Y
ou’ve learned a lot this week about language and how much it affects meaning. Before you add this
knowledge to the knowledge you already have about structure and the basics of reading compre-
hension, take a minute for a brief review of the last four lessons. It’s always a good idea to stop and
review material you’ve learned before you go on to new material.
R e v i e w : L a n g u a g e a n d S t y l e
Point of view
is the perspective from which the writer speaks. Sometimes, writers use the
first-person point of view
(
I, me, my, we, our, us
) to express their personal feelings and experiences directly to the reader. This point of view
creates a sense of intimacy between the reader and the writer because it expresses an extremely subjective per-
spective. When writers use the second-person point of view, they address the reader directly
by using the pronoun
you
. This point of view is often used to give directions and to make the reader feel directly involved in the action
described by the writer. The third-person point of view is the objective perspective of a “third person,” someone
who is not directly involved in the action or ideas expressed in the passage. This point of view establishes a dis-
L E S S O N
Word Power:
Putting It All
Together
L E S S O N S U M M A R Y
This lesson pulls together what you’ve learned in Lessons 11–14, as
well as in previous lessons. It shows
you how to use point of view, dic-
tion, style, and tone to understand what a writer means.
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tance between the reader and writer and uses the pro-
nouns
he, his, him; she, hers, her; it, its;
and
they, them,
and
their.
Diction
refers to the specific words chosen by the
author to express his or her ideas. Because words have
both a
denotation
(exact or dictionary meaning) and a
connotation
(implied or suggested meaning), as well as
an
emotional register, the words an author chooses are
very significant. Authors, like politicians, must choose
their words carefully to express
exactly the right idea
with exactly the right impact.
Style
is the manner in which the writers express
their ideas in writing. Style is composed of three main
elements: sentence structure, degree of description and
detail, and degree of formality. Some
writers use a very
formal style; others may write in a casual style. Certain
styles are best for particular audiences or purposes.
For example, a high degree of formality with specific
details but without any unneccessary description would
be appropriate for business, where
time is money and
writers should get to the point as quickly as possible.
Finally,
tone
is the mood or attitude conveyed by
the writing. Tone is created by a combination of point
of view, diction, and style. Tone is extremely important
in determining
meaning because as we noted, a word
as simple as “sure” can have many different meanings
depending upon the tone in which it is said. To deter-
mine the tone, you have to look for clues as to how the
writer wants his or her words to sound.
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