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English
Quarter 3–Module 5:
Determining the Tone, Mood, and Purpose of the
Author

Development Team of the Module

Writer: Leila C. Pecson

Editor: Osmerito V. Vergara
Reviewer: Bernabeth B. Manio
Layout Artist: Froilan G. Isip

Management Team: Melissa S. Sanchez, EdD CESE – ASDS

Shirley B. Zipagan, EdD CESE – ASDS
Celia R. Lacanlale PhD, CID Chief
Arceli S. Lopez PhD, SGOD Chief
Ruby M. Jimenez PhD, EPS-LRMS
June D. Cunanan EPS- English

Published by the Department of Education, Schools Division of Pampanga

Office Address: High School Boulevard, Brgy. Lourdes, City of San Fernando, Pampanga
Telephone No: (045) 435-2728
E-mail Address: pampanga@deped
Lesson
Determining the Tone, Mood, and Purpose
7 of the Author

Tone is writer- centered. It is the attitude a writer takes towards the subject or the
reader.
Mood is reader- centered. It is influenced by the setting. It is the overall feeling
or atmosphere created by a work of literature.
The purpose of the author is to entertain. The author wants to amuse you or for
you to enjoy the writings like fictions, poems, songs, plays etc.

What’s In

Try to analyze each face. Determine the emotion expressed in each picture. Write
your answer in your answer sheet.

1. ____________ 2. _____________ 3. ____________

4._________________ 5. _______________

What’s New

Picture This
It was a dark and stormy night. I sat alone in the old, dilapidated house staring
out the window. The sky was black, the wind was loud, and the rain slammed against
the broken windowpane. I shut my eyes, remembering my earlier visit, and I felt so
embarrassed and angry. When I opened them, the lightning bolt flashed and lit up the
room once more. I had to get out of the house; I had to hide. No one could know my
horrible mistake. I opened the door, took a deep breath, and ran into the cold and rain.

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 What feelings did you have while reading the story?
What made you feel this way?
What words did you encounter that helped create this feeling?
By answering these questions, you are on your way to defining the mood and
tone. Mood and tone are important because they help in creating the meaning of a
story. To relate to the story, you also need to understand the purpose of the author for
writing it.

What is It

Discussion of Activity 1

What is Mood?
Mood is the feeling you get while reading a story. This could be happiness,
sadness, darkness, anger, suspicion, loneliness, or even excitement. It can be thought
of as atmosphere or overall feeling of a piece of writing or literature.
The mood of a story can change the way we identify the thesis and the
characters. For example, if we read a short story about a lovable nanny, we would
expect positive words like cheerful, loving, and caring. However, we could take that
same idea of a nanny and make it more of a horror story by changing the atmosphere
with aggravated, cold, and enraged situation. We have the same character, but the
author's message and description is much different.

What is Tone?
You should also decide if a word is abstract, concrete, general, or specific. It is
important to note if an author is using a general word, like car, or a more specific word,
like Ford Focus. An abstract word is one that may carry different meanings, such as
pleasant, while a concrete word will show us the meaning.
Finally, look at the details of the story. Language is the first step to finding the
tone, but the word choice is just as important. Look how an author describes the setting,
a character, or an event. This description will help create the tone.

What is an author’s purpose?

An author‘s purpose is his reason for or intent in writing.
An author‘s purpose may be to entertain the reader, to persuade the reader, to
inform the reader, or to satirize a condition.

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 What’s More

Independent Activity 1

Read each selection and choose the best answer by writing the letter in your
answer sheet.

1. Which tone is represented in the following passage, ―Wow! With a top speed of
one hundred fifty miles per hour, that car can almost fly!‖
A. Calm C. Scary
B. Annoyed D. Excited

2. Which tone is represented in the following passage, ―She delicately placed the
cool baby on a soft, freshly cleaned blanket.”
A. Calm C. Scary
B. Annoyed D. Excited

3. Which tone is represented in the following passage, ―As the hurricane

threatened, the wind's blast caused angry fifteen-foot waves to crash over the
small houses near the shore?”
A. Calm C. Scary
B. Annoyed D. Excited

4. Which tone is represented in the following passage, ―Ugh! Do I have to sit

through another boring lecture on data entry again?‖
A. Calm C. Scary
B. Annoyed D. Excited

5. Which tone is represented in the following passage, ―I will not be left at the mercy
of our enemies while you slink away!‖
A. Angry C. Scary
B. happy D. Excited

Independent Assessment 1

Read each paragraph and determine the mood of the following selections. Write
your answer in your answer sheet.

