Tone, Mood and Style: notes

Tone and mood

• Tone: the writer's or speaker's attitude, such as angry, gentle, bitter or playful.
• Mood or atmosphere: the feeling the reader gets, such as gloom or calm.
• Tone is how the voice sounds; mood is how the reader feels.

Style

• Diction: the choice of words. Harsh words suggest anger; soft words suggest calm.
• Register: how formal or informal the language is.
• Sentence length: short sentences can speed things up or add tension; long ones slow the pace.
• Repetition: stresses an idea. Rhetorical question: a question asked for effect, not for an answer.

Making fun

• Humour: meant to amuse.
• Satire: mocks bad behaviour or society to bring about change.
• Sarcasm: saying the opposite to hurt or mock. Irony is wider and need not be unkind.

In an answer

• Name the tone, quote the key word, and explain what it shows.