<p>as non-native speaker i find the tone and structure problems in reading the most difficult, probably because we don’t study literature at school and only read very simple passages (specifically written for beginners) </p>
<p>does anyone have any suggestion how to improve this?</p>
<p>I would try to find the adjectives that the author used, then ask whether they support or disagree with the idea in general.</p>
<p>I don’t know why they have tone questions much either, since not only does the author have a tone but also the reader, and all really can vary by optional answers that are not very distinctive from each other, or compliments the other with a wording… my opinion.</p>
<p>thanks, that’s a good approach. however for most of us (i’m talking about students from China), we don’t even know what an academic tone sounds like, what a jubilant tone sounds like etc … ~:~ </p>
<p>how do you native speakers learn about tones at school?</p>
<p>The tricky part about tone is that it comes from experience. It’s not something that you learn overnight but rather through reading alot. </p>
<p>One thing I find that helps though is to read it out loud in your head, if that makes any sense. Think about your first impression of the author. Sometimes it’s instinctive and you’ll know automatically and sometimes it’s less obvious.</p>
<p>Always remember that tone is, for SAT purposes, the author’s attitude toward the subject he/she is writing about. An “academic” tone, I’m guessing, would be one in which the author is objective, cites from a number of sources, provides hard facts and analysis, etc. “Jubilant” would suggest that the author or speaker is ecstatic or very happy</p>
<p>Hope this helps</p>
<p>thanks guys. all are very helpful. I think “the author’s attitude toward the subject he/she is writing about” catches the main point in that we first need to figure out whether the author is positive or negative toward a certain subject matter.</p>