PURPOSE

TONE
POINT OF VIEW
INTENDED AUDIENCE
ELC 501
Blended Learning Lesson
Week 10
Understanding purpose, tone, point of view and intended
audience

 Purpose, tone, point of view and intended audience are related to one other.

Point of Intended
Purpose Tone
view audience

 An author’s tone reflects his/her purpose of writing, as well as point of view, which is
intended for a specific audience or a target audience.
 It is necessary to know the reason why an author writes a piece of writing (purpose),
as it will lead to understanding the writer’s point of view.

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AUTHOR’S PURPOSE
To show reason/intention for writing

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Purpose

There are basically 4 purposes for writing:

 To inform (share something); tone - neutral / unemotional / objective

 To persuade (make people believe what the author is saying); tone - biased

 To entertain (for fun, humour); tone - humourous

 To instruct (to show how, teach, guide); tone - objective

Visit this blog to read more about author’s purpose -

http://blog.writeathome.com/index.php/2012/02/writing-modes-the-four-purposes-of-
writing/
(hover, right click & “open hyperlink” to get there)
You can also visit this link –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDJOHByFNNw

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Determining Purpose
Now, how to know an author’s
purpose?
 Look at the title / subtitles (if available)
 Look at the main ideas + author’s
argument → what is the author’s overall
reason for writing
Example:
These are the important bits of information you
need to know about the Zika virus:
a) Causes of the contraction of the virus
b) Effects of contracting the virus
c) Symptoms of the virus
d) The severity of the spread of the virus
worldwide
Therefore, the author’s purpose for writing based
on these sub-topics is:
 to inform readers about Zika virus and how
widespread it is.
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Practice on “Author’s Purpose”

1. Practice of euthanasia:
a) Euthanasia should be made illegal as no one has the right to take
another person’s life, even if it is for ethical or moral reasons.
b) This practice is wrong as there can be misuse or abuse of power
by physicians or people related to the patient.
c) If euthanasia is made illegal, patients will still have at least a
slight chance of recovery or improvement in the quality of life.
Therefore, the purpose of the author for mentioning these points is:
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

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…more practices on “Author’s Purpose”

2. Use of painkillers:
a. The overuse of painkillers has killed many people
worldwide.
b. The abuse of this substance can destroy or inhibit brain
function.
c. There has been lots of evidence of brain damage among its
frequent users.
Thus, the purpose of the author for saying all this about
painkillers is:
__________________________________________________
Note: You can also use these examples to identify the author’s tone, intended audience and point of view.
Post your response on the online forum/chat group platform you are participating for this lesson.

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AUTHOR’S TONE
To indicate the author’s attitude

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Tone is..

… an expression
of the author’s Feelings Emotions
attitude/feelings/
emotions/mood
based on the
author’s use of Attitude Mood
words and
writing style. Tone

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Determining Tone

An overall tone can be identified based on the most used tone in a passage
(despite other tones that are present in the text).
 An author who wants to persuade readers
might use an enthusiastic / concerned /
angry / indignant / worried / urgent
tone.
 An author who wants to inform/share
knowledge writes in a neutral /
unemotional / matter-of-fact tone.
Click on the link for more on author’s tone:
https://writerswrite.co.za/155-words-to-
describe-an-authors-tone/
(hover, right click & “open hyperlink” to get there) Please refer to Slide 14 for classification of verbs associated with
emotional and neutral tones

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Tone and Bias
A tone used by the author can also indicate a bias or the side favoured by the author.

BIAS
 An author’s bias can also be identified based on the
words/phrases used.
 An author’s bias will show whether the author has a
positive or negative attitude towards a certain issue
being highlighted.
 An author can be seen to be biased or not biased
based on whether he used more emotional or neutral
words.
(Please refer to Slide 14 for classification of verbs associated
with emotional and neutral tones)

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…more on “Tone”

Examples:
Based on the words/phrases used, what is the overall tone?
1.There is a pressing need to quickly fix this matter.
urgent tone
2.The national examination is too rigid and it will definitely
hamper students’ ability to learn meaningfully.
disapproving tone
3. I am worried that if we do not do something about this, it
will prevent us from achieving the objective we desire.
concerned tone

Note: For a complete list of tones, please refer to Janet Elder,

Exercise Your College Reading Skills (pp.253-255).
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Try this:

Identify the best tone you can associate with the words used in each item. The first one has been done for you.

