TDA Author's Craft and Style 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a TDA response, analyzing an author's word choice (diction) primarily helps the reader understand what?
- The author's purpose and tone (Correct answer)
- The number of paragraphs in the passage
- The historical date of the text
- The length of the author's sentences
Correct answer: The author's purpose and tone
Analyzing diction reveals the author's deliberate language choices that convey tone, mood, and purpose.
Question 2: Which literary device involves giving human qualities to non-human objects or ideas?
- Personification (Correct answer)
- Alliteration
- Hyperbole
- Simile
Correct answer: Personification
Personification attributes human characteristics to non-human things, creating a vivid and relatable image.
Question 3: When a TDA prompt asks you to analyze 'author's craft,' what should you focus on?
- Specific techniques the author uses to convey meaning (Correct answer)
- A summary of the plot or main events
- Your personal opinion about the topic
- Only the dialogue in the text
Correct answer: Specific techniques the author uses to convey meaning
Author's craft refers to intentional writing techniques—such as figurative language, structure, and syntax—that shape meaning.
Question 4: What is the effect of using short, choppy sentences in a passage?
- Creates urgency, tension, or abruptness (Correct answer)
- Indicates the author is inexperienced
- Slows the reader down and adds detail
- Shows the author has a large vocabulary
Correct answer: Creates urgency, tension, or abruptness
Short, fragmented sentences can create a sense of urgency, panic, or sharp emphasis in a text.
Question 5: An author uses a metaphor comparing life to a roller coaster. In a TDA response, how should you analyze this?
- Explain what the comparison suggests about life's highs and lows and how it supports the author's message (Correct answer)
- Simply state that a metaphor was used without further explanation
- Rewrite the metaphor in your own words only
- Ignore it because it is figurative language, not factual
Correct answer: Explain what the comparison suggests about life's highs and lows and how it supports the author's message
Effective TDA analysis names the device, explains the comparison, and connects it to the author's larger argument or theme.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes 'tone' in a written text?
- The author's attitude toward the subject or audience (Correct answer)
- The main character's feelings about events
- The setting and time period of the story
- The number of descriptive adjectives used
Correct answer: The author's attitude toward the subject or audience
Tone reflects the author's attitude—such as sