what is tone in essay writing

Tone in Writing: 42 Examples of Tone For All Types of Writing

by Joe Bunting | 0 comments

What is tone in writing and why does it matter?

Tone is key to all communication. Think of the mother telling her disrespectful child, “Watch your tone, young man.” Or the sarcastic, humorous tone of a comedian performing stand up. Or the awe filled way people speak about their favorite musician, author, or actor. Or the careful, soft tones that people use with each other when they first fall in love.

Tone  is  communication, sometimes more than the words being used themselves.

So then how do you use tone in writing, and how does tone influence the meaning of a writing piece?

In this article, you'll learn everything you need to know about how to use tone in all types of writing, from creative writing to academic and even business writing. You'll learn what tone actually  is  in writing and how it's conveyed. You'll learn the forty-two types of tone in writing, plus even have a chance to test your tone recognition with a practice exercise. 

Ready to become a tone master? Let's get started.

Why You Should Listen To Me?

I've been a professional writer for more than a decade, writing in various different formats and styles. I've written formal nonfiction books, descriptive novels, humorous memoir chapters, and conversational but informative online articles (like this one!).

Which is all to say, I earn a living in part by matching the right tone to each type of writing I work on. I hope you find the tips on tone below useful!

Table of Contents

Definition of Tone in Writing Why Tone Matters in Writing 42 Types of Tone Plus Tone Examples How to Choose the Right Tone for Your Writing Piece Tone Writing Identification Exercise Tone Vs. Voice in Writing The Role of Tone in Different Types of Writing

Tone in Creative Writing Tone in Academic Writing Tone in Business Writing Tone in Online Writing

Conclusion: How to Master Tone Practice Exercise

Definition of Tone in Writing

Examples of tone can be formal, informal, serious, humorous, sarcastic, optimistic, pessimistic, and many more (see below for all forty-two examples)

Why Does Tone Matter in Writing

I once saw a version of Shakespeare's  A Midsummer Night's Dream in which the dialogue had been completely translated into various Indian dialects, including Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, and more. And yet, despite not knowing any of those languages, I was amazed to find that I could follow the story perfectly, infinitely better than the average Shakespeare in the park play.

How could I understand the story so well despite the fact that it was in another language? In part, it was the skill of the actors and their body language. But one of the biggest ways that the actors communicated meaning was one thing.

Their tone of voice.

Tone is one of the most important ways we grasp the meaning of what someone is saying. If someone says, “I love you,” in an angry, sneering way, it doesn't matter what their words are saying, the meaning will be completely changed by their tone.

In the same way, tone is crucial in writing because it significantly influences how readers interpret and react to the text. Here are a few reasons why tone is important:

• Tone conveys feeling. The tone reflects the writer's attitude toward the subject and the audience, helping to shape readers' perceptions and emotional responses.
• Tone can help readers understand the meaning of the text. A well-chosen tone can clarify meaning, making it easier for readers to understand the writer's intent and message.
• Tone is engaging! As humans, we are designed to respond to emotion and feeling! Tone can help to engage or disengage readers. A relatable or compelling tone can draw readers in, while an off-putting tone can push them away.
• Tone sets the mood. Tone can set the mood or atmosphere of a piece of writing, influencing how readers feel as they go through the text.
• Tone persuades. In persuasive writing, tone plays a significant role in influencing how convincing or compelling your arguments are.
• Tone reflects professionalism. In professional or academic contexts, maintaining an appropriate tone is crucial to uphold the writer's authority.

42 Types of Tone in Writing Plus Examples of Tone

Tone is about feeling—the feeling of a writer toward the topic and audience. Which means that nearly any attitude or feeling can be a type of tone, not just the forty-two listed below.

However, you have to start somewhere, so here a list of common tones that can be used in writing, with an example for each type:

• Example : “Upon analysis of the data, it's evident that the proposed hypothesis is substantiated.”
• Example : “Hey folks, today we'll be chatting about the latest trends in tech.”
• Example : “The implications of climate change on our future generations cannot be overstated.”
• Example : “Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything!”
• Example : “Oh great, another diet plan. Just what I needed!”
• Example : “Despite the setbacks, we remain confident in our ability to achieve our goals.”
• Example : “Given the declining economy, it's doubtful if small businesses can survive.”
• Example : “We must act now! Every moment we waste increases the danger.”
• Example : “The experiment concluded with the subject showing a 25% increase in performance.”
• Example : “I've always found the taste of coffee absolutely heavenly.”
• Example : “We owe our success to the ceaseless efforts of our esteemed team.”
• Example : “So much for their ‘revolutionary' product. It's as exciting as watching paint dry.”
• Example : “The film's plot was so predictable it felt like a tiresome déjà vu.”
• Example : “Every setback is a setup for a comeback. Believe in your potential.”
• Example : “A politician making promises? Now there's something new.”
• Example : “We must fight to protect our planet—it's the only home we have.”
• Example : “Whether it rains or shines tomorrow, it makes little difference to me.”
• Example : “As the doors creaked open, a chilling wind swept through the abandoned mansion.”
• Example : “She gazed at the fading photograph, lost in the echoes of a time long past.”
• Example : “The fire station caught on fire—it's almost poetic, isn't it?”
• Example : “I can understand how challenging this period has been for you.”
• Example : “His excuse for being late was as pathetic as it was predictable.”
• Example : “Our feline companion has gone to pursue interests in a different locale” (meaning: the cat ran away).
• Example : “Your report is due by 5 PM tomorrow, no exceptions.”
• Example : “So, you've got a hankering to learn about star constellations—well, you're in the right place!”
• Example : “She tiptoed down the dim hallway, every shadow pulsating with the mysteries of her childhood home.”
• Example : “With the approaching footsteps echoing in his ears, he quickly hid in the dark alcove, heart pounding.”
• Example : “His eyes were a stormy sea, and in their depths, she found an anchor for her love.”
• Example : “In the heart of the mystical forest, nestled between radiant will-o'-the-wisps, was a castle spun from dreams and starlight.”
• Example : “The quantum mechanical model posits that electrons reside in orbitals, probabilistic regions around the nucleus, rather than fixed paths.”
• Example : “When constructing a thesis statement, it's crucial to present a clear, concise argument that your paper will substantiate.”
• Example : “The juxtaposition of light and dark imagery in the novel serves to illustrate the dichotomy between knowledge and ignorance.”
• Example : “Upon deconstructing the narrative, one can discern the recurrent themes of loss and redemption.”
• Example : “One must remember, however, that the epistemological underpinnings of such an argument necessitate a comprehensive understanding of Kantian philosophy.”
• Example : “The ephemeral nature of existence prompts us to contemplate the purpose of our pursuits and the value of our accomplishments.”
• Example : “She left the room.”
• Example : “Global warming is a major issue that needs immediate attention.”
• Example : “Maybe she’ll come tomorrow, I thought, watching the cars pass by, headlights blurring in the rain—oh, to be somewhere else, anywhere, the beach maybe, sand between my toes, the smell of the sea…”
• Example : “In the quiet solitude of the night, I grappled with my fears, my hopes, my dreams—how little I understood myself.”
• Example : “The autumn leaves crunched underfoot, their vibrant hues of scarlet and gold painting a brilliant tapestry against the crisp, cerulean sky.”
• Example : “Looking back on my childhood, I see a time of joy and innocence, a time when the world was a playground of endless possibilities.”
• Example : “Gazing up at the star-studded sky, I was struck by a sense of awe; the universe's vast expanse dwarfed my existence, reducing me to a speck in the cosmic canvas.”
• Example : “His unwavering determination in the face of adversity serves as a shining beacon for us all, inspiring us to strive for our dreams, no matter the obstacles.”

Any others that we forgot? Leave a comment and let us know!

Remember, tone can shift within a piece of writing, and a writer can use more than one tone in a piece depending on their intent and the effect they want to create.

The tones used in storytelling are particularly broad and flexible, as they can shift and evolve according to the plot's developments and the characters' arcs.

​​How do you choose the right tone for your writing piece?

The tone of a piece of writing is significantly determined by its purpose, genre, and audience. Here's how these three factors play a role:

• Purpose: The main goal of your writing guides your tone. If you're trying to persuade someone, you might adopt a passionate, urgent, or even a formal tone, depending on the subject matter. If you're trying to entertain, a humorous, dramatic, or suspenseful tone could be suitable. For educating or informing, an objective, scholarly, or didactic tone may be appropriate.
• Genre: The type of writing also influences the tone. For instance, academic papers often require a formal, objective, or scholarly tone, while a personal blog post might be more informal and conversational. Similarly, a mystery novel would have a suspenseful tone, a romance novel a romantic or passionate tone, and a satirical essay might adopt an ironic or sarcastic tone.
• Audience: Understanding your audience is crucial in setting the right tone. Professional audiences may expect a formal or respectful tone, while a younger audience might appreciate a more conversational or even irreverent tone. Furthermore, if your audience is familiar with the topic, you can use a more specialized or cerebral tone. In contrast, for a general audience, a clear and straightforward tone might be better.

It's also worth mentioning that the tone can shift within a piece of writing. For example, a novel might mostly maintain a dramatic tone, but could have moments of humor or melancholy. Similarly, an academic paper could be mainly objective but might adopt a more urgent tone in the conclusion to emphasize the importance of the research findings.

In conclusion, to choose the right tone for your writing, consider the intent of your piece, the expectations of the genre, and the needs and preferences of your audience. And don't forget, maintaining a consistent tone is key to ensuring your message is received as intended.

How to Identify Tone in Writing

How do you identify the tone in various texts (or even in your own writing)? What are the key indicators that help you figure out what tone a writing piece is?

Identifying the tone in a piece of writing can be done by focusing on a few key elements:

• Word Choice (Diction): The language an author uses can give you strong clues about the tone. For instance, formal language with lots of technical terms suggests a formal or scholarly tone, while casual language with slang or contractions suggests an informal or conversational tone.
• Sentence Structure (Syntax): Longer, complex sentences often indicate a formal, scholarly, or descriptive tone. Shorter, simpler sentences can suggest a more direct, informal, or urgent tone.
• Punctuation: The use of punctuation can also impact tone. Exclamation marks may suggest excitement, urgency, or even anger. Question marks might indicate confusion, curiosity, or sarcasm. Ellipsis (…) can suggest suspense, uncertainty, or thoughtfulness.
• Figurative Language: The use of metaphors, similes, personification, and other literary devices can help set the tone. For instance, an abundance of colorful metaphors and similes could suggest a dramatic, romantic, or fantastical tone.
• Mood: The emotional atmosphere of the text can give clues to the tone. If the text creates a serious, somber mood, the tone is likely serious or melancholic. If the mood is light-hearted or amusing, the tone could be humorous or whimsical.
• Perspective or Point of View: First-person narratives often adopt a subjective, personal, or reflective tone. Third-person narratives can have a range of tones, but they might lean towards being more objective, descriptive, or dramatic.
• Content: The subject matter itself can often indicate the tone. A text about a tragic event is likely to have a serious, melancholic, or respectful tone. A text about a funny incident will probably have a humorous or light-hearted tone.

By carefully analyzing these elements, you can determine the tone of a text. In your own writing, you can use these indicators to check if you're maintaining the desired tone consistently throughout your work.

Tone Writing Exercise: Identify the tone in each of the following sentences

Let’s do a little writing exercise by identifying the tones of the following example sentences.

• “The participants in the study displayed a significant improvement in their cognitive abilities post intervention.”
• “Hey guys, just popping in to share some cool updates from our team!”
• “The consequences of climate change are dire and demand immediate attention from world leaders.”
• “I told my wife she should embrace her mistakes. She gave me a hug.”
• “Despite the challenges we've faced this year, I'm confident that brighter days are just around the corner.”
• “Given the state of the economy, it seems unlikely that we'll see any significant improvements in the near future.”
• “No mountain is too high to climb if you believe in your ability to reach the summit.”
• “As she stepped onto the cobblestone streets of the ancient city, the echoes of its rich history whispered in her ears.”
• “Oh, you're late again? What a surprise.”
• “The methodology of this research hinges upon a quantitative approach, using statistical analysis to derive meaningful insights from the collected data.”

Give them a try. I’ll share the answers at the end!

Tone Versus Voice in Writing

Tone and voice in writing are related but distinct concepts:

Voice is the unique writing style or personality of the writing that makes it distinct to a particular author. It's a combination of the author's syntax, word choice, rhythm, and other stylistic elements.

Voice tends to remain consistent across different works by the same author, much like how people have consistent speaking voices.

For example, the voice in Ernest Hemingway's work is often described as minimalist and straightforward, while the voice in Virginia Woolf's work is more stream-of-consciousness and introspective.

Tone , on the other hand, refers to the attitude or emotional qualities of the writing. It can change based on the subject matter, the intended audience, and the purpose of the writing.

In the same way that someone's tone of voice can change based on what they're talking about or who they're talking to, the tone of a piece of writing can vary. Using the earlier examples, a work by Hemingway might have a serious, intense tone, while a work by Woolf might have a reflective, introspective tone.

So, while an author's voice remains relatively consistent, the tone they use can change based on the context of the writing.

Tone and voice are two elements of writing that are closely related and often work hand in hand to create a writer's unique style. Here's how they can be used together:

• Consistency: A consistent voice gives your writing a distinctive personality, while a consistent tone helps to set the mood or attitude of your piece. Together, they create a uniform feel to your work that can make your writing instantly recognizable to your readers.
• Audience Engagement: Your voice can engage readers on a fundamental level by giving them a sense of who you are or the perspective from which you're writing. Your tone can then enhance this engagement by setting the mood, whether it's serious, humorous, formal, informal, etc., depending on your audience and the purpose of your writing.
• Clarity of Message: Your voice can express your unique perspective and values, while your tone can help convey your message clearly by fitting the context. For example, a serious tone in an academic research paper or a casual, friendly tone in a personal blog post helps your audience understand your purpose and message.
• Emotional Impact: Voice and tone together can create emotional resonance. A distinctive voice can make readers feel connected to you as a writer, while the tone can evoke specific emotions that align with your content. For example, a melancholic tone in a heartfelt narrative can elicit empathy from the reader, enhancing the emotional impact of your story.
• Versatility: While maintaining a consistent overall voice, you can adjust your tone according to the specific piece you're writing. This can show your versatility as a writer. For example, you may have a generally conversational voice but use a serious tone for an important topic and a humorous tone for a lighter topic.

Remember, your unique combination of voice and tone is part of what sets you apart as a writer. It's worth taking the time to explore and develop both.

The Role of Tone in Different Types of Writing

Just as different audiences require different tones of voice, so does your tone change depending on the audience of your writing. 

Tone in Creative Writing

Tone plays a crucial role in creative writing, shaping the reader's experience and influencing their emotional response to the work. Here are some considerations for how to use tone in creative writing:

• Create Atmosphere: Tone is a powerful tool for creating a specific atmosphere or mood in a story. For example, a suspenseful tone can create a sense of tension and anticipation, while a humorous tone can make a story feel light-hearted and entertaining.
• Character Development: The tone of a character's dialogue and thoughts can reveal a lot about their personality and emotional state. A character might speak in a sarcastic tone, revealing a cynical worldview, or their internal narrative might be melancholic, indicating feelings of sadness or regret.
• Plot Development: The tone can shift with the plot, reflecting changes in the story's circumstances. An initially optimistic tone might become increasingly desperate as a situation worsens, or a serious tone could give way to relief and joy when a conflict is resolved.
• Theme Expression: The overall tone of a story can reinforce its themes. For instance, a dark and somber tone could underscore themes of loss and grief, while a hopeful and inspirational tone could enhance themes of resilience and personal growth.
• Reader Engagement: A well-chosen tone can engage the reader's emotions, making them more invested in the story. A dramatic, high-stakes tone can keep readers on the edge of their seats, while a romantic, sentimental tone can make them swoon.
• Style and Voice: The tone is part of the writer's unique voice and style. The way you blend humor and seriousness, or the balance you strike between formal and informal language, can give your work a distinctive feel.

In creative writing, it's important to ensure that your tone is consistent, unless a change in tone is intentional and serves a specific purpose in your story. An inconsistent or shifting tone can be jarring and confusing for the reader. To check your tone, try reading your work aloud, as this can make shifts in tone more evident.

Tone in Academic Writing

In academic writing, the choice of tone is crucial as it helps to establish credibility and convey information in a clear, unambiguous manner. Here are some aspects to consider about tone in academic writing:

• Formal: Academic writing typically uses a formal tone, which means avoiding colloquialisms, slang, and casual language. This helps to maintain a level of professionalism and seriousness that is appropriate for scholarly work. For instance, instead of saying “experts think this is really bad,” a more formal phrasing would be, “scholars have identified significant concerns regarding this matter.”
• Objective: The tone in academic writing should usually be objective, rather than subjective. This means focusing on facts, evidence, and logical arguments rather than personal opinions or emotions. For example, instead of saying “I believe that climate change is a major issue,” an objective statement would be, “Research indicates that climate change poses substantial environmental risks.”
• Precise: Precision is crucial in academic writing, so the tone should be specific and direct. Avoid vague or ambiguous language that might confuse the reader or obscure the meaning of your argument. For example, instead of saying “several studies,” specify the exact number of studies or name the authors if relevant.
• Respectful: Even when critiquing other scholars' work, it's essential to maintain a respectful tone. This means avoiding harsh or judgmental language and focusing on the intellectual content of the argument rather than personal attacks.
• Unbiased: Strive for an unbiased tone by presenting multiple perspectives on the issue at hand, especially when it's a subject of debate in the field. This shows that you have a comprehensive understanding of the topic and that your conclusions are based on a balanced assessment of the evidence.
• Scholarly: A scholarly tone uses discipline-specific terminology and acknowledges existing research on the topic. However, it's also important to explain any complex or specialized terms for the benefit of readers who may not be familiar with them.

By choosing an appropriate tone, you can ensure that your academic writing is professional, credible, and accessible to your intended audience. Remember, the tone can subtly influence how your readers perceive your work and whether they find your arguments convincing.

Tone in Business Writing

In business writing, your tone should be professional, clear, and respectful. Here are some aspects to consider:

• Professional and Formal: Just like in academic writing, business writing typically uses a professional and formal tone. This ensures that the communication is taken seriously and maintains an air of professionalism. However, remember that “formal” doesn't necessarily mean “stiff” or “impersonal”—a little warmth can make your writing more engaging.
• Clear and Direct: Your tone should also be clear and direct. Ambiguity can lead to misunderstanding, which can have negative consequences in a business setting. Make sure your main points are obvious and not hidden in jargon or overly complex sentences.
• Respectful: Respect is crucial in business communication. Even when addressing difficult topics or delivering bad news, keep your tone courteous and considerate. This fosters a positive business relationship and shows that you value the other party.
• Concise: In the business world, time is often at a premium. Therefore, a concise tone—saying what you need to say as briefly as possible—is often appreciated. This is where the minimalist tone can shine.
• Persuasive: In many situations, such as a sales pitch or a negotiation, a persuasive tone is beneficial. This involves making your points convincingly, showing enthusiasm where appropriate, and using language that motivates the reader to act.
• Neutral: In situations where you're sharing information without trying to persuade or express an opinion, a neutral tone is best. For example, when writing a business report or summarizing meeting minutes, stick to the facts without letting personal bias influence your language.

By adapting your tone based on these guidelines and the specific context, you can ensure your business writing is effective and appropriate.

Tone in Online Writing

Online writing can vary greatly depending on the platform and purpose of the content. However, some common considerations for tone include:

• Conversational and Informal: Online readers often prefer a more conversational, informal tone that mimics everyday speech. This can make your writing feel more personal and relatable. Blogs, social media posts, and personal websites often employ this tone.
• Engaging and Enthusiastic: With so much content available online, an engaging and enthusiastic tone can help grab readers' attention and keep them interested. You can express your passion for a topic, ask questions, or use humor to make your writing more lively and engaging.
• Clear and Direct: Just like in business and academic writing, clarity is key in online writing. Whether you're writing a how-to article, a product description, or a blog post, make your points clearly and directly to help your readers understand your message.
• Descriptive and Vivid: Because online writing often involves storytelling or explaining complex ideas, a descriptive tone can be very effective. Use vivid language and sensory details to help readers visualize what you're talking about.
• Authoritative: If you're writing content that's meant to inform or educate, an authoritative tone can help establish your credibility. This involves demonstrating your knowledge and expertise on the topic, citing reliable sources, and presenting your information in a confident, professional manner.
• Optimistic and Inspirational: Particularly for motivational blogs, self-help articles, or other content meant to inspire, an optimistic tone can be very effective. This involves looking at the positive side of things, encouraging readers, and offering hope.

Remember, the best tone for online writing depends heavily on your audience, purpose, and platform. Always keep your readers in mind, and adapt your tone to suit their needs and expectations.

How to Master Tone

Tone isn't as hard as you think.

If you've ever said something with feeling in your voice or with a certain attitude, you know how it works.

And while mastering the word choice, syntax, and other techniques to use tone effectively can be tricky, just by choosing a tone, being aware of tone in your writing, and making a concerted effort to practice it will add depth and style to your writing, heightening both the meaning and your audiences enjoyment.

