Differences
Tone
Purpose
Theme
Main Idea
100
Give me an example that illustrates the difference between a topic and a main idea.
Ex: the topic of an article in MotorTrend magazine is "Cars." The main idea of that article is "Cars are harming the environment."
100
Describe an author's tone.
An author's tone is his or her attitude towards a subject.
100
First, demonstrate that you know what the word "purpose" means by using it in a sentence. Next, define: an author's purpose.
Ex: Learning is my purpose in life. An author's purpose is his reason for writing.
100
Describe what a theme is
A theme is a general or universal message.
100
What is a main idea?
A main idea is what an author has to say about a topic.
200
Give me an example which illustrates the difference between topic and theme.
The topic of one chapter from The Absolutely True Diary of A Part Time Indian is "hope." The theme is that "there is no hope to be found on typical Indian reservations."
200
Describe some event in your life in an angry tone. Describe the same event in a sad tone. What choices did you make to switch from an angry to a sad tone.
Likely, the choices made will be word choices.
200
An author writes in order to... Hint: there are three possible answers, each is a verb.
persuade, inform, entertain
200
Give me an example of a theme.
Ex: Hate will succumb to Love.
200
One of the best ways to lock a door is with a time lock. The lock is set for a certain time. It will not open before the time that has been set. It won't open when that time has passed. Banks find that time locks help keep your money safe. What is the main idea? And how do you know?
The first sentence is the main idea. I know this because the following sentences are details which support the first sentence.
300
What is the topic and theme of the following passage? In his sophomore year of high school, Michael Jordan tried out for the varsity basketball team at Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. But at five feet and eleven inches tall, the coach believed that Jordan was too short to play at that level, so Jordan was cut from the team. Jordan didn’t let this obstacle defeat him. In fact, it pushed him to work even harder. When he finally made the varsity squad, Jordan averaged 25 points a game and went on to become one of the greatest basketball players in history.
Topic: Michael Jordan Theme: Great achievement comes from great effort.
300
Tone is an author's attitude toward some subject. Demonstrate that you understand this definition by giving me a synonym for the word "attitude," as the word is used in this context.
A possible synonym for attitude would be "feelings" Tone is an author's feelings toward some subject.
300
A monkey put his hand into a jar of cookies. He grasped as many as he could possibly hold, but when he tried to pull out his hand, he was prevented from doing so by the neck of the cookie jar. Unwilling to lose the cookies, and yet unable to withdraw his hand, he burst into tears and bitterly lamented his disappointment. What is the theme?
Don't be greedy.
300
Find the irrelevant supporting detail... The largest organ in the human body is the skin. One of the skin's functions is to help regulate the amount of body heat that flows in and out of the body. Heavy smoking ages skin very quickly. When it is cold, we cover the skin with extra layers of clothing to slow down the outward flow of heat. When it is hot, evaporation of sweat cools us down.
Heavy smoking ages skin very quickly.
400
Explain the difference between a main idea and a theme.
The main idea is what an author specifically says about a topic and a theme is the general message centered around the topic.
400
What is the tone of the following poem: From one thousand mountains the birds‘ flights are gone; From ten thousand byways the human track has vanished. In a single boat, an aged man, straw cloak and hat, Fishes alone; snow falls, cold in the river.
Melancholy is the tone.
400
Dear Tall, Dark and Handsome — This is your lucky day! The girl of your dreams is just a phone call away. I am 5’ 10’’, slim, pretty, and only 23. I love pop music, good books, exotic foods, and foreign travel. Give me a ring any day after 6 P.M. You won’t be sorry. Your gal, Jackie. What is the author's purpose?
The author's purpose is to persuade, to convince you to call the writer
400
One winter a Monkey found a Snake stiff and frozen with cold. He had compassion on it, and taking it up, placed it in his bosom. The Snake was quickly revived by the warmth, and resuming its natural instincts, bit the monkey, inflicting on him a mortal wound. What is the theme?
You can't change someone's nature.
400
What is the main idea? And how do you know?. . . Some people do not know that the whale is a mammal just like a human. Humpback whales will sometimes leap clear up out of the water, an act known as breaching. Since a humpback whale can weigh thirty tons and measure 15 meters in length, it takes an enormous amount of energy to do this.
Humpback whales will sometimes leap clear up out of the water, an act known as breaching.
500
What is the main idea of this passage and what is the theme? Ulysses spent all of his free time reading books and felt that he was very intelligent. One day a nice student from his class asked him if he wanted to go sledding and Ulysses responded, “I’ve read about sledding in books, and it sounds miserable. No, thank you.” On another day, a different friendly student asked Ulysses if he wanted to go out for hotdogs after school. Ulysses responded, “I’ve read that hotdogs are filled with rat parts and pig bellies. No, thank you.” Nobody asked Ulysses to hang out again, but he did read about friends in his books.
Ulysses mistakes reading for experience. One should not mistake reading for experience.
500
I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too? Then there's a pair of us -- don't tell! They'd advertise -- you know! How dreary to be somebody! How public like a frog To tell one's name the livelong day To an admiring bog! What is Emily Dickinson's attitude toward being known by the public? What is the tone of the poem?
Emily's attitude toward public recognition and the tone of the poem are one and the same: disdain(ful)
500
The word is terracide. It is not committed with guns and knives, but with relentless bulldozers, roaring dump trucks, and giant shovels like mythological beasts. Dynamite cuts and rips apart mountains to reach the minerals inside, leaving nothing but empty, naked hills. The land is left wasted and allowed to slide down upon houses and into streams, making the land unlivable and the stream water undrinkable. This is terracide, or if you prefer, strip mining. What is the author's purpose?
The author's purpose is to persuade you that strip mining is bad.
500
A Fox was boasting to a Cat of its clever devices for escaping its enemies. "I have a whole bag of tricks," he said, "which contains a hundred ways of escaping my enemies." "I have only one," said the Cat; "but I can generally manage with that." Just at that moment they heard the cry of a pack of hounds coming towards them, and the Cat immediately scampered up a tree and hid herself in the boughs. "This is my plan," said the Cat. "What are you going to do?" The Fox thought first of one way, then of another, and while he was debating the hounds came nearer and nearer, and at last the Fox in his confusion was caught up by the hounds and soon killed by the huntsmen. What is the theme?
It is better to do one thing right than a hundred things incorrectly.
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