KEEP THIS HANDOUT FOREVER,
OR LONGER.
Tone, Diction, and Syntax
TONE: the writer or speaker’s attitude toward the subject,
audience, or events of the text. Word choice (diction), details,
imagery, and sentence structure (syntax) all contribute to
the understanding of tone. So…tone is the result of other
literary choices made by the author. Keep in mind that all
texts have tone. You can’t just say, “The paragraph has
tone.” You have to specify or qualify the tone. “The author’s
angry tone in the third paragraph shows that she has not
forgiven her brother.”
Tone vocabulary:
angry
sad
fanciful
upset
joking
giddy
proud
seductive
understanding pitiful
restrained
provocative
sweet
irreverent
benevolent
vexed
detached
zealous
nostalgic
confused
sentimental
urgent
bored
happy
mocking
humorous
weary
shocked
candid
hollow
sharp
complimentary
poignant
dramatic
horrified
dreamy
afraid
childish
sarcastic
mournful
cold
silly
sympathetic
didactic
somber
condescending
apologetic
objective
contemptuous
ecstatic
Activities:
Use a thesaurus to find synonyms for the following words. Be ready to discuss
the attitude or tone implied by each synonym.
laugh
old
fat
self-confident
house
king
In five minutes, list as many synonyms as you know for the following:
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Funny
Happy
Sad
Angry
DICTION: The connotation or associations of word choice.
Just as with tone, all works have diction. Again, you must
specify or qualify the diction. Instead of “The author’s
diction was interesting, “ say, “Salinger’s slang-filled, often
profane diction in The Catcher in the Rye captures the voice of
its teenage narrator.”
Diction or language vocabulary:
jargon
euphemistic
poetic
pedantic
scholarly
pretentious
sensuous
idiomatic
informal
precise
cultured
esoteric
symbolic
homespun
simple
trite
obscure
emotional
obtuse
detached
bombastic
vulgar
slang
colloquial
picturesque
plain
literal
concrete
moralistic
insipid
formal
learned
connotative
provincial
figurative
Examples:
When I told Dad I screwed up on the exam, he blew his top. (Colloquial,
figurative)
I had him on the ropes in the fourth and if one of my short rights had connected,
he’d have gone down for the count. (Jargon)
Activity:
Describe the diction of each of the following sentences:
1. We regret to inform you of the forthcoming foreclosure of your mortgage.
Our previous attempts at communication were heretofore
unacknowledged.
2. Come back soon, y’all!
3. Beyond the verdant valleys and craggy peaks, a small house was nestled
in a wood along a winding blue river.
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SYNTAX: Sentence structure, including sentence length and
pattern. As with diction and tone, you need to qualify or
specify the syntax. Don’t just say, “The author uses syntax to
show his views of nature.” Better: “The author uses long,
compound-complex sentences to show his overwhelming
love of nature, specifically the forest where he goes nutting.”
Sentence length: short, medium, long, choppy, flowing, fragmented.
Some types of sentence patterns:
a. Declarative: statement
Imperative: command
Interrogative: question
Exclamatory: exclamation
The queen is sick.
Stand up.
Is the queen sick?
The queen is dead!
b. Rhetorical question: expects no answer; used to draw attention to an idea.
Sometimes expresses humor or sarcasm.
Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue?
Did you have trouble finding the classroom this morning?
“Was it cowardice, that I dared not kill him? / Was it perversity, that I longed to talk
to him?” (D.H. Lawrence, “Snake.”)
c. Simple: one subject and one verb
The queen is sick.
Compound: two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction
(FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) or semicolon.
The queen is sick; her husband remains healthy.
The queen is sick, but her husband remains healthy.
Complex: an independent clause and one or more subordinate or dependent
clauses.
You said that the queen is sick.
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Compound-complex: two or more independent clauses and one or more
subordinate clauses.
You said that the queen is sick; I heard that she’s getting better.
You said that the queen is sick, but I heard that she’s getting better.
More on dependent/subordinate and independent clauses:
Independent Clause
An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete
thought. An independent clause is a sentence.
Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz.
Dependent Clause
A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete
thought. A dependent clause cannot be a sentence. Often a dependent clause is marked by a dependent
marker word.
When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz . . . (What happened when he studied? The
thought is incomplete.)
