English 98
Diction and Tone
Tone = the attitude a writer has towards the topic s/he is writing about. We usually describe a tone with an
adjective. Examples from your book were friendly, hostile, bitter, sarcastic, humorous, indifferent,
and sad. There are many more. Notice these often connect to emotion (or lack of emotion!).
Diction = the word/vocabulary choices a writer makes. Specific words and phrases can help a reader
discover the tone of a text.
Context: Imagine there was a big meeting at a workplace. When people left the meeting, they had different
attitudes towards what had happened in the meeting. Each of the following paragraphs is one person’s
response to the same meeting.
Directions: Read the paragraph and choose 1-2 words to describe the tone of the response. Then, find 2-3
words (or even sentence structure or punctuation) within the paragraph that support your choice.
Example:
Paragraph 1:
That meeting was so great! There were so many wonderful ideas floating around – I can’t believe the
amazing people I work with. They’re so smart, and they come up with such perfect ideas! I am SO GLAD I
work here, with them. I feel so lucky to be able to share ideas with them and to listen to their ideas. Many of
them are more experienced than I am, and they have a lot of insightful observations based on that
experience. I am just so glad I work here.
TONE: ____Enthusiastic___________________________________
Go back and look in the paragraph and choose 2-3 words that demonstrate this tone. Write them here:
WORDS (DICTION):
great, wonderful, amazing, capital letters, exclamation points
Paragraph 2:
That was a rough meeting, but I was really impressed with some of my colleagues. There were some
difficult topics on the agenda – things that people get emotional and frustrated about. These topics bring up
old interactions that weren’t very positive, but the way the boss handled the situation was exactly right. She
didn’t let the meeting go off topic and into negativity. Instead, she reminded all of us that we were a team
and needed to work together instead of create division. I wish there were more people like her.
TONE: _________________________________________________
WORDS (DICTION):
Paragraph 3:
I am so furious. I can’t believe she talked to me that way. It was embarrassing and completely uncalled for.
The meeting was a waste of my time. It was full of politics and people with grudges and I wish I hadn’t gone.
I don’t ever want to go to one of those meetings again.
TONE: _________________________________________________
WORDS (DICTION):
English 98
Paragraph 4:
They talked about so many changes during the meeting. I don’t really understand all the background
because I’m new here. I wonder if I will have a job once all these changes take place? It doesn’t seem like it.
I am so low in seniority and there are a lot of people above me. If things restructure, they will have first
choice at the jobs. I am afraid I will be one of the last people to be offered a job, if there even is a job. What if
I lose my job?
TONE: _________________________________________________
WORDS (DICTION):
Paragraph 5:
I heard about a lot of new ideas and the meeting, and I think they have a lot of promise. I hadn’t thought
about doing things in that way, and it seems like a good idea. Things here have changed a lot, and I think
many of us are stuck in old patterns that don’t reflect an awareness of the changes. These new procedures
are more in line with the changes that have taken place over the last few years. I know I’ll need to adapt to a
new way of doing things, but I think we are moving in the right direction.
TONE: _________________________________________________
WORDS (DICTION):
Paragraph 6:
I can’t believe I said that. It just flew out of my mouth, and everyone looked at me as if I were rude. It was
embarrassing. I didn’t mean to offend anyone, but I was talking and people just stood up to leave. I thought
they were the rude ones! I didn’t realize that the meeting was running late. I was talking about something
important to me, and I think it was also important to the people in the meeting. At that moment, I was
really irritated that people stood up to leave while I was talking, so I just called them out. I guess I talked to
them like they were naughty children. I didn’t mean to show disrespect. I don’t want my coworkers to be
angry with me or insulted by me. Now I don’t know what to do.
TONE: _________________________________________________
WORDS (DICTION):
Paragraph 7:
What were they talking about in that meeting? I have been out of town on business for a few weeks, and it
sure seems like things got stressful around here. It’s clear that there are some difficulties that haven’t been
resolved, that’s for sure. I wonder what happened? And when did all these changes start? Why are we
making the changes? I thought things were going well around here. Maybe I’m gone too much and I don’t
really know what’s happening. I need to sit down with my supervisor and find out what’s been going on and
how it will affect me.
TONE: _________________________________________________
WORDS (DICTION):