LitWiki - User contributions [en]

What is “tone”?

2005-04-05T17:43:00Z

Dflowers:

Tone expresses emotion through '''word choice''', '''denotative and connotative meanings''' of words, and '''sentence structure.''' For a paper to have good tone it must have an effective manner of expression. A writer must consider their audience and what words to choose to express their point of view. An essay’s tone suggests the writer’s emotional involvement in the essay’s subject by projecting:

* Anger
* Enthusiasm
* Disinterest
* Outrage

Tone helps to develop and maintain your assertion throughout your essay and is important in the writing process. Consider the following examples:

:Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly delivered a verdict that favored Microsoft’s position in the Justice Department’s anti-trust case.

:Judge Kollar-Kotelly’s verdict amounts to little more than a slap on the wrist for the monopolist Microsoft.

The first example maintains an '''objective''' point of view by presenting the information in a neutral way. This may prove as a weak approach. To effectively illustrate a point of view a writer should be assertive rather than neutral. The second example is more effective writing because it uses an opinion, and the word “monopolist” which clearly illustrates the writer’s feelings toward the verdict.

==Word Choice==

As Hacker States in her book, word choice can also have great effects on a paper's tone. Here are a few pointers a writer should keep in mind when referring to word tone (W3 pp 128):

* A writer should use verbs that have subjects that receive action to give a better picture to the reader.
* A writer should not use weaker forms of verbs.
* A writer should stand firm on their position and emphasize their points by expressing them to the fullest.
* A good writer should elaborate on points with descriptive phases and examples.
* A writer should avoid using the same word too many times. It can make a paper seem monotonous and loose the reader’s attention.
* A good writer always keeps a dictionary and thesaurus.

==Denotative and Connotative meanings==

Words have both '''denotative''' and '''connotative''' meanings. The ''denotative'' meaning is a ''neutral dictionary definition'' that has a strict meaning. A ''connotative'' meaning contains the ''emotional value or illustrations'' that often comes to mind when thinking of a word. For example:

*'''''Denotative'''''

1. Water is a combination of two hydrogens and one oxygen.

*'''''Connotative'''''

2. The thought of water brings to mind coolness and refreshment.

In the first sentence, there was little imagination and the definition of "water" was simply stated. Sometimes the denotative meaning can give the writer merit and a firm base for their opinion.
With the second sentence, there is a visual thought of water that makes the reader feel what the writer is trying to express.

==Sentence structure==

Lunsford says in order for a paper to maintain tone, it must not deviate from tense or from mood. In order for a writer to effectively illustrate their point, they need to have a firm position and not waver. ''Consistency'' is important to maintain a paper's tone and limits shifts in a paper's voice. Consistency will illustrate a writer's point effectively to his or her readers. Here are a few things that will help a writer maintain Consistency (24c pp195):

* Numbering
* Grammatical person
* Tense

Hacker claims that in order for a paper to have adequate tone, it must not contain too many choppy sentences or too many complex sentences. There should be a happy medium so that the writer can get their point across while still illustrating their point effectively. A paper must have (S7-bpp107):

* A consistent flow of ideas that illustrate the writer's point.
* Simplify without becoming too simple or too hard to read.
* Use different ways to write and create sentences; catchy phrases are nice but stay clear of slang.

Tone is important when writing a paper. When used correctly, tone will illustrate a writer’s attitude about the subject to the reader effectively.

==Extra Reasources==

* [http://www.nl.edu/centers/cad/resources/resources_003.cfm Academic Tone Guidelines]
* [http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/tone.htm Tone: A Matter of Attitude]
* [http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/EssayWritingAud.html The UVic Writer's Guide]
* [http://www.umuc.edu/prog/ugp/ewp_writingcenter/writinggde/chapter3/chapter3-21.shtml Online Guide to Writing and Research]
* [http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/ac_paper/write.shtmlWriting: Considering Structure & Organization]
* [http://alpha.furman.edu/~moakes/Powerwrite/audience.htmDetermining Audience and Tone]

== Works Cited ==

1. Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. New York, Boston: Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2003

2. Lunsford, Andrea A.The Everyday Writer. New York, Boston: Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2005

3. Macon State OWL Writers labatory . Feb 28.2005 http://tutorials.maconstate.edu/owl/wp/wp05.asp

What is “wordiness”?

