Word Choice

Tone

• the overall attitude, or feeling, that a writer expresses about a subject

• formal/informal; serious/playful; admiring/harsh

Connotation + -/

• the positive or negative feelings associated with a word

• Some words share similar dictionary definitions (DENOTATIONS) but have different emotional impacts (CONNOTATIONS)

• Understanding connotations helps readers figure out how a writer feels about a person, a place, or an idea (TONE).

Figurative Language

• language that is used imaginatively rather than literally

  • idioms, personification, pun, imagery

• figures of speech that make unexpected comparisons

  • similes, metaphors

• can evoke a clear sense of time and place

• can convey a writer's TONE, the author's overall attitude or feeling toward the subject of a literary work

Multiple Choice

Read the following passage:

"He's very influential in the clowning community," she whispered to her friend, pointing to the tall man in loose pants and rainbow suspenders striding across the room. "He's a great artist. Balloon animals have never been the same."

How does the author intend the word "influential" to be taken in this passage?

• positive

• negative

• neutral

• extremely negative

Multiple Choice

Read the following sentence:

The hedgehog was ecstatic-- She had found a hole to burrow into, and she was happily settled beneath the ground, excited to sleep the day away.

Based on the context clues, what is the denotation of the word "ecstatic" in the passage?

• overly intelligent

• greatly impressed

• extremely happy

• often late

Multiple Choice

Read the following passage:

After winning the spelling bee, Bridget became confident. "I can spell any word in the universe," she insisted loudly, even in places where it was not required to spell things. Like at the movies with her friends.

Her best friend, annoyed, said, "I bet you can't spell a word in German." Bridget did not speak German.

"I probably can," she insisted,"I mean, how hard can it be, right?"

How does the author intend the word "confident" to be taken in this passage?

• positive

• negative

• neutral

• extremely positive

Multiple Choice

Words that have the same denotation are called ________.

• acronyms

• homonyms

• antonyms

• synonyms

Multiple Choice

When you look up a word in the dictionary, you find its ___________.

• connotation

• acronym

• denotation

• homonym

Multiple Choice

What is the term for the emotions that a word stirs in a reader?

• synonym

• connotation

• denotation

• acronym

Multiple Choice

The dentotation is the ______ meaning of a word.

• emotional

• incorrect

• literal

• opposite

Multiple Choice

4. Connotation is...

• the literal meaning of a word

• the definition of a word

• all the nonliteral meanings and feelings you associate with a word.

Multiple Choice

What is the tone of the following sentence:

Kareem made a silly face at Beth.

• Frightened

• Excited

• Playful

• Angry

Multiple Choice

Referring to someone's house as a "shack" would have a _____ connotation (feeling).

• positive

• neutral

• negative

Multiple Choice

What is the "tone" of a story?

• The feeling the passage evokes from the reader
• The author, narrator, or speaker's attitude toward a subject
• The time and place of the story
• The summary of events in the story

Multiple Choice

What is mood?

• where and when a story takes place

• the author's reason for writing a story

• the author's attitude toward the story

• how the story makes you feel