This document discusses and defines tone and mood in writing. It explains that tone refers to the author's attitude conveyed through word choice, point of view, syntax and level of formality. Mood refers to the feelings or emotions evoked in the reader. The document provides examples of tones like accusatory, bitter and sincere and moods like suspense, happy and angry. It emphasizes that tone is set by the author through language while mood is experienced by the reader. A Venn diagram compares and contrasts tone and mood.

1. Tone and Mood

2. “Boy, watch your tone when speaking
to me”
• Tone: The writer’s attitude towards the subject of
the piece, the audience, and self. Also known as,
the way feelings are expressed.
• Conveyed through the use of:
– Diction (the words that the author uses in his/her
writing)
– Point of View (the author’s view and how it affects
his/her writing)
– Syntax (the arrangement of words to create
sentences)
– And, the author’s level of formality (how formal or
informal is the piece?)

3. “Don’t you use that tone of voice with
me!”
• Has anyone ever said to you, "Don't use that tone
of voice with me?" Your tone can change the
meaning of what you say.
• Tone can turn a statement like, " You're a big
help!" into a genuine compliment or a cruel
sarcastic remark. It depends on the context of the
story.

4. Important Tone Words
• Accusatory: charging of wrong doing
• Bitter: exhibiting strong animosity as a result of pain or grief
• Critical: finding fault
• Earnest: intense, a sincere state of mind
• Intimate: very familiar
• Matter-of-fact: accepting of conditions; not fanciful or emotional
• Optimistic: hopeful, cheerful
• Reverent: treating a subject with honor and respect
• Reflective: illustrating innermost thoughts and emotions
• Sarcastic: sneering, caustic
• Sincere: without deceit or pretense; genuine
• Solemn: deeply earnest, tending toward sad reflection

5. “Girl, you’re in a mood!”
• Mood: emotion evoked by a text in the reader.
It’s what YOU experience.
• Writers use many devices to create the mood
in a text:
– Dialogue (language between the characters)
– Setting (where/when the story takes place, who
the characters are, etc.)
– Plot (the rise and fall of action and events
throughout the piece)

6. Important Mood Words
• The following are examples of moods that a text can cause
the reader to feel:
– Suspense
– Lonely
– Happy
– Angry
– Anxious
– Tense
– Suspicious
– Excited
– Depressed
– Scared
– Disgusted

7. Tone vs. Mood
• These two words are easy to get confused
when reading a text.
• Look at the following Venn Diagram (and fill
out your own that is on your notes sheet) to
understand how mood and tone are different.

8. Tone vs. Mood Venn Diagram
Tone
Mood
Similarities
• Conveyed by an
emotion or emotions
through words
• The way a reader
feels about a piece
(the reader’s mood)
can be determined
through facial
expressions, gestures
and in the tone (the
way the author
expresses his/her
feelings throughout
the piece) of voice
used.
• Tone is the attitude that an
author takes toward the
audience, the subject, or
the character.
• Tone is conveyed through
the author's words and
details.
• Use context clues to help
determine the tone.
• Author sets the tone
through words.
• Possible tones are as
numerous as the number of
possible emotions a human
being can have.
• Emotions that you (the
reader) feel while you
are reading a piece.
• Some pieces of
literature make you
feel sad, angry or
happy.
• Often, a writer creates
the mood at the
beginning of a piece
and then carries that
same mood
throughout the whole
piece.
• SOMETIMES
the mood will
change as
characters or
plot changes.

9. BEWARE!!
• Tone and mood can very easily be confused!
• Tone simply refers to how the author feels
towards the subject, or towards something. You
will know what the author’s tone is implying by
the words he uses.
• While ‘mood’, refers to the feeling of the
atmosphere the author is describing. It is what
the author makes you feel when you read his
writings. You can read a sentence, and feel sad,
happy or angry.

10. Examples of Tone
• I’d rather stay here and wait, than go into that dark
room.
– The sentence above imposes that the person is scared.
• The sun is shining brightly in the meadow, let’s go out
and play!
– The sentence above imposes that the person is happy or
excited.
• I called my friend at their house, her brother said she’s
not home, but I heard her voice come over the line.
– The sentence imposes that the person is suspicious.

11. Examples of Mood
• The night was dark and stormy.
– The sentence gives you a scary ‘mood’ (or feeling).
• The man kicked and threw the poor cat out of his
house.
– The sentence gives you a feeling of anger, or pity
towards the cat.
• There was plenty of food, and the music was
playing. Everybody was having a good time.
– The sentence gives you a mood (or feeling) of
happiness and fun.

12. Works Cited
"Difference Between Mood and Tone | Difference Between | Mood vs Tone." Difference Between Mood and Tone | Difference
Between | Mood vs Tone. N.p., 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.
"Mood (composition And literature)." About.com Grammar & Composition. N.p., 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.
"Tone." About.com Grammar & Composition. N.p., 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.
"Tone and Mood." Fall Rivers School. N.p., n.d.Web. 6 Dec. 2012.
"Tone and Mood." Innetteacher. N.p., n.d.Web. 6 Dec. 2012.