1. Oh no. I’m worried. Tone - worried/upset/concerned

2. There’s a NEED to do this now. Tone -

3. I don’t think you can do it, can you? Tone -

4. There are four common types of phobias. Tone -

5. I’m sorry I did that to you. Tone -

6. Those poor victims! I want to help them. Tone -

7. I don’t care. I want to go NOW. Tone -

8. Food crisis happens all over the world. Tone -

9. I’m definitely sure. It’s confirmed. Tone -

10. There is a need to save water. If we don’t, then there’s nothing left for the next generation.

Tone -

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 Classification of Tones
Neutral Emotional Supportive
1. Unemotional - no emotions / 1. Serious - grave/deeply 1. Hopeful - inspiring hope
feelings interested

2. Dispassionate - unaffected 2. Alarmed 2. Sympathetic - showing

by passion / emotion sympathy

3. Matter-of-fact –unemotional / 3. Concerned - caring deeply 3. Approving - showing

straightforward approval / agreeing

4. Neutral – unemotional / no 4. Urgent - calling for immediate

preference attention

5. Objective - no emotions 5. Critical - fault finding and

tendency to criticise
6. Indifferent - no preference / 6. Disapproving - unfavourable
concern judgement

7. Self-righteous - morally upright

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More practice on author’s tone:
Identify the tone (the overall tone that is evident) which best describes each excerpt. There can
be more than one possible answer

What is the overall tone? Answers:

1. We hoped so badly that it would be free for the next day as
well so that we could book it for the following nights.

2. It was amazing!! One more stop in the coral reefs with

more sharks and many little fish all very colorful! Again
very amazing!

3. We spent three days there and did some snorkeling.

4. As an ordinary mum of two, I would have to question why

and how Connor was getting snacks every 20 minutes. His
mother says it’s because he would throw terrible tantrums if
he didn’t get them. Studies have shown that fluctuating
blood sugar levels cause irritability and behavioural
problems and eating processed foods would significantly
raise the blood sugar level.

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Try this:
Identify the tone (the overall tone that is evident) which best describes each topic that is
presented below. There can be more than one possible answer. The first one is done for you.
1. How to Bake a Cake
 Purpose -To instruct.
 Tone-neutral
 indicating instruction: steps on how to…./guidelines on how to…/process/procedures on…/method of…./manual
on…/techniques of…/

2. Why Organic Food is Better than Conventional Food

 Purpose -
 Tone –

3. Smartphone: The Best Device Ever

 Purpose -
 Tone –

4. Laughter : The Best Medicine

 Purpose -
 Tone -
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…cont’d.

5. Jokes on Cats
 Purpose -
 Intended audience -

6. Should SPM be abolished?

 Purpose –
 Intended audience -

7. Euthanasia: Should it be Legalised?

 Purpose -
 Intended audience -

8. What about the intended audience and purpose of the author for writing the passage
on painkillers?

Refer to link on Pain is not the Ultimate Enemy provided in the last slide.

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INTENDED AUDIENCE
The target readers

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Ask yourself this:

 Who should read this? The intended audience is/are :

 Who will learn/benefit the most out
of reading this?
 Who should be concerned about
this?
 Who is/are involved in this?
 Who should be aware of this?
 A specific group of people and one passage
can be intended for more than one group.
 People who should/could benefit the most
out of this issue.
 People who should be aware of this issue.
 People who are involved in the issue.

Identify the people mentioned in the article and use them

as guide to know who should read a given passage.

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Examples:

1. “This experiment is necessary for college students to learn at the beginning of this university
course. Lecturers are responsible to teach this course.”
 Purpose – to inform
 Intended audience: college students and lecturers.
 Tone - neutral/objective/matter-of-fact

2. “This chapter explains the organization of the ecosystem. The ecosystem is divided into two
types: physical and internal ecosystem. Physical ecosystem refers to…”
 Purpose - to inform
 Target audience - students/college students/environmental health program students.
 Reading materials - textbooks, reference books, academic magazines, cook books,
manuals, brochures
 Tone - neutral/objective/matter-of-fact.

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Try this:

1. “In this section you will learn the proper procedure for preparing a slide for the
microscope.”
 What is the purpose of this author?
 Who should be concerned about this (meaning: Who should read this?)
 What is the tone of this author’s writing? (Based on the words used)

2. “Think for a while. Who would you prefer to care for your child? A well-trained maid,
or an illegal one? Surely you want the best for your child. Children are supposed to
be given the best and safest care possible. Parents should not take this matter
lightly.”
 Purpose -
 Target audience -
 Tone -

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…cont’d.
3. “The water from the hill is poisonous. In fact, numerous researches have shown the
presence of various harmful contaminants that can harm human health. What is even
more alarming is that it is the source everybody depends on. What is going to happen to
the water quality is giving the experts a cause for concern .
 Purpose -
 Target audience -
 Tone -

4. “I firmly believe that decreasing the speed limit still does not deter accidents on highways
and major roads. The authorities may be able to nab errant road users, but I don’t see
this working well on a long term basis.”
 Purpose -
 Target audience -
 Tone -

5. “The use of the social media for communication is severely overrated. There is too much
fuss over this type of media when face-to-face communication is much more personal,
real and meaningful. Unfortunately, the much hyped social media apps are making
people near to us even more selfish, arrogant and even more distant than before.”
 Purpose -
 Target audience -
 Tone -
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Now try this:

Identify the author’s tone, purpose and intended audience in the

following paragraphs.
1. By allowing Connor to carry on eating in this way, his mother is virtually
killing him. And since when did 8-year-olds rule the roost? A key problem
though is that fresh healthy foods are more costly and time consuming
than pre-packaged meals.
2. To lose weight, the simple objective is to ensure your output is more than
your input. This means that the amount of calories you take per day will
be less than what you require a day (around 1,800 calories for a 60-kg
person) plus any weight loss methods you employ. If you don’t start
practising this now, it might be too late. Consequently, your plan to lose
weight faster might take longer than you think.