Remember, we all have tone. You just need to practice  using  it. Happy writing!

What tone do you find yourself using the most in your writing ? Let us know in the comments .

Here are two writing exercises for you to practice tone.

Exercise 1: Identify the Tone

Using the ten identification examples above, write out the tones for each of the examples. Then use this answer guide to check your work.

• Pessimistic
• Inspirational

How many did you get correctly? Let me know in the comments .

Exercise 2: Choose One Tone and Write

Choose one of the tones above, set a timer for fifteen minutes, then free write in that tone. 

When your time's up, post your practice in the Pro Practice Workshop here (and if you’re not a member yet, you can join here ), and share feedback with a few other writers. 

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

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Tone Definition

What is tone? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical, and so on. For instance, an editorial in a newspaper that described its subject as "not even having the guts to do the job himself," has a tone that is both informal and critical.

Some additional key details about tone:

• All pieces of writing, even letters and official documents, have a tone. A neutral, official tone is still a tone.
• The tone of a piece of writing may change over the course of a text to produce different effects.
• Tone and mood are not the same. Tone has to do with the attitude of the author or the person speaking, whereas mood is how the work makes the reader feel.
• The author's intentions, emotions, and personal ideas about the theme or subject matter often reveal themselves in the piece's tone.

How to Pronounce Tone

Here's how to pronounce tone:  tohn

Tone Explained

It is always possible to describe the way that a writer uses language. Therefore, every piece of writing has a tone. Even when a writer's aim is to use completely neutral language—as is often the case in scientific papers or investigative journalism—the language still sounds a certain way, whether it's "scientific," "journalistic," "formal," "professional," or even "mechanical." The way a writer makes use of tone can tell you a lot about the writer's attitude or relationship toward their subject matter and what they are trying to say about it, as well as the effect they are trying to create for their reader.

Here's just a partial list of words that are commonly used to talk about tone, with examples of the types of writing they might be used to describe:

• A particularly stirring campaign speech
• The Declaration of Independence
• Maya Angelou's famous poem, "Still I Rise"
• A sappy love poem
• An over-the-top television sermon
• A wordy letter of apology
• A know-it-all at a cocktail party
• The comments section of almost any YouTube video
• A speech made by a boastful or proud character
• A speech at a funeral
• A murder mystery
• A novel about someone's struggles with depression
• An article in the newspaper The Onion
• A work of  parody  like Don Quixote
• A  satire , like many skits on SNL
• A stand-up comedy routine
• A play like Shakespeare's As You Like It
• A TV show like Seinfeld or Friends
• A Dr. Seuss Book
• A wedding speech
• A friendly joke
• An essay you'd write for school
• A dense work of political theory
• An article analyzing a political event
• A letter from the IRS
• A scientific paper
• Instructions on how to assemble furniture

The tone of a piece of writing depends on a confluence of different factors, including:

• The connotation  of the words used: Are they positive or negative? What associations do the words bring to mind?
• The diction , or word choice: Are there lots of thou's and thine's? Does the writer use slang? Are the words long and technical, or short and childish?
• The use of figurative language :  Is there a lot of metaphor, hyperbole, or alliteration? Does the language sound lofty and poetic?
• The mood : How does the language make you feel as the reader? This can reveal a lot about the tone of the piece.

All of these things work together to determine the tone of a piece of writing.

The Difference Between Tone and Mood

The words "tone" and " mood " are often used interchangeably, but the two terms actually have different meanings.

• Tone is the attitude or general character of a piece of writing and is often related to the attitude of the writer or speaker.
• Mood refers specifically to the effect a piece of writing has on the reader .  Mood is how a piece of writing makes you feel. 

While tone and mood are distinct literary devices, they are often closely related. For example, it wouldn't be unusual for a poem with a somber tone to also have a somber mood—i.e., to make the reader feel somber as well. And as we explained above, a journalist who makes a jab at a politician might be conveying how they feel about their subject (using a critical tone) while also trying to influence their readers to feel similarly—i.e., to create a  mood of anger or outrage.

Tone Examples

Since every text has a tone, there are essentially endless examples of tone. The examples below illustrate different types of tone. 

Tone in U.A. Fanthorpe's "Not my Best Side"

The poem "Not my Best Side" by U.A. Fanthorpe has a lighthearted and ironic   tone. The poem concerns the painting  Saint George and the Dragon  by Paolo Uccello, and pokes fun at the way the various characters are portrayed in the painting—the dragon, the maiden, and the knight who is supposedly rescuing her. Fanthorpe creates a contrast between her modern, colloquial way of speaking and the medieval subject matter of her poem. Using colloquial words like "sexy" and phrases like "if you know what I mean," Fanthorpe creates a lighthearted, conversational tone. But this conversational tone also has the effect of imbuing the poem with a tone of  irony  because it is used to describe the unlikely scenario of a maiden falling in love with a dragon.

It's hard for a girl to be sure if She wants to be rescued. I mean, I quite Took to the dragon. It's nice to be Liked, if you know what I mean. He was So nicely physical, with his claws And lovely green skin, and that sexy tail

Tone in Milton's "Lycidas"

The poem "Lycidas" by John Milton has a mournful   tone. The poem was inspired by the untimely death of Milton's friend, who drowned. To express his grief, and set the sorrowful and mournful tone, Milton uses words and phrases with negative  connotations , like, "watery bier" (or "tomb"), "parching wind" and "melodious tear."

For Lycidas is dead, dead ere his prime, Young lycidas, and hath not left his peer. Who would not sing for Lycidas? he knew Himself to sing, and build the lofty rhyme He must not float upon his watery bier Unwept, and welter to the parching wind, Without the meed of some melodious tear.

Tone in Flaubert's  Madame Bovary

In many passages in Gustave Flaubert's  Madame Bovary , Flaubert's own cynicism about romance shines through the third-person narration to imbue the work with a tone of cynicism. Bored by her husband and desperate for a passionate love affair like the sort she reads about in romance novels, Emma Bovary gets involved with a notorious womanizer. Flaubert highlights Emma's foolishness for falling for such an obvious hack, who sees her as no different from any other mistress:

Emma was just like any other mistress; and the charm of novelty, falling down slowly like a dress, exposed only the eternal monotony of passion, always the same forms and the same language. He did not distinguish, this man of such great expertise, the differences of sentiment beneath the sameness of their expression.

Flaubert sets the cynical tone in part by describing, using figurative language , how the charm of novelty, for Madame Bovary's lover, fell down "slowly like a dress," suggesting that what she experiences as romance, her lover experiences only as an extended prelude to sex.

What's the Function of Tone in Literature?

First and foremost, tone clues readers into the essence and the purpose of what they're reading. It wouldn't make sense to use a wordy, poetic tone to write a simple set of directions, just like it wouldn't make sense to use a dry, unfeeling tone when writing a love poem. Rather, writers set the tone of their work to match not only the content of their writing, but also to suit the purpose they intend for it to serve, whether that is to convey information clearly, to make people laugh, to lavish praises on someone, or something else. Additionally, tone can serve the following purposes:

• For example, a biography of Bill Clinton might have a critical tone if the author has critical views of the former president and what he stood for, or it might have an admiring tone if the author was a staunch Clinton supporter.
• If a writer wants their readers to feel upset, he or she might use words with certain connotations to create a gloomy tone.
• Likewise, if a writer wants to create an informal tone, he or she might make use of colloquialisms , slang terms, and everyday language to make the reader feel like their familiar or their equal.

Simply put, establishing the tone of a work is important because it helps writers show readers what the work is trying to accomplish, and what attitude the work takes toward its own subject matter.

Other Helpful Tone Resources

• Wikipedia Page on Tone in Literature : A helpful overview of tone and its usage.
• A Definition of Tone : A definition of tone that includes a short overview of the difference between tone and mood.
• List of Poetic Tones : A handy chart listing a slew of tones commonly found in poetry, and all other types of literature.

• PDFs for all 136 Lit Terms we cover
• Downloads of 1902 LitCharts Lit Guides
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• Explanations and citation info for 40,034 quotes across 1902 books
• Downloadable (PDF) line-by-line translations of every Shakespeare play
• Colloquialism
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Style and Tone Tips for Your College Essay | Examples

Published on September 21, 2021 by Kirsten Courault . Revised on June 1, 2023.

Unlike an academic essay, the college application essay does not require a formal tone. It gives you a chance to showcase your authentic voice and creative writing abilities. Here are some basic guidelines for using an appropriate style and tone in your college essay.

Table of contents

Strike a balance between casual and formal, write with your authentic voice, maintain a fast pace, use a paraphrasing tool for better style and tone, bend language rules for stylistic reasons, use american english, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about college application essays.

Use a conversational yet respectful tone, as if speaking with a familiar teacher, mentor, or coach. An academic, formal tone will seem too clinical, while an overly casual tone will seem unprofessional to admissions officers.

Find an appropriate middle ground without pedantic language or slang. For example, contractions are acceptable, but text message abbreviations are not.

Note that “Why this college?” essays , scholarship essays , and diversity essays are usually similarly conversational in tone.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Your essay shouldn’t read like a professor, parent, or friend wrote it for you. Use first-person singular “I” statements, appropriate vocabulary for your level, and original expressions.

Prioritize using the first-person singular

Unlike in some other kinds of academic writing, you should write in the first-person singular (e.g., “I,” “me”) in a college application essay to highlight your perspective.

Avoid using “one” for generalizations , since this sounds stilted and unnatural. Use “we” sparingly to avoid projecting your opinions or beliefs onto other people who may not share the same views. In some cases, you can use “we” to talk about a community you know well, such as your family or neighborhood.

The second-person pronoun “you” can be used in some cases. Don’t write the whole essay to an unknown “you,” but if the narrative calls for it, occasionally addressing readers as “you” is generally okay.

Write within your vocabulary range

Creative but careful word choice is essential to enliven your essay. You should embellish basic words, but it shouldn’t read like you used a thesaurus to impress admissions officers.

Use clichés and idioms with discretion

Find a more imaginative way of rewriting overused expressions一unless it’s an intentional stylistic choice.

Write concisely and in the active voice to maintain a quick pace throughout your essay. Only add definitions if they provide necessary explanation.

Write concisely

Opt for a simple, concise way of writing, unless it’s a deliberate stylistic choice to describe a scene. Be intentional with every word, especially since college essays have word limits. However, do vary the length of your sentences to create an interesting flow.

Don’t provide definitions just to sound smart

You should explain terms or concepts that may be unfamiliar to the reader. However, don’t show off with several definitions to impress admissions officers.

Prioritize the active voice to maintain a lively tone

The passive voice can be used when the subject is unimportant or unknown. But in most cases, use the active voice to keep a fast pace throughout your essay.

If it seems hard to find the right tone and voice for your college essay, there are tools that can help.

One of these tools is the paraphrasing tool .

To begin, you can type or copy text you’ve already written into the tool.

After that, select a paraphrasing mode (e.g., fluency for better flowing text) that will rewrite your college essay accordingly.

You can occasionally bend grammatical rules if it adds value to the storytelling process and the essay maintains clarity. This can help your writing stand out from the crowd. However, return to using standard language rules if your stylistic choices would otherwise distract the reader from your overall narrative or could be easily interpreted as unintentional errors.

Sentence fragments

Sentence fragments can convey a quicker pace, a more immediate tone, and intense emotion in your essay. Use them sparingly, as too many fragments can be choppy, confusing, and distracting.

Non-standard capitalization

Usually,  common nouns should not be capitalized . But sometimes capitalization can be an effective tool to insert humor or signify importance.

For international students applying to US colleges, it’s important to remember to use US English rather than UK English .

For example, use double quotation marks rather than single ones, and don’t forget to put punctuation inside the double quotation marks. Also be careful to use American spelling, which can differ by just one or two letters from British spelling.

If you want to know more about academic writing , effective communication , or parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Academic writing

• Writing process
• Transition words
• Passive voice
• Paraphrasing

 Communication

• How to end an email
• Ms, mrs, miss
• How to start an email
• I hope this email finds you well
• Hope you are doing well

 Parts of speech

• Personal pronouns
• Conjunctions

College application essays are less formal than other kinds of academic writing . Use a conversational yet respectful tone , as if speaking with a teacher or mentor. Be vulnerable about your feelings, thoughts, and experiences to connect with the reader.

Aim to write in your authentic voice , with a style that sounds natural and genuine. You can be creative with your word choice, but don’t use elaborate vocabulary to impress admissions officers.

Use first-person “I” statements to speak from your perspective . Use appropriate word choices that show off your vocabulary but don’t sound like you used a thesaurus. Avoid using idioms or cliché expressions by rewriting them in a creative, original way.

Write concisely and use the active voice to maintain a quick pace throughout your essay and make sure it’s the right length . Avoid adding definitions unless they provide necessary explanation.

In a college application essay , you can occasionally bend grammatical rules if doing so adds value to the storytelling process and the essay maintains clarity.

However, use standard language rules if your stylistic choices would otherwise distract the reader from your overall narrative or could be easily interpreted as unintentional errors.

A college application essay is less formal than most academic writing . Instead of citing sources formally with in-text citations and a reference list, you can cite them informally in your text.

For example, “In her research paper on genetics, Quinn Roberts explores …”

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Types of Tone in Writing: Essential Guide to 10 Different Types

Beneath the surface of every well-crafted piece of writing lies an often overlooked but essential element: tone. Did you know that Ernest Hemingway, renowned for his succinct and straightforward prose, once wrote an entire short story in just six words? This astonishing feat highlights the immense power that tone holds in conveying emotions and messages concisely.

Types of Tone in Writing: Short Description

In this guide, you'll learn about 10 basic types of tones in writing and how to use them effectively. Our paper writing service experts will show you examples and tips to help you understand how each tone creates feelings and messages. By the end, you'll know how to use tones to make your writing truly impactful and memorable for your readers. Armed with this knowledge, you'll have the tools to infuse your own writing with the perfect tone for the occasion. Whether you're aiming for a heartfelt narrative, a persuasive argument, or a piece that sparks curiosity, you'll be able to craft words that resonate deeply with your readers, leaving an impression that lingers long after they've finished reading.

What is Tone in Writing: Grasping the Idea

Imagine your favorite song playing on a piano. The same notes can create vastly different feelings – a light-hearted melody, a melancholic tune, or an intense crescendo. Just like in music, the words you use in writing can evoke emotions and set the mood. This magical ingredient that influences how your words are perceived is known as 'tone.'

Examples of tone in writing are the attitude, emotion, or mood that comes across in your words. It's not just about what you say but how you say it. Think of it as the emotional coloring that tints your writing, giving it depth and resonance. The right tone can make your words dance off the page, making them memorable and impactful.

Tone refers to more than just a mere linguistic element within a composition; it's a crucial tool that shapes how readers experience your writing. It influences how they feel, how they connect with the content, and even how they interpret the information. Whether you're crafting a compelling story, delivering an informative article, or sharing your thoughts, the right tone can make your writing resonate on a whole new level.

The tone isn't one-size-fits-all. Just as you adapt your tone of voice when speaking to different people, your writing tone should adjust to your audience and purpose. It can range from professional and formal writing tone to casual and conversational. Want to engage young readers? A playful tone might be the way to go. Need to address a serious topic? A respectful and serious tone is apt. Remember, you can even buy essay online from our experts, allowing you to select the desired tone and infuse the writing with distinct emotions.

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How to Develop Your Writing Tone

Much like an artist intricately combines hues to forge a mesmerizing masterpiece, a writer conscientiously crafts sentence structure to weave a captivating enchantment upon their readers. The composition of sentence structures is a craft that entails comprehending one's distinctive voice, the inclinations of the intended audience, and the sought-after emotional resonance.

1. Know Thyself: Embrace Your Authentic Voice

The journey towards developing your overall tone, even when tackling essay topics, begins with self-discovery. Reflect on your natural speaking style, your personal experiences, and your unique way of expressing thoughts. Are you naturally witty? Do you tend to be straightforward? These qualities can be the building blocks of your distinct tone, even when addressing essay topics . Embrace your authentic voice; your readers will appreciate your sincerity.

2. Listen and Learn: Understand Your Audience

Imagine performing a song for an audience of jazz enthusiasts versus a group of classical music aficionados. The song remains the same, but the rendition differs based on the audience's preferences. Similarly, your writing tone should cater to your readers' expectations and comfort zones. Research their interests, language preferences, and the style of content they engage with. This insight helps you strike a chord with your audience.

3. Setting the Mood: Match Tone with Purpose

Just as a chef selects ingredients to suit a specific dish, adapt your tone to your writing's purpose. If you're crafting a heartwarming story, a tender and nostalgic tone might be perfect. For an analytical piece, a tone of logic and clarity works wonders. Aligning your tone with the intended emotional response enhances the impact of your writing.

4. Experiment and Evolve: Flexibility is Key

Think of your writing tone as a chameleon, capable of adapting to diverse situations. Don't hesitate to experiment with different tones. Try a humorous tone for one piece and a contemplative tone for another. Through experimentation, you'll discover your range and refine your ability to switch tones effortlessly, like a skilled actor embodying various roles.

10 Different Types of Tones

In the following sections, we'll journey through ten distinctive writing tones. Each tone is like a tool in your writing toolkit, ready to be wielded to create the impact you desire. By the end of this exploration, you'll be equipped not only to recognize these tones in your favorite pieces of writing but also to employ them to craft content that leaves a lasting impression.

A formal tone in writing is characterized by its polished and professional demeanor. This tone is frequently employed in various contexts, including academic papers following the Chicago style format , official documents, and business communications. This tone employs sophisticated vocabulary and avoids contractions and colloquial language. For example, a formal tone might be used in an academic research paper discussing the socioeconomic impacts of climate change on global economies.

'In accordance with the aforementioned legislation, it is imperative to adhere to the stipulated guidelines in order to ensure compliance. Failure to do so may result in potential legal ramifications.'

An informal tone in writing is more relaxed and conversational. It mimics the way people speak casually and is often used in personal emails, blog posts, and friendly communications. Informal tones in writing may include contractions and colloquialisms. For instance, an informal conversational tone could be used in a travel blog describing an adventurous journey, engaging readers with a relatable and friendly approach.

'So, imagine you're at this amazing concert, right? The music's blasting; everyone's dancing like there's no tomorrow. And then suddenly, out of nowhere, the lead singer jumps into the crowd! Like, whoa, talk about a crazy show!'

An optimistic writing tone exudes positivity and hope. It's like a sunbeam breaking through the clouds, infusing a piece with enthusiasm and confidence. This tone inspires and uplifts, often using bright language and focusing on the potential for good outcomes. For instance, in a motivational blog post, an optimistic tone might encourage readers to embrace challenges as opportunities for growth, stating:

'Every setback is a chance to spring forward even higher.'

A worried writing tone reflects unease and concern, akin to a storm cloud hovering overhead. It conveys a sense of urgency and vulnerability, using language that expresses doubt or apprehension. In a suspenseful novel, a worried tone might create a tense atmosphere as the protagonist navigates a perilous situation, evoking emotions with lines like:

'As the minutes ticked by, an unsettling feeling gnawed at the edges of her thoughts, making her wonder if escape was even possible.'

If you opt to explore various definition essay topics , it opens the door to employing a worried tone, particularly in scenarios such as explaining 'existentialism.' Through your words, you could convey the unsettling realization that, in the vast cosmos, humans grapple with their individual significance, with each path they choose carrying a weight of consequence. This worried tone could evoke a sense of shared contemplation, connecting readers to the disquieting yet profoundly human questions that underlie the philosophy of existentialism.

A friendly writing tone is warm and approachable, akin to a welcoming smile. It establishes a connection with the reader, making them feel like they're having a chat with a close friend. This tone uses inclusive language and may even sprinkle in personal anecdotes. For instance, in a blog post about a new recipe, a friendly, uplifting tone might say:

'Hey there! Today, we're diving into the world of delicious desserts. I stumbled upon this amazing chocolate cake recipe that's sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.'

A curious writing tone is like a detective's eager pursuit of answers. It sparks intrigue and invites readers to explore alongside the author. This tone uses questions, prompts, and a sense of wonder to engage the audience. For example, when you want to learn how to start an essay with a curious tone, you can captivate readers in the following way:

'Have you ever wondered what lies beyond the twinkling stars? Join us on a journey as we venture into the mysteries of the cosmos and uncover the secrets of the universe.'

An aggressive writing tone is forceful and confrontational, aiming to provoke a strong reaction. It employs strong language and harsh rhetoric and may even involve personal attacks. In a debate article, an aggressive or tense tone might state:

'It's absolutely baffling that anyone could support such a flawed policy. Those who do clearly lack any understanding of basic economics.'

An assertive writing tone is confident and self-assured, expressing opinions firmly without resorting to hostility. It uses clear language and evidence to support its stance. For instance, in a persuasive essay on climate change, an assertive tone might state:

'The scientific consensus is undeniable: human activities contribute significantly to global warming. Addressing this issue requires collective action and policy changes.'

