Tone Test

1. The girl remembered little from the raid at Okeadan in which she had been captured. She knew her
parents had been killed. She had no idea what had happened to her brothers and sisters. Much of what
she had experienced had been so horrible that she had simply shut it out of her mind.

The author’s tone is:

a. Serious/ Solemn
b. Enthusiastic
c. Uplifting
d. Unbiased

2. “Just look at the Titanic!” The captain said. “Even God can’t sink this ship.” Then, on the first
voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, boom, it hit and iceberg and sank. And as soon as a daredevil
utters the words “piece of cake” before attempting a stunt, he is doomed. “Piece of cake” becomes his
“famous last words….”

The author’s tone is:

a. Happy
b. Depressed
c. Unbiased
d. Sarcastic

3. “When he realized he was still in one piece, he knew that at the very least he must be completely flat,
with his face peering out of his own bottom and his brains leaking out of his ears….”

The author’s tone is:

a. Terrified
b. Excited
c. Humorous
d. Devastated

4. “The storm swept across and area from Virginia up to Nova Scotia, Canada. The winds were blowing
in excess of 60MPH. The wind from the hurricane force winds were so powerful that in Liberty, New
York, the local train station had its roof entirely ripped off…”

The author’s tone is:

a. Happy
b. Terrified
c. Unbiased
d. Sarcastic

5. “…The next minute, Winn-Dixie looked like a furry bullet, shooting across the building chasing that
mouse. He was barking and his feet were skidding all over the polished Pick-It-Quick flood, and
people were clapping and hollering and pointing. They really went wild when Winn-Dixie actually
caught the mouse.”

The author’s tone is:

a. Solemn/Serious
b. Disappointed
c. Enthusiastic
d. Unbiased
 6. “Dana grinned malevolently. His teeth were nubby and yellow, like an old barn dog’s. Kneeling on
Roy’s Chest, He hauled back to hit him again.”

The author’s tone is:

a. Romantic
b. Hostile/Angry
c. Solemn/Serious
d. Excited

7. “We’d gone a quarter mile down the trail when we ran into a man walking the wrong way. He had a
pack on back- a full, towering, overstuffed pack- and he was sweating hard. His breath sounded like a
bellows. I stepped aside to let him pass. I stared. I knew that he was one of the ones who wouldn’t
make it up to the summit, that he would quit right here at the start. I thought to myself, “Why waste
so much of your time?”

The author’s tone is:

a. Unbiased
b. Amused
c. Disapproving
d. Loving

8. It sounds clichéd
But at times like this,
I miss my dad.
I mean,
I don’t remember him-
He died of cancer when I was three
Pictures
Are all that’s left.

The author’s tone is:

a. Romantic
b. Amused
c. Grieving
d. Informative

9. “He heard another screech and smelled the creature’s foul breath. He felt his strength giving out,
while the bony fingers pulling at him seemed to grow stronger. The jaws snapped at the back of his
beck, this time drawing blood. There was a final, ear splitting scream from the demon behind him…”

The author’s tone is:

a. Uplifting
b. Horrified
c. Unbiased
d. Grieving
 10. “Oh! No mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with
animation could not be so hideous as that wretch. I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly
then; but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as
even Dante could not have conceived.”

The author’s tone is:

a. Uplifting
b. Horrified
c. Unbiased
d. Informative

11. Bouncing into the room, she lit up the vicinity with a joyous glow on her face as she told about her fiancé
and their wedding plans.

The author’s tone is:

a. Unbiased
b. Amused
c. Excited
d. Informative

12. Bursting through the door, the flustered mother screamed uncontrollably at the innocent teacher who gave
her child an F.

The author’s tone is:

a. Romantic
b. Hostile/Angry
c. Solemn/Serious
d. Excited

13. Gently smiling, the mother tenderly tucked the covers up around the child’s neck, and carefully, quietly,
left the room making sure to leave a comforting ray of light shining through the opened door should the
child wake.

The author’s tone is:

a. Unbiased
b. Amused
c. Disapproving
d. Loving

14. The laughing wind skipped through the village, teasing trees until they danced with anger and cajoling the
grass into fighting itself, blade slapping blade, as the silly dog with golf ball eyes and flopping, slobbery
tongue bounded across the lawn.

The author’s tone is:

a. Elated
b. Depressed
c. Unbiased
d. Sarcastic
 15. Drawing the attention of his classmates as well as his teacher, the student dared to experiment with his
professor’s intelligence by interrogating him about the Bible.
The author’s tone is:
a. Confrontational
b. Excited
c. Unbiased
d. Sarcastic

16. She huddled in the corner, clutching her tattered blanket and shaking convulsively, as she feverishly
searched the room for the unknown dangers that awaited her.
The author’s tone is:
a. Unbiased
b. Amused
c. Disapproving
d. Terrifying

17. During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung
oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary
tract of country, and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the
melancholy House of Usher
The author’s tone is:
a. Serious/ Solemn
b. Enthusiastic
c. Uplifting
d. Unbiased

18. She lay on the couch in a white evening dress, whispering softly in the ear of her fiancé, running her
fingers through his hair and gently nibbling his earlobe.
The author’s tone is:
a. Unbiased
b. Amused
c. Disapproving
d. Loving

19. A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments, and gray steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women,
some wearing hoods and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was
heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes.
The author’s tone is:
a. Serious/ Solemn
b. Enthusiastic
c. Uplifting
d. Unbiased

20. Happy, Happy, Happy!

The author’s tone is:
e. Happy
f. Terrified
g. Unbiased
h. Sarcastic
 Tone Test
1. The girl remembered little from the raid at Okeadan in which she had been captured. She knew her
parents had been killed. She had no idea what had happened to her brothers and sisters. Much of what
she had experienced had been so horrible that she had simply shut it out of her mind.

