NBT NBT Academic Literacy: Tone, Register and Author's Attitude 5

Question 1

Read: 'The novelist does not flinch from depicting the brutal realities of township life; indeed, this fearlessness is the source of her greatest artistic power.' The author's attitude toward the novelist is:

Accepted Answer

Admiring and respectful

Answer

'Fearlessness' and 'greatest artistic power' are strongly positive evaluations expressing admiration and respect.

Question 2

Which sentence is written in the most formal register?

Accepted Answer

It is anticipated that the forthcoming legislative amendment will have significant implications for trade policy.

Answer

Passive construction, formal vocabulary ('anticipated', 'forthcoming', 'legislative amendment', 'implications') and third-person perspective indicate the most formal register.

Question 3

A literary critic writes: 'One might charitably describe the protagonist's decisions as ill-advised, though 'reckless' and 'self-defeating' would be more precise.' The tone is:

Accepted Answer

Gently ironic with a sharper underlying judgement

Answer

'Charitably' introduces a mild word only to replace it with harsher ones, a technique of gentle irony masking sharp criticism.

Question 4

A report on youth unemployment states: 'The persistence of youth unemployment represents one of the most serious structural failures of the post-transition economy.' The author's attitude is:

Accepted Answer

Concerned and critical of systemic failure

Answer

'Serious structural failures' is a strong negative evaluation of economic performance — the tone is concerned and critical.

Question 5

An email from a student to a lecturer begins: 'Hi! Hope ur well :) I was wondering if maybe I could get an extension??' What is the primary register problem with this email?

Accepted Answer

It uses informal register where formal register is required

Answer

Greeting ('Hi!'), abbreviation ('ur'), emoji, and casual punctuation ('??') are inappropriate in formal academic communication.

(NBT) National Benchmark Test Practice Test

(NBT) National Benchmark Test Practice Test

NBT NBT Academic Literacy: Tone, Register and Author's Attitude 5