Exploring different types of tones in writing can greatly enhance the overall emotional impact and engagement of the content. A surprised writing tone mirrors the raised eyebrows and widened eyes of someone caught off guard. It conveys astonishment or amazement, often using exclamations or vivid descriptions. In a travel blog recounting unexpected wildlife encounters, a surprised tone might convey:

'As we rounded the bend, a majestic eagle swooped down from the sky, and we were left utterly speechless by this breathtaking spectacle!'

• Cooperative

A cooperative writing tone promotes collaboration and teamwork, fostering a sense of unity among readers. It employs inclusive language and encourages shared understanding. You can also adopt this tone when learning how to write a complaint email , emphasizing the importance of expressing concerns while maintaining a constructive and respectful approach. In a how-to guide for successful group projects, a cooperative tone might suggest:

'By pooling our strengths and working together, we can create an environment where each member contributes their unique skills, resulting in a project that surpasses expectations.'

Wrapping Up

This guide, prepared by our custom research paper writing experts, offered valuable insights to assist you in selecting the right tone, breathing life into your words. Mastering the art of using different types of tone in writing is a skill that can elevate your communication to new heights. By understanding the nuances of various tones and tailoring them to your audience, purpose, and subject matter, you can create content that resonates, engages, and leaves a lasting impact!

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What is Tone? Definition, with Examples

by Fija Callaghan

Encouraging readers to Feel Things is one of the greatest aspirations of writing. When crafted well, a book can make us feel hope, fear, despair, indignation, or joy. And one of the best literary devices to achieve that is tone—the overall emotional sound of your novel.

But what is tone, exactly, and how do we incorporate it into our work? Let’s look at what writing tone means and how you can find the right one for your story, along with some helpful examples of tone in literature.

What is tone in writing?

Tone in writing is the overall mood or attitude conveyed by the narrator’s word choice in a story. A narrator’s tone can be formal or informal, positive or negative, lighthearted or dramatic. By using the right tone, you can convey moments of tension, relief, or anticipation to your readers and make them feel more invested in your story.

In general, your story will have an overall author’s tone that supports the theme (we’ll talk about theme more below), but each individual scene will also have a distinctive tone depending on what’s happening in the plot.

Why is tone important in a story?

Tone helps engage with your target audience and elicit a particular feeling and emotion in the reader. In business writing, a more formal tone can help you present an organized, confident attitude. In storytelling, a casual or playful tone can help you bring your reader closer to your characters. Because the reader can’t see the writer’s facial expression or body language when they’re conveying an idea, the author’s word choice and writing style is essential.

You can also choose a certain tone to help underline your story’s theme. For example, a tragedy might favor a melancholy and introspective tone, while a romantic comedy might favor cheerful and humorous tones. By mindfully choosing the right tone for your story, you can gently encourage the reader to feel and experience your story in a certain way.

What’s the difference between tone and mood?

Tone and mood are closely related, but they’re not quite the same thing. In writing, tone reveals the narrator’s attitude as conveyed by their specific word choice. For instance, you could show your characters attending a party and have the tone be excited, depressed, sarcastic, frightened, or hopeful. These communicate the way the narrator feels about the situation.

Mood is the overall feeling of the scene or story as a whole. Tone plays a large role in conveying the mood of a scene, but you can also enhance a story’s mood with setting and sensory imagery. For example, you could use your party’s setting to explore the sights, sounds, smells, and sensations your characters are experiencing. Does the red light falling on the door look like “fallen petals” or “a smear of blood”? How an author describes the same image in different ways will enhance the overall mood of your book.

To recap: tone specifically refers to the choice of language; mood refers to the overall feeling of the entire scene. We’ll look at some examples of tone below.

What’s the difference between tone and theme?

We’ve talked a bit about how tone influences theme—but what exactly is the difference?

Theme is the overall message behind your story. It might be something like “love conquers all,” or “violence only leads to more violence.” Everything in your narrative, including mood and tone, support this underlying message.

If your theme is “love conquers all,” your tone might be optimistic, hopeful, or inspirational. If your theme is “violence only leads to more violence,” your theme might be pessimistic or persuasive.

Types of tone you might see in a story

Any adjective you can apply to someone’s voice can be used to describe tone. Think about how your best friend’s voice might sound when they tell you about their weekend. Cheerful? Humorous? What about when an authority figure tells you you’ve done something wrong? Do they sound formal, arrogant, or pessimistic?

The type of relationship you want to have with your reader, and the type of relationship your characters have with each other, will inform the different tones you use throughout your narrative. Here are some of the most common tone words you’ll see across literature:

Which tones do you recognize from your own writing style?

Examples of tone in literature

Some of your favorite books probably use tones that stay with you for a long time, even if you don’t consciously recognize it. Let’s look at some effective examples of tone in literature.

1. Remarkably Bright Creatures , by Shelby Van Pelt

Even the short journey back to my tank saps my strength. I am weakening by the day. Still carrying the heavy ring, I slip into my den and rest, as I will need stamina for my next trip. The last one.

The tone in this scene is fearful, pessimistic, and determined. The narrator—in this case an ageing octopus—uses a more formal tone that conveys his intelligence and old age. Keywords like “strength,” “weakening,” and “stamina” convey how deeply rooted in the body this moment is. The writer chose mostly short sentences and simple language to illustrate how much effort each moment takes.

2. Anansi Boys , by Neil Gaiman

He sang of names and words, of the building blocks beneath the real, the worlds that make worlds, the truths beneath the way things are; he sang of appropriate ends and just conclusions for those who would have hurt him and his. He sang the world. It was a good song, and it was his song. Sometimes it had words, and sometimes it didn’t have any words at all.

The tone in this scene is full of hope. The author uses a mix of longer sentences and shorter sentences to create a varied, engaging rhythm. Unlike the previous example, this scene uses tones that are optimistic and inspirational to give the novel a happy ending.

3. “Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost

The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost uses a touching and melancholy tone in one of his most famous poems. The tone is deeply reverential, as the speaker treats the forest a little like a temple. However, he needs to fulfill his life’s goals before he can lay down and rest.

Ways to convey tone in your writing

Now that we know more about what tone means in literature, here’s the big question: how can we master tone in our own work?

Tone in writing comes down to the author’s word choice. Let’s look at a few things to keep in mind while you’re incorporating tone into your story.

Diction refers to the specific choice of words that you use in a sentence. You can convey the same idea in different ways by adjusting the diction of your writing. For example, “How is everyone doing today?” and “’Sup y’all?” mean exactly the same thing—but the diction is different.

You can use diction to give your writing a more casual tone and make the reader feel like they can relate to the storyteller. You can also vary your diction to juxtapose one character’s tone against another, or juxtapose your main character’s dialogue against the overall tone of the story.

Syntax refers to sentence structure, or the way your words are assembled together. In the two prose examples we looked at above, you’ll notice that writers used a blend of long and short sentences with different kinds of punctuation.

In general, formal, pessimistic, or melancholy tones will use longer and more complex sentences while a cheerful or informal tone will favour shorter, snappier sentences. If your scene is starting to feel like a bit of a downer, try breaking up the sentence structure. If your scene is skimming over its potential thematic depth, try experimenting with more descriptive sentences.

Certain word choices carry inherent tones right into your narrative. In Remarkably Bright Creatures , we looked at how the author chose particular words that suited the tone she wanted to convey.

Try brainstorming a list of words that fit the tone of your narrative. For example, a hopeful tone might be associated with words like bright, forward, future, inspire, rise, overcome, morning, new, and so forth. Keep this list to one side (you might find yourself adding to it as you go), and watch out for places you might be able to incorporate your “tone” words into your writing.

An exercise for exploring creative writing tone

To experiment with tone, try writing a short scene between two people. It can be a piece of flash fiction, a vignette about two strangers, or even an existing scene from a work in progress. Then, choose three contrasting tones from the list we gave you above (or come up with new ones of your own!). For example, three contrasting tones might be cheerful, desperate, and inspirational.

Now, see if you can subtly adjust the word choices in your scene to convey it in three different ways. Can you make the same events sound cheerful and desperate with a few well-placed keywords? You might be surprised at what you discover about your characters, conflict and world by adjusting the tone of your story.

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Learn More With This Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms

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In composition , tone is the expression of a writer's attitude toward subject , audience , and self.

Tone is primarily conveyed in writing through diction , point of view , syntax , and level of formality.

Etymology : From the Latin, "string, a stretching"

"In Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age," David Blakesley and Jeffrey L. Hoogeveen make a simple distinction between style and tone: " Style refers to the overall flavor and texture created by the writer's word choices and sentence structures . Tone is an attitude toward the events of the story—humorous, ironic, cynical, and so on." In practice, there's a close connection between style and tone.

Tone and Persona

In Thomas S. Kane's "The New Oxford Guide to Writing," "If persona is the complex personality implicit in the writing, tone is a web of feelings stretched throughout an essay , feelings from which our sense of the persona emerges. Tone has three main strands: the writer's attitude toward subject, reader , and self.

"Each of these determinants of tone is important, and each has many variations. Writers may be angry about a subject or amused by it or discuss it dispassionately. They may treat readers as intellectual inferiors to be lectured (usually a poor tactic) or as friends with whom they are talking. Themselves they may regard very seriously or with an ironic or an amused detachment (to suggest only three of numerous possibilities). Given all these variables, the possibilities of tone are almost endless.

"Tone, like persona, is unavoidable. You imply it in the words you select and in how you arrange them."

Tone and Diction

According to W. Ross Winterowd In his book, "The Contemporary Writer," "The main factor in tone is diction , the words that the writer chooses. For one kind of writing, an author may choose one type of vocabulary, perhaps slang , and for another, the same writer may choose an entirely different set of words... "Even such small matters as contractions make a difference in tone, the contracted verbs being less formal:

It is strange that the professor had not assigned any papers for three weeks. It's strange that the professor hadn't assigned any papers for three weeks."

Tone in Business Writing

Philip C. Kolin reminds us of how important it is to get the tone just right in business correspondence in "Successful Writing at Work." He says, " Tone in writing...can range from formal and impersonal (a scientific report) to informal and personal (an email to a friend or a how-to article for consumers). Your tone can be unprofessionally sarcastic or diplomatically agreeable.

"Tone, like style , is indicated in part by the words you choose...

"The tone of your writing is especially important in occupational writing because it reflects the image you project to your readers and thus determines how they will respond to you, your work, and your company. Depending on your tone, you can appear sincere and intelligent or angry and uninformed... The wrong tone in a letter or a proposal might cost you a customer."

Sentence Sounds

The following examples are from Dona Hickey's book, "Developing a Written Voice" where she quotes Lawrence Roger Thompson who was quoting Robert Frost. "Robert Frost believed sentence tones (which he called 'sound of sense') are 'already there—living in the cave of the mouth.' He considered them 'real cave things: they were before words were' (Thompson 191). To write a 'vital sentence,' he believed, 'we must write with the ear on the speaking voice' (Thompson 159). 'The ear is the only true writer and the only true reader. Eye readers miss the best part. The sentence sound often says more than the words' (Thompson 113). According to Frost:

Only when we are making sentences so shaped [by spoken sentence tones] are we truly writing. A sentence must convey a meaning by tone of voice and it must be the particular meaning the writer intended. The reader must have no choice in the matter. The tone of voice, and its meaning must be in black and white on the page (Thompson 204).

"In writing, we can't indicate body language , but we can control how sentences are heard. And it is through our arrangement of words into sentences, one after another, that we can approximate some of the intonation in speech that tells our readers not only information about the world but also how we feel about it, who we are in relationship to it, and who we think our readers are in relationship to us and the message we want to deliver."

Novelist Samuel Butler once said, "We are not won by arguments that we can analyze but by the tone and temper, by the manner which is the man himself."

Blakesley, David and Jeffrey L. Hoogeveen. Writing: A Manual for the Digital Age. Cengage, 2011.

Hickey, Dona. Developing a Written Voice . Mayfield, 1992.

Kane, Thomas S. The New Oxford Guide to Writing . Oxford University Press, 1988.

Kolin, Philip C. Successful Writing at Work, Concise Edition . 4th ed., Cengage, 2015.

Winterowd, W. Ross. The Contemporary Writer: A Practical Rhetoric. 2nd ed., Harcourt, 1981.

• Definition and Examples of Rhetorical Stance
• Thesis: Definition and Examples in Composition
• The Writer's Voice in Literature and Rhetoric
• Sentence Variety Composition
• Description in Rhetoric and Composition
• 12 Writers Discuss Writing
• Point of View in Grammar and Composition
• Best Practices for Business Writing
• What Is Style in Writing?
• What Is a Sentence Fragment in Writing?
• Rhetorical Analysis Definition and Examples
• How to Format and Write a Simple Business Letter
• AP English Exam: 101 Key Terms
• Direct Question in Grammar
• What Is Proposal Writing?
• What E.B. White Has to Say About Writing

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How to Determine a Piece of Writing’s Tone

• 5-minute read
• 3rd December 2022

Whether you’re analyzing a text for school or working on your own writing , being able to identify tone is an essential skill.

In this post, we give you some tips on how to determine the tone of any piece of writing.

What Is Tone?

“Tone” can be hard to understand. But in the context of writing, it can be summarized as the way an author expresses information to evoke a certain emotional response to the subject matter.

We normally use adjectives to describe a tone. And there are as many tones as emotions, which means the options are almost endless!

However, there are a few types of tones that appear often in writing, including:

Tone can be set in many ways, such as through word choice, syntax, point of view, and a lot of other subtle and abstract ways. For a more in-depth look at different types of tones, see our blog post on the subject.

To help you determine tone in writing, we’ll examine some of these tools in detail.

1. Understand the Context

A piece of writing’s tone will be heavily influenced by the circumstances under which it is written. These include its form or genre, its intended audience, and where it’s published.

For example, if you were writing or analyzing an article for a scientific journal, you’d expect the tone to be formal, technical, and matter-of-fact.

If you were writing or analyzing a short story in an anthology for children, on the other hand, the tone would probably be more informal, lighthearted, and optimistic.

To help determine tone, ask yourself these questions about a piece of writing:

●  Where will it be published?

●  Who’s the intended audience?

●  What genre or subject matter does it cover?

You can then use the answers to these questions to get an idea of what tone the piece should use.

2. Pay Attention to Vocabulary

Word choice is one of the most crucial elements of establishing tone.

Two sentences with the same basic meaning can have different tone depending on the words the author uses.

Take the examples below:

Though both sentences describe the same thing (a man adjusting his collar before walking into a room), the choice of nouns, adjectives, and adverbs drastically changes how we interpret what’s happening.

When analyzing a text or writing your own piece, you should think about certain words’ connotations and the emotions they inspire. Are they positive, negative, or neutral? If you swapped a word for one with a similar meaning but a different tone, how would your understanding of the sentence change?

You should also consider the effects of:

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●  Long, complex words (e.g., “Machiavellian”) vs. short, simple words (e.g., “evil”)

●  Multiple adjectives and adverbs (e.g., “the beautiful, resplendent scarlet macaw”) vs. few describing words (e.g., “the parrot”)

●  Technical jargon (e.g., “parallel processing”)

●  Slang, colloquialisms, and idioms (e.g., “Slang drives me up the wall”)

3. Consider Punctuation

Authors can also use punctuation to achieve a certain tone.

Here’s how common punctuation can influence a piece of writing’s tone:

●  Exclamation marks indicate excitement, surprise, or other strong emotions. Using exclamation marks can imply a more informal and lighthearted tone, though they can also be used to show passion and persuade the reader of something. Writing that lacks exclamation marks establishes a formal tone but can come across as cold or dismissive.

●  Question marks invite the opinion of the reader into the writing, whether the question asked is rhetorical or not. They can imply a considerate and communicative tone, but they can also indicate confusion, ignorance, or conflict.

●  Periods, commas, and other pauses control the speed at which text is read. Adding more periods can slow a piece of writing down or break it into smaller parts, which can work to build a straightforward, reserved, or sharp tone. Adding more commas extends the length and complexity of sentences, which can create a passionate and suspenseful tone, or even one that seems avoidant.

4. Check Grammar Usage

Using grammar to indicate tone can be more subtle.

For example, an author may choose to use different pronouns to write from a particular grammatical point of view :

●  First person singular provides information from one perspective, so while it can establish an authoritative or personal tone, it can also imply a limited view of the world.

●  First person plural usually indicates an inclusive tone, but in some contexts, it can build a tone that’s condescending or even unsettling.

●  Second person is rare in writing but can create a persuasive, accusatory, or conspiratorial tone.

●  Third person is most often used to tell a story or describe something, so it can establish an informative and objective tone. At the same time, it can create a tone that’s more detached from the subject matter.

And while there are grammatical rules that writers are usually expected to follow, how closely an author follows these rules can also indicate tone.

For example, a more conversational piece might be more flexible about not ending sentences with a preposition than something intended to be formal and professional :

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Chapter 11: Tone and Style

11.1 Tone and Style

Tone and style, while often confused, are both important in academic writing. Style also involves word choice, coherence, conciseness, and correctness. This chapter contains sections about each of these elements of style.

Definition of Tone and Style

Tone refers to the type of language a writer uses to address their audience. When writing an email to a friend, for example, you may choose to use an informal or colloquial tone, whereas an essay for an English class requires an academic tone. Compare the two examples below:

Example 1 : The city should just start paying for our rides to school so we can use the bus money for other stuff. If this happens, people will actually start caring about how to get there. Example 2 : If the city gave students free access to public transportation, riding to school for free would not only save students money, but it would also promote the use of public transportation.

While both sentences above convey the same idea, Example 1 illustrates an informal tone or register , while Example 2 displays an academic tone. Therefore, if you were writing a persuasive essay arguing for public transportation, Example 2 would be appropriate. Example 1 should be used when an informal tone is usual, such as in an email, a message to a friend, or a dialogue between two friends in a story.

Style , on the other hand, involves more than just formality and informality. It concerns how clearly we write. Some beginning academic writers think that having wordy and complicated sentences equals having a good writing style, but that can make it difficult for readers to grasp the idea of a text. Essays should be well-written and free of errors, but first they should be clear and logical.

Here are a few useful guidelines to help develop your writing style:

• Avoid using abstract and complex terms, since they tend to confuse rather than impress readers.
• Accept that your writing will always seem clearer to yourself than to others; therefore, do not hesitate to get another reader’s opinion.
• Keep your audience in mind while writing.
• Know the expectations of an academic English writing style.
• Understand how readers decode the information they read.

Review Questions: Definition of Tone and Style

• Think about three kinds of writing you do every day. What tones do they represent?
• List three expectations for academic English writing style.

For questions 3–5, determine whether the tone and style of the sentences below are appropriate or inappropriate for a persuasive essay you are writing for your English composition class. Discuss your answers with a partner.

• The overall quality of the food served to students at school needs to improve. Even though school districts require students to spend hours in science classes learning about nutrition and balanced meals, administrators seem to ignore that the best way to teach is by example. The food most schools serve students is neither nutritious nor tasty. There is a great distance between what students learn they should eat and what they really get at school.
• The food served at school sucks. I don’t eat that stuff, and I never will. Schools should walk their talk and serve us grub that is edible, not that junk that can kill you. When we get pizza, the cheese does not even look like cheese. It looks like some weird alien substance …
• Most students and school staff seem to agree that the food served to students in school cafeterias is not good enough. Why still serve it, then? Well, the reality is that it is not that easy to change things in a school district. This fact illustrates the contradiction between what students learn in classes about health and nutrition and what they actually eat.

Word Choice

Most writers’ problems with word choice come from trying to use words they do not know. At times, you may feel the pressure to use vocabulary that is “fancy” or “smart.” However, using words whose meanings you are not sure of may change your ideas radically. Misspelling a word may also confuse readers. Before using a word you are not sure about, ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I sure this is the right word to express my idea?
• To the best of my knowledge, did I spell it correctly?
• Is the word appropriate for this text and my audience?
• If I am not sure about the word I am trying to use, is there another word I can replace it with?

At times, you may also be concerned about reducing the number of mistakes in your writing to obtain a good grade. In such cases, it is best to look up the words you do not know. If you are not allowed to look them up, take a safer approach and replace them with another word you know.

In order to avoid problems with the words you choose, read often. Books, magazines, newspapers, and blogs are among the many useful reading resources that will expose you to new words and help you expand your vocabulary.

The following sections will help you make more informed decisions about choosing words for your work.

Denotation and connotation

Words may carry a denotative (literal) meaning or a connotative (figurative, implied) meaning. For example, when writing a description of the place you live in, you may call it a “home,” a “house,” or a “residence.” These three words denote or indicate the same place. However, their connotative meaning is different. “Home” refers to a warmer place than “house.” “Residence” probably carries very little feeling compared to the other two words.

Connotative meanings of words may be positive, negative, or sometimes neutral, depending on what you are writing and who you are writing for. For example, informal words that may carry a neutral or positive connotation in a letter to a friend may have a negative connotation in an argumentative essay. In this lesson and subsequent practice exercises, assume your audience expects an academic tone.

Consider both denotative and connotative meanings of a word before using it. Some words have a negative connotation and may not be appropriate for your work.