Dependent Marker Word
A dependent marker word is a word added to the beginning of an independent clause that makes it into a
dependent clause.
When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz, it was very noisy.
Some common dependent markers are: after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in
order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, and while.
Source: Purdue Online Writing Lab. "Purdue OWL: Independent and Dependent Clauses." Welcome to the
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL). Web. 09 Feb. 2011.
<http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/598/1/>.
d. Loose: sentence with independent clause first, followed by dependent or
subordinate clauses. It makes sense if brought to a close before the actual
ending
The queen is sick with a mild stomachache brought on by eating raw oysters.
Periodic: Dependent or subordinate clauses first, followed by independent
clauses. This type makes complete sense only when end of sentence is
reached, and typically the end of the sentence is dramatic.
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After eating raw oysters, the queen became ill.
More on loose and periodic sentences:
 "Although loose sentences are less dramatic than periodic sentences, they too can be crafted into
rhythmically pleasing structures. John F. Kennedy, for example, began his 1961 inaugural address with a
loose sentence: 'We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom, symbolizing an end
as well as a beginning, signifying renewal as well as change.'"
(Stephen Wilbers, Keys to Great Writing. Writer's Digest Books, 2000)
 "A loose sentence makes its major point at the beginning and then adds subordinate phrases and clauses
that develop or modify the point. A loose sentence could end at one or more points before it actually does,
as the periods in brackets illustrate in the following example:
It went up[.], a great ball of fire about a mile in diameter[.], an elemental force freed from
its bonds[.] after being chained for billions of years.
A periodic sentence delays its main idea until the end by presenting modifiers or subordinate ideas first,
thus holding the readers' interest until the end."
(Gerald J. Alred, Charles T. Brusaw, and Walter E. Oliu, The Business Writer's Companion. Macmillan,
2007)
Source: Nordquist, Richard. "Loose Sentence - Definition and Examples of Loose Sentences." Grammar and
Composition - Homepage of About Grammar and Composition. Web. 09 Feb. 2011.
<http://grammar.about.com/od/il/g/loosenterm.htm>.
e. Natural order: subject precedes predicate.
Oranges grow in California.
Inverted order, inversion, or Yodaspeak: predicate precedes subject.
In California grow oranges.
Confident am I that you will make the right choice, Anakin.
f. Juxtaposition: normally unassociated ideas, words, and phrases placed next
to each other for significant effect, often surprising or witty.
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough (Ezra Pound, “In the Station of the Metro)
g. Balanced: The phrases or clauses balance each other by virtue of their
likeness in structure, meaning, and/or length. Usually longer.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (The Beatitudes)
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h. Parallelism: similar elements are expressed in similar form, often in a list.
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue
of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries. (Winston Churchill)
i. Repetition: Repeating words or phrases to enhance rhythm and create
emphasis.
Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the
earth. (Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address)
(Syntax portion adapted in part from an anonymous teacher’s adaptation from A
Guide for English Vertical Teams, The College Board.)
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DIDLS: THE TONE ACRONYM
DICTION
The connotation or associations of word choice.
Different words for the same thing often suggest
different attitudes toward that thing: consider happy
vs. content vs. ecstatic.
+IMAGERY
Vivid appeals to reader’s understanding through
the five senses. The images chosen suggest the
speaker’s attitude. In our classroom, I could choose to
focus on the peculiar odor of teenagers or the
colorful, inspiring posters that fill the walls.
+DETAILS
Facts that are included or omitted. If a narrator
witnesses a horrible sight and withholds the gory
details, his attitude would be different than a narrator
who focuses mostly on the gory details. Compare
CNN vs. The Daily Show vs. People magazine
+LANGUAGE
The overall use of language such as formal,
colloquial, clinical, or jargon. An ambassador
speaks differently from Holden Caulfield who talks
differently from a doctor who talks differently from a
cop. The type of overall language used tells us
something about the speaker’s attitude.
+SYNTAX
The sentence order, length, and structure. Long,
flowing sentences give a different feeling than short,
choppy ones. If the narrator writes in fragments or
awkward sentences, we might think he is
uneducated. Long flowing sentences might suggest
sophistication or the conventions of a particular time.
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These elements combine to create TONE.
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