Identifying Tone & Purpose on the ACT
7 min de lectura · Entrenau
On the ACT by ACT, Inc., many reading comprehension questions ask you to identify the tone, stance, or purpose of the author. This skill is one of the most high-yield because it appears across multiple passages and follows a predictable pattern once you learn to recognize it.
What Is the Author's Tone?
The tone is the author's attitude toward the subject: it can be informative, critical, ironic, nostalgic, optimistic, pessimistic, neutral, or persuasive. Identifying tone helps you understand not just what the author says, but how the author feels about it.
The stance is the position the author takes: for or against? Neutral? Presenting multiple perspectives? Distinguishing tone from stance gives you a significant edge on interpretation questions.
Clues for Identifying Tone
Vocabulary: words with positive connotation suggest a favorable tone; words with negative connotation suggest criticism or concern.
Adjectives and adverbs: "unfortunately," "fortunately," "surprisingly" reveal the author's emotional position.
Argument structure: does the author present counter-arguments? If so, the tone is probably analytical or balanced. If only one side is shown, it is persuasive.
Original content — Entrenau
Most Common Tones on the Exam
Standardized test passages typically use informative, analytical, or argumentative tones. You will rarely encounter passages with extreme emotional tones.
For literary passages, pay attention to the narrator: is it a detached observer (objective tone) or an emotional participant (subjective tone)?
Tip: When a question asks about tone, first eliminate choices that represent extreme emotions. The answer is usually more moderate than you expect.
How to Practice
When taking practice tests, before reading the answer choices, ask yourself: "Is the author informing, criticizing, proposing, or narrating?" This simple question gets the right answer in most cases.
Read opinion columns from newspapers and identify whether the author is for or against the topic. Underline the words that gave you the clue.
Fuentes: Official ACT website