The table below contains words with both positive and negative connotations when used in a persuasive essay. Read and compare them.

Review Questions: Word Choice

Assuming your readers expect an academic tone, replace the words in bold with other words carrying more positive connotations.

• The peeps at my school voted against having makeup classes on Saturday. (Replace “The peeps at my school”)
• When I asked my li’l bro if he was hooked on video games, he went , “Of course I’m not!” (Replace “li’l bro,” “hooked on,” and “he went.”)
• She goes up to this guy and goes, like, “Who are you?” But when they got chatting , she chilled right out . (Replace “goes up to this guy and goes, like, ‘Who are you?,’ “got chatting,” and “chilled right out.”

Misspelling

Misspelling words can also cause you problems, especially if you write a word that looks similar to the one you want but has a different meaning. The best way to avoid misspellings is to become familiar with the words you often use.

You should also double-check the words suggested by the spell check application on your word processor. Although these programs catch common misspellings, they sometimes make wrong suggestions or simply miss misspelled words.

A few hints to help you avoid spelling errors:

• Make flash cards with the words you frequently use in your essays but have problems spelling. Seeing them often will help you memorize them.
• Keep a vocabulary list at the end of your notebook containing both new words and words you have a hard time spelling.

Consider this list of commonly misspelled words:

• acknowledge
• accidentally
• acknowledgment
• independence
• indispensable
• insufficient
• maintenance
• opportunity
• perseverance
• specifically
• temperament

Review Questions: Misspelling

Choose the word with the correct spelling. The words in this practice section may not be in the list provided in the Misspelling section , and you may have to use a dictionary to learn their correct spelling.

• Lack of water and fire extinguishers in the room aggravated/agravated the fire.
• Their analysis/analisis of the problem was accurate.
• My parents say that my curfew is not negociable/negotiable .
• The history teacher was irritated when she talked about the omission/omision of an important fact in the students’ exam responses.
• Lawmakers recomended/recommended the bill be changed before the final vote.

Gender Bias

Writers need to make sure they address readers in a respectful and unbiased manner. One way to do this is by carefully choosing your nouns and pronouns. For example, when you address people in general, readers will interpret the exclusive use of “he,” “him,” and “his” or “she,” “her”,  and “hers” as biased. The suggestions below will help you avoid gender bias in your essays:

• A teacher must consider the background of his students (biased).
• A teacher must consider the students’ backgrounds (unbiased).
• A student knows he must do his homework (biased).
• Students know they have to do their homework (unbiased).
• Teachers must consider the backgrounds of their students (unbiased).
• All salesmen were required to attend the meeting (biased).
• All salespeople were required to attend the meeting (unbiased).
• When a student finished his exam early, he could leave the room (biased).
• When a student finished her or his exam early, she or he could leave the room (unbiased).
• Ali likes basketball. They started playing basketball when they were eight years old.
• When a team member finishes a break, they should proceed directly to the sales floor.

When avoiding gender bias, use the strategies that best fit your personal style, but try not to overuse any one strategy.

Review Questions: Gender Bias

Rewrite the sentences below and eliminate their gender bias. Refer to the strategies given in this section.

• Each doctor will explain her own procedures.
• When you call the technician, tell him the computer broke yesterday.
• According to the guidelines, a writer needs to publish her manuscript in order to be eligible for the grant.
• If I ever meet a congressman, I will tell him how upset I am with politics at the national level.
• When a doctor wants to order gloves, she must speak to the office staff.

Sentence Order

The elements in an English sentence have a standard or canonical position. Writers should understand this order of elements because choosing to adhere to it or break it will draw readers’ attention to different elements of a sentence. The canonical order of elements in an English sentence is demonstrated in Table 11.2.

Generally, the subject is the doer or the main character, and the verb expresses the action, state, or description. Other elements may include people or things affected by the action, adverbials (references to time, place, manner, etc), and so on.

While it is true that English writing favours elements in the canonical order, this does not mean you should only write in this order. It means that this sequence should only be broken when there is a clear reason for doing so (adding emphasis, placing old information first, etc.). The canonical order is a principle and not an absolute rule of writing.

The following lessons will help you determine how to shift the order of sentence elements to write cohesive sentences and add emphasis when needed.

Review Questions: Sentence Order

Rewrite the sentences below and redistribute sentence elements according to the canonical order. (Hint: You should start new sentences with the underlined elements.)

• Finally, in a very apologetic tone, the director spoke to us.
• After running for two hours and exercising for another two at the gym last night, Rachel collapsed.
• With words of encouragement after a long and difficult year, the teacher addressed the students.

Characters and Actions

• The mayor’s analysis of the issue did not convince journalists. (Noun = analysis)
• Bob’s explanation of why he was late frustrated his wife. (Noun = explanation)
• The documentary’s description of the accident shocked viewers. (Noun = description)
• The conclusion the scientists reached was that the problem had no solution. (Noun = conclusion)

When your writing highlights important sentence elements, such as characters and actions , your sentences become clear to your readers and naturally draw their attention. Characters are sentence elements that trigger actions or events. They can be concrete (a person, animal, or thing) or abstract (an issue, a concept). Characters are usually nouns or pronouns. Actions describe what characters do or what events they trigger. Actions are expressed by verbs. These concepts are illustrated in the examples below:

Example 1 : Jack’s refusal to leave the worksite resulted in his boss’s decision to call security. Example 2 : Because Jack refused to leave the worksite, his boss decided to call security.

Consider the following differences between the sentences in Example 1 and Example 2:

• The characters of Example 1, Jack and his boss, are part of the subject, but they do not receive the main focus in the sentence. The foci lie in the words “refusal” and “decision.”
• The characters of Example 2, Jack and his boss, receive focus in the subject of each respective clause, and their actions are expressed by the verbs “refused” and “decided,” instead of in the nouns “refusal” and “decision.” Example 2 characters are aligned with their actions.

Notice that Example 1 draws readers’ attention to the abstract nouns “refusal” and “decision.” Even though it is possible to use abstract nouns as characters when you write about abstract issues, this example shows that it can be a bad decision when you use them in lieu of clear characters and their actions.

The alignment between characters and their actions makes sentences like Example 2 more powerful. It is easy to turn type-1 sentences into type-2 ones. All you need is to play a simple game of verbs and nouns, as shown in Table 11.3 in review question 1 for this section.

Old-before-new

The old-before-new principle guides how writers should sequence information in a sentence. According to this principle, they should use the information readers already know to introduce information they do not know yet. This principle helps direct readers from familiar or old information to new information. Analyze this first set of examples:

Example 1 : The science teacher spoke about environmental challenges yesterday, and she mentioned five big environmental problems countries will face in the upcoming decade. Carbon-dioxide concentration levels in the atmosphere are increasing rapidly [new information], and this was the first problem she described [old information]. Example 2 : The science teacher spoke about environmental challenges yesterday, and she mentioned five big environmental problems countries will face in the upcoming decade. She first talked about [old information] the increasing concentration levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere [new information].

The sentence in Example 2 gradually guides the writer from old to new information. Since information is logically displayed in the sentence, readers are not only able to understand it better, but they will also remember it more easily.

Here are some additional examples:

Example 3 : Yesterday, lawmakers finally approved a bill that introduces new rules and regulations to financial markets in Canada. The increase of the government’s regulatory powers [new information] was by far the most controversial of the new measures [old information]. Example 4 : Yesterday, lawmakers finally approved a bill that introduces new rules and regulations to financial markets in Canada. The most controversial measure by far [old information] was the increase of the government’s regulatory powers [new information].

Review Questions: Old-before-new

Rewrite the sentences below and apply the old-before-new principle to make them more cohesive.

• The syllabus the instructor gave students yesterday did not include dates for turning in papers or for taking exams. Although all assignments were described in detail, as well as the content for each test, the syllabus did not include when they were due.
• In her email, the principal emphasized that new attendance rules would be in place. She also told us that teachers have found it difficult to maintain lines at the cafeteria during recess, after saying the school would start notifying parents immediately every time a teacher declared a student absent.

Short-to-long

The short-to-long principle applies to how writers coordinate elements in a sentence. It suggests you list coordinated elements from short to long, as the sentences below illustrate:

Example 1 : Participants in the study noticed no differences between the first slide scientists projected on the white wall [long element] and the real painting [short element]. Example 2 : Participants in the study noticed no differences between the real painting [short element] and the first slide scientists projected on the white wall [long element].

The short-to-long principle helps you write sentences that are fluid and easy to read.

Review Questions: Short-to-long

Select the sentences below that illustrate a good use of the short-to-long principle.

• A group of five students resolved the test without any assistance, quickly and accurately.
• A group of five students resolved the test quickly, accurately, and without any assistance.
• The upset instructor decided to punish all the students. She did not distinguish between the students who had completed the assignment late and the ones who had not turned in the assignment.
• The upset instructor decided to punish all the students. He did not distinguish between the students who had not turned in the assignment and the ones who had completed the assignment late.
• Parents have not been attending the evening meetings because some work late and others cannot come to school three nights in a row.
• Parents have not been attending the evening meetings because some cannot come to school three nights in a row and others work late.

In English composition, coherence or cohesion describes how harmoniously different parts of a text connect to one another. Writers show coherence when they make sense of their ideas as a whole. They need to be cohesive on two different levels: the paragraph level and the text level.

Paragraph-level coherence

To achieve paragraph-level coherence, define your topic clearly. The topic is what you write about in a paragraph. You may have learned that the introduction of every paragraph should contain a topic sentence . If you are able to make the sentence topic about the subject , it will be easier for readers to grasp it. Whenever topic and subject align in a sentence, readers will understand what it is about more easily; as a result, your sentence will be more coherent. Compare examples 1 and 2 below:

Example 1 : The ability to learn from mistakes is not exclusively human, and it has been found by scientists in many other animal species . This ability has been detected, for example, in dogs, cats, and other domesticated species . Topic : the ability to learn from mistakes is not only human Characters : dogs, cats, and other domesticated animals

Although the sentence in Example 1 is understandable, its topic and its characters are not aligned. When they are aligned, notice how much more readable the sentence becomes:

Example 2 : Dogs, cats, and other domesticated animals can learn from mistakes, as we humans do [topic and characters]. The discovery of this behaviour in animals has led scientists to conclude it is not exclusively human.

Writers sometimes take a while to get to the topic of their sentences or paragraphs by inserting information that could easily come afterward, or even not appear at all. Consider Example 3:

Example 3 : It is important to note that, after years of discrimination and unheard appeals for justice, politicians finally recognized minority groups needed to have their basic rights written as law .

The introductory clause “it is important to note that” is unnecessary. The writer would not have included the main information if it were not important. Also, the time adverbial “after years of discrimination and unheard appeals for justice” could be placed after the main clause, if it is not needed beforehand as a transition or for emphasis. In the following example, we assume it is not needed as such.

Example 4 : Politicians finally recognized minority groups needed to have their basic rights written as law after years of discrimination and unheard appeals for justice.

In Example 4, both topic and character come first, and the supporting or secondary information comes after. This strategy creates a more readable and coherent sentence.

Text-level coherence

Coherence also depends on how writers organize their ideas. To keep ideas organized, the thesis statement should function as a map highlighting the organizational pattern of the essay. However, this pattern will affect elements beyond the thesis statement, such as the introduction and body paragraphs. For this reason, you should choose the pattern that works best for your essay as a whole. Take a look at some of the different organizational patterns you may use and what they are good for:

• Chronological order : explaining a step-by-step process, narrating a story, narrating an incident or anecdote from earlier to later
• Cause and effect : explaining a historical event, explaining a scientific finding or process
• Coordinate : explaining the several reasons for a fact or state of affairs

After you have decided on the best organizational pattern for your essay, and your thesis statement is ready, you should ask the following questions:

• Does my thesis statement provide the reader with a map of the essay? That is, upon reading my thesis statement, does the reader understand what I am writing about and what my main points are?
• In each paragraph, do the examples, facts, or illustrations I use relate to and support the topic?
• Does the topic of each paragraph detail one of the points or reasons I included in my thesis statement?

Review Questions: Coherence

Rewrite the following paragraph in order to make it coherent. Some sentences require further correction.

• I believe that technology can help people more in their lives. Nowadays, automation has become very popular in many areas, including agriculture. Vietnam is still an agricultural country, but it is not helped much by high technology, especially the poor farmers. I hope that, in the future, the farmers will enjoy the benefits of automation for a suitable price. The farmers can use a remote control to run a machine that can help them a lot in farming.

(Hint: First, identify the topic of the paragraph and then make it a topic sentence. Then find the characters. After that, decide which information should come after.)

The paragraphs below illustrate the organization pattern of the essays from which they were extracted. Read them and determine which of the three patterns—chronological, cause and effect, and coordinate—they exemplify. After you identify the pattern, write a new paragraph using the same pattern.

• Paragraph 1 : In the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey , a group of apes were gathered when something unusual happened: A black monolith emerged from the ground. Some of the apes were shocked, and they did not know how to react, while others decided to investigate the strange object. From this incident, the apes learned to throw and to hit with objects. They used this new skill to fight other animals and get food. This was the beginning of humankind.
• Paragraph 2 : The “American dream” means many different things to many different people. For some, it means religious freedom or the freedom to worship in any way they like without feeling threatened. For others, it is becoming your own boss, a pursuit that just isn’t possible in many countries. For a third group, it is knowing that their hard work will allow their children and grandchildren to have a much better life than they had.
• Paragraph 3 : Many problems could result from climate change. One of the most serious is the rise of sea levels, which could result in the flooding of low-lying coastal areas in countries such as Egypt and the Netherlands. Another negative effect of climate change is its effect on weather patterns. The changing weather has caused a surge in hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters in many areas of the world. A final issue associated with climate change is how it affects biodiversity. Fish populations, for example, could be impacted by changes in water temperature, while some insects that carry disease might become more common throughout the world.

The voice of a verb determines which elements in the sentence will or will not be in focus. In English, the two types of verb voices are active and passive .

When we use active voice:

• the source of the action (agent) appears as the subject
• the receiver of the action (goal) appears as the object

Example : The government [agent] has extended benefits [goal] for the unemployed.

When we use passive voice:

• the receiver of the action (goal) becomes the subject
• the source of the action (agent) may or may not appear

Example : Benefits [goal] for the unemployed have been extended ( by the government ) [agent].

Passive voice is very useful to describe actions whose agents are obvious, not known, or not important. However, in an argumentative essay, passive voice may place your characters at the end of sentences, and this may not be a strong argumentative strategy. In this case, active voice should be used, especially when actions derive from visible characters.

Passive and active voices coexist because each has a distinct function. They allow writers to describe the same phenomenon from two different viewpoints. Writers need to understand the uses of each in order to make informed decisions about when to use either active or passive voice.

Here are a few hints to help you determine which voice may be appropriate in a sentence or description:

Example : The CIA should disclose torture documents to the public.

Example : Very expensive jewellery should not be kept at home.

Example : Students must choose if they want makeup classes either right after school or in the evening. The popular football game schedule and not the academic one [new information] may influence their choice more strongly [old information].

The underlined sentence above is in active voice, and it contains the new piece of information before the old one. In this case, passive voice is a better choice. It will place old information first and increase sentence flow, as the following example shows.

Example : Students must choose if they want makeup classes either right after school or in the evening. Their choice may be more strongly influenced by the popular football game schedule than by the academic one .

Review Questions: Voice

The verbs in the sentences below are in passive voice. Rewrite the sentences and change the verbs to active voice. Make any other changes as needed.

• New skills are learned by students when they are given opportunities by their teachers to take risks.
• In Brown’s article, it is argued that the secret prisons project was carried out by the Secret Service to allow high-risk criminals to be questioned without respect to international law.
• According to the local newspaper, it is believed that the discussion is polarized by citizens’ beliefs about how much the government should intervene in the economy.

Nominalization

In this chapter’s section on sentence order , we learned how to turn nouns into verbs as a strategy to place characters in focus and increase their agency. What we did was an exercise of de-nominalizing : we were turning nouns into actions. A nominalization is just the opposite, and it occurs when we turn a verb or an adjective into a noun.

Example 1 : Bob’s intention was to speak to Kate. Example 2 : Our presentation was about a new plan. Example 3 : We did a survey of 30 people for our study. Example 4 : Jack got the job because of his proficiency in English.

Using nominalization in the wrong context may remove the attention and focus you need for your characters and verbs. Sentences containing too many nominalizations can also end up being too wordy. In order to correct a nominalization, turn a noun back into a verb as per the example above.

Example 1 : Bob intended to speak to Kate.

Review Questions: Nominalization

Rewrite examples 2–4 in this section, correcting their nominalizations.

Points to Consider

• Write two sample paragraphs on any of the suggested topics below. One paragraph should display an appropriate tone for a persuasive essay. The other paragraph should display an informal or colloquial tone.
• In pairs, exchange paragraphs with a partner. Read your partner’s paragraphs and identify which one was written in an academic tone and which was not.
• Schools should replace books with laptops.
• Discuss your academic background and achievements.
• My recipe for stress management.
• When you are not sure about the meaning of a word you want to use, how can you figure out whether or not to use it?
• What is the difference between denotative and connotative meanings?
• Name and provide examples of three different strategies to avoid gender bias.
• When sentences emphasize clear characters and actions, what difference does it make to readers?
• How can you tell if the characters and actions in your sentences have been properly emphasized?
• How does the old-before-new principle help readers?
• How does this principle help connect ideas and sentences to one another?
• Explain paragraph-level coherence.
• Describe two organizational patterns you can use to plan and write a paragraph.
• When is it appropriate to use passive voice?
• When is it not appropriate to use passive voice?

Building Blocks of Academic Writing Copyright © 2020 by Carellin Brooks is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Everything you read has a tone. Blog posts will have an engaging and conversational tone; Textbooks often have an informative, matter-of-fact tone. A piece of satire might have a humorous or ironic tone. Tone in literature encompasses the wide variety of moods, thoughts, and feelings that authors imbue their work with.

But, what is tone? Where does it come from? And how do authors wield different types of tone in writing?

Tone can be a slippery concept to grasp, so let’s explore it methodically. We will first define tone in literature and look at relevant examples, then we will discuss the importance of tone and how it influences our writing. Finally, we look at tone vs. mood, two commonly confused literary devices .

What is Tone in Literature?

How to convey tone in writing, what is tone in poetry, types of tone in writing, the importance of tone in writing, more examples of tone in literature.

• Tone Vs. Mood in Literature

Tone in literature refers to the author’s attitude toward a certain topic.

Tone in literature refers to the author’s attitude toward a certain topic. Through specific word choice , the author reveals their feelings and opinions to the reader, conveying the author’s intentions behind the text. The tone of a story is always described using an adjective.

Tone often reveals itself through narrative details. For example, read this excerpt from Mark Twain’s “ A Telephonic Conversation ”:

What are some adjectives that describe this excerpt? The narrator could be described as sounding “baffled” or “nonplussed.” The telephone is clearly a recent invention for the author’s time, and the use of words like “irrelevant,” “unjustifiable,” and “queerest” suggest the author’s attitude toward telephone calls. Thus, “baffled” or “nonplussed” are two possible tones for the excerpt.

What Tone Isn’t

Before we continue, it’s important to note here what tone isn’t . Tone in writing does not refer to the following:

• A specific character’s attitude toward something.
• The attitude of the narrator—including the attitudes of first person fictional narrators.
• The mood or moods evoked by the piece.

Tone solely refers to the author’s attitude toward the subject of a specific piece of writing. It does not reflect the attitudes of characters, it only suggests the attitude of the author at that specific moment of the text.

Overall, tone in literature is conveyed through two means:

• What the author describes to the reader, and
• The author’s word choice.

So, to understand the author’s tone in writing, it’s important to analyze both the details that the narrator hones in on and the words used to describe those details.

The author can use the two tools above to convey their attitude in a variety of ways. In the Mark Twain excerpt above, he uses first person narrative to directly tell you how he feels. But an author can just as easily convey tone in writing with the third person, like Kathleen Thompson Norris does in “ Bridging the Years ”:

One way to describe the author’s attitude toward Jimmy and Anne is “mature.” The details suggest a feeling of seniority: the author clearly believes Jimmy and Anne are young and a bit immature. The author conveys this by using words like “absurd,” “useless,” and “swift,” indicating that the Warriners acted hastily and without planning. Additionally, the juxtaposition of the couple’s dreams (French windows, nasturtiums) next to their reality (obsolete plumbing, dark cellars) highlights the Warriners’ foolhardiness.

Yet, nothing about the passage feels critical—we’re merely observing the Warriners at this moment of their lives. So, we might say the passage has a tone that’s both “lighthearted” and “mature.” The author sees these characters as juvenile, but she doesn’t express this in a way that’s “holier-than-thou”—rather, the narration remains amused and observational.

Tone reveals itself in poetry much the same as it does in prose. By paying close attention to the poem’s details and word choice, the reader can gain a deeper understanding of the poet’s attitude.