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…cont’d.

3. So if you wish to lose about 0.5kg per week and you don’t wish to
exercise, you will need to reduce your calorie intake by 550 calories per
day to make your intake 1,250 calories per day from its requirement of
1,800 calories per day.

4. Keep in mind that these massively high levels of corn, soy, and wheat in
our modern human diet is a relatively new phenomenon that originated
from the economics of the multi-billion dollar corn, soy, and wheat
industries. It really HAS been all about the money... NOT about our
health!

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AUTHOR’S ISSUE, BIAS AND
POINT OF VIEW
Evaluating author’s argument

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Author’s Issue, Bias, and Point of View

Issue is a controversial topic, where people have conflicting opinions about. It is a topic that can still be
debated as it is still inconclusive.

An author’s point of view is his/her position/opinion/belief on an issue, which will then indicate an author’s
bias, thus position/stand on an issue

An author’s bias is reflected in an author’s tone, based on the words/phrases used. The words and phrases
indicate how an author feels about an issue or his attitude towards an issue.

Bias is an inclination of an author’s thinking, whether it is for or against an issue/topic

To know an author’s opinion on an issue, look at the main points given. Identify the words indicating bias
and tone in the points given. This will lead to a summary of what an author’s position is (for or against an
issue)

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Examples:

1. “Allowing school students to use smartphones in class is a

ridiculous idea”.
• The author is biased against the use of smartphones in class
based on the phrase “ridiculous idea”.
• This is because the words reflect a tone of disapproval.

2. “I see social media as poison to the society as it will only ruin the
minds of the people.”
• The tone is a biased one as the author uses phrases/words such
as “poison to the society” and “ruin the minds of the people” to
indicate his opinion/argument that the social media is harmful.

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…cont’d.
3. SPM destroys meaningful learning as the focus is too much on rote learning.
Learning mostly involves meaningless memorisation, especially History and Moral
education. Moreover, SPM creates students and parents who are too obsessed
with grades than meaningful learning. Failure in obtaining excellent grades has
stressed many students in meeting high expectations . This examination only
teaches students to give rigid answers. Instead of tapping student creativity and
critical thinking, they are trained to give limited response.

 Tone and bias: biased/disapproving/critical tone based on words like “destroys

meaningful learning ”, “too obsessed” and “rigid answers” which describe his/her
disapproval of what this examination does to students

 Issue: Whether SPM is beneficial for meaningful learning

 Point of view/argument: (Based on the points given above) The writer argues that SPM
does not promote meaningful learning in students as the focus is too much on memorising
and obtaining good grades.

Note: Read the whole passage before deciding on the issue and argument (also known as
writer’s position or stand) 28
 Practice on author’s bias and argument
1. But as experts debate the cause of the 2. Animal foods have serious nutritional
shortages, there is no disagreement over
their devastating impact. These shortages
have turned pharmacists into professional
beggars and have forced doctors to change
treatment protocols casually whereby in
some cases, turning routine care into a roll of
the dice. Such shortages have resulted in
clinical trials being stopped and have even
led to the suspension of the death penalty in
some states that use lethal injection.
 What are the words indicating the author’s bias
in how drug shortage has impacted health care
professionals in this excerpt on drug
shortages?
 What is the author’s argument on drug shortage
in the paragraph above?
drawbacks. They are severely devoid of fibre,
contain excessive amounts of saturated fat
and cholesterol, and may even carry traces of
hormones, steroids and antibiotics. It makes
little difference whether you eat beef, chicken
or fish. Animal foods are also gaining
notoriety as breeding grounds for E. coli and
other bacteria that cause illness.
 What are the words indicating the author’s bias
against animal foods in this excerpt on animal
foods?
 What is the author’s argument on animal foods
according to this paragraph?
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…cont’d.

3. “The use of the social media for communication is severely overrated. There is too
much fuss over this type of media when face-to-face communication is much more
personal, real and meaningful. Unfortunately, the much hyped social media apps
are making people near to us even more selfish, arrogant and even more distant
than before.”

 Tone :

 Issue:

 Point of view/argument: (Based on the points given above)

 Bias:

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For more practice:

Do the following online exercise:

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0BsHvLMDa6bQlgzMS11X1pKMms/view?usp=sharing

Refer to the following links for passages on euthanasia, drug shortage and painkillers for further practice
on identifying an author’s purpose, tone, bias and intended audience as well as issue and point of view:

A New Fight To Legalise Euthanasia

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0BsHvLMDa6bdzRYMTRVUUlSc3c/view?usp=sharing

Drug Shortage: The Scary Reality of a World Without Medication

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0BsHvLMDa6bVmx5LURMeUkyTHc/view?usp=sharing

Pain is not the Ultimate Enemy

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0BsHvLMDa6belRUaGxNUmsydEE/view?usp=sharing

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