1.

The MOOD of the passage is __________.

The ______ relays the MOOD.
The door swings open to reveal all of my family members standing around the
Christmas tree. The lights are twinkling and the fireplace is roaring with a warm fire.
Everyone is singing Christmas carols as the snow falls quietly outside the window.

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2.

The MOOD of the passage is __________.

The ______ relays the MOOD.
The gym of the high school was brightly decorated. The red and white streamers
covered the walls and heart shapes were scattered all over the floor. Red glitter was
thrown on all the tables and love songs were playing in the background. The Valentine‘s
dance was about to begin.

3.

The MOOD of the passage is __________.

The ______ relays the MOOD.
The night it happened was one we will never forget. The wind was screeching
outside as rain pounded against the window. We had lost electricity hours ago and had
nothing but candles to light the house. The battery powered radio we had was
broadcasting a warning to lock your doors and stay inside; there was a killer on the
loose.

4.
The MOOD of the passage is __________.
The ______ relays the MOOD.
Lola sat on the old, lumpy couch crying. She could let it all out here, alone in her
mother‘s small, quiet apartment in Galesburg, Illinois. The familiar walls were covered in
rose pink wallpaper. Goldie, her mother‘s eleventh fish, seemed to stare sympathetically
at Lola through the fishbowl sitting on the counter. The smell on her mother‘s vanilla
candles comforted her aching heart.

Independent Activity 2

Read the paragraphs carefully. Identify what tone is expressed in each. Write the
letter of the correct answer in your answer sheet.

1. Often you feel you‘ve done nothing when you‘ve actually done a lot. That‘s
because what you did do seem beneath notice—it was so small that it didn‘t
―count.‖ But it did—just as each stitch counts toward a finished dress, each brick
or nail toward a house you can live in, each mistake toward knowing how to do
things right.
A. Hesitant C. Amused
B. Encouraging D. Amazed

2. A vaccine is a preparation of killed or weakened germs that is injected under the

skin and causes the blood to produce antibodies against the disease. Effective
vaccines, for instance, have been developed for small pox, rabies, and polio.
A. Objective C. Regretful
B. Arrogant D. Determined

3. We have come together this afternoon to mourn the deaths of sixteen miners, our
friends and neighbors, who were trapped by fire yesterday, deep below the earth.

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 They lived bravely and they died too soon, leaving behind grieving wives and
bewildered children. We bid them a final farewell.
A. Forgiving C. Angry
B. Sorrowful D. Emptiness

4. Why do these things always happen to me? Brad wondered. First, I forgot an
important meeting and nobody reminds me until it‘s over. Then my boss dumps a
big project on my desk and wants it done by yesterday. And to top everything off,
I left my wallet on the bus.

A. Comic C. Optimistic
B. Self-pitying D. Forgiving

5. Each year in the middle of February, when slush is underfoot and the sky is a
depressing gray, I begin dreaming of warm beaches, tropical fruits and sunset. If
only I could save enough for a winter vacation! Maybe next year I‘ll win the
lottery. Meanwhile, I‘ll read travel brochures and sigh.
A. Unsure C. Longing
B. Joyous D. Loneliness

Independent Assessment 2

Read each paragraph. Then, select the answer inside the box that best describes
the author‘s purpose in writing. Do it in your answer sheet.

To inform To persuade To entertain

6. I will try to give the person reading this article some idea of the real nature of
Gothic Architecture, not just of Venice, but of Universal Gothic. One of the most
interesting parts of our study will be to find out how far Venetian Architecture
went in achieving the perfect type of Gothic, and how far it fell short of it.

7. Tofu is a product that is becoming very popular as a low calorie, cholesterol-

free meat substitute. This white, cheese -like substance is made from the
condensed milk of soybeans. It is extremely high in protein and low in sodium.
Tofu is almost tasteless by itself, but it can be easily mixed into sauces and
soups.