The author’s tone is:

a. Serious/ Solemn
b. Enthusiastic
c. Uplifting
d. Unbiased

2. “Just look at the Titanic!” The captain said. “Even God can’t sink this ship.” Then, on the first
voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, boom, it hit and iceberg and sank. And as soon as a daredevil
utters the words “piece of cake” before attempting a stunt, he is doomed. “Piece of cake” becomes his
“famous last words….”

The author’s tone is:

a. Happy
b. Depressed
c. Unbiased
d. Sarcastic

3. “When he realized he was still in one piece, he knew that at the very least he must be completely flat,
with his face peering out of his own bottom and his brains leaking out of his ears….”

The author’s tone is:

a. Terrified
b. Excited
c. Humorous
d. Devastated

4. “The storm swept across and area from Virginia up to Nova Scotia, Canada. The winds were blowing
in excess of 60MPH. The wind from the hurricane force winds were so powerful that in Liberty, New
York, the local train station had its roof entirely ripped off…”

The author’s tone is:

a. Happy
b. Terrified
c. Unbiased
d. Sarcastic

5. “…The next minute, Winn-Dixie looked like a furry bullet, shooting across the building chasing that
mouse. He was barking and his feet were skidding all over the polished Pick-It-Quick flood, and
people were clapping and hollering and pointing. They really went wild when Winn-Dixie actually
caught the mouse.”

The author’s tone is:

a. Solemn/Serious
b. Disappointed
c. Enthusiastic
d. Unbiased
 6. “Dana grinned malevolently. His teeth were nubby and yellow, like an old barn dog’s. Kneeling on
Roy’s Chest, He hauled back to hit him again.”

The author’s tone is:

a. Romantic
b. Hostile/Angry
c. Solemn/Serious
d. Excited

7. “We’d gone a quarter mile down the trail when we ran into a man walking the wrong way. He had a
pack on back- a full, towering, overstuffed pack- and he was sweating hard. His breath sounded like a
bellows. I stepped aside to let him pass. I stared. I knew that he was one of the ones who wouldn’t
make it up to the summit, that he would quit right here at the start. I thought to myself, “Why waste
so much of your time?”

The author’s tone is:

a. Unbiased
b. Amused
c. Disapproving
d. Loving

8. It sounds clichéd
But at times like this,
I miss my dad.
I mean,
I don’t remember him-
He died of cancer when I was three
Pictures
Are all that’s left.

The author’s tone is:

a. Romantic
b. Amused
c. Grieving
d. Informative

9. “He heard another screech and smelled the creature’s foul breath. He felt his strength giving out,
while the bony fingers pulling at him seemed to grow stronger. The jaws snapped at the back of his
beck, this time drawing blood. There was a final, ear splitting scream from the demon behind him…”

The author’s tone is:

a. Uplifting
b. Horrified
c. Unbiased
d. Grieving
 10. “Oh! No mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with
animation could not be so hideous as that wretch. I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly
then; but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as
even Dante could not have conceived.”

The author’s tone is:

a. Uplifting
b. Horrified
c. Unbiased
d. Informative

11. Bouncing into the room, she lit up the vicinity with a joyous glow on her face as she told about her fiancé
and their wedding plans.

The author’s tone is:

a. Unbiased
b. Amused
c. Excited
d. Informative

12. Bursting through the door, the flustered mother screamed uncontrollably at the innocent teacher who gave
her child an F.

The author’s tone is:

a. Romantic
b. Hostile/Angry
c. Solemn/Serious
d. Excited

13. Gently smiling, the mother tenderly tucked the covers up around the child’s neck, and carefully, quietly,
left the room making sure to leave a comforting ray of light shining through the opened door should the
child wake.

The author’s tone is:

a. Unbiased
b. Amused
c. Disapproving
d. Loving

14. The laughing wind skipped through the village, teasing trees until they danced with anger and cajoling the
grass into fighting itself, blade slapping blade, as the silly dog with golf ball eyes and flopping, slobbery
tongue bounded across the lawn.

The author’s tone is:

a. Elated
b. Depressed
c. Unbiased
d. Sarcastic
 15. Drawing the attention of his classmates as well as his teacher, the student dared to experiment with his
professor’s intelligence by interrogating him about the Bible.
The author’s tone is:
a. Confrontational
b. Excited
c. Unbiased
d. Sarcastic

16. She huddled in the corner, clutching her tattered blanket and shaking convulsively, as she feverishly
searched the room for the unknown dangers that awaited her.
The author’s tone is:
a. Unbiased
b. Amused
c. Disapproving
d. Terrifying

17. During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung
oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary
tract of country, and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within view of the
melancholy House of Usher
The author’s tone is:
a. Serious/ Solemn
b. Enthusiastic
c. Uplifting
d. Unbiased

18. She lay on the couch in a white evening dress, whispering softly in the ear of her fiancé, running her
fingers through his hair and gently nibbling his earlobe.
The author’s tone is:
a. Unbiased
b. Amused
c. Disapproving
d. Loving

19. A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments, and gray steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women,
some wearing hoods and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was
heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes.
The author’s tone is:
a. Serious/ Solemn
b. Enthusiastic
c. Uplifting
d. Unbiased

21. Happy, Happy, Happy!

The author’s tone is:
a. Happy
b. Terrified
c. Unbiased
d. Sarcastic