Author's Purpose and Tone

Tone is expressed through the words and details the author selects. To determine the author’s tone, you must notice how these words and details are used within the writing.

Textbooks are usually written with an objective tone which includes facts and reasonable explanations. The objective tone is matter-of-fact and neutral. The details are mostly facts. On the other hand, fiction and personal essays are usually written with a subjective tone. A subjective tone uses words that describe feelings, judgments, or opinions. The details are likely to include experiences, senses, feelings, and thoughts.

Objective tone is impartial. It does not show any feelings for or against a topic; therefore, it is unbiased or neutral. Often objective tone uses higher level words and avoids pronouns such as I and you, creating a formal tone.

Subjective tone is personal, biased, emotional, and often informal.