Tone and Diction Test Review Sheet
Make sure you understand the definitions of the following words:
Allusion Oxymoron Parallel Structure Irony Alliteration
Anaphora anecdote Tone Diction Connotation
Denotation Simile Foreshadowing Imagery asyndeton
Asyndeton Polysyndeton Syntax Juxtaposition
Some of the words from the Tone Words vocabulary (The first three sections) may appear in questions on the test.
Things to remember:
Diction is word choice, but not just individual words; it includes the phrasing of words.
What is the difference between connotation and denotation?
What does it mean to annotate a piece?
-Review all short pieces, your annotations of those pieces, and your notes from our class discussions of those pieces. You will see passages from the following pieces that will require you best literary analysis:
“Shame” by Dick Gregory
“Fear” by Gary Soto
“Crazy Horse” by Ian Frazier
“Living Well. Living Good” by Maya Angelou
Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address
“In Search of the Good Family” by Jane Howard
Chapter 1, pages 1-13 of The Language of Composition
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
**Note: This is not a test covering plot; it is a test that demonstrates your ability to analyze for rhetorical devices and their effects.
Make sure you are familiar with the names of the characters in each piece as well as the authors.
Make sure you are familiar enough will the literary terms that you can recognize them in literature that you have not read before.
Be able to identify tone and tone shifts in the pieces.
Be able to recognize diction and syntax that help to create a tone.
Be able to recognize examples of imagery and identify what effect they have on the tone.
Consider the major symbols and themes in The Things They Carried. What is the role of story telling? How does O’Brien distinguish between truth and fiction and what implications does this message have for all works of literature?
How is ethos, pathos, and logos defined in The Language of Composition? What is the rhetorical triangle? Review Lou Gehrig’s speech (pp 1), Jody Heyman’s “We Can Afford to Give Parents a Break” (pp. 6), and the cartoon on page 11.
Consider diction and syntax in “Fear”. Why does Soto story this piece with a sentence fragment? Who is telling this story and when?
What is the effect Gregory achieves including dialog in “Shame”? How does Dick Gregory use both the connotation and denotation of his diction? How effective is the last anecdote about the homeless man? What connection does it have to the other anecdote about Helen Tucker? Recognize the symbolism in “Shame.” (Not just the symbolism of Helene Tucker)
What are the premised of Jane Howard’s arguments in “In Search of the Good Family” (pp. 283 of LOC)? How does she utilize ethos, pathos, and logos? What is her conclusion? How does diction convey her tone? Look at the questions on page 288 of LOC for more review.
Why is it important to Ian Frazier that “they never used a diminutive for [Crazy Horse]”? How is imagery utilized in this piece? What is the effect of the anaphora in “Crazy Horse”?
What argument is made through anecdote in “Living Well. Living Good?” What is the tone and where does it shift in this selection?
What is the tone of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address? Who is his audience? What rhetorical devices does Lincoln utilize? What is the purpose of the speech? Why does he call the Civil War the “great contest”? What does it mean, “It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces?” How and why are “War” and the “Nation” personified by Lincoln? Re-read the last paragraph especially closely!
Consider the tone and argument in In Cold Blood. How does Capote create suspense for the murders when he tells the audience in the first pages that six people will die? How does he create a garden of Eden motif and symbolism from a supposedly factual account? How are all three types of irony used?