What is the author’s purpose and tone in a persuasive essay, and how do word choices reveal tone?

• A. The purpose is to entertain; tone reveals attitude through diction.
• B. The purpose is to convince or inform; tone reveals attitude through diction and rhetorical choices.
• C. The purpose is to present data only; tone irrelevant.
• D. The purpose is to criticize other writers; tone always formal.

Answer: (B)

In a persuasive essay, the writer’s job is to convince readers to accept a viewpoint or take action, and the tone shows the writer’s attitude toward the topic and toward the audience through word choices and rhetorical moves. The best answer recognizes that purpose: to persuade (often supported by evidence) and that tone is conveyed through diction and rhetorical choices. Look at how the writer selects words—strong adjectives, charged verbs, and modal verbs like must or should—and how they structure arguments to appeal to emotion, logic, or credibility. Those word choices reveal whether the tone is urgent, confident, hopeful, critical, or something else, and that tone helps persuade the reader.