term memory. Long term memory can handle large amounts of information; short-term memory has less space for storage. Putting information in and getting it out again is a slow process in long-term memory. On the other hand, short-term memory is a rapid process.

a. To argue against poor memory skills.

b. To amuse the reader with humorous details about long-term memory.

c. To inform the reader on the differences between long-term and short-term memory.

What is the primary purpose? Think of long-term memory as a

“data bank” for all of your feelings and ideas. Information you heard hours, days, weeks, even years ago is stored in long-term memory. Long term memory can handle large amounts of information; short-term memory has less space for storage. Putting information in and getting it out again is a slow process in long-term memory. On the other hand, short-term memory is a rapid process.

__a. To argue against poor memory skills.

__b. To amuse the reader with humorous details about long-term memory.

X c. To inform the reader on the differences between long-term and short-term memory.

This passage is quite factual.

What is verbal irony?Verbal irony occurs when the

author’s words state one thing, but imply the opposite.

Example: At the finish line of a marathon, a tired runner says, “Oh, yeah, I’m ready to run another 24 miles.”

What is situational irony?

Situational irony occurs when the events of a situation differ from what is expected.

Example: A high school dropout eventually becomes a medical doctor.

Tone and purpose in review The tone is the author’s attitude toward the topic. The objective tone words usually present facts

and reasonable explanations. The subjective tone words describe feelings,

judgments, or opinions. The purpose is the author’s reason for writing

about a topic. An author’s purpose in using facts to teach or

explain a main idea is to inform.

Tone and Purpose in Review Authors combine facts with emotional appeals to

sway readers to their point of view when their purpose is to persuade.

A writer whose purpose is to entertain sets out to amuse or interest the audience.

The main reason the author writes the passage is his or her primary purpose.

Verbal irony occurs when the author’s words state one thing but imply the opposite.

Situational irony occurs when the events of a situation differ from what is expected.

An author always has a reason or purpose for writing a passage.

Some passages explicitly state their purposes.

Other passages leave it for the reader to guess or infer the purpose.

The good reader should always seek the purpose of a passage because it is an excellent clue for critically understanding the writing.

The three most common purposes are

To inform

To entertainTo persuadeThere are,

though, several more that we will study today.

Why look at the author’s purpose?

What are the other purposes?• To instruct• To create suspense• To motivate• To cause doubt• To describe an event• To teach a lesson• To introduce a

character• To create a mood• To relate to an

adventure• To share a personal

experienceWhat are the women’s

purposes?

What is the purpose?__1. All About the

World’s Ocean Creatures

__2. The Time I Fell in the Mud

__3. Let’s Raise the Penalties for Polluters

A. To entertainB. To informC. To persuade

What is the author’s purpose?

What is this author’spurpose?

B 1. All About the World’s Ocean Creatures

A 2. The Time I Fell in the Mud

C 3. Let’s Raise the Penalties for Polluters

Here is the author’s purpose:• The scientific

article is informative.

• The story sounds entertaining.

• The promotional piece suggests persuasion.

__1. Are adults responsible for teen violence?

__2. You too can pass COMPASS.

__3. Who will win this year’s Grammy Award?

What is the author’s purpose?• Why were each of

the articles on the right probably written?

A. To create suspenseB. To motivateC. To cause doubt

A 1. Are adults responsible for teen violence?

B 2. You too can pass COMPASS.

C 3. Who will win this year’s Grammy Award?

Here is the author’s purpose:• The title indicates

that we should be skeptical and doubting.

• This title motivates and encourages action.

• This title creates uncertainty and suspense about the receipt of the award.

__1. How to master proper parallelism.

__2. 9-11: USA under Fire.

__3. A First Look at Captain Nemo.

What is the author’s purpose?• Why were each of

the articles on the right probably written?A. To describe an event.B. To teach a lesson.C. To introduce a character.

B 1. How to master proper parallelism.

A 2. 9-11: USA under Fire.

C 3. A First Look at Captain Nemo.

Here is the author’s purpose:• The knowledge

given teaches a lesson in grammar.

• The narrative describes an event.

• The description introduces a character.

__1. The Time that I Finally Learned to Share.

__2. Lost in a Cave with No Escape.

__3. The Terror of Knowing You Are About to Become Shark bait.

What is the author’s purpose?• Why were each of

the articles on the right probably written?A. To create a mood or feeling.B. To relate to an adventure.C. To share a personal experience.

C 1. The Time that I Finally Learned to Share.

B 2. Lost in a Cave with No Escape.

A 3. The Terror of Knowing You Are About to Become Shark bait.

Here is the author’s purpose:• A To create a

mood or feeling.B. To relate to an adventure.C. To share a personal experience.

What are author’s attitudes?• Author’s attitudes

express their feelings toward their topics.

• They indicate how they feel by their choice of words.

• Certain words, such as idiot and moron, just sound more emotional than others do.

How is the man’s attitude?

admiringangryanxiousapprovingbitingbittercalmcheerfulcoldcomicconceited

humorousinformalinsultingjoyfullivelyplayfulsadserioussorrowfulthreateningwistful

What is the author’s attitude?discourageddisgusteddoubtfulearnestelatedencouragingfunnygloomygrateful

happy

hostile

Of course, any attitude is possible;these are just the common ones.

__1. The world would be a much better place with more love, joy, and peace.

__2. With your gracious assistance, the homeless will have places to stay.

__3. It is regrettable that so many have so little.

__4. No matter what you think, I know all the answers on every test.

What are the authors’ tones?Which tone is in

use?A. Grateful or

thankfulB. Wistful or

wishingC. Sorrowful

or sadD. Insulting or

rudeE. Conceited

or arrogant

_B_1. The world would be a much better place with more love, joy, and peace.

_A_2. With your gracious assistance, the homeless will have places to stay.

_C_3. It is regrettable that so many have done so little.

_E_4. No matter what you think, I know all the answers on every test there is.

Here are the authors’ tones:Which tone is in

use?A. Grateful or

thankfulB. Wistful or

wishingC. Sorrowful

or sadD. Insulting or

rudeE. Conceited

or arrogant

__1. Hey, stupid, get yourself out of the way!

__2. Don’t worry about a thing; I’ll take care of the details.

__3. Who knows when or where the terrorists will strike!

__4. Some people can trick or treat without the masks.

__5. There is help for you over there if you need it.

What are the authors’ tones?• Which tone

is in use?A. Calm and

peacefulB. Anxious

and worriedC. Biting and

bitterD. Earnest and

sincereE. Comic and

humorous

_C_1. Hey, stupid, get yourself out of the way!

_A_2. Don’t worry about a thing; I’ll take care of the details.

_B_3. Who knows when or where the terrorists will strike!

_E_4. Some people can trick or treat without the masks.

_D_5. There is help for you over there if you need it.

What are the authors’ tones?• Which tone

is in use?A. Calm and

peacefulB. Anxious

and worriedC. Biting and

bitterD. Earnest and

sincereE. Comic and

humorous

Authors have reasons for writing.

Look for the reason, and you will understand the passage better.

The main reasons are To inform To persuade To entertain

There are, however, lots of other possible reasons.

Authors, like speakers, also have attitudes.

The tone shows in the words they use.

The most common tones are Favorable Neutral Critical

Yet there are also many other possible tones that are used.

Review of Purpose and Tone