Tone
Tone is a writer's attitude as expressed in a text.
To establish an objective tone, a writer
- maintains a neutral stance towards a topic, regardless of his or her personal feelings
- presents ideas as accurately as possible, supporting ideas with observations and measurable evidence
- avoids loaded language, which has strong positive or negative connotations
Example: The law has proved controversial, and a protest is planned for March 9.
The writer mentions the protest to provide factual evidence that the law has caused controversy. It's not clear how the writer personally feels about the law.
To establish a subjective tone, a writer
- injects his or her own feelings, values, or judgments into the presentation of a topic
- supports ideas with personal opinions and beliefs
- uses strongly emotional or loaded language
- uses personal pronouns, like I, to present topics from his or her perspective
Example: This outrageous law has invigorated protesters, who will gather on March 9.
The writer includes subjective language, like "outrageous" and "invigorated," which reveals the writer's feelings. It's clear that the writer personally disagrees with the law.
Academic writing generally calls for an objective tone, which helps communicate that the writer is credible and has presented an accurate and unbiased argument. However, a subjective tone is appropriate for some forms of writing, such as personal narratives, opinion pieces, and reviews.
Complete IXL
Links to an external site. Ninth grade Lesson: HH.3 Compare passages for subjective and objective tone.