What would win?

A light bulb or a match

Harry Potter or Richard Branson

Unit 1 Reading

Viewpoints and Attitude

Learning Objectives

To understand how to approach ‘viewpoint’

and ‘attitude’ questions

Examples of questions

•What are the writer’s attitudes to…•What are the writer’s

opinions of…•What are the writer’s

thoughts and feelings about…

What are we looking for?

• What the writer thinks and feels?• What the writer says and does?• What the writer wants to do or

change?

What are we looking for?

• What the writer thinks and feels?• What the writer says and does?• What the writer wants to do or

change?

Attitude and Tone

• The author’s attitude is expressed through the words and details he or she selects.

• Tone reveals an attitude. Find the tone and you have the attitude.

• Tone is expressed through the words and details the author selects.

• To determine the author’s tone, you must notice how these words and details are used within the writing.

Can you work it out?

• Textbooks, formal letters and reports: usually written with an o-------- tone which includes f---- and reasonable e-----------. The o-------- tone is matter-of-fact and n------. The details are mostly f----.

• Personal articles, informal letters, reviews and speeches, are usually written with a s--------- tone. A s--------- tone uses words that describe feelings, judgments, or o-------.

• The details are likely to include experiences, s-----, f-------, and t-------.

Did you work it out?

• Textbooks, formal letters and reports: usually written with an objective tone which includes facts and reasonable explanations. The objective tone is matter-of-fact and neutral. The details are mostly facts.

• Personal articles, informal letters, reviews and speeches, are usually written with a subjective tone. A subjective tone uses words that describe feelings, judgments, or opinions.

• The details are likely to include experiences, senses, feelings, and thoughts.

Subjective and Objective

• Objective tone is impartial. It does not show any feelings for or against a topic; therefore, it is unbiased or neutral. Often objective tone uses higher level words and avoids pronouns such as I and you, creating a formal tone.

• Subjective tone is personal, biased, emotional, and often informal

Match ‘em up!• The whole experience was a

nightmare• I had a great time on holiday• Moving was stressful but the

new house was great• I had absolutely no idea what

to do next• I was so pleased to see my

friends• After the ride I had such an

adrenaline rush• It was so unfair. She didn’t

deserve to win.

• Overwhelmed, exhilarated, buzzing

• Dreadful, dire, horrid

• Confused, bewildered, unsure

• Happy, cheerful, joyful

• Powerless, helpless, unfair

• Relaxed, rejuvenated, content

The shabby house

• Optimistic• Bitter• Tolerant• Sentimental • Humourous• Objective

• Create your own sentences about a pet dog using the following tones:

• Mocking• Compassionate• Cruel• Cynical• Serious

A Day at the Zoo

I have to be honest, when a close friend of mine mentioned that we were going to Blackpool Zoo for the day, I was not too impressed. I had visited a number of zoos as a small child and could only remember the overpowering smell of animal dung... But Blackpool Zoo changed all of my misconceptions. We had a brilliant day and thoroughly enjoyed visiting the array of creatures which all seemed to be well cared for and healthy. The animal enclosures were spacious, the staff were all knowledgeable and we will certainly be visiting again.

What are the writer’s thoughts and feelings about Blackpool Zoo?

Student Answer (B grade)

The writer initially feels concerned about the day at the zoo because they suggest they are ‘not impressed’. The writer remembers the smell of zoos ‘dung’ they visited as a child and feels a little nauseous. The writer feels that Blackpool has successfully changed their views ‘changed all of my misconceptions’ and it is clear they now feel differently. Finally the writer admits to having ‘a brilliant day’ because the animals are ‘healthy’ and this suggests that they feel the experience of the zoo has been most enjoyable.

Examiner comment?

Examiner Comment

This student tracks through the text picking up a range of different quotations and these are clearly included in their answer. The student helpfully refers to the writer throughout their answer and this helps us get the impression they are on task. Continually mentioning the words ‘feels’ also convinces us that the student is on task and that they are consciously including a range of different feelings to support their quotations. The student covers a range of different feelings in their answer.

Over to you...• Complete the four

questions on your tone/attitude sheet, giving 12 minutes to each one.

• Remember to select short individual words/very short sentences as evidence to support the points that you are making