{"id":12265,"date":"2016-11-11T06:00:40","date_gmt":"2016-11-11T11:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grockit.com\/blog\/collegeprep\/?p=2153"},"modified":"2020-09-11T20:42:34","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T20:42:34","slug":"act-reading-authors-tone-or-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/act\/act-reading-authors-tone-or-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"ACT Reading: Author\u2019s Tone or Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"

One question type you are bound to encounter on the ACT Reading is a tone question. The tone of any given passage is the author\u2019s emotion or feeling, usually towards his subject. An author\u2019s style is the particular way he uses language to reflect his unique authorial voice. Most style or tone questions will include the words \u201cattitude,\u201d \u201ctone,\u201d \u201cstyle,\u201d \u201cfeeling,\u201d etc.
\nYou can expect an author\u2019s tone to vary significantly among the different genres of passages. Science articles are largely neutral in tone, since they are purely informational. Humanities and social science articles will often be neutral as well, except when an author is praising or denouncing his subject. Prose fiction articles will often have the greatest range of authorial tone; in fact, the tone may change from paragraph to paragraph. A typical question of this type might look like this:
\nThe author\u2019s attitude toward global warming might best be described as which of the following?<\/em>
\nWhich of the following best describes the tone of the passage?<\/em>
\nBased on the statements in lines 43-46, which of the following could be inferred about the author\u2019s attitude toward socialism?<\/em>
\nThe best way to identify the tone of a passage is to examine certain words with positive or negative connotations. If I were writing a passage about global warming, and one sentence read \u201cfortunately<\/em>, these brilliant<\/em> scientists were able to combine their wits and begin formulating promising<\/em> solutions,\u201d you should identify my tone as positive, optimistic, or reverent. I respect and honor the scientists, and I consider their research valuable and intelligent. Of course, we can imagine that an author adopt a negative tone toward the same subject. Another author might say that \u201cthe irresponsible <\/em>scientists pooled together their half-baked theories<\/em> to create the most egregious scare tactic<\/em> of the 21st<\/sup> century.\u201d Notice that positively or negatively charged word in italics – they are the keys to identifying tone.
\nOf course, my examples are extreme; most of the clues about an author\u2019s tone will be more subdued. For this reason, it\u2019s usually best to avoid the extreme answer choices. If you notice that the author is slightly skeptical about her topic, don\u2019t choose the answer choice that says she is \u201cvehemently opposed\u201d to her topic.
\n 
\n

Tone Practice Question<\/h3>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\nHere is an example of a tone question. The following paragraphs are excerpted from a passage about\u00a0 the Iguacu Falls:
\nIguacu Falls, which sit on the border between Argentina and Brazil, are said to make Niagara look like
\na leaky faucet. The great cataracts stretch for two and a half miles across lushly foliaged rocky outcroppings
\nbefore plunging a staggering two hundred and thirty feet into the river below.
\nThe falls region is densely forested, and is home to a wide variety of plants and animals, including
\na number of endangered ones. It is a paradise where parrots dive and swoop through the spray,
\nbutterflies cavort among the tropical plants and coatis, and giant otters and anteaters amble through
\nthe trees. The foliage itself varies between tropical and deciduous with orchids blushing in the shade
\nof pines and ferns nodding gracefully in the shadow of fruit trees.
\n 
\nThe author’s attitude toward Iguacu Falls can best be described as which of the following?<\/em>
\nA. Overweening pride.<\/em>
\nB. Positive appreciation.<\/em>
\nC. Mild acceptance.<\/em>
\nD. Apathetic objectivity.<\/em>
\nE. Cautious optimism.<\/em>
\n

Explanation<\/h4>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\nEven though I\u2019ve only included two paragraphs from the passage, we can still answer the question about the author\u2019s tone. First, try to identify words with positive or negative connotations, or identify phrases that reveal the author\u2019s attitude toward the falls. The first sentence reveals the author\u2019s reverence for the falls; if the Iguacu Falls make Niagara look like a \u2018leaky faucet,\u2019 they must be pretty impressive. Further, notice the adjectives \u201cgreat,\u201d \u201clush,\u201d and \u201cgraceful,\u201d the positive noun \u201cparadise,\u201d and the verbs \u201cswoop,\u201d \u201camble,\u201d and \u201ccavort,\u201d which evoke an Edenic portrait of the natural landscape.
\nThe author\u2019s attitude, in short, is purely positive. Thus, we can quickly eliminate C, D, and E. We can also eliminate A for a different reason. It would be wrong to say that the author is \u201cproud\u201d of Iguacu Falls; after all, he doesn\u2019t take credit for its beauty. B is the best answer.
\nRemember, don\u2019t try to project a positive or negative tone where one does not exist. If the tone is completely neutral, make sure you answer accordingly.
\n 
\n<\/span>
\n 
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One question type you are bound to encounter on the ACT Reading is a tone question. The tone of any given passage is the author\u2019s emotion or feeling, usually towards his subject. An author\u2019s style is the particular way he uses language to reflect his unique authorial voice. Most style or tone questions will include […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27209,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[58],"tags":[60,62],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12265"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12265"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36181,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12265\/revisions\/36181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}