Consider the first two couplets from the poem “ Poplar Street ” by Chen Chen:

The speaker’s tone could be described as both “meek” and “searching.” Words like “oh” and “sorry” reveal the speaker’s immediate disquietude, especially since he describes himself as “taken aback.” Despite this, he tries to make a connection with the non-coworker, commenting on details that one wouldn’t usually discuss with a stranger. Imagine a stranger saying these two couplets to you: does he sound confident and self-assured, or hesitant and self-conscious?

There are endless types of tone in writing, limited only by the range of human emotions.

There are endless types of tone in writing, limited only by the range of human emotions. Let’s look at some common tones you might encounter, with examples. Each example of tone in writing communicates the same information, but uses different word choice and details to convey the author’s attitude.

Tone is an essential component of an author’s style. The author has to make certain stylistic choices to convey a certain tone, including a command over word choice, punctuation, sentence length, vernacular use, and the observational details they choose to include.

Let’s examine three more examples of tone in literature. We’ll take note of the author’s stylistic decisions and how the tone of the passage affects the way we read it.

The following examples of tone in literature come from both classic and contemporary works.

Examples of Tone in Literature: Yiyun Li

Let’s start with this excerpt from the story “A Thousand Years of Good Prayer” by Yiyun Li :

Let’s break down the tone of this excerpt in three steps. We need to analyze:

• The subject of the passage,
• What details the author presents us, and
• The word choice that complements those details.

The subject of this passage is the woman whom Mr. Shi calls “Madam.” Specifically, we’re reading about Mr. Shi’s personal relationship to Madam, whom he has only just befriended at a local park. Identifying this subject allows us to focus on the way she’s described and the author’s apparent attitude.

The details that the author presents reveal Madam’s unique personality. She wears colors that are unexpected of “a woman of her age,” with hair barrettes befitting “a small child.” The author also reveals that Mr. Shi has the impulse to tell Madam about his life, even though that’s not his habit.

Some words that the author uses to describe Madam are color words: red, orange, purple, and yellow, with “a white elephant and a blue-and-green peacock.” She also has “thin hair” and her accoutrements hang on in “a wobbly way.”

Clearly, Madam is a woman of odd juxtapositions, with a child’s soul that persists in her old age. Nonetheless, she is described to us faithfully, as the author takes care to note not only her dress and age, but also the impact she has on Mr. Shi.

Knowing this, we can best describe the tone of this passage as “nuanced.” The author wants us to know about the complexities of Madam without revealing any secrets, so the passage paints a portrait while letting the characters reveal themselves.

Examples of Tone in Literature: William Shakespeare</h3 > Here’s another example, from the prologue of Romeo & Juliet :

The tone of this passage, as well as a recurring tone throughout Romeo & Juliet , is one of sympathy toward the play’s unlucky protagonists. The speaker makes a point of acknowledging Romeo and Juliet’s situation: they are both “star-cross’d lovers” who come from an “ancient grudge,” whose deaths are the only cure for their “parents’ strife.” The two lovers’ unfortunate fates were written in the stars.

Additionally, the words “misadventured” and “piteous” precede this idea that the lovers must die to mend their family conflict. These words reveal the author’s attitude toward Romeo and Juliet, and they also occur in the sonnet’s volta , signifying both the play’s dramatic irony and the sympathetic tone we should perceive it with.

Why this tone? Shakespeare is trying to highlight the tragedy of this play. If young love is pure and holy, anything that interrupts that love is a failure of humankind, and though Romeo and Juliet’s romance was impulsive, it deserved a fair shot at life.

Examples of Tone in Literature: Neil Gaiman

Last, let’s analyze the tone of the opening paragraph to Neil Gaiman’s “We Can Get Them For You Wholesale” :

The author’s tone in this passage is certainly ironic. Peter Pinter encompasses a very humorous duality: despite being an immeasurably moderate man, he’s suddenly engaging in suspicious activity in a suspicious part of town.

The author’s description of Peter Pinter underscores this irony . Peter is described as being like Aristippus of the Cyrenaics, whom you will probably never hear of unless you study Ancient Greek philosophers. The author also includes Peter’s penchant for bargains, his “proper” behavior, and his properly middle-class existence.

These items, when juxtaposed against Peter’s suddenly seedy surroundings, betray a playful sense of irony from the author. Not only is Peter’s story rife with situational irony, but the details that Gaiman focuses on reinforces this irony, creating an exposition that’s both humorous and perplexing. The fact that “you would not” expect Peter Pinter to be in this situation reveals the author’s ironic attitude, as well as the attitude one might expect from Peter’s close relations.

Tone vs. Mood in Literature

What is the difference between tone and mood?

Tone refers to the author’s attitude. Mood refers to the emotion that the author is trying to evoke from the reader.

Tone in literature, as we’ve mentioned, refers to the author’s attitude toward the subject of their writing. An author can express any number of attitudes through the words they use and the details they share.

Mood, by contrast, refers to the emotion that the author is trying to evoke from the reader. Compared with tone, the mood of a text is far more intentional, as the author wants to make the reader feel a certain way.

Sometimes, the tone and the mood of a passage are the same. The previous example from Neil Gaiman’s short story is both ironic in tone and in mood: the author thinks that Peter’s situation is rife with irony, and he also wants the reader to find Peter ironic as well.

However, consider the excerpt we shared from Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet . The author’s tone is deeply sympathetic, but the actual mood of the passage is somber. Shakespeare wants the author to feel sorrowful about the play’s events, because the unnecessary death of young love is a tragedy that everyone is responsible for.

Mood is different from tone in three ways:

• Mood can be influenced by the setting of a piece; tone cannot be.
• The author creates a mood to evoke certain emotions from the reader; tone is a matter of the author’s writing style.
• Literary devices help develop the mood; tone relies on dialogue and description.

For more on mood, check out our article on mood in literature.

What is Mood in Literature? Creating Mood in Writing

Tone vs. Mood Venn Diagram

What is tone, and how is it different from mood? This Venn Diagram summarizes their differences.

Explore Tone in Literature at Writers.com

Tone is a byproduct of the author’s style and point of view. Nonetheless, it’s possible for a piece of writing to have a counterintuitive tone—the author may be expressing one emotion but suggesting another with their word choice.

Looking for honest feedback on the tone of your work? The online writing courses at Writers.com are designed to give you the feedback you need on your work. Take a look at our upcoming course calendar , and check out our Facebook group to join our creative writing community. We hope to see you there!

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What is Tone in Literature? Definition, Examples of Tone in Writing

Home » The Writer’s Dictionary » What is Tone in Literature? Definition, Examples of Tone in Writing

Tone definition in literature: Tone is the speaker’s attitude toward his subject.

What is Tone in Literature?

What does tone mean in literature? Tone is the speaker’s attitude toward his subject.

In fiction, this is the narrator’s attitude toward the text. In non-fiction, this is the writer/speaker’s attitude toward his subject.

Tone describes an attitude. Therefore, adjectives are used to describe tone.

Some examples of tone words include:

• withdrawn, amiable, ambivalent, compassionate

Tone may also shift throughout a piece. A writer shifts tone for emphasis.

Tone vs. Mood: What is the Difference?

What is tone in writing? Tone is different from mood in that it is the speaker’s attitude—not the audience’s—toward a subject. How the audience feels has nothing to do with tone.

For example, an author may have a straightforward tone but the mood is amusing.

Jonathan Swift’s satirical essay A Modest Proposal provides this example. The speaker in this piece directly and matter-of-factly presents a solution to the Irish famine. The subject matter, however, is comical (if the audience reads the piece correctly).

The Function of Tone

Tone is one of the many method’s a writer uses to communicate his argument. This is why tone needs to be purposeful and consistent.

If one sentence presents an exclamation but the next sentence does not match the tone, the reader will be confused.

A writer needs to carefully select his word choice to match his tone throughout his piece. And, if the writer creates a tonal shift, he must be mindful that he is doing so. Even a tonal shift should support the argumentative purpose.

Examples of Tone in Literature

With that in mind, the President needed to write a speech that matched his intention and vision. Using a unifying and patriotic tone, JFK accomplished just that.

This is the origin of the famous line:

“And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country.”

JFK’s intention was to unite the country (and the world, for that matter) toward a common goal. In order to convince his audience that he was the man to do this, the President’s attitude toward his subject needed to match his purpose.

Summary: Tone Literary Definition

Define tone in literature: The definition of tone in literature is the speaker’s attitude toward a subject .

Tone is described with adjectives and it is detected through the writer’s word choice and style. Tone must match purpose in order for an argument to be successful.

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Scholarly Voice: Tone

Tone refers to the writer's voice in a written work. It is what the reader or hearer might perceive as the writer's attitude, bias, or personality. Many academic writers mistake a scholarly tone for dull, boring language or a mixture of jargon and multisyllabic, "intelligent-sounding" words. Academic writing, however, does not need to be complicated nor lacking in style (see APA 7, Section 4.7); instead, it can be both engaging and clear.

You should speak as an objective social scientist. This means that everything you say must be unbiased , scholarly , and supported by evidence . According to APA (2020), differences in research "should be presented in a professional, noncombative manner" (p. 114).

• Avoid making broad generalizations ("always," "never").
• Avoid using over-sweeping adjectives ("outstanding," "obvious").
• Avoid using adverbs ("really," "clearly").
• Avoid qualifiers ("a little," "definitely").
• Avoid emotional language ("It is heartbreaking that so many are starving").
• Avoid inflammatory language ("Smith's study was terrible, sickening, sad").

Avoid slang, text-message or SMS spellings, clichés, and contractions. Phrases like "digging sports," "wicked cool," "maxed out," "clear the air," "heading south," "the cat's out of the bag," "thru the roof," "hear their spin on it," "so to speak," and "in the hands of" have no place in academic writing. These casual expressions may be appropriate in personal emails, but they are inappropriate in research papers. Use standard US English spelling for all words, and if you are not sure if a word is a slang term, look it up in the dictionary.

Take a look at this example. The first paragraph is written in an informal way. The second is revised to keep a formal tone:

When I got my students to think science was wicked cool, their test scores went through the roof! When I asked for their spin on their improvement, they just said the test felt like a piece of cake to them after I had implemented the new curriculum changes.

Revised to be more formal:

When I was able to engage my students and get them interested in science, their test scores improved significantly. I asked a few students why they thought the scores had improved, and they admitted that the test seemed much easier because of the new curriculum.

Maintain a formal scholarly voice by avoiding colloquialisms. For more information, read Nathan's blog posts on cliches and slang .

Word Choice (Diction) Video

Note that this video was created while APA 6 was the style guide edition in use. There may be some examples of writing that have not been updated to APA 7 guidelines.

• Engaging Writing: Avoiding Casual Language (video transcript)

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The ultimate guide to different types of tone in writing

Founder, Junia AI

Introduction to Different Types of Tone in Writing

Have you ever read a text and felt an instant connection? Or maybe you’ve felt irritated, amused, or even inspired? Well, that's the magic of tone in writing. Imagine tone as the secret sauce that gives flavor to words - it can turn bland into spicy, sweet, or sour depending on what the writer wants you to taste.

Tone , by definition, refers to the attitude or personality expressed by an author in their writing. It's not about what you say but how you say it. From formal and professional to casual and playful, tones can vary as widely as the spectrum of human emotions.

Why is tone so important in writing?

Well, think of it this way. If your words were a melody, then tone would be the rhythm giving it life and making it dance off the page. It's what enables readers to feel your words rather than just read them. It evokes emotions, creates imagery, and builds a bridge between the reader's mind and the writer's intent.

Now let's tie tone to brand voice . Ever noticed how some brands feel like an old friend while others feel more like a polished professional or a witty companion? That’s brand voice at play – and tone is its right hand. The tone helps shape brand voice, giving it an emotional layer that resonates with readers. Brand voice might be what your brand says , but tone is how it says it.

Let’s take Apple for instance. Apple’s brand voice is innovative and forward-thinking but its tone? That’s where the magic lies - minimalistic yet powerful, simple yet profound. Or consider Old Spice - their brand voice is humorous and irreverent with a tone that's over-the-top and outrageous.

So now that we've defined what tone is and why it matters, let's dive into exploring different types of tone in writing!

There are countless tones a writer can use - each with its unique characteristics and effects. Like artists with their palette of colors, writers mix and match tones to create engaging narratives.

In literature, we often see descriptive tones like optimistic or gloomy used to set the mood for stories. In business writing, tones range from professional and authoritative to friendly and conversational based on the target audience’s expectations.

Ever read content from Buzzfeed ? Their tone is casual with a sprinkle of humor making their content feel as light as a friendly chat over coffee. Conversely, The New Yorker adopts a more serious, intellectual tone painting a picture of sophistication.

As we journey through this guide together (yeah we're just getting started!), we'll delve deeper into these different types of tones - exploring their characteristics, usage contexts and providing real-life examples from prominent brands or literature along the way!

So buckle up word-nerds! Let’s dive into this adventure through the world of tones where every word comes alive with emotion!

Understanding Tone and Voice

When we dive into the realm of writing, tone and voice emerge as two inseparable companions. They shape the personality of your content and give it a distinctive character. Imagine tone as the mood you set, the vibe you give off. It's like the music playing in the background of your favorite cafe - it can be soothing or lively, subtle or dramatic. On the other hand, voice is your unique style, your signature tune. It's what makes you recognizable in a crowd; it's your brand personality etched onto paper.

Exploring Different Types of Tone

As with music, there are different genres (or in our case, tones) available to us writers. Let's embark on a journey through some of these fascinating tones.

1. Formal Tone

Just as the name implies, a formal tone is akin to a black-tie event in writing. It's crisp, clean, and carries an air of authority and professionalism. This tone is the tailored suit of language - impeccably ironed, not a hair out of place.

In essence, the formal tone is like a lawyer eloquently presenting a case in court or a scientist meticulously explaining complex research findings. It's all about precision, clarity, and attention to detail!

Where Do We Use Formal Tone?

Formal tone is typically employed in:

• Academic Papers : These documents are steeped in research and fact-based discussions. They demand a high degree of accuracy and formality.
• Legal Documents : Contracts, court rulings, legal briefs - these all necessitate a formal tone due to their serious nature.
• Formal Business Communications : Whether it's a detailed business proposal or an official company report, a formal tone ensures credibility and professionalism.

To truly understand how this tone works, let's look at an example:

Consider this sentence - "The results obtained from the experiment unequivocally demonstrate the efficacy of our approach."

Notice how it reflects confidence and assertiveness without being overly verbose or complex. This statement doesn't beat around the bush; it gets straight to the point but does so in a polished and professional manner. That’s what gives it its formal 'flair'.

So when you're aiming for an authoritative voice that commands respect while maintaining clarity, go for the formal tone. It's your trusty companion for delivering critical information with precision and poise!

2. The Informal Tone

Picture this: it's casual Friday at your workplace. You’re in your favorite pair of jeans, a comfy tee, and sneakers. Now, if you were to translate how you're feeling into words, that's precisely the essence of an informal tone ! This tone is all about being relaxed, friendly, and conversational.

When Should You Use an Informal Tone?

Informal tone often finds its place in contexts where formality isn't necessary or even discouraged. Here are some typical scenarios:

• Blogs and Personal Narratives : If you're sharing your personal experiences or thoughts, an informal tone helps your readers connect with you on a deeper level.
• Personal Emails and Text Messages : Whether it's a chatty email to a colleague or a text message to your friend, an informal tone adds warmth to your words.
• Social Media Posts : On platforms like Twitter or Instagram, an informal tone can make your posts more engaging and relatable.

Now that we've covered the 'where,' let's dive into the 'how.' Creating an informal tone isn't just about using slang or emojis (though they could help!). It's about creating an authentic voice that resonates with your reader. Here are three quick tips:

• Speak Directly: Use pronouns like 'I', 'you', 'we' to establish a direct connection with your readers.
• Be Conversational: Write as if you're talking to a friend - use everyday language and expressions.
• Show Personality: Don't be afraid to let your personality shine through! Humor, anecdotes, personal beliefs - these all add flavor to your writing.

Example : "Our new process totally rocked it in our latest tests!"

Notice how this sentence feels like someone's talking to you? It conveys excitement and enthusiasm in a simple yet effective way. It doesn't just tell you that the new process was successful; it makes you feel the success!

So next time when you're writing something that doesn't require a formal hat - let loose and embrace the fun of an informal tone . After all, who doesn't enjoy a good chat over coffee?

3. Persuasive Tone

When we talk about wielding the power of words, a persuasive tone takes center stage. It's not just about dishing out information or sharing an idea; it's about winning hearts and changing minds. This tone is the trusted sidekick of advertisements, opinion pieces, rousing speeches, and any written or spoken content that has a mission to sway its audience towards a specific viewpoint or action.

Example : "Join us! Embrace our services - we guarantee it will be the breakthrough you've been waiting for in your business!"

Characteristics of Persuasive Tone

So what gives a persuasive tone its compelling charm? Let's unravel the magic with some key elements:

• Undeniable Clarity : Your position needs to be crystal clear from the start. If there is ambiguity in your stance, how can you expect your audience to follow you?
• Powerful Arguments : Stating your position isn't enough; fortify it with robust arguments. Every contention should reinforce your main point like a solid brick in a wall.
• Emotional Connection : While rational arguments form the backbone, emotional appeals are the soul of persuasive writing. Strike a chord with your audience!
• Straightforward Language : No room for vagueness here – use clear, concise language and get straight to the point.

Let's dissect our previous example to see these elements in play:

"Join us! Embrace our services - we guarantee it will be the breakthrough you've been waiting for in your business!"

• Undeniable Clarity : The writer's stance is unambiguous - they want you to embrace their services.
• Powerful Argument : They're not simply inviting you to join; they're assuring that this step will bring a significant breakthrough for your business.
• Emotional Connection : By using terms like "breakthrough" and "you've been waiting for", they're tapping into your aspirations and sense of anticipation.
• Straightforward Language : The appeal is direct and straightforward – join them and embrace their services.

At its essence, persuasion is all about grasping what makes your audience tick and framing your idea as the perfect fit for their needs. So go ahead, don those persuasive boots and prepare to make an impact!

4. Inspirational Tone

An inspirational tone may sound like the work of magicians or miracle workers. But here's the secret - it's not! It's just about choosing the right words and delivering them in a way that makes people sit up, take notice, and feel ready to conquer their world. This type of tone aims to uplift and ignite a spark within readers. You'll often find it weaving its magic in self-help books, motivational speeches, or even those Instagram posts that make you say, " Yes, I can do this! "

Let's look at an example:

Example : " Believe in your dreams—they have amazing power. "

Now, why does this work? Let's break down the anatomy of an inspiring tone:

• Positivity : Inspirational writing is all about positivity. It sees the glass as half full and encourages others to do the same. In our example, the focus is on believing in one's dreams—a positive and empowering message.
• Imagery : Good inspirational writing often uses evocative imagery. Our dreams are described as having "amazing power"—a strong image that captures imagination.
• Personal Connection : The best inspirational messages feel personal. They strike a chord and make readers feel understood and valued. By talking about 'your dreams,' our example feels intimate and personal.
• Motivation : The aim is to motivate, to provoke action. Here, the call-to-action is implied: if you believe in your dreams, they can become powerful forces in your life.

Remember, an inspirational tone isn't just about making people feel good—it's about motivating them to take action towards becoming better versions of themselves. The next time you're tasked with crafting an inspirational message, keep these elements in mind...and watch the magic happen!

5. Conversational Tone

Welcome to the land where words feel like a warm handshake and sentences sound like an old friend . Yes, we've hit the bullseye, we're talking about the one and only — the conversational tone! This tone is like your favourite pair of worn-in jeans—it's comfortable, trustworthy, and just fits like a glove.

A conversational tone is the chameleon of writing styles. It adapts to mimic everyday speech and sounds as natural as breathing. It's informal yet captivating, direct yet engaging—it's as if the writer has magically teleported into your living room, casually sharing their riveting thoughts over a steaming cup of coffee.

This friendly tone is a social butterfly—you'll often find it fluttering around in social media posts, prancing about in blog articles, or even cozying up in email newsletters. When you come across content that gives you a friendly nudge saying: "Hey there! Pull up a comfy chair and let's have a heart-to-heart," you know you've stumbled upon a piece written in the conversational tone.

Why Use A Conversational Tone?

Using this tone can make your content feel more human and approachable. It breaks down the daunting walls between the writer and the reader, building instead an invisible bridge of connection and camaraderie. People are naturally drawn to authenticity—using this tone can make your audience feel seen, heard, and valued.

Unmasking Elements of a Conversational Tone

• Informality : Think comfy slippers for words—no need for starched language or perplexing jargon here. Simplicity is your secret weapon.
• Directness : Speaking directly to readers is like giving them a backstage pass—they feel involved, important, and valued.
• Engagement : Throwing in questions, sprinkling anecdotes here and there, or adding a dash of humour can keep readers hooked like bees to honey.

Example : "Hey folks! Buckle up because we've got some electrifying news to share."

So next time you're poised with pen in hand (or fingers on keyboards) drafting that next social media post or blog article, consider donning the conversational tone. It might just be that secret ingredient that transforms your content from 'meh' to 'must-read!'