2005-03-25T01:47:09Z

Dflowers:

Many students fail research papers because of wordiness. '''Wordiness''' are unnecessary words that makes a sentence or paragraph confusing or too long. A common mistake used in wordiness is students trying to use big words. Students do this to sound smart and to impress their teachers. Sometimes using big words make sentences sound ridiculous. Here is an example.

*'''Wordy:''' That baby is gargantuan.
*'''Concise:''' That baby is huge.
A list of things that make a sentence awkward are provided on the website: Word Choice/Wordiness.
*'''misused idioms'''
*'''unclear pronouns'''
*'''misused words'''
*'''jargon'''
*'''garbled syntax'''
*'''loaded language'''
*'''Calloquialisms'''

'''Redundancy''' is another common mistake made by students when it comes to wordiness.Redundancy is when a statement is said two or more times but in a different way, and if two or more words are used right next to each other that have the same meaning. Diana Hacker notes, “a sentence is wordy if its meaning can be conveyed in fewer words” (124). She gives examples of redundant phrases such as “ ''close proximity''” and “''true fact''” (125). These words have similar meanings and can be reduced to one word. Diana also emphasizes the point to “look for any opportunities to reduce clauses and phrases to single words” (127). Her example is,

*'''Wordy:''' "Susan's stylish pants, made of leather, were too warm for Miami.
*'''Concise:''' Susan's stylish leather pants were too warm for Miami" (Hacker 127).
Pamela Arlov states that "wordiness sometimes happens when writers do not take the time to be concise" (428). She also gives an example of this.

*'''Wordy:''' "The fact is that, fact, like opinions, can usually be stated without preamble
*'''Concise:''' Fact, like opinions, can usually be stated without preamble" (Arlov 428).

Eliminating big words and redundant words will make getting an "A" on a paper easy by making sure words are concise.

== Work Cited ==

Arlov, Pamela. Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing. 2nd ed.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2004

Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference. 5th ed. Boston:
Bedford/St.Martin's, 2003

"Word Choice/Wordiness" Handouts and Links. 2002. 02 Mar 2005
<http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/word_choice.html/>

What is “wordiness”?

2005-03-25T01:42:10Z

Dflowers:

Many students fail research papers because of wordiness. <'''Wordiness'''> are unnecessary words that makes a sentence or paragraph confusing or too long. A common mistake used in wordiness is students trying to use big words. Students do this to sound smart and to impress their teachers. Sometimes using big words make sentences sound ridiculous. Here is an example.

*Wordy: That baby is gargantuan.
*Concise: That baby is huge.
A list of things that make a sentence awkward are provided on the website: Word Choice/Wordiness.
*<'''misused idioms'''>
*<'''unclear pronouns'''>
*<'''misused words'''>
*<'''jargon'''>
*<'''garbled syntax'''>
*<'''loaded language'''>
*<'''Calloquialisms'''>

<'''Redundancy'''> is another common mistake made by students when it comes to wordiness.Redundancy is when a statement is said two or more times but in a different way, and if two or more words are used right next to each other that have the same meaning. Diana Hacker notes, “a sentence is wordy if its meaning can be conveyed in fewer words” (124). She gives examples of redundant phrases such as “ ''close proximity''” and “''true fact''” (125). These words have similar meanings and can be reduced to one word. Diana also emphasizes the point to “look for any opportunities to reduce clauses and phrases to single words” (127). Her example is,

*Wordy: "Susan's stylish pants, made of leather, were too warm for Miami.
*Concise: Susan's stylish leather pants were too warm for Miami" (Hacker 127).
Pamela Arlov states that "wordiness sometimes happens when writers do not take the time to be concise" (428). She also gives an example of this.

*Wordy: "The fact is that, fact, like opinions, can usually be stated without preamble
*Concise: Fact, like opinions, can usually be stated without preamble" (Arlov 428).

Eliminating big words and redundant words will make getting an A on a paper easy by making sure words are concise.

