RUAE: TONE

Tone

How something is said can entirely change its meaning. As you can’t hear it in a close reading
passage you have to look for clues in the word choice, images and sentence structure.

We can identify and analyse tone by considering Word Choice, Imagery, Sentence
Structure
   
 Chatty / informal / colloquial

Markers
 Contractions (wouldn’t)
 Chatty (slang) expressions
 Minor sentences (No way!)
 Informal commands “Get away …”
Effect
 To get close to the reader in order to achieve something:
 Eg their agreement, approval….
 Formal

Markers
 Avoids any or all of the above
 Lots of information, statistics …
 Can feature overly-sophisticated vocabulary
 No emotional / emotive words
Effect
 To impart information in a neutral way.
 This is often used effectively when contrasted with informal tone
Ironic / tongue in cheek / sarcastic

Markers
Saying the opposite of what you mean
Effect
To criticise
Critical / angry

Markers
 Emotive language which makes clear their anger/ criticism
Effect
 To criticise
 To encourage a similar feeling in the reader
Humorous

Markers
 Exaggeration (hyperbole)
 Funny stories and anecdotes
 Making light fun of someone/thing
Effect

 To strive for comic effect, to entertain, to mock

FORMULA

 When asked to show how tone is created you should use the following formula:

1 Identify the tone

2 Quote words or features of sentence structure which create that tone
3 Explain how the words, image or sentence structure create the tone
What’s the tone(s)? How do you know?

 What made someone like myself career about, drinking like the proverbial fish?
Certainly not sport, though perhaps later it was journalism. More seriously,
most would agree that youth is a time when both sexes like to whoop it up. In
truth, the reasons that young people start drinking, and how much they drink,
seem myriad – ranging from family history influence, societal norms and peer
pressure, to just plain loving getting trashed.

(From The Guardian”, 2013: ‘There’s no point banning alcohol sponsorship in

sport”)
 What’s the tone(s)? How do you know?

 What made someone like myself career about, drinking like the
proverbial fish? Certainly not sport, though perhaps later it was
Joke about
career =
journalism. More seriously, most would agree that youth is a time
humorous when both sexes like to whoop it up. In truth, the reasons that young
people start drinking, and how much they drink, seem myriad –
ranging from family history influence, societal norms and peer
pressure, to just plain loving getting trashed.
Chatty/ slang expression used mainly by young
people = informal tone
Chatty/ slang expression used by young people =
informal tone
More formal tone here with the vocabulary ‘myriad’ ,
‘societal norms’. Makes it clear she’s aware there are
genuine & serious reasons people turn to alcohol
FORMULA

When answering on tone you should use the following

formula:

1 Identify a tone
2 Quote words or features of sentence structure or imagery
which create that tone
3 Explain how the words or sentence structure create the tone
Answering the question

 A humorous tone is created

 “though perhaps later it was journalism”
 This creates a humorous tone because she is making a joke about
the stresses of her job

Now you try one of other

examples we found
 An informal tone is created
 “Whoop it up”
 This creates an informal tone because it is a slang expression, one used by
young people to show their enjoyment.

 An informal tone is created

 “plain loving getting trashed”
 This creates an informal tone because it is a slang expression used by young
people to speak about being drunk
 What’s the tone? How do you know?

 Identify the tone of the following sentences and pick the word / phrase which created the tone. How does it
create that tone?
 Humorous / sarcastic / disgust / formal/ charry (conversational) / critical

 1. The treatment of mentally ill children is abhorrent and utterly unjust.

 2. ‘Oh, yep, that’s a lovely perfume,’ I said, as I struggled not to gag.
 3. “He commenced learning to utilize that difficult machine, subsequently, his proficiencies
ameliorate.”
 4. Now, if you want to see a brilliant film, get yourself along to your closest cinema this
Friday!
 Suggested answers
 1. The treatment of mentally ill children is abhorrent and utterly unjust.
 Tone: critical
 Critical because ‘abhorrent’ suggests horrific / disgusting OR ‘unjust’ suggests they see it as unfair. Lots of emotive language to reveal their
anger/disgust/shock

 2. ‘Oh, yep, that’s a lovely perfume,’ I said as I struggled not to gag.

 Tone: sarcastic
 Sarcastic because the fact they are struggling ‘not to gag’ suggests their feelings about the perfume are the opposite of what they say
 Informal because of the parenthetic ‘yep’ as that’s an informal abbreviation of ‘yes’.

 3. “He commenced learning to utilize that difficult machine, subsequently, his proficiencies ameliorate.”
 Formal as it’s lacking in any emotive/chatty language and uses complex vocabulary such as ‘ameliorate’ to tell us that his skills are improving.

 4. Now, if you want to see a brilliant film, get yourself along to your closest cinema this Friday!
 Tone: Informal/chatty
 ‘Get yourself along’ is a chatty expression to encourage someone to go to something.