Purpose and TonePurpose and TonePurpose and TonePurpose and ToneUncovering the author’s attitude Uncovering the author’s attitude

and motives in writing.and motives in writing.

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 also– Unbiased– Neutral– Formal

• Subjective words are personal, opinionated, and emotional:

• They are also– Biased– Emotional– Informal

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. subjectiveX 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. Informb. Persuadec. 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.