Identifying a Writer' Purpose and Tone

Tone

-A writer's tone reveals the attitude that he or she has toward a subject. Tone is expressed through the words and details the writer selects -Understanding tone is an important part of understanding what an author has written -eg. " I hate this job. The customers are rude, the managers are idiots, and the food smells like dog chow." -Tone =bitter and angry -eg. " I love working at Burger Barn, I meet interesting people, earn extra money and get to eat all the chicken nuggets I want when I go on break." -Tone= enthusiastic and positive *One commonly used tone is IRONY (contrast btwn. expectation and reality) -sarcasm-a form of verbal irony -eg. A telemarketer interrupts you in the middle of dinner. You say to him, " I'm so glad you've called. I hate eating dinner while it's still hot." -eg. A friend ask how you like your new boss. You reply " He's great. It's refreshing working for someone who has half my IQ."

Purpose

Author write with a reason in mind, and you can better evaluate their ideas by determining what reason is -The author's reason for write is also called PURPOSE of a selection -3 common purpose: 1. To inform-to give information about a subject 2. To persuade-to convince the reader to agree with the authors point of view on a subject 3. To entertain- to amuse and delight; to appeal to the reader's sense and imagination