Don't Take That Tone With Me!

Tone is the writer's attitude that shows up in their writing. 

Some possible tones are fun, serious, solemn, sarcastic, objective, enthusiastic, humorous, hostile, disapproving, personal, impersonal.  

Tone in Your Essay

In your writing, try to maintain one tone by choosing words and examples that support your main idea's tone.  For example, if you're writing about how bad the animal abuse problem is, you would probably want a solemn (serious) tone.  In that case, you should probably leave out the funny examples about your dog.  Try instead to keep the same solemn tone by telling a solemn story about the animal that you saw being abused.

Match Your Figurative Language to Your Overall Tone

Remember that your choice of figurative language should also 'match' your tone.  In the example above, you wouldn't want to compare the way the girl was hitting the dog to the way you beat cake batter, because beating a dog is serious, while beating cake batter is fun and light.

Metaphorically Speaking

literary devices in songs

Similes and Metaphors in Pop Music Movie.wmv

Similes in Songs

Metaphor: The Spice of Life (and Good Writing)

Good writers use metaphor to imbue their writing with meaning.  We do this by making connections between what our reader already knows and what we want them to know.

Example:  When I saw the ghost, my stomach started to feel gross turned to jello.


Examples from Literature:
“I lift my arm out of the water. It's a log. Put it back under and it blows up even bigger. People see the log and call it a twig. They yell at me because I can't see what they see. Nobody can explain to me why my eyes work different than theirs. Nobody can make it stop. ” Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Did you write an awesome metaphor in your current piece?  Please share it with us in the comments!

Personification

Personification is a specific type of figurative language which turns a thing into a person.  In the example that follows, the minutes (things) are able to march (something people do).  


"The final eight minutes march past in silent formation until the timer on her desk dings." p. 118  in Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Andersen