Mastering Tone and Attitude in Reading Comprehension
In competitive exams like the GMAT, understanding the author's tone and attitude is crucial for accurately interpreting passages and answering critical reasoning questions. Tone refers to the author's attitude toward the subject matter and the audience, conveyed through word choice, sentence structure, and overall style. Attitude is closely related, often encompassing the author's feelings or opinions.
Why Tone and Attitude Matter
Identifying tone and attitude helps you:
- Grasp the author's intent: Are they trying to persuade, inform, criticize, praise, or entertain?
- Discern subtle meanings: The same facts can be presented with vastly different emotional coloring.
- Predict the author's stance: This is vital for critical reasoning questions that ask about assumptions or conclusions.
- Evaluate the credibility of the author: A biased tone might signal a need for caution.
Common Tones and Attitudes
| Tone/Attitude | Description | Keywords/Phrases |
|---|---|---|
| Objective/Neutral | Presents facts without personal bias or emotion. | states, reports, analyzes, describes, factual, impartial |
| Optimistic/Hopeful | Expresses a positive outlook and belief in favorable outcomes. | promising, bright, encouraging, confident, positive |
| Pessimistic/Doubtful | Expresses a negative outlook and lack of confidence. | bleak, grim, uncertain, skeptical, negative |
| Critical/Sarcastic | Expresses disapproval or mockery, often with irony. | flawed, inadequate, ridiculous, absurd, ironic |
| Appreciative/Admiring | Expresses admiration or gratitude. | commendable, excellent, valuable, grateful, laudatory |
| Concerned/Anxious | Expresses worry or unease about a situation. | alarming, troubling, worrying, apprehensive, cautious |
| Enthusiastic/Passionate | Expresses strong excitement and interest. | thrilling, exciting, passionate, fervent, zealous |
| Skeptical/Questioning | Expresses doubt or challenges assumptions. | unproven, questionable, dubious, uncertain, interrogative |
Strategies for Identifying Tone and Attitude
- Focus on Word Choice (Diction): Pay close attention to adjectives, adverbs, and verbs. Are they loaded with positive, negative, or neutral connotations?
- Analyze Sentence Structure: Short, choppy sentences might convey urgency or anger, while long, complex sentences could indicate a more formal or analytical approach.
- Consider the Overall Message: What is the author trying to achieve? What is their underlying feeling about the subject?
- Look for Figurative Language: Metaphors, similes, and other figures of speech can reveal emotional coloring.
- Identify the Audience: The author's tone might shift depending on who they are addressing.
Imagine a spectrum of emotions. On one end, you have pure joy and enthusiasm, represented by bright, energetic colors. On the other, you have deep sadness or anger, depicted with dark, intense hues. In between lie a multitude of other feelings. Authors use words like 'exhilarating,' 'joyful,' or 'thrilled' to paint with the bright colors of enthusiasm. Conversely, words like 'dismal,' 'outraged,' or 'devastated' use the dark, intense colors of negativity. The specific shade and intensity of these colors, determined by the author's word choice, reveal their tone and attitude towards the subject.
Text-based content
Library pages focus on text content
Word choice (diction) and sentence structure.
Practice Scenarios
Consider these two sentences:
- 'The new policy, while ambitious, presents several significant challenges that require careful consideration.'
- 'This ill-conceived policy, a monument to bureaucratic folly, is destined to create a quagmire of unforeseen problems.'
What is the difference in tone and attitude between these two statements? Sentence 1 is likely objective or cautiously critical, while Sentence 2 is clearly highly critical and perhaps sarcastic or dismissive.
When faced with a passage, ask yourself: 'How does the author feel about this?' The answer lies in the language they use.
Applying Tone and Attitude to Critical Reasoning
In critical reasoning, understanding tone helps you identify the author's assumptions, biases, and the strength of their arguments. For example, if an author uses overly emotional language or dismisses opposing viewpoints without evidence, their tone might indicate a weak or biased argument, which is crucial for evaluating the validity of their claims.
Learning Resources
The official guide from GMAC provides practice questions and explanations, including those focused on reading comprehension and critical reasoning, which implicitly test tone and attitude.
This comprehensive guide from Manhattan Prep covers various aspects of reading comprehension, including how to identify author's tone and attitude.
Kaplan offers free resources that detail strategies for tackling reading comprehension passages, often touching upon tone and author's intent.
This blog post provides practical tips and examples for recognizing different authorial tones in GMAT passages.
Khan Academy offers free video lessons on reading comprehension, often covering how to analyze passages for author's perspective and tone.
A community forum where GMAT aspirants discuss strategies, share resources, and ask questions about reading comprehension, including tone and attitude.
While not GMAT-specific, Purdue OWL provides excellent foundational knowledge on identifying tone in academic writing, which is transferable.
This article offers actionable advice for improving reading comprehension skills, including how to infer author's attitude and purpose.
A YouTube video demonstrating how to identify tone and attitude in practice questions, offering visual examples.
This strategy guide covers key aspects of GMAT reading comprehension, including how to analyze the author's perspective and tone.