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In your notebooks, answer the following question: How is expository writing different than writing? DO NOW NARRATIVE TONE & AUTHOR’S VOICE Definition: • Tone: a compound of , which encompasses the attitudes toward the subject and toward the implied in a literary work. • Basically: tone is how the author conveys a specific attitude. This is shown through word choice and the meanings associated with that (connotation). • This is done using syntax and author’s voice. • Remember: syntax means word choice. Tones: • Tones can be informal, formal, condescending, joyful, playful, somber, angry, enraged, etc. • Any sort of feeling you can think of – there’s a tone for it, and the appropriate words to show it. • Tone is implicit. • A reader must figure out the ’s tone by themselves. Tone vs. • Tone IS NOT mood. • Mood is the feeling the author wants reader to experience while reading the piece. • Mood is achieved through tone. • Think about vs. – theme is the overall idea, while the moral is the lesson from the story. • Tone is the overall emotion the story relays, mood is the emotion you feel in that moment of the story. How can we change tone? • It is very easy to indicate tone when we speak using vocal inflection, emphasis, enunciation, etc. • A sentence can have identical words but very different tones – this is obvious when speaking. • In writing, tone is shown through words. • These are words or sentences that, strung together, display strong emotion. Tone and Author’s Voice • Tone and author’s voice are similar. • Tone is one of the aspects of author’s voice.

So, author’s voice is… Author’s Voice • The distinctive style used by an author, connecting tone, syntax, word choice, topic, and audience. • An author’s voice is similar to his or her fingerprints – it is unique to them. Author’s Voice 1. Style 2. Flavor 3. Tone 4. Sincerity 5. Reflection of the writer 6. Interest 7. Connection – not only between writer and topic, but also writer and reader. Examples from what we’ve read so far: • “I would rather pee lightning than go against a bunch of professionals.” – Olan Rogers (“The Comeback Kid”)

• “…she bought lottery tickets, not so much because she believed she might win but because not playing meant she did not believe that sudden good things could happen. She was a businessperson, after all: she knew what a bad investment that weekly dollar was.” – Elizabeth McCracken (“Desiderata”) Examples from what we’ve read so far: • “The lodge and back, baby.” – Lian Dolan (“Carry Your Own Skis”)

• “How Horrible Can I Be Before I Experience A Prohibitive Amount of Shame?” – Allie Brosh (“Motivation”)

• “It is curious, but till that moment I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man.” – George Orwell (“A Hanging”) “Identity” by Allie Brosh • Read the story “Identity” by Allie Brosh with ONE partner and be prepared to discuss the following questions: 1. In what tone is this essay written? 2. How can you tell? 3. What did you think of this essay? 4. What sort of voice does Brosh use? “Identity” by Allie Brosh • ON YOUR OWN PAPER, INDIVIDUALLY ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: 1. Can you relate to Brosh’s depiction of “Identity?” 2. How does Brosh represent herself? 3. What is the narrative tone of this essay? How can you tell? 4. Do you relate to Brosh’s situation at all? Why or why not? 5. Pick out and copy one sentence that shows strong tone words. What tone do those words show? Why did you pick that sentence? 6. How does Brosh show her author’s voice? What makes this essay unmistakably hers? 7. What does Brosh mean by “Identity vs. Itself?” What does that section about her? 8. Did you like this essay? Why or why not? “Advice to Youth” by Mark Twain • Individually read “Advice to Youth” by Mark Twain and answer the following questions on the same paper from before: 1. What is the narrative tone of “Advice to Youth?” 2. Why do you think Twain wrote “Advice to Youth?” 3. In “Advice to Youth,” Twain reveals he was asked to give good advice to the students gathered there. What does he do with this opportunity? 4. What is Twain’s advice about lying? What does this show about Twain as a person? 5. How does Twain show his author’s voice? What makes this essay unmistakably his? 6. Pick out and copy one sentence from “Advice to Youth” that shows strong tone words. What tone do those words show? Why did you pick that sentence? 7. Did you like this essay? Why or why not?

TURN ALL WORK IN TO THE CLASS BOX IN THE BACK WHEN YOU ARE DONE. Discussion: • In what tone is this essay written? • How can you tell? • What did you think of this essay? • What sort of voice does Twain use? Homework: • Read “On Summer” by Lorraine Hansberry – either in the personal essays packet or on the website, englishwithmsb.educatorpages.com • Hansberry discusses what she does and doesn’t like about summer, and why. • Your assignment is to do the same for one particular season: “On Spring,” “On Summer,” “On Fall,” or “On Winter.” • The final assignment should be at least two paragraphs long.

THIS IS DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF NEXT CLASS.