TONE
Joey and Qwashawn nervously bit on their pencils during their ominous final exam. Their fear was almost tangible. Unfortunately, the answers would not jump out at them; they instead curled at the tips of their brains, eluding them, while the administrator yelled, "5 MINUTES!" What words from the above excerpt describes the speaker's feelings?
nervously, fear, ominous, foreboding, etc.
We knew Jim had a taste for adventure when he decided to circumnavigate the world. The meaning of circumnavigate is...
...to sail or travel all the way around (something, especially the world)
What is the author's purpose of writing the following: The Underground Railroad was a secret organization that helped slaves escape to freedom. Many slaves were able to escape because of the conductors and stationmasters. The northern states were free states and slaves were free once they arrived in the north. Secret codes and signals were used to identify the conductors and stationmasters
to inform
What can you infer happened in the following example?
The baby was asleep upstairs in his bed. Suddenly, I heard a loud, "THUMP!" and he began crying hysterically
The baby fell off the bed.
What is a run-on?
Joey giggled. "No way!" His smile lit up the classroom, beaming at everyone around him. "I passed English class!" His hard work and determination to never give up paid off. He earned his grade. What group of words from the selection conveys the author's attitude toward his grade?
giggles, smile, lit up, beaming, hard work, determination, etc.
Jill felt it would be advantageous for her to attend the seminar. Advantageous means...
Beneficial
What is the author's purpose of writing the following? Guitar Hero is the best of all of the Wii games. When you play Guitar Hero, you feel like a real rock star. This game is much more fun than any others. When you choose a Wii game, make sure that you choose Guitar Hero.
to persuade
What can be inferred in the following scenario?
In third grade, you cannot be promoted to fourth grade unless you pass the final exam. My classmate said she was going back to third grade again. I know her grades are good.
Her friend failed the final exam.
A clause that starts with after, although, as, while, when, because, until, unless, if, or since
What is a dependent clause?
The smell of wet, rotted wood, mixed with old hot dog water penetrated my nostrils. I tried to sit in his tiny car, but I could barely buckle the seat belt. Ariel tried to rev his raggity engine, but instead, his exhaust fell off. How does the speaker's point of view affect his impression of Ariel's car?
First person point of view allows the speaker to see everything as negative and raggity.
I wanted to just set the table and be done with it, but my mother scrupulously arranged each napkin, dish, and utensil until they were in perfect alignment. Scrupulously means...
in a very careful and thorough way; with great effort to avoid doing wrong.
How does the author achieve his purpose? The Slim-O-Matic will help you lose pounds and inches from your body in only one month. This amazing machine helps you to exercise correctly. If you buy now, you will also receive an easy video to show you the proper way to exercise. Send $75.99 and begin exercising today.
The author uses words like help, lose, amazing, easy, proper and today to achieve his purpose of persuading the audience that this product will help them lose weight.
The type of diction used in the following: “Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard Are sweeter: therefore, ye soft pipes, play on”
What is formal diction?
A clause that starts with who, whom, whose, that, or which
What is a relative clause?
"Yea, sure. I'll buy a ticket from you - when pigs fly. Does it look like I have any money? Why don't you go bother someone else." What does the tone of this excerpt tell us indirectly about the character?
His tone is sarcastic, and he shows that he is stingy and/or has no money.
The clues in the sentence were so helpful, Stanley was able to ascertain the meaning of the word beyond a shadow of a doubt. Ascertain means...
find (something) out for certain; make sure of.
How does the author achieve his purpose?
It was a beautiful morning in Austin, Texas. The sun was just rising in the sky. Juan couldn't wait to find his fishing pole and call his friend Sammy to go fishing. They had a great time on these early morning fishing trips. They took their dogs with them and the dogs would swim in the lake while they fished. It was so funny to watch those dogs paddle around the lake.
The author uses an anecdote to help him achieve the purpose of entertaining the audience.
What can you infer about the speaker in the following excerpt? “Busy old fool, unruly Sun, Why dost thou thus, Through windows, and through curtains, call on us? Must to thy motions lovers’ seasons run? Saucy pedantic wretch.”
The narrator is bitter and cruel; he uses words such as "fool" and "unruly" to describe the person he's speaking to.
Clauses, words, or phrases that are written in the same form
What is parallelism?
“I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” How does the speaker's tone change in the stanza?
It goes from feeling negative with "the sigh" to positive with it "has made all the difference."
Unlike his sister Cattie, who had a very calm and mellow disposition, John jumped on Sofas and ran through the house like an animal. Disposition means...
a person's natural qualities of mind and character
How does the author achieve his purpose? Guitar Hero is the best of all of the Wii games. When you play Guitar Hero, you feel like a real rock star. This game is much more fun than any others. When you choose a Wii game, make sure that you choose Guitar Hero
The author uses words like best, real, rock star, more fun, and Guitar Hero to achieve his purpose of persuading the audience that the game is the best.
How does the speaker achieve the tone in this passage?
“And the trees all died. They were orange trees. I don’t know why they died, they just died. Something wrong with the soil possibly or maybe the stuff we got from the nursery wasn’t the best. We complained about it. So we’ve got thirty kids there, each kid had his or her own little tree to plant and we’ve got these thirty dead trees. All these kids looking at these little brown sticks, it was depressing.”
The author repeats the words died and dead to give a somber, gloomy feel.
I need to buy new clothes for the summer.
I