8. The purple aliens landed with a crash and a boom. The residents of the small
town ran in all directions as the multi-fingered creatures got off their spaceship.
They landed right in front of a cellphone store. Aliens checked on the Earth‘s
communication technology and discovered that cellphones were cool. The
friendly purple creatures learned how to text so quickly. Maybe friendly aliens
would do well on Earth after all.

9. First, mix one box of pudding with 2 cups of milk. Beat for 2 minutes until
pudding is thick and smooth. Then, blend in ½ cup of pumpkin pie filling and ½

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 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Finally, fold in 1 cup of Cool Whip. Chill in
refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

10. What do you do with aluminum cans? Do you throw them in the trash, or do
you recycle when you are finished with them? At the rate we are filling our
landfills, we will not have anywhere else to put our trash. If you recycle, you will
help the environment. The next time you throw away your Coke can, think about
putting it in a recycling bin. Your effort will help save your community.

Independent Activity 3

Read each sentence, then write the letter of the correct answer in your answer
sheet.

1. Which tone is represented in the following passage, ―As that hurricane

threatened, the wind's blast caused angry fifteen-foot wave to crash over the
small houses near the shore.‖?
A. Calm C. Scary
B. Annoyed D. Excited

2. Which tone is represented in the following passage,‖ Ugh! Do I have to sit

through another boring lecture on data entry again?‖
A. Calm C. Scary
B. Annoyed D. Excited

3. What is the tone of the following passage, ‗The alarm buzzed. Jordan smashed
her fist down on it- hard. It flew off the nightstand and bounced off her cat,
Armstrong. The cat yowled indignantly and rocketed out the room.
A. Eerie C. Passionate
B. Sarcastic D. Humorous

4. Which tone is represented in the following passage? Wow! With a top speed of
one hundred fifty miles per hour, that car can almost fly!
A. Calm C. Scary
B. Annoyed D. Excited

5. The young girl sat on the steps waiting for what seemed to be an eternity for her
father to pick her up. She was thinking about the last time she saw him. It had
been years. Finally, it started getting dark outside and her mother called to her to
come inside for dinner. She bowed her head and slowly trudged inside as she
came to the painful acceptance that he was not coming. He had let her down like
so many times before. The mood of the passage is...
A. Indifference C. Surprised
B. Despair D. Contentment

Independent Assessment 3

Read the following, then write the letter of the correct answer in your answer
sheet.
1. The feeling or atmosphere of a story is the.
A. Tone C. Setting
B. Mood D. Plot

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 2. The writer's attitude towards a subject or character is...
A. Tone C. Exposition
B. Mood D. Characterization

3. Which of the following words is a mood?

A. Serious C. Witty
B. Sarcastic D. Melancholy

4. Which of the following is a tone word?

A. Joyful C. Light-hearted
B. Excited D. Depressed

5. The book that contains the best jokes is written to _____

A. describe C. entertain
B. inform D. persuade

What I Have Learned

“Let’s find out if you understood our lesson.”

Answer the following questions. Write your answers in your answer sheet.

1. What do you call the author's overall attitude toward a subject?

__________________________________________________________
2. Why is it important for an author to be able to use mood effectively?
__________________________________________________________
3. What is the author‘s purpose in writing a poem or selection?
__________________________________________________________

Answer Key

10.F
9. I
8. E
7. A
5. C 6. J
5. H
4. B 4. C
5. D
3. D 4. D
3. B
2. D 2. G
3. B
1. D
1. A 2. C
1. A Assessment 2
What I have learned What I Can Do Independent

D. Comforting/Setting
C. Scary/Setting B 5.
5. B
B. Romantic/Setting C 4.
4. D
A Familiar/Atmosphere B 3.
C. D
Assessment 1 B 2.
B. A
Independent A 1.
1. B
5. A
Assessment 3
4. B Independent Activity 2
Independent
3. C
2. A
5. B
1. C 4. C
Independent Activity 1 3. B
What’s More: 2. B
1. C
Independent Activity 3
What’s More: