Tone and Mood Lesson

What is tone?

• 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

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

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

• angry

• cynical

• harsh

• excited

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.

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.

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"

Which word best describes the tone of the sentence below?

The stunning poem that opens this lovely collection is rich with imagery and language.

• admiring

• bitter

• sad

• hopeful

Which word best describes the tone of the passage below?

I never wanted to see that movie, but my annoying little sister kept pestering me. Eventually, her whining wore me down, and I gave in. But that waste of a movie really destroyed my Saturday.

• admiring

• bitter

• sad

• hopeful

Which words and phrases from the sentence below best shows you the tone?

That waste of a movie really destroyed my Saturday.

• "waste" and "destroyed"

• "movie" and "of a"

• "that" and "my"

• "really" and "Saturday"

Which of the following passages has the most objective tone?

• I devoted three hours on Saturday to the masterpiece of a movie.

• The movie that I saw on Saturday was three hours of torture.

• On Saturday, I made a three-hour mistake: I saw the movie.

• I saw the movie on Saturday. It was three-hours long.