Mood, Tone, and Medium

Tone VS Mood

What’s the difference?

Tone is the AUTHOR’S attitude
towards the audience, the
subject, or the character.

Mood is the READER’S
feeling they get from a
story.

Tone

Mood

Tone is shown through

● Dialogue

● Descriptions –

author’s diction
[word choice]

Mood is shown through

● Setting

● Atmosphere

Tone is NOT Mood.

​

Tone = Author’s Attitude

According to the author’s
descriptions, what is the
tone?

The author’s tone in this
passage can be
described as serious and
focused because his word
choice included words
like “determination” and
“preparing.”

Tone & Mood | Example

He approached the task
with sheer determination.
He had studied his plans
carefully, spent hours
preparing and was sure
of his approach. The
hours he spent
practicing were grueling
and exhausting, but he
was ready. This was the
year he would win the
pie eating contest at
school.

Mood = Reader’s Feelings

According to the setting,
what is the mood?

The mood according to
the setting is playful and
exciting because the “pie
eating contests” are fun.

Tone is NOT

Mood.

Multiple Choice

What is tone?

• When and where a story takes place.

• The author's purpose for writing a story.

• The author's attitude in a text.

• How the story makes readers feel

Multiple Choice

What is mood?

• Where and when the story takes place.

• The author's attitude in a text.

• The author's purpose for writing a text.

• How the text makes the reader feel.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is not a kind of negative tone?

• angry

• cynical

• harsh

• excited

Multiple Choice

Which passage below has the most whimsical tone?

• The creature moved its sharp claws over the strange device, and the noise was loud and distracting.

• The lovely fairy danced her long fingers over the harp, and the music carried us gently into a trance.

• The creature played the instrument, and we listened to the music it made.

• The monster produced a terrifying noise, and we tried hard not to scream and give away our hiding place.

Multiple Choice

Which passage below has the most critical tone?

• On the train, the man slowly clipped his fingernails. He focused on the task, beginning with his pinky finger and finishing with his thumb.

• On the train, the tired, old man began clipping his fingernails. He was trying to distract himself from his loneliness by focusing on this one small task, moving from pinky to thumb.

• The man—right in the middle of the crowded train—began to clip his long, yellow fingernails. He did it slowly, as if he didn't even care that a dozen other people could see and hear him.

• The man on the train clipped his fingernails. It took him 2 minutes and 8 seconds. He started on his pinky and finished with his thumb. When he was finished, he put the clippers back into his jacket pocket.

Multiple Choice

Which words and phrases best show the sentimental tone in the passage below?

I got out of the old car and took a few halting steps up the driveway. A cloud of warmth drifted out of the window and embraced me like a comforting hug. I knew that smell: fresh bread that Papa had just taken from the oven. I heard the familiar pitch of his whistle as he slowly stirred tomato soup on the stovetop. I ran to open the screen door because, now, I knew where I was. I was home.

• "warmth," "comforting hug" and "home"

• "car," "tomato soup" and "door"

• "old," "halting" and "out the window"

• "driveway," "screen door" and "slowly stirred"

Multiple Choice

Lana was bursting with excitement. She paced up and down, and every few minutes, headed to the window to check for the mail carrier. When he finally showed up, she ran down the path and stretched out her hand for the mail. She took a deep breath and, hands shaking, ripped open the envelope.

What word would you use to describe the tone of this passage?

• Humorous

• Persuasive

• Anxious

• Cheerful

Multiple Choice

Ling was chewing the gum. When her teacher told her to spit it out and throw it in the trash, she talked back.

What tone do you think Ling used with her teacher?

• Apologetic

• Sarcastic

• Disrespectful

• Uncertain

Multiple Choice

What is the tone of the following passage?

The alarm buzzed. Jordan smashed her fist down on it. . . hard. It flew off the nightstand and bounced off her cat, Armstrong. The cat yowled indignantly and rocketed out of the room.

• Eerie

• Sarcastic

• Passionate

• Humorous