Tone and attitude
Tone comes from word choice. Look at the adjectives, verbs and details the author picks.
The rules
- Mark words that carry feeling (admirable, careless, remarkable, dull).
- Match the tone to the choices: admiring, skeptical, neutral, ironic, nostalgic, urgent.
- Most science and history passages are neutral or informative. Don't invent strong emotion.
- Eliminate choices that are too extreme.
Watch out: Choosing a strong tone for a passage that is simply informative.
Worked example
A passage calls an invention "ingenious" and "quietly transformative." The author's attitude is:
- Ingenious and transformative are positive.
- They show admiration.
- Neutral or critical would not fit.
Answer: admiring.
Try it yourself
Practice questions for this skill are for signed-in students. A free account is all you need.