== Work Cited ==

Arlov, Pamela. Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing. 2nd ed.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2004

Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference. 5th ed. Boston:
Bedford/St.Martin's, 2003

"Word Choice/Wordiness" Handouts and Links. 2002. 02 Mar 2005
<http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/word_choice.html/>

Talk:What is “redundancy”?

2005-03-25T01:04:14Z

Dflowers:

I like the way yours was broken into certain sections. You were clear and it caught my attention. You could maybe do a few more examples.-Amberly Keough

The entry was well cited and has a lot of great information. You could add links to other pages. Add a table of contents to the entry so that a person could go directly to a part about redundancy they want to read about. You have good examples and with some quick fixes it will be a good entry. - Dave Burkert

THis entry is very to the point. It has alot of good imformation. D Davis

This article had a lot of good information and examples. Didn't like how the page was seperated though.
-Terence Heenan

I like the format that the author used to illustrate their point. I like the way the examples were given . The paper seemed to have pretty good scanability and it was decently sufficient in the information it gave on the topic. Over all there were not any grammatical errors noticed, but more elaborative sentences could have been used.
--[[User:Apitt329|Apitt329]] 13:14, 24 Mar 2005 (EST)

like the format. easy to read. good job.

This entry was formatted very well. The examples were done very creativly.

This entry has some grammatical errors and missing a few commas. It was easy to understand and the bulleted lists were excellent. --[[User:Dflowers|Dflowers]] 20:04, 24 Mar 2005 (EST)
-Robert Bartosh

Talk:What is “tone”?

2005-03-25T01:00:23Z

Dflowers:

Try to make the sections a little more brief and to the point. Paragraphs of information do not catch the eye and make you want to read it, but try to bullet or bold information. These make the eye stop and read what is going on. You have great information within the wiki, but you just need to make it more appealing to eye. Think of it as you were scrolling the page quickly. What would catch your eye? Overall just need little revision.

Dave Burkert

This entry is full understandable ways of using tone in writting. The entry is also put together clearly. D Davis

Very good Lit wiki. You had a lot of information on what tone was. The examples were also very helpful. You may need to do a little revising.
-Whitney Behel

Very good article. Could not find any errors in it. Full of information and easy to understand.
-Terence Heenan

This is a good entry. It is clearly written. Anthony Jones

The examples are helpful. need to revise.
-daniel Epps

Good entry, lots of material.Could make it a little more brief.
-Robert Bartosh

This was a good entry. I thought it was informative and not overly wordy. Try to be a little more clear about word choice's connection to tone.-Amberly Keough

Papers was well written and easy to read. The bolded words catches the readers attention and it's easy to understand. --[[User:Dflowers|Dflowers]] 20:00, 24 Mar 2005 (EST)

Talk:What is the correct way to use punctuation with quotation marks?

2005-03-25T00:53:53Z

Dflowers:

I like the style you had with the entry. Many bolded area's and bullets to grab the attention. You may want to add links to other web pages that are similar to what you wrote about. - Dave Burkert

This entry has good examples. IT is easy to understand and find what you are looking for. IT does not have a works cited.
D Davis

I like this entry. I think you should have done an example for poetry like you did with the rest of the paper.
-Amberly Keough

Helpful Information. You have a lot of information I liked how you bulleted and seperated all of your information.
-Whitney Behel

Your entry seemed to be well thought out but it needs to be put in a different order. You start out giving example phrases as tittles then you change it up and use just plain statements. You need a consistent format for how you do your entry, over all it was easy to scan for pertinent information, but you need more than two resources.
--[[User:Apitt329|Apitt329]] 13:21, 24 Mar 2005 (EST)

Great entry. You covered a great amount of information with out confusing the reader. Anthony Jones

There are a lot of bolded writing that immediatly catches the reader's attention. Check for typo errors.--[[User:Dflowers|Dflowers]] 19:53, 24 Mar 2005 (EST)

Talk:What is a “run-on” sentence?