6. Humorous/Sarcastic Tone

Writing is an art form, and like any artist, a writer has an array of tools at their disposal. One such tool that can add an unexpected pop of flavor to your content is the Humorous/Sarcastic tone. This tone, as the name suggests, enables you to entertain your readers, tickle their funny bones, and keep them coming back for more.

Humor and sarcasm are the jalapenos and chili flakes of writing—adding just the right kick to make your content sizzle. But remember, these spicy elements need to be used judiciously. Going overboard with them can overpower your message and leave a bad taste in your reader's mouth.

Also, humor is highly subjective—it's like a joke where one person might be rolling on the floor laughing while another might not even crack a smile. Hence, using humor and sarcasm requires a delicate balance and an understanding of your audience's taste buds.

The Recipe for a Perfectly Baked Humorous/Sarcastic Tone:

• Unpredictability : Keep your readers on their toes! Add unexpected twists and turns. Like adding a surprise ingredient to a classic recipe, it can make all the difference.
• Exaggeration : Don't be afraid to stretch reality or play around with absurd situations. Go ahead, let your imagination run wild—it could lead to some seriously hilarious scenarios.
• Wordplay : Puns, rhymes, or unexpected associations between words can create comedic gold. They're like the icing on a cake—adding sweetness and fun!

Example : "Our product guarantees 100% satisfaction...unless you happen to be our competitors!"

In this example, the speaker uses exaggeration ("100% satisfaction") combined with unpredictability (including competitors as unsatisfied customers) to paint their product in a humorous light. The result? A sarcastically toned statement that achieves its goal of grabbing attention—and possibly inducing laughter.

Writing that promotional content or drafting that email? Don't forget to sprinkle some humor or sarcasm into it. They could be just what you need to make your content stand out in the vast sea of seriousness that floods our inboxes every day!

But remember—the key is restraint. Too much spice can ruin the dish! When used moderately though, these tones can transform your content from 'just another post' to 'can't wait for the next one!' So go ahead, add some zing to your writing—a dash of humor or pinch of sarcacism might just be the secret sauce you've been looking for!

7. Descriptive Tone

Ever heard of the phrase, "A picture is worth a thousand words?" Well, in the land of content writing, we have something called the Descriptive Tone . It's like painting with words, layering detail upon detail to create an evocative image or scene. This tone is commonly used in fiction or travel writing and has the power to transport the reader to an entirely different world, all through the magic of well-chosen words.

“The descriptive tone is the artist's brush for writers. It paints vivid pictures using only words.”

Here's how it works:

1. Detail-Oriented Description

It focuses on the smallest of details—the rustle of leaves underfoot, the aroma wafting from a bakery nearby, or even the intricate patterns on a butterfly's wings. Every detail counts in setting the stage and immersing readers in your narrative.

2. Sensory Language

The descriptive tone calls upon all five senses—sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch—to bring a scene to life. For example, describing not just what a forest looks like but also how its damp earth smells or how its peace sounds.

3. Emotive Vocabulary

This tone utilizes emotive vocabulary to resonate with readers on a deeper level. The goal here is not just to describe but also evoke specific emotions within your audience.

Now, let's see this tone in action:

Example : "As twilight descended, the sunset painted the sky with hues of gold and purple—an artist's masterpiece for all to see. The murmuring waves gently caressed the sandy shore while seagulls danced in the cooling breeze. Each grain of sand underfoot held stories of timeless tides as whispers of sea salt hung in the air."

With such detailed imagery and sensory language, it's as if you're right there on that beach, isn't it? That's precisely what makes this tone so magical!

So next time you're writing a piece—be it a travel blog or fantasy novel—don't shy away from exploring this paintbrush of words. Remember: With each vivid detail you weave into your narrative, you're not just telling your story; you're inviting readers to live it with you.

8. Didactic Tone

In the vast universe of language and communication, there's a particular tone that stands as a beacon for those seeking knowledge and understanding. This tone is didactic in nature—educational and info-packed, with a clear purpose to teach or instruct.

This is the tone you'd typically find in textbooks, how-to articles, educational videos, or even DIY blogs. It's the voice of authority that guides you, step by step, through complex processes and unfamiliar terrains.

Characteristics of the Didactic Tone

• Informative: The primary goal is to provide information or knowledge. Its purpose isn't just to entertain but more importantly, to educate.
• Clear and Direct: No beating around the bush here. This tone gets straight to the point.
• Instructional: It often includes steps or guidelines for readers to follow.

And it sounds something like this:

Example: "Follow these steps carefully to assemble your furniture."

Now, let's take a closer look at this example. It's direct and instructional, providing clear instructions for readers to follow. The use of "carefully" adds an element of caution, underlining the importance of precision in following the instructions.

The Magic of Didactic Tone

The didactic tone can be quite magical when used effectively—it breaks down complex information into digestible chunks without diluting the essence. Here's an example:

Example: "To capture a stunning sunrise photo, begin by finding an unobstructed view. Next, set your camera on a tripod to prevent blurring from shaky hands. Adjust your camera settings—lowering your ISO to reduce noise and increasing your aperture for a broader depth of field. Finally, wait patiently for that perfect moment when the sun kisses the horizon."

This instruction isn't just informative but also paints a vivid picture, making it easier for readers to visualize each step.

So next time you're tasked with explaining how to bake a cake or build a rocket ship (who knows?), remember—the didactic tone is your trusty guide! Just maintain clarity, be direct, don’t forget those crucial steps or guidelines...and watch as your words light up the path of learning for your readers!

9. Emotional Tone

The emotional tone is a powerful aspect of writing that can effortlessly tap into the reader's feelings. It's not just about telling a story, but about sharing an emotional journey. This tone is like a paintbrush that colors your words with shades of joy, sorrow, anger, excitement, love, hate...you name it! In essence, the spectrum of emotional tone is as broad and diverse as human emotions themselves.

Emotional tone is especially effective in personal narratives, opinion pieces, or any form of writing where the writer's emotions take center stage. The key lies in making the readers not just understand but feel what you're expressing.

An Exploration Through Example

Let's delve deeper and dissect an example to understand this concept better:

Example : "A tidal wave of relief flooded through me, soaking each nerve ending with reassurance and calmness when I finally found my lost puppy."

In this sentence, the writer doesn't simply inform the reader about their relief upon finding their lost pet. Instead, they artistically use language to make the reader experience their intense relief and overwhelming calmness. This sensory journey is precisely what sets emotional tone apart—it invites readers to step into the writer's shoes and experience emotions first-hand.

Mixing Tones: The Secret Recipe for Captivating Narratives

Here comes an intriguing nugget! Just like how a skilled chef blends various ingredients to whip up a delectable gourmet dish, you too can blend different tones to weave together a compelling narrative.

• An informative tone can provide necessary background information.
• A persuasive tone could potentially sway your audience towards your point of view.
• An emotional tone lets your readers connect on a deeper level by invoking powerful emotions.

The art lies in knowing when and where to mix these tones for maximum impact. So next time you pick up your writing quill, remember this secret recipe! After all, variety is indeed the spice of life…and also writing!

10. Assertive Tone

We've all heard the phrase "It's not what you say, it's how you say it". Well, that's precisely where the assertive tone comes into play. This tone is like a firm handshake—it communicates strength, confidence, and credibility without being overly aggressive or intimidating.

How Brands Use an Assertive Tone

In the corporate world, an assertive tone can be a game-changer. Let's take a look at some examples:

• Nike with its iconic slogan "Just Do It" . This is assertiveness encapsulated in three words. It’s simple, direct and most importantly, it demands action.
• Adidas , on the other hand, uses an assertive tone differently with "Impossible is Nothing" . This statement challenges the audience, asserting that no goal is out of reach.

Both brands use an assertive tone effectively to motivate their customers towards action.

"An assertive tone can inspire your audience to move mountains!"

The Key Ingredients of an Assertive Tone

Creating an assertive tone isn't about being forceful or domineering. It's about striking the right balance. Here are some key elements:

• Clarity : Be clear and concise with your message.
• Confidence : Believe in what you're saying.
• Respect : Respect your audience's intelligence and viewpoints.
• Controlled Emotion : Don't let emotions overpower your message.

Remember, an assertive tone should empower and inspire your audience—it should not leave them feeling overwhelmed or bulldozed!

Blending Assertiveness: A Delicate Art

While a purely assertive tone can be impactful, blending it with other tones can create more dynamic narratives:

• Mix it with an informative tone for persuasive arguments.
• Combine it with a persuasive tone to drive action.
• Blend it with an emotional tone for more empathetic communication.

The trick lies in knowing when to dial up or down the level of assertiveness for maximum impact.

So next time you pick up that writing quill, remember the power of an assertive tone. It might just be the secret ingredient to making your narrative more compelling!

11. Optimistic Tone

Just as a superhero uses optimism to fuel their resilience against the odds, brands can employ an optimistic tone to inspire positivity and hope among their audience. It's the voice that says, "We got this!" even when the going gets tough.

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement." - Helen Keller

The Power of Positivity

An optimistic tone is more than just a cheerful disposition—it's a powerful tool that can:

• Boost morale : An optimistic tone can uplift spirits and foster a positive environment, encouraging your audience to hold onto hope and keep pushing forward.
• Inspire action : A brand that radiates positivity is likely to inspire its audience to take positive action—whether it’s trying a new product, signing up for a service, or becoming part of a movement.
• Build trust : Optimism breeds confidence. When you show your audience that you believe in better days ahead, they're more likely to trust you and your brand.

Brands That Shine with Optimism

Consider Coca-Cola's iconic slogan: "Open Happiness". The beverage giant employs an optimistic tone that promises not just a refreshing drink, but also a moment of joy. Or take Dove with its "Real Beauty" campaign—its optimistic voice encourages women worldwide to embrace their unique beauty.

Striking the Right Note with Optimism

While an overly optimistic tone may risk sounding naive or out of touch with reality, balancing it with realism can create an authentic and relatable narrative. Here are some tips:

• Keep it real : Blend optimism with honesty and authenticity. Acknowledge challenges while also emphasizing possibilities for improvement.
• Positivity with purpose : Don't use optimism just for the sake of it—make sure it serves your brand's message and mission.
• Emotionally aware : Understand your audience's feelings and empathize with them before painting a rosy picture.

Incorporate an optimistic tone wisely into your narrative, and you'll not only brighten your brand voice but also illuminate the path for your audience towards positivity and progress!

Tone In The Branding World

In the world of branding, tone is no less than a superhero—it gives brands a distinct voice and personality. Let's see how some well-known brands wield this superpower:

• Apple strikes a chord with its audience by using an inspirational yet conversational tone: "Think Different" . This slogan not only inspires innovation but also invites conversation about creativity and individuality.
• Lego , the beloved toy brand, adopts an informal yet persuasive tone: "Build the Future" . It subtly persuades children (and adults!) to unleash their imagination through building blocks.
• Luxury car brand Rolls Royce exudes elegance through a formal and descriptive tone: "Strive for perfection in everything you do." It perfectly mirrors their commitment to craftsmanship and excellence.

The next time you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), remember that your choice of tone can transform your words into anything—from a soothing lullaby that puts minds at ease, to an energetic rock anthem that gets hearts racing! Now let’s delve deeper into how we can seamlessly transition between these tones without losing our unique brand voice.

Transitioning Between Tones for Effective Communication

A symphony is no random assortment of notes. Instead, it's a harmonious composition that dances between varying tones to create a captivating experience for the listener. Imagine your brand's voice as that symphony. The tone you use in your writing? Those are the individual notes.

Tone and voice may seem like twins at first glance, but they're more like close siblings. They coexist, complement each other, but they aren't the same. While brand voice is the consistent personality that represents your brand across all platforms, tone is the subtle flavor that changes based on context.

Think about it this way:

You are always you (voice), but you express yourself differently when giving a keynote speech at a conference (formal tone) or cracking jokes with friends over dinner (humorous tone).

Why Is Adapting Tone Crucial? Our Two Cents on the Matter

The capacity to switch up the tone based on context isn't solely a neat party trick reserved for novelists and poets; it's an absolute must-have in effective brand communication. Here's the deal: your audience isn't a passive, lifeless entity— they're vibrant, brimming with varied emotions, ever-changing needs, and a diverse range of expectations. Therefore, your brand's tone should be a reflection of this dynamism.

Need to sell your latest product? A persuasive tone might be just what you need to get those orders rolling in. Sharing success stories or customer testimonials? Switch over to an inspirational tone to pull at those heartstrings.

But wait! While the tone dances around, the underlying brand voice must stay firm and consistent. Think about it like this: it’s akin to swapping outfits—you change clothes depending on the occasion, but hey, you’re still you .

In today's digital world where AI-generated content is everywhere, adapting tone can add a human touch to your content . It can help your brand stand out amidst the monotony of machine-generated language, as it reflects empathy and understanding towards diverse audience emotions and needs.

Brands That Have Nailed The Tone Tango

Now that we've got the theory out of the way, let's dive headfirst into some real-world examples of brands that have mastered the art of transitioning between tones while keeping their brand voice rock solid.

• Nike: Nike is a pro at maintaining an inspirational and empowering brand voice across all their communication channels. But here's where they really shine—they smoothly transition between tones depending on the situation—adopting an emotional tone when sharing athlete stories and switching gears to a persuasive tone during product launches.
• Old Spice: Ever heard of Old Spice? Of course, you have! Known for its humorous and quirky voice, Old Spice is a textbook example of tonal transition done right! They use a sarcastic tone in their commercials (keeping viewers entertained) while adopting an informative yet casual tone on their product descriptions and social media posts.

Navigating The Seas of Tone: Strategies for Maintaining Brand Voice While Changing Tones

Shifting between tones without letting your brand voice waver can feel like navigating choppy seas without a compass. Fear not! We've rounded up some strategies to help you sail through this challenge:

• Know Your Audience: Get into your audience's shoes—understanding their needs, expectations and preferences is vital for choosing the right tone for each context.
• Be Mindful of Context: The platform matters! Whether it's an email newsletter or a social media blast—consider the platform and its purpose before deciding on the tone.
• Stay True to Your Brand Personality: Amidst all these tonal changes, never lose sight of your unique brand personality—it should serve as a lighthouse amidst the fluctuating tides of tone.
• Practice Makes Perfect: Don't be afraid to experiment with various tones in your writing—gather feedback from your audience and refine your approach accordingly. Remember, improvement is a journey!

Alright! So dancing between tones doesn’t have to be like walking on eggshells if you keep your eyes locked onto your unwavering brand personality while acknowledging the rhythm of each unique context!

Enhancing Your Writing with Effective Tone

Have you ever considered how the tone of your writing affects the way readers perceive your story? It's a subtle art, like a soft melody playing in the background. It sets the mood, evokes emotions, and guides readers through the narrative. Tone is that secret ingredient that adds depth and dimension to your writing.

The Role of Tone in Storytelling

Tone in storytelling isn't just about what you say; it's about how you say it. It's about capturing feelings, creating atmosphere, and painting vivid images in readers' minds. Tone gives life to characters, adds texture to settings, and brings plots to life.

Take Harry Potter for instance. J.K Rowling’s use of an enchanting and mysterious tone creates a magical world that draws us in. We feel Harry’s wonder as he explores Hogwarts, his fear when he faces Voldemort, and his bravery as he battles evil. The tone dictates our emotional journey through the series.

Techniques for Conveying Tone Through Descriptions

To convey tone effectively through descriptions, consider these techniques:

• Choice of Words: The words you choose to use can significantly impact the tone of your narrative. For instance, describing a setting as "gloomy" instead of merely "dimly lit" sets a more somber and melancholic tone. On the other hand, using words like "bright" and "sparkling" can create a cheerful and optimistic ambiance. It's important to note that even synonyms can have different connotations that subtly shape the mood of your story.
• Sentence Structure: The structure of your sentences can also influence the tone. Longer sentences often create a relaxed or contemplative tone, as they allow readers to leisurely absorb the details and implications of what is being described. In contrast, shorter sentences can induce feelings of tension or urgency, which is especially useful in action scenes or climactic moments.
• Imagery: Employing vivid imagery is another effective technique for setting the tone. By appealing to readers' senses, you can make them feel as though they are part of the scene themselves. The rustling of leaves in an eerie silence, the tangy scent of sea air - such descriptive details can evoke specific emotions and moods in your audience.
• Rhythm and Pace: The rhythm and pace at which your narrative unfolds play a crucial role in establishing tone. Fast-paced writing creates an atmosphere of excitement or tension, perfect for thriller or action sequences. Conversely, a slower pace sets a calm or thoughtful tone, allowing for introspection and detailed exploration.
• Point of View: Lastly, the point of view from which the story is told can greatly affect its tone. First-person narration often feels personal and intimate because it allows readers direct access to a character's thoughts and feelings. This immediacy can make emotional scenes more impactful. On the other hand, third-person narration can seem more detached or objective, providing a broader perspective on events and characters.

Creating Tension and Engagement with Tone Shifts

A story sticks in our mind not only because of its plot but also due to its fluctuating tones that reflect our own experiences in life: moments of joy followed by sorrow, tranquility preceding chaos. This shifting landscape of emotions keeps us hooked.

Consider Game of Thrones. Its unpredictable shifts from peaceful to violent tones mirror the unpredictability of its narrative world, creating suspense that keeps viewers on their toes.

Examples of Tone in Literature and Advertising

Let's delve into examples from literature and advertising where tone plays a crucial role.

Literature:

In F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the nostalgic and melancholic tone reflects Gatsby's longing for Daisy and his unattainable dream of reliving the past.

Advertising:

Nike's "Just Do It" campaign uses an empowering and motivational tone to inspire potential customers to overcome their challenges — just like their athletic idols featured in the campaign do.

Lessons to Learn From Effective Use Of Tone

From these examples, we learn that:

• Evoking emotion through tone can deeply engage your audience.
• Shifting tones can create tension and keep readers engaged.
• A consistent tone helps establish your brand voice.
• Using appropriate tonal cues can guide your reader's understanding and interpretation.

So why not give it a shot? Play with your writing style! Experiment with different tones until you find what resonates with your audience. Remember, writing is an art form — it should move people emotionally as well as intellectually!

Developing and Maintaining a Consistent Writing Tone

Writing tone development and maintaining a consistent tone aren't just some fancy buzzwords in the writing world. They are, in fact, the backbone of all effective communication. Whether you're spinning an enthralling fiction, sculpting your brand's voice, or even pouring out your thoughts in a casual email, the tone you adopt can be the deciding factor between engaging your readers or turning them off.

So put on your thinking caps, roll up your sleeves, and grab your pens (or keyboards)! It's time to dive deep into the nitty-gritty of developing and maintaining a consistent writing tone.

Behind-the-Scenes Factors Shaping Your Writing Tone

Akin to the personality of your content, your writing tone is moulded by several factors. Here's a glimpse at some of these backstage heroes:

• Audience : Understanding your audience is as essential as knowing what you're going to write. Are they young tech enthusiasts who'd appreciate some jargon and humor? Or are they mature professionals who would value a more formal and respectful approach? Tailoring your tone to suit your audience could be the key to winning their hearts.
• Purpose : What's the end goal of your content? If it's persuasion you're aiming for, an assertive and confident tone could be your secret weapon. For informative content, on the other hand, a neutral and clear-cut tone might work best.
• Medium : The platform you're using is also a major influencer. A casual and friendly tone might fit perfectly on social media posts, but an academic essay would necessitate a more formal style.
• Brand/Image : Let's not forget the flavor that your brand image adds to your content! Brands like Apple have mastered this art with their minimalist yet innovative tones.

Remember, these factors aren't isolated entities - they constantly overlap and mingle to shape the overall tone of your writing!

Techniques for Creating Engagement

A well-crafted tone is like the secret ingredient in a recipe that takes your content from being just palatable to downright irresistible. It's the difference between politely nodding listeners and an audience hanging on to your every word. So, how do you evoke such engagement? Let's explore some techniques:

• Choose Your Words Wisely - This isn't just about picking fancy words or jargon. It's more about understanding that each word carries a unique emotional weight. For instance, imagine describing an event as "fantastic" instead of just "good". The former instantly injects more excitement! Pay special attention to adjectives and adverbs; they are your secret sauce for adding flavor.
• Play with Sentence Structure - Consider sentences as your musical notes; their varying lengths control the rhythm of your prose. Short sentences create urgency, causing the heart to race. Longer ones slow things down, allowing anticipation to build like a suspenseful melody.
• Punctuation - The Unsung Hero - Ever considered how much impact those tiny symbols could have? Exclamation points can scream excitement or urgency; ellipsis... they add suspense or suggest a thoughtful pause. Never underestimate these little powerhouses!
• Use Figures of Speech to Your Advantage - Metaphors, similes, personification – these aren’t just high school English terms. They're tools that can layer your tone with richness and depth.

Remember, shaping your writing tone is akin to being in a playground; there's room for creativity, fun and experimentation!

