What is “tone”?

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:

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

2.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 papers 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 to 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 to 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 come to mind when thinking of a word. For example:

• Denotative

1. Water is a combination of two hydrogen’s 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. Although 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 papers tone and limits shifts in a papers voice. Consistency will illustrate a writers 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 writers 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. If a writer uses phases, verbs and illustrates there point of view clearly than the tone of a paper will be correct.

Extra Reasources

• Academic Tone Guidelines
• Tone: A Matter of Attitude
• The UVic Writer's Guide
• Online Guide to Writing and Research
• Considering Structure & Organization
• 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