2005-03-25T00:46:42Z

Dflowers:

A lot of great information. You need to break up the long paragraphs and add a table of contents. The information just needs to broke up in to sections. Bold and add bullets to information. You could add links to the page and put a works cited area for where you got the information. - Dave Burkert

The long paragraphs take away from the information. I do not know for sur, but I don't think we were supposed to use "I".-Amberly Keough

This entry has a huge opening paragraph. I don't think people would want to read it to get the imformation. D Davis

You need to seperate your first paragraph. You have a lot of good information, but it does not stand out because its all stuck together. I liked how you linked your sources.
-Whitney Behel

not easy to scan. need to redesign. This will make it easy to read

Condense information so that the reader can scan for the information that they will benifit from. Anthony Jones

Paper should have been broken down further to have the important information easy to grasp immediately. There were some grammatical errors, but paper over all had a good tone that was understandable. It is good that there were more than three resources being used. Entry was good it just needs to be revised for the internet a little more.
--[[User:Apitt329|Apitt329]] 13:27, 24 Mar 2005 (EST)

You should not use the word "I". You also need to eliminate the word "though". The word count needs to be shorter to keep the reader's attention. --[[User:Dflowers|Dflowers]] 19:46, 24 Mar 2005 (EST)

Talk:What are “transitions”?

2005-03-24T18:41:21Z

Dflowers:

Good so far. Be sure you are citing all of your sources and providing a section for external links. Proofread some of your sentences for clarity. --[[User:Glucas|Glucas]] 11:05, 20 Oct 2004 (EDT)

The examples could be a little clearer.
-Amberly Keough

The entry is understandable and easy to read. There are a few errors with the bullets. D Davis

great wiki. easy to read. check for mistakes
-Daniel Epps

Very helpful Lit wiki. I liked how you use a lot of bullets and headings. It made important things stand out.
-Whitney Behel

This entry is organized and to the point. Anthony Jones

Page could use a bit more information. There are some errors, especially when the author was listing points.
-Terence Heenan

Paper was well written and it had good points. Topic chosen was illustrated in an effective way for the internet. It was easy to scan for important information, and good examples were being used. Over all paper was well written and no grammatical errors were noticed. Paper was clear and it looks to need no further review by the author. Paper seemed to utilize the editing bar to its fullest. Good entry.
--[[User:Apitt329|Apitt329]] 13:36, 24 Mar 2005 (EST)

This paper was easy to scan and understand without getting bored. The scrolling was very limited because you used bullets wich is a complement. Grammer, machanics,and styles are good.--[[User:Dflowers|Dflowers]] 13:41, 24 Mar 2005 (EST)

Talk:What is the “passive voice”?

2005-03-24T18:38:40Z

Dflowers:

You may want to explain what passive voice is a little clearer. I like how you stated when passive voice should be used. That topic was very helpful. You might want to open up the first paragraph in a way simialar to how you exlpained possessive tense.
- Whitney Behel

Do something to grab the readers attention. Nothing on this paper grabed my attention while scrolling it.
-Robert Bartosh

The entry is kind of wordy. It needs to get to the point quicker.
But over all the rest of the entry is clear and easy to use.
D Davis

This entry is full of information. However it does not keep my attention. Anthony Jones

This article needs a bit more structure to it. It just seemed too sparadic. Just bring it a bit more together.
-Terence Heenan

+ This entry is full of information. However it does not keep my attention. Anthony Jones

This entry is very well organized. Add a table of contents. If you bold the word examples it will grab the eye. Could add outer links to the entry.-Dave Burkert

This entry is very informative, but the word count needs to be cut in half to keep the readers attention. You had a few machanical errors also. --[[User:Dflowers|Dflowers]] 13:38, 24 Mar 2005 (EST)

Talk:How do I know when I need to use a comma?