Consistency: Your Tone's Best Friend

What’s better than capturing the perfect tone? Maintaining it! Consistency is like the glue that holds your brand identity firm and builds trust with readers. Here are some tips to help you stay on track:

• Create a Style Guide : Picture this as your own rulebook, outlining your preferred tone, language usage, punctuation rules and so on. It can be your go-to guide whenever you need a refresher.
• Stay True to Your Brand Image : Your brand personality should seep through your words consistently. If your brand radiates fun and creativity, let that spirit infect every piece of content!
• Regularly Review Your Work : Just as athletes review their performance regularly, writers should too! Regular checks can help detect any drifts from the desired tone.

But remember: consistency doesn’t equate to monotonous repetition! It means maintaining character while still keeping things fresh and exciting within your brand parameters.

You’re now armed with all you need to masterfully develop your writing tone! Buckle up and prepare for this thrilling journey into the realm of expressive writing! But hang on - we’re not done yet! We’ve got more in store for you... Like how artificial intelligence tools can take your writing tone game up another notch...

Using AI Tools to Amplify Your Writing Tone

Welcome aboard the future express, where groundbreaking technology marries human creativity! This is the realm where AI writers like Junia are recreating the way we comprehend and implement writing style and tone.

Introducing Junia's Brand Voice Feature

In the buzzing town of content creation, there's a new superstar stealing the limelight: Junia's brand voice feature. This isn't just any tool; it does more than just correct your spelling errors or grammar mishaps. It digs deep into the uncharted territories of brand voice and tone, assuring a level of consistency that was previously hard to achieve across diverse types of content.

Imagine having your own personal writing assistant, who has an advanced understanding of linguistics and can dissect your writing style with utmost precision. That’s what Junia’s Brand Voice feature is all about! It learns from your input, adapts, and evolves to mimic your unique voice (or that of your brand) with each piece of content it assists in crafting.

The Magic Behind Junia AI

Ever wondered how Junia pulls this off? How can a piece of technology encapsulate something as intricate and distinctive as a brand's voice?

The answer lies in its cutting-edge algorithms powered by Natural Language Processing (NLP). Junia AI meticulously dissects every piece of text into bite-sized components, scrutinizing each element for its linguistic characteristics. Be it sentence structure, word choice, punctuation usage or subtler aspects like rhythm and flow – nothing escapes its analytical prowess.

Once it has ingested these insights about your writing style, Junia uses this knowledge to churn out on-brand content that mirrors your consistent voice and tone.

Coaching Junia to Adopt Your Writing Style

At this point, you may be pondering over how to initiate teaching Junia your brand’s unique writing style. Fear not! We've got you covered with a straightforward step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Locate Junia Brand Voice

Begin by launching the Junia AI platform on your device. If you're a new user, register for an account and log in. You can find the Brand Voice on the dashboard.

Step 2: Feed AI with Past Writing Samples

Begin by feeding Junia samples of your existing content. A diverse set comprising blogs, social media posts, newsletters etc., gives Junia a comprehensive understanding of your style.

Step 3: Review Generated Brand Voice

When Junia creates content based on your samples, invest some time in reviewing it closely. Any discrepancies between the generated content and your brand voice should be promptly corrected.

Step 4: Apply Brand Voice

Begin to utilize the Brand Voice feature of Junia.ai across chat interactions and the AI Editor. By using this feature in templates, you can maintain a consistent voice throughout all written communication channels.

Bear in mind: Garbage in equals garbage out ! Make sure to provide pertinent information and examples when schooling Junia on your writing style. The higher the quality inputs it gets from you, the superior will be its output.

Giving Your AI Writer a Personal Touch

The idea of an AI writer might conjure up images of sterile, robotic, one-size-fits-all content. But with Junia's customizable feature , that stereotype gets tossed out the window faster than you can say "artificial intelligence"!

This remarkable tool allows you to adjust various parameters to your liking. Want to dictate how verbose or succinct Junia should be in drafting your content? No problem! Fancy having more control over the level of creativity infused into your text? You got it! You can even instruct Junia on specific terminologies or phrases that should be sprinkled in or completely avoided.

This high degree of customization does more than just let you have your way; it guarantees that every piece of content exudes authenticity while maintaining a consistent tone. In essence, it's like having a virtual ghostwriter that pens everything in an unmistakably 'you' manner!

Reaping the Benefits of AI Tools for Unwavering Tone Consistency

So we've established that AI tools are pretty rad when it comes to maintaining a consistent tone. But beyond the tech-savvy allure, what practical benefits do they bring to the table? Well...

• Efficiency : Through an AI tool like Junia, you can expedite the writing process without any compromise on quality. It's like having your cake and eating it too!
• Consistency : A steady tone fortifies your brand identity. With Junia, this consistency is ensured across all types of content - be it blogs, social media posts or newsletters.
• Flexibility : Whether you're penning the content yourself or delegating it to someone else on your team, an AI tool ensures everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet when it comes to brand voice.
• Scalability : If you need to increase content production without diluting your brand voice, an AI tool is your ticket to seamless scalability!

In our digital age where content reigns supreme, having a resource like Junia's Brand Voice feature is akin to having an astute royal advisor by your side. It guarantees that every word penned resonates perfectly with who you truly are and what your brand represents.

So why not give Junia a spin and experience firsthand how this smart AI writer can revolutionize your content generation process? After all, there's nothing quite like standing apart from the crowd with uniquely crafted content that screams 'you'!

Embracing the Importance of Tone

Undeniably, the significance of tone in writing has been illuminated throughout this guide. Call it the silent language, the unsung hero, or the secret sauce — tone is vital. Remember how we likened it to the music that accompanies a scene in a movie? It's subtle, but it can dramatically shift how your audience perceives your message.

"The right tone can turn words into symphonies, and messages into movements."

Think back on all we've covered. Each type of tone, with its unique attributes and applications, gives you another tool in your writer’s toolbox. Whether it's authoritative, sarcastic, or romantic — your choice of tone can make or break your written piece.

Now, let's imagine having an assistant that helps you strike the perfect tone each time you write. Sounds too good to be true? Well, welcome to the future!

Junia's Brand Voice Feature: Your Writing Assistant

Consider Junia's Brand Voice feature as that reliable friend who advises you on what to wear based on where you are headed. It's an AI-powered tool designed to analyze and generate content that aligns with your brand’s unique voice.

This revolutionary tool doesn't just mimic your writing style; it understands it. Feed it examples — blog posts, tweets, marketing copies — and watch as it learns to write just like you...or even better!

A Step Towards Consistency

Consistency is key when maintaining your brand voice and nothing ensures consistency better than Junia AI. It effortlessly keeps everything — from social media posts to email newsletters — in harmony with your brand character.

"With Junia AI, maintaining a consistent tone is no longer a daunting task but an exciting journey."

A Call for Authenticity

We've stressed on authenticity; how genuine tones resonate more with readers. Junia AI helps uphold this authenticity by customizing content that stays true to your brand’s essence while evoking desired emotions from readers.

So there you have it! We've decoded the enigma surrounding tone in writing and even introduced a handy sidekick for all your writing adventures. As writers and communicators, let's pledge to wield our new-found knowledge responsibly and create content that moves hearts and minds!

Remember...

"Tone is not just about what we say; it’s about how we make people feel."

Frequently asked questions

• What is the definition and importance of tone in writing? Tone refers to the writer's attitude or emotional perspective towards the subject matter and audience. It is crucial in writing as it influences how readers interpret and engage with the content. The tone can alter the reader's perception, either enhancing their understanding or causing confusion. Therefore, choosing an appropriate tone is a key aspect of effective communication.
• How is tone connected to brand voice? Tone is an integral part of a brand's voice. While brand voice signifies the unique personality of a brand, tone adds nuance to that voice based on the context. It reflects the brand's values and shapes its identity, playing a pivotal role in how the audience perceives and interacts with the brand.
• What are some examples of different types of tones in writing? There are numerous types of tones used in writing, each evoking different emotions and responses from readers. These include formal (used for professional, academic, or legal contexts), informal (used for casual or personal communication), persuasive (aimed at convincing readers), inspirational (meant to motivate or uplift), conversational (mimics everyday speech), humorous (intended to entertain), sarcastic (often used to convey irony or mock), descriptive (provides detailed information), didactic (intended to instruct or teach), and emotional (expresses strong feelings).
• Why is it important to transition between tones for effective communication? Transitioning between tones based on context allows writers to cater their message more effectively to different audiences or situations. This flexibility enhances communication effectiveness by ensuring that the message is conveyed appropriately and understood correctly. However, while transitioning between tones, it's vital not to lose sight of the consistent brand voice.
• What are some strategies for maintaining consistency in writing tone? To maintain consistency in writing tone, writers should start by defining their brand personality and understanding their target audience's preferences. They should then create guidelines outlining their preferred tone for various contexts. Regularly reviewing and updating these guidelines, as well as training all team members on them, can help ensure consistency across all communications.
• How can AI tools enhance writing tone? AI tools like Junia's Brand Voice feature can be immensely helpful in maintaining a consistent writing tone. They can analyze existing content for tone and style, provide suggestions for improvement, and generate new content that aligns with your established guidelines. This not only ensures consistency but also saves time and resources by automating part of the content creation process.
• What is the role of tone in storytelling? In storytelling, tone sets the mood and influences how readers perceive characters and events. It can create suspense, evoke empathy, foster a sense of familiarity or alienation, among other effects. A well-chosen tone can make a story more engaging, memorable, and impactful.
• What are some examples of effective use of tone in literature and advertising? The Catcher in The Rye by J.D Salinger uses a conversational and cynical tone which helps readers understand Holden Caulfield’s character better. In advertising, Nike often uses an inspirational tone that resonates with their 'Just Do It' slogan – encouraging customers to overcome challenges.

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What is the appropriate tone for a college essay?

It’s no secret that the college process can often feel like a numbers game. Depending on your relationship to standardized testing and numbered scores in general, this can be either a curse or a blessing. Regardless, if you’re hoping to apply to college, especially any colleges that accept the Common Application , chances are the college essay looms somewhere in your future.

In the same way that standardized testing might feel different for different people, whether or not the phrase “college essay” causes your stomach to drop from panic will depend upon your relationship and level of comfort with the written word. If you and the written word are already in a healthy long-term relationship, then you’re probably aware that one of the most important aspects of any piece of writing is tone. The right tone can allow your readers to understand you and your message even more—and the wrong tone, of course, can communicate an entirely different message than you might have intended. Luckily, CollegeVine is here to help. For tips and tricks on taking control of your tone in college essays, read on!

What is tone?

Tone is what helps us differentiate between “Yes, it’s totally fine! I understand and I’m not upset at all.” and “Yeah. It’s totally fine. I understand. I’m not upset at all .”

The dictionary defines tone as “ s tyle or manner of expression in speaking or writing. ” In verbal communication, we can interpret the tone of a conversation based on one’s intonation (the rise and fall of someone’s voice when they speak), body language, as well as other nonverbal cues.

In written communication, however, you obviously aren’t standing face to face with someone interpreting what they say. In lieu of these nonverbal cues, we use things like diction, punctuation, capitalization and sentence structure to add to our message. The context of a given piece is also very important—in this blog post, we’ll mostly be discussing tone in the context of a personal statement to be submitted to college admissions committees, but it is important to note that the different circumstances under which you are writing something will greatly impact the tone of your piece and the way in which it is perceived by your readers.

One of the most important aspects of tone in writing to discuss is the fact that small details can make a huge difference. Think about the example above:

“Yes, it’s totally fine! I understand and I’m not upset and all.”

“Yeah. It’s totally fine. I understand. I’m not upset at all .”

Visually, the two sentences are not all that different, and theoretically, they should be communicating the same message. While the first sentence is straightforward and sincere, the second sentence would likely be interpreted as passive aggressive. Notice the small details that cause the two sentences to communicate two entirely different things.

In considering tone, it might also help you to think about how you would respond to a text from a friend versus how you would respond to an email from your boss. The two would likely be very different because in one case you would be taking a casual tone, and in the other you would hopefully be taking a professional tone.

The Dos & Don’ts of Tone in your College Essay

There is no “perfect tone” for a college essay — given that it should be a reflection of your personality, it will be different for everyone. This being said, there are some tips and tricks that you can follow to make sure that your vibrant personality will shine through in your personal statement. -->

Keep it real —  One of the most important questions to keep in mind when considering tone in your college essay is: Is it true to who I am? Colleges want to get to know you and your personality through your essay. This means that the more unique and real you can make the tone of your college essay, the better. If you love to crack jokes, consider making a few ( tasteful ) jokes in your essay. If you’re more serious, take a more serious tone. If you’re sarcastic, try to include this (but be sure to be careful with this—run it by a few trusted readers first to make sure there’s absolutely no way that your words will be misinterpreted).

Flex your vocabulary knowledge — Your college essay is a great time to show adcoms your level of comfort with the english language, especially with higher-level vocab words. Watch out for the words in writing that typically fall flat or are overused — “good” can easily become “marvelous, wonderful, memorable, etc.” and  “said” can transform into “stated, yelled, remarked, explained…” When it’s appropriate, don’t shy away from using some of the SAT vocab words you’ve likely spent long nights memorizing!

Keep it grammatically correct — Always pay attention to grammar in your essay, even when making choices to benefit your tone. There is nothing worse than trying to be stylistically daring but ending up just making a grammatical error. Short sentences can be a really effective rhetorical tool, for example, but you should never have a sentence without a predicate. Make sure that you understand the proper usages of semicolons, em dashes and colons before you use them in your essay.

Be patient and have fun — Don’t be afraid to play around and experiment with the tone of your essay. Almost everyone’s essay will end up going through multiple different iterations and drafts. If something doesn’t feel quite right, don’t be afraid to start over or make whatever adjustments you need. Though it may feel daunting and confusing, ultimately your college essay is an exciting way for adcoms to get to know you and determine if you’ll be a good fit for their school.

Be overly formal — Taking an overly formal tone in your college essay will appear stiff and out of touch with modern language. Adcoms will likely think that this sort of tone comes from an applicant that is trying too hard to impress them, or hiding behind big words and complicated language to make themselves seem smarter.

Take a stylistic risk that sacrifices grammar — This is mentioned above, but we really can’t stress it enough. Pablo Picasso once said, “ Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” While this is very much true in all forms of writing, messing up your grammar on a college essay demonstrates that you don’t even know all the rules in the first place. Be sure to exercise extreme caution when it comes to grammar!

Pump up your vocabulary artificially —  In the same way that athletes who use performance enhancing drugs usually get found out, college applicants who use performance enhancing software are pretty easy to spot. Admissions officers know when you’re simply clicking on words and phrases in Microsoft Word and exchanging them for a fancier-looking synonym. Don’t do this! Keep it natural. There’s nothing more transparent and off-putting than someone that finds it imperative to inflate every term in a given expression . After all, you don’t want to appear supercilious . A good rule of thumb for vocab in college essays is that if you wouldn’t use a given word in a conversation (even with a teacher or an an academic setting), then you probably shouldn’t use it in your essay.

Be too colloquial —  This may or may not go without saying, but you obviously shouldn’t get too casual in your essay. Avoid slang words, curse words, misspellings, or jargon that could be easily misunderstood.

Plagiarize —  This one should also go without saying, but we figure we may as well say it anyways. If you plagiarize, chances are that eventually you’ll be found out, and any admission that results from your plagiarized essay will be rescinded! Colleges want to hear your own original thoughts.

While there is no perfect way to write a college essay, hopefully these tips have shed some light onto the subject. When in doubt, remember that this little 650 word piece of writing should be a reflection of who you are as a person! Think about a sentence or two takeaway that you would want a reader to have after reading it and try to convey that throughout the essay. It may seem scary at first, but in the end, writing is a powerful skill that can enrich your life, and tone is a very powerful tool that can be used to your benefit.

For more information about college essays, check out the following blog posts:

Application Ethics: The Importance of Writing Your Own Personal Essay

Whom Should I Ask for Help with My College Essay?

How to Write the Common Application Essays 2017-2018

What If I Don’t Have Anything Interesting To Write About In My College Essay?

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

Style and Tone in Writing: What They Mean and Why it Matters

Home » Blog » Style and Tone in Writing: What They Mean and Why it Matters

STYLE AND TONE IN WRITING: WHAT THEY MEAN AND WHY IT MATTERS

As a writer, you hear the terms style and tone bandied about quite a bit, and frequently together.

But are they something you need to pay attention to? Or do they just  happen  when you write?

You know that all writing has some form of tone and style, but what do the terms really mean? Aren’t they essentially the same thing?

While both are ways to express yourself in your writing, style and tone are distinctly different from each other. And they each serve an essential purpose in your writing.

Here’s what you need to know about tone and style and why every writer needs to use them conscientiously. 

Regardless of whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction, your writing style is the way in which you tell your story. It’s the nuts and bolts of language.

Do you like long, flowing sentences? Maybe you prefer short sentences with simple, easy-to-understand words. The writing tools you choose—such as the words, sentence structure, and grammar—create your style. 

Think about some of the authors or different genres you’ve read. Typically, each genre will have some style similarities, but each author will put his or her own touch on it. 

For instance, both Ernest Hemingway and Charles Dickens are authors of literary fiction, but compare these two lines:

“‘Hello,’ I said. When I saw her I was in love with her. Everything turned over inside of me.” – from  A Farewell to Arms  by Hemingway.

“The freshness of her beauty was indeed gone, but its indescribable majesty and its indescribable charm remained. Those attractions in it I had seen before; what I had never seen before was the saddened softened lift of the once proud eyes; what I had never felt before was the friendly touch of the once insensible hand.” – from  Great Expectations  by Dickens. 

Each passage is a description of the narrator seeing a woman with whom he is smitten.

Hemingway’s is three sentences while Dickens’ is only two, but as a whole, Dickens’ is much longer. He even uses two semicolons in the second sentence.

Hemingway uses action words while Dickens dives into descriptive phrases. The way in which each of these writers uses language to tell their story is their style. So, why does that matter?

On a basic level, you want to be certain that your writing style fits the genre you’re writing. There’s always room for flexibility, but a press release should not read like a romance novel or a history of the Civil War.

Readers have expectations, and veering too far off the established path can cause them to lose interest. Or, even worse, it could jeopardize your project.

Find the appropriate style for the genre you are writing, and make it your own.

In some ways, tone is less technical than style. It is the attitude the writer takes towards the subject or even the reader.

It can be formal or academic. It can also be friendly or even humorous. What is appropriate may vary with the type of writing being done. 

Here are two passages from essays on motherhood. They are both talking about essentially the same topic, but they come across very differently:

“In the weeks after my first son was born, I squandered hours of precious sleep leaning over his bassinet to check that he was still breathing. I researched potential dangers that seemed to grow into monstrous reality by the blue light of my smartphone.” from “How Motherhood Changes the Brain” by Chelsea Conaboy published by theweek.com.

“A couple of years ago my daughter began climbing into our bed in the morning. I liked it. I love a morning snuggle, the promise of the day whispered in scratchy voices and the weight of my kids’ bodies warm against my side.” from “Motherhood” by Amy Flory published on funnyisfamily.com.

While both authors are writing about motherhood, the tone in Conaboy’s passage is decidedly more ominous. It’s filled with worry. Flory’s piece, on the other hand, oozes affection and comfortable joy.

Their styles are not significantly different, but their tones set very different moods for the reader. 

So, why does your tone matter? Because it affects how your readers receive your message. The wrong tone can make any story or message fall flat— or worse!

Your tone sets the mood for your book.

Would you enjoy a romance novel written with an authoritative and distant tone? Or, how about a true-crime book written in a fun or even silly tone?

It is possible to be “tone deaf” in your writing. Just as in public speaking, you want to speak to your specific audience when you write.

Using Style and Tone in Your Writing

You’ve heard it before: It’s not just what you say but also how you say it. When you combine style and tone, what you have is your distinctive writing voice.

Here are a couple of tips for using style and tone in your writing:

• Be intentional  – Do some research, and figure out what styles and tones can work effectively for your genre. How do you want your work to come across to the reader? Choose your style and tone before you even begin. Remember, you want to find the appropriate style and tone and then make them your own.
• Be consistent – Make sure your writing stays true to those choices or make a full change if needed, but don’t flip flop. This involves reading your work closely after you have finished, to ensure your style and tone stays consistent throughout. Inconsistencies in style and tone can leave the reader confused or annoyed.

Know What’s Hot 

The rules for style and tone can change with time.

There was a time when books about history were always written in a very formal, journalistic style, for example. Then, a couple of decades ago, the idea of creative non-fiction took hold. Even history books started to read more like novels.

It’s important to know what’s “hot” right now because that establishes the reader’s expectations.

That being said, you don’t want to be unduly influenced by it, either, and try to write in a style or tone that is not comfortable for you.

Put your finger on the current pulse, and then align your skills and your project with that.

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2 thoughts on “ Style and Tone in Writing: What They Mean and Why it Matters ”

Thanks, Tyler – reading this was a ‘Eureka Moment’ for me. I’ve long puzzled over the elusive, style vs tone conundrum. With just a couple of well-considered examples and some clear direction, you have managed to hammer it home for me. Big thumbs up from an as-yet-unpublished-newbie to the craft.

