In a passage where the author's tone shifts from optimistic to skeptical, which question helps detect tone?

In a passage where the author's tone shifts from optimistic to skeptical, which question helps detect tone?

• A. What is the author’s age?
• B. What is the author’s attitude toward the subject as revealed by word choice and phrasing?
• C. What is the main idea of the passage?
• D. What is the setting of the excerpt?

Answer: (B)

Tone shows up in the author's attitude toward the subject as revealed by word choice and phrasing. When the passage moves from optimistic to skeptical, you can hear the shift in the language itself—positive, confident words giving way to cautious, doubtful, or ironic phrasing; sentences may become more guarded or nuanced, signaling a change in how the subject is being treated. That focus on how the subject is described through diction and sentence feel is the clearest way to detect tone and its shift. The other aspects don’t signal tone—the author’s age doesn’t reveal attitude toward the topic, the main idea concentrates on the central message rather than the voice, and the setting describes where or when rather than how the author feels about the subject.

Tone shows up in the author's attitude toward the subject as revealed by word choice and phrasing. When the passage moves from optimistic to skeptical, you can hear the shift in the language itself—positive, confident words giving way to cautious, doubtful, or ironic phrasing; sentences may become more guarded or nuanced, signaling a change in how the subject is being treated. That focus on how the subject is described through diction and sentence feel is the clearest way to detect tone and its shift.

The other aspects don’t signal tone—the author’s age doesn’t reveal attitude toward the topic, the main idea concentrates on the central message rather than the voice, and the setting describes where or when rather than how the author feels about the subject.