2005-03-24T18:33:20Z

Dflowers:

There were a few spelling errors,specifically hamster and together. Another thing is the paragraph before the eight rules could be narrowed slightly. I thought this was a good entry.
-Amberly Keough

I liked how you use the example to explain how to use the commas correctly. Check over your first paragraph you may want to re-word some of the sentences. Very helpful Lit wiki.
-Whitney Behel

This article was well written and informative. There seemed to be very few spelling and grammar errors. This entry could have used some more works to cite.
-Terence Heenan

This was a good entry. It was full of information. I think you could condense this entry to make it more scannable. Anthony Jones

This paper was very well written. It was clearly understandable, yet it could have used maybe some bold print in some areas to draw the readers attention.
-Robert Bartosh

Instead of listing 1, 2,3 just make a table of contents with a small bolded heading. If you bullet the information under those headings it will become eye friendly and catch peoples attention. Great information, but it needs to look like a web page. You could add additional links to outer web sites with similar information. - Dave Burkert

This paper was well written and very easy to read. It had limited scrolling so people do not mind reading all of the text without getting bored quickly. Your grammer was great but be sure to check spelling.
--[[User:Dflowers|Dflowers]] 13:33, 24 Mar 2005 (EST)

Talk:What is the difference between possessives and plurals?

2005-03-24T18:28:50Z

Dflowers:

This was a well written article. I feel that all of the headings and following material for each one was a great style for it. Good job on citing the works, too.
-Terence Heenan

Very well written. The wiki site flows logically and has information bulleted and bold so it grabs the attention of the reader. Has works cited at bottom and done correctly. You could add similar web sites as links at the bottom. - Dave Burkert

This was a good entry. I think your first paragraph was a little wordy. Anthony Jones

This paper had decent scanability. It was somewhat difficult to read due to the appearance of some run-on's. Some ideas should have been simplified in language to clearly illustrate authors point. Some more information should have been added to further the topic a bit more. There were not many outside links, but paper was overall O.K.
--[[User:Apitt329|Apitt329]] 13:00, 24 Mar 2005 (EST)

This enrty has some good examples. But it needs to be more to the point
D Davis

This was good, but could use a little more explanantion on plurals.
-Amberly Keough

The entry was very well written, but could improve on scanability.

This paper needs a lot of work. There were grammer errors such as the word "changes" should have been "changed" in one of the paragraphs and "some plural" should have been "some plurals". Also be carful with the words "and" and "a" because those words were mixed up in one sentence. There were some mistyped words that were typed twice such as "that end in end". The style of the sentences needs a little work in the first paragraph. Commas were missing and dashes in the words "mother-in-law". If some of these words were eliminated for an easy read, it would turn out better. --[[User:Dflowers|Dflowers]] 13:28, 24 Mar 2005 (EST)

What is “wordiness”?

2005-03-23T16:11:04Z

Dflowers:

Many students fail research papers because of wordiness. A common mistake used in wordiness is students trying to use big words. Students do this to sound smart and to impress their teachers. Sometimes using big words make sentences sound ridiculous. Here is an example.

*Wordy: That baby is gargantuan.
*Concise: That baby is huge.
A list of things that make a sentence awkward are provided on the website: Word Choice/Wordiness.
*misused idioms
*unclear pronouns
*misused words
*jargon
*garbled syntax
*loaded language
*Calloquialisms

Redundancy is another common mistake made by students when it comes to wordiness. Diana Hacker notes, “a sentence is wordy if its meaning can be conveyed in fewer words” (124). She gives examples of redundant phrases such as “ ''close proximity''” and “''true fact''” (125). These words have similar meanings and can be reduced to one word. Diana also emphasizes the point to “look for any opportunities to reduce clauses and phrases to single words” (127). Her example is,

*Wordy: "Susan's stylish pants, made of leather, were too warm for Miami.
*Concise: Susan's stylish leather pants were too warm for Miami" (Hacker 127).
Pamela Arlov state's that "wordiness sometimes happens when writers do not take the time to be concise" (428). She also gives an example of this.

*Wordy: "The fact is that, fact, like opinions, can usually be stated without preamble
*Concise: Fact, like opinions, can usually be stated without preamble" (Arlov 428).

Eliminating big words and redundant words will make getting an A on a paper easy by making sure words are concise.

== Work Cited ==

Arlov, Pamela. Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing. 2nd ed.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2004

Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference. 5th ed. Boston:
Bedford/St.Martin's, 2003

"Word Choice/Wordiness" Handouts and Links. 2002. 02 Mar 2005
<http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/word_choice.html/>

What is “wordiness”?

2005-03-03T14:15:50Z

Dflowers:

Many students fail research papers because of wordiness. Being redundant often confuses readers and they lose interest in the writing quickly. Keeping a reader’s attention is very important, and two ways to do this is to keep your audience into consideration at all times by eliminating big words and redundant words.

A common mistake used in wordiness is students trying to use big words. Students do this to sound smart and to impress their teachers. Big words are usually used just to make simple sentences sound complex and intelligent, but if you use a simple word it does not mean that the paper sound childish. Sometimes using big words make sentences sound ridiculous. Here is an example.

*Wordy: That baby is gargantuan.
*Concise: That baby is huge.
A list of things that make a sentence awkward are provided on the website: Word Choice/Wordiness.
*misused idioms
*unclear pronouns
*misused words
*jargon
*garbled syntax
*loaded language
*Calloquialisms

Redundancy is another common mistake made by students when it comes to wordiness. Diana Hacker notes, “a sentence is wordy if its meaning can be conveyed in fewer words” (124). She gives of redundant phrases such as “ ''close proximity''” and “''true fact''” (125). These words have similar meanings and can be reduced to one word. Diana also emphasizes the point to “look for any opportunities to reduce clauses and phrases to single words” (127). Her example is,

*Wordy: "Susan's stylish pants, made of leather, were too warm for Miami.
*Concise: Susan's stylish leather pants were too warm for Miami" (Hacker 127).
Pamela Arlov state's that "wordiness sometimes happens when writers do not take the time to be concise" (428). She also gives an example of this.

*Wordy: "The fact is that, fact, like opinions, can usually be stated without preamble
*Concise: Fact, like opinions, can usually be stated without preamble" (Arlov 428).

Eliminating big words and redundant words will make getting an A on a paper easy. While proof reading a paper, make sure words are concise so the sentences will not be wordy.

== Work Cited ==

Arlov, Pamela. Wordsmith: A Guide to College Writing. 2nd ed.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2004

Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference. 5th ed. Boston:
Bedford/St.Martin's, 2003

"Word Choice/Wordiness" Handouts and Links. 2002. 02 Mar 2005
<http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/word_choice.html/>

What is “wordiness”?

2005-03-03T04:04:21Z

Dflowers:

Many students fail research papers because of wordiness. Being redundant often confuses readers and they lose interest in the writing quickly. Keeping a reader’s attention is very important, and two ways to do this is to keep your audience into consideration at all times by eliminating big words and redundant words.

A common mistake used in wordiness is students trying to use big words. Students do this to sound smart and to impress their teachers. Big words are usually used just to make simple sentences sound complex and intelligent, but if you use a simple word it does not mean that the paper sound childish. Sometimes using big words make sentences sound ridiculous. Here is an example.

*Wordy: That baby is gargantuan.
*Concise: That baby is huge.
A list of things that make a sentence awkward are provided on the website: Word Choice/Wordiness.
*misused idioms
*unclear pronouns
*misused words
*jargon
*garbled syntax
*loaded language
*Calloquialisms

Redundancy is another common mistake made by students when it comes to wordiness. Diana Hacker notes, “a sentence is wordy if its meaning can be conveyed in fewer words” (124). She gives of redundant phrases such as “ close proximity” and “true fact” (125). These words have similar meanings and can be reduced to one word. Diana also emphasizes the point to “look for any opportunities to reduce clauses and phrases to single words” (127). Her example is,

*Wordy: "Susan's stylish pants, made of leather, were too warm for Miami.
*Concise: Susan's stylish leather pants were too warm for Miami" (Hacker 127).
Pamela Arlov state's that "wordiness sometimes happens when writers do not take the time to be concise" (428). She also gives an example of this.

*Wordy: "The fact is that, fact, like opinions, can usually be stated without preamble
*Concise: Fact, like opinions, can usually be stated without preamble" (Arlov 428).

Eliminating big words and redundant words will make getting an A on a paper easy. While proof reading a paper, make sure words are concise so the sentences will not be wordy.

What is “wordiness”?

2005-03-03T03:42:15Z

Dflowers: