Identifying tone

Tone can be defined as the attitude of the writer towards the subject in a text.

So how can you tell what tone a piece of non-fiction text is written in?

Firstly, and most importantly, you need to assess the language in which it is written. If it seems quite light-hearted, then it is possible that the text has a humorous tone; whereas text with lots of facts about an important topic is probably quite serious in tone.

There are certain clues you can look out for to help determine the tone of a non-fiction text:

• Source of text

  For example, an article from a broadsheet newspaper or a charity advertisement is likely to be quite serious in tone.

• Punctuation

  The use of exclamation marks can suggest that the writer is in disbelief about, or astounded by something.

• Rhetorical questions [rhetorical questions: Questions that are asked, but not expected to be answered, since the answer is usually obvious. They are used to emphasise a particular point. ]

  An article that uses rhetorical questions is likely to be quite thought-provoking in tone.

• Images

  The use of cartoons or caricatures could suggest that an article is not serious or aims to ridicule its subject matter.