Thanks, Rob! We are glad to be of help!!

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Online Guide to Writing and Research

Thinking strategies and writing patterns, explore more of umgc.

• Online Guide to Writing

A Word About Style, Voice, and Tone

While reading, have you ever felt as though an author was talking to you inside your head? Perhaps you felt this sensation while reading a social media post, an article, or even a book. Writers achieve the feeling of someone talking to you through style, voice, and tone. Mastering these will help your readers know how to feel about your writing and help you communicate in a way that is unique to you.

• APPLICATION

In popular usage, the word “style” means a vague sense of personal style, or personality. Applied to writing, “style” does have this connotation—especially in fiction. However, style in writing has a more formal and unique meaning, too. Applied to writing, “style” is a technical term for word patterns that create a certain effect on readers.

If a piece of writing reflects a consistent choice of patterns, then it feels coherent and harmonious. This coherence and harmony can be quite pleasing for readers, and writers aspire to it. However, writers do not always choose a style. Rather, context, content, and purpose dictate the style a writer should use. 

For example:

Genre will dictate a fiction writer’s style. Specific academic disciplines will dictate style for an academic writer. Both genre and discipline have stylistic conventions that writers take into account when creating a written work. When writing, pay close attention to the genre and discipline in which you are writing.

When writers speak of style in a more personal sense, they often use the word “voice.” When you hear an author talking inside your head, “voice” is what that author sounds like.

Of all the writerly qualities, voice is the most difficult to analyze and describe. Most writers have difficulty expressing what their voice is and how they achieved it, though most will allow their voice developed over time and after much practice. Still, there are qualities that, when identified and practiced, can help you develop your own voice.

Look closely at professional writing, and you may notice a certain rhythm or cadence to it. This rhythm is an element of voice. 

Read a number of works from the same author, and you may notice common word choices, perhaps not the same words, but similar words or word patterns. Word choice (also called “diction”) is an element of voice. 

Punctuation

You may also notice that some authors come across as flamboyant while others come across as blunt or assertive. Still others may come across as always second-guessing themselves, adding qualifications and asides to their statements. An author often achieves these qualities through carefully placed punctuation, another element of voice.

To assert your own personal writing style, practice rhythm and cadence, pay careful attention to word choice and develop an understanding of how punctuation can be used to express ideas.

Even when indulging their own voices, authors must keep in mind context, content, and purpose. To do this, they make adjustments to their voices using “tone.”

Tone is the attitude conveyed by an author’s voice. We use two general distinctions when discussing tone: informal and formal.

An Informal Tone

Ever read something, and your heart swells with pride? Or maybe you get angry, or you get scared. Write informally, and you’ll use emotions - big ones. You’ll use contractions, too. A lot of times, when you write informally, you talk about yourself and use the first-person pronoun (I). Sometimes you talk to the reader and use the second-person pronoun (you). An informal tone sounds conversational and familiar like you do when you talk with a friend.

A Formal Tone

When using a formal tone, authors avoid discussion about themselves. They use the third-person perspective. They do not use contractions, and they emphasize reason and logic. Though an author might appeal to an emotion, the emotional appeal would be subtler and more nuanced. Most of all, however, a formal tone suggests politeness and respect.

Key Takeaways

• When writing, mirror your style after the genre you are writing for. 
• You can develop your own voice in your writing by paying special attention to rhythm, diction, and punctuation.
• Use an informal tone for creative writing, personal narratives, and personal essays.
• Use a formal tone for most essays, research papers, reports, and business writing

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Table of Contents: Online Guide to Writing

Chapter 1: College Writing

How Does College Writing Differ from Workplace Writing?

What Is College Writing?

Why So Much Emphasis on Writing?

Chapter 2: The Writing Process

Doing Exploratory Research

Getting from Notes to Your Draft

Introduction

Prewriting - Techniques to Get Started - Mining Your Intuition

Prewriting: Targeting Your Audience

Prewriting: Techniques to Get Started

Prewriting: Understanding Your Assignment

Rewriting: Being Your Own Critic

Rewriting: Creating a Revision Strategy

Rewriting: Getting Feedback

Rewriting: The Final Draft

Techniques to Get Started - Outlining

Techniques to Get Started - Using Systematic Techniques

Thesis Statement and Controlling Idea

Writing: Getting from Notes to Your Draft - Freewriting

Writing: Getting from Notes to Your Draft - Summarizing Your Ideas

Writing: Outlining What You Will Write

Chapter 3: Thinking Strategies

A Word About Style, Voice, and Tone: Style Through Vocabulary and Diction

Critical Strategies and Writing

Critical Strategies and Writing: Analysis

Critical Strategies and Writing: Evaluation

Critical Strategies and Writing: Persuasion

Critical Strategies and Writing: Synthesis

Developing a Paper Using Strategies

Kinds of Assignments You Will Write

Patterns for Presenting Information

Patterns for Presenting Information: Critiques

Patterns for Presenting Information: Discussing Raw Data

Patterns for Presenting Information: General-to-Specific Pattern

Patterns for Presenting Information: Problem-Cause-Solution Pattern

Patterns for Presenting Information: Specific-to-General Pattern

Patterns for Presenting Information: Summaries and Abstracts

Supporting with Research and Examples

Writing Essay Examinations

Writing Essay Examinations: Make Your Answer Relevant and Complete

Writing Essay Examinations: Organize Thinking Before Writing

Writing Essay Examinations: Read and Understand the Question

Chapter 4: The Research Process

Planning and Writing a Research Paper

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Ask a Research Question

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Cite Sources

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Collect Evidence

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Decide Your Point of View, or Role, for Your Research

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Draw Conclusions

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Find a Topic and Get an Overview

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Manage Your Resources

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Outline

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Survey the Literature

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Work Your Sources into Your Research Writing

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Human Resources

Research Resources: What Are Research Resources?

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found?

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Electronic Resources

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Print Resources

Structuring the Research Paper: Formal Research Structure

Structuring the Research Paper: Informal Research Structure

The Nature of Research

The Research Assignment: How Should Research Sources Be Evaluated?

The Research Assignment: When Is Research Needed?

The Research Assignment: Why Perform Research?

Chapter 5: Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity

Giving Credit to Sources

Giving Credit to Sources: Copyright Laws

Giving Credit to Sources: Documentation

Giving Credit to Sources: Style Guides

Integrating Sources

Practicing Academic Integrity

Practicing Academic Integrity: Keeping Accurate Records

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Paraphrasing Your Source

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Quoting Your Source

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Summarizing Your Sources

Types of Documentation

Types of Documentation: Bibliographies and Source Lists

Types of Documentation: Citing World Wide Web Sources

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - APA Style

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - CSE/CBE Style

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - Chicago Style

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - MLA Style

Types of Documentation: Note Citations

Chapter 6: Using Library Resources

Finding Library Resources

Chapter 7: Assessing Your Writing

How Is Writing Graded?

How Is Writing Graded?: A General Assessment Tool

The Draft Stage

The Draft Stage: The First Draft

The Draft Stage: The Revision Process and the Final Draft

The Draft Stage: Using Feedback

The Research Stage

Using Assessment to Improve Your Writing

Chapter 8: Other Frequently Assigned Papers

Reviews and Reaction Papers: Article and Book Reviews

Reviews and Reaction Papers: Reaction Papers

Writing Arguments

Writing Arguments: Adapting the Argument Structure

Writing Arguments: Purposes of Argument

Writing Arguments: References to Consult for Writing Arguments

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Anticipate Active Opposition

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Determine Your Organization

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Develop Your Argument

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Introduce Your Argument

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - State Your Thesis or Proposition

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Write Your Conclusion

Writing Arguments: Types of Argument

Appendix A: Books to Help Improve Your Writing

Dictionaries

General Style Manuals

Researching on the Internet

Special Style Manuals

Writing Handbooks

Appendix B: Collaborative Writing and Peer Reviewing

Collaborative Writing: Assignments to Accompany the Group Project

Collaborative Writing: Informal Progress Report

Collaborative Writing: Issues to Resolve

Collaborative Writing: Methodology

Collaborative Writing: Peer Evaluation

Collaborative Writing: Tasks of Collaborative Writing Group Members

Collaborative Writing: Writing Plan

General Introduction

Peer Reviewing

Appendix C: Developing an Improvement Plan

Working with Your Instructor’s Comments and Grades

Appendix D: Writing Plan and Project Schedule

Devising a Writing Project Plan and Schedule

Reviewing Your Plan with Others

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20 Academic Tone and Language

Academic language.

Academic language has certain characteristics regardless of the course you are writing for.

• It is formal (see tone ), yet not overly complicated. It is unlike standard conversational language and the hints and tips below will help to elevate your writing style.
• It should be factual and objective; free from personal opinions, bias and value judgments. On rare occasions you may be asked to state your own personal point of view on a particular concept or issue. You should only do so if it is explicitly prescribed. This is the only time first person pronouns (I, my, we, our – see Chapter 5) are permitted.
• Academic writing is always supported by evidence rather than personal opinion, therefore emotional (emotive) or exaggerated (hyperbolic) language are not used.
• Academic language is most often enquiring or analytical in nature, therefore you must be willing to review more than one perspective on a topic and use language that demonstrates the ability to compare and contrast ideas (see signposting below).
• Academic language should be explicit; clear and not vague. Signposting can be used to lead the reader through the text from one section to another or from one idea to the next (see below).
• Passive voice (see chapter 7) can be used to avoid the use of personal pronouns. For example, instead of writing “In this essay I will discuss…”, you can write “This essay will discuss…”

Signposting

Signposting is the use of words and phrases to guide the reader through your written work. There are two types – major and minor.

Major Signposting

Major signposting is used to signal the introduction of key sections or aspects of the work. These might include the aim, purpose, or structure.

In the introduction

• This essay will…
• The aim of this essay is to…
• The major issue being discussed is…
• This essay will define and describe…
• This essay will critically examine…
• This essay will first define…then discuss…before making recommendations for…
• This essay is organised in the following way;

In the conclusion

• To conclude,
• In conclusion,
• To summarise,
• It is evident that

Minor Signposting

Minor signposting are linking words and phrases that make connections for your reader and move them through the text.

• They may be as simple as: First, second, third, next, then, last, lastly, finally
• To offer a counterpoint: However, although, though, yet, alternatively, nevertheless
• To indicate an example: For example, notably, for instance, in this case

These are just a few examples of signposting. For further information and some very useful instances of signposting please follow the link to Queen’s University Belfast [1]

Filetoupload,597684,en.pdf (qub.ac.uk)

Academic Tone

Tone is the general character or attitude of a work and it is highly dependent on word choice and structure. It should match the intended purpose and audience of the text. As noted in the Academic Language section above, the tone should be formal, direct, consistent (polished and error-free), and objective. It should also be factual and not contain personal opinions.

What is the difference between tone and voice?

When learning academic writing skills you may hear “voice” referred to, especially in terms of source integration and maintaining your own “voice” when you write. Note this does not mean maintaining your own opinion. This is something entirely separate. Voice is the unique word choices of the author that reflect the viewpoint they are arguing. Your “voice” is about WHO the reader ‘hears’ when they read your text. Are they ‘hearing’ what you have to say on the topic? Are your claims direct and authoritative ? Or, is your “voice” being drowned out by overuse or overreliance on external sources? This is why it is so important to understand that academic sources should ONLY be used to support what you have to say – your “voice”, NOT opinion – rather than being overused to speak on your behalf. This comes with practise and increased confidence in your own writing and knowing that you have something worth saying. Therefore, do plenty of background reading and research so that you can write from a well-informed position.

Hints and Tips

• First person pronouns (e.g., I, my, me) and second person pronouns (e.g., you, your, yours) (see Chapter 5).
• Contractions: as part of everyday conversational English, contractions have no place in formal academic writing. For example didn’t (did not), can’t (cannot), won’t (will not), it’s (it is – not to be confused with the pronoun its), shouldn’t (should not), and many more. Use the full words.
• Poor connectives: “but”, in particular is a very poor connective. Instead, refer to the signposting examples of however, although, nevertheless, yet, though. Also the overuse of “and”; try alternatives, such as plus, in addition, along with, also, as well as, moreover, together with.
• Avoid colloquial language.
• Avoid hyperbole .
• Avoid emotive language. Even in a persuasive text, appeal to the readers’ minds, not feelings.
• Avoid being verbose .
• Avoid generalizing .
• Avoid statements such as “I think”, “I feel”, or “I believe”; they are clear indicators of personal opinion.
• Do not begin a sentence with “and”, “because”, or digits – e.g., 75% of participants… Always begin a sentence with a word – Seventy-five percent.
• Do not use digits 0-9 as digits; write the whole word – zero, one, two, three. Once you get to double digits you may use the number – 10, 11, 12. The only exception to this rule would be sharing data or statistics, however the previous rule still applies.
• Academic vocabulary (sometimes this is discipline specific, such as technical or medical terms).
• Use tentative or low modal language when something you are writing is not definite or final. For example, could, might, or may, instead of will, definitely, or must.
• Be succinct .
• Include variance of sentence structure (see Chapter 7).
• Use powerful reporting verbs (see Chapter 14).
• Use clever connectives and conjunctions (see Chapter 5).
• Ensure you have excellent spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• Use accurate referencing, both in-text and the reference list (see Chapter 10).
• Ensure correct use of capital letters for the beginning of each new sentence and for all proper nouns .
• Lastly, use correct subject-verb agreement . For an excellent list of examples of subject-verb agreement, please refer to Purdue Online Writing Lab. [2]

Subject/Verb Agreement // Purdue Writing Lab

• Queen's University Belfast. (n.d.). Signposting. Learning Development Service. https://www.qub.ac.uk/graduate-school/Filestore/Filetoupload,597684,en.pdf#search=signposting ↵
• Purdue University. (2021). Making subjects and verbs argree. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/subject_verb_agreement.html ↵

able to be trusted as being accurate or true; reliable

researched, reliable, written by academics and published by reputable publishers; often, but not always peer reviewed

informal, ordinary, everyday or familiar conversation, rather than formal speech or writing

obvious and intentional exaggeration; extravagant statement or figure of speech not to be taken literally

characterized by or pertaining to emotions; used to produce an emotional response

characterized by the use of many or too many words; wordy

to infer a general principle from particular facts; e.g., my five year old loves chocolate ice cream, therefore all five year olds love chocolate ice cream

concise expressed in few words

a verb used to report or talk about the ideas of others

used to link words or phrases together See 'Language Basics'

refer to a single entity; names of people, places, and things (e.g., cities, monuments, icons, businesses)

refers to the relationship between the subject and the predicate (part of the sentence containing the verb) of the sentence. Subjects and verbs must always agree in two ways: tense and number.

Academic Writing Skills Copyright © 2021 by Patricia Williamson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Types of Tone In Writing: 9 Major Tones You Should Know

Types of tone in writing: Although the question is straightforward, the solution could be challenging. 

Generally speaking, tone describes how a writer employs various words in a particular way to communicate non-verbal remarks about specific themes. 

Word delivery helps a lot by tone or manner, which also imparts an attitude. It can be with feeling from a particular angle. There are various tone of writing types. 

When a writer writes he uses different types of voice tones in writing which helps the reader to understand the subject more clearly.  

We can use the kinds of tone in writing and the author’s voice synonymously; they are dissimilar. 

The tone of a writer’s writing reflects their personality. The manner, a writer, uses reveals their viewpoint on the subject at hand. 

Don’t be confused; this blog will discuss different types of tone in writing to help you understand easily. 

What Is A Tone?

Table of Contents

A particular writing style may be associated with the author when tone and voice are combined. The reader experiences feelings and emotions due to your writing style and word selections. 

The tone of a written article refers to these writing decisions, much to the voice employed when communicating verbally. 

You can choose how you wish to share with others by being aware of the types of tone used in writing and how it is used in various writing styles.

Along with the formality of the language used, the tone also speaks to how complicated the writing is. 

While a funny story might utilize less formal language, a more formal work might reflect a more serious subject. 

A literary work’s tone describes how the author expresses their mood throughout the narrative.

The tone may fluctuate to reflect a change in the tale or mood or remain consistent throughout an entire composition. Additionally, a writer may utilize varied tones depending on the topic they are writing about.

5 Reasons Why Is Tone In Writing Important?

There are a lot of reasons for the importance of tone in writing. But I have given below the main reasons why writing tone is important: 

• Creates a specific atmosphere: Tone in writing plays an important role for creating a specific atmosphere. It is used to convey humor, irony, or any other emotion that the writer wants to communicate. 
• Connecting with the reader: It helps the writer to connect with the reader. A writer can create engagement and relatability by understanding the audience. 
• Create credibility: It can be used to create credibility and authority on a particular subject. And it can be important in academic or professional writing, where the writer’s credibility is important for the success of their message. 
• Enhancing the readability: it can also be used to increase the readability of a piece. And it it very important when writing for a specific audience or purpose. 
• Reflect the writer’s personality: Tone in writing is an expression of the writer’s personality, it can make the writing more personal, authentic, and relatable to the reader.

Types Of Tone In Writing

Any feeling, attitude, or point of view can serve as the basis for a particular tone in writing. If you can think of an adjective, you can use that as a tone. 

This implies that an unlimited amount of tones can be employed if you look at tone specifically. 

The limitless tones have been divided into different categories because it can be challenging to establish your tone as a writing ability. Let’s have a closer on different kinds of tones in writing.

The formal tone is the most common type of tone in writing. It is used when writing in a professional or academic situation where the writing needs to be direct, detailed, and respectful. 

Formal writing frequently uses whole words, not contractions or shorter words, and usually avoids using slang. It emphasizes facts rather than opinions and is grammatically sound.

In contrast to formal, informal is more conversational in tone. An informal type of tone in writing is when someone writes the same way they would speak to a friend. 

Using shortened words like contractions and colloquial or slang phrases is common in writing with an informal tone. An informal piece’s author may also express more emotion and personal viewpoints.

Appreciative

When the writer has just concluded something they loved or found impressive, they typically use an appreciative tone. 

Depending on what the reader initially notices in a text, they may receive the appreciation differently, but a respectful manner should always come across as honest and sincere. 

One of the types of tone in writing is appreciation it can demonstrate that the writer not only appreciated something but also expressed thankfulness.

Informative

When discussing types of tone in writing, an informative tone is typically used when the author intends to share expertise on a subject. 

Although the information may have come from research or personal experience, it is generally obvious that it is not a subjective opinion or wild assumption. 

Typically, sentences with an informative tone lack passion and are objective and factual.

Inspirational

An Inspirational and uplifting types of tone used in writing is frequently used when someone needs these things. 

Inspirational writing frequently emphasizes encouraging readers to believe in themselves and pursue their dreams. 

An inspirational piece of literature usually has an upbeat tone and inspires others to take chances by fostering a sense of hope, optimism, or inspiration for the future.

Cooperative

In documents intended for the workplace, a cooperative tone of writing types is frequently used to communicate the necessity for shared participation as a team or group of people works toward a common objective. 

A cooperative tone often consists of encouraging and cooperative components and expressions that suggest a desire to cooperate.

A curious tone of writing types suggests that the author or a character wants to learn more about a specific subject or circumstance or that the reader will continue to discover the crucial information. 

If someone is attempting to learn new knowledge or is describing a young child becoming more aware of their surroundings, they may write with a curious tone. 

Using these types of tone in writing, you can hold the reader’s interest and keep them reading.

Pessimistic

A gloomy perspective on a situation or the conviction that things won’t get better is reflected in a pessimistic tone. Although pessimism is not realistic, writers sometimes adopt this attitude when they are in a down mood or wish to express a pessimistic point of view.

Humor is frequently used in witty writing to make a point. A witty tone of writing types can convey amusement or anger and is often less formal than an authoritative tone. 

This tone would work nicely in blog posts, short stories, or other autobiographical compositions.

How To Identify Tone In Writing?

If you want to identify the tone in writing, then consider the following points:

Word choice: You should pay attention to the words and phrases the author uses and how they are used. Words can convey a positive, negative, or neutral tone. 

Sentence structure: You should also look at how the sentences are structured and how they flow. Short & choppy sentences can convey tension or urgency, while long & flowing sentences can convey calm. 

The tone of voice: you should pay attention to the words used, punctuation, and overall style. For example, the use of exclamation marks and question marks can indicate a strong feeling of excitement or confusion. 

In this blog, I have provided different types of tone in writing. I hope you have understood easily. There are many different types of tones that can be used in writing, including Formal, Informal, Appreciative, Informative, and Inspirational.

The tone of writing should be carefully chosen based on the audience and the purpose of the text. Understanding and being able to identify different types of tones can help writers effectively communicate their message.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

What are some different essay tone types.

An essay can have a variety of tones, from one that is extremely official and academic to one that is serious but respectful to one that is informal and playful. The essay’s goal and target audience significantly impact the tone and style of writing.

How do you establish an essay’s tone?

The tone of an essay is greatly influenced by its goal and target audience . The writer will choose their language, words, and sentence structure based on their intended audience and the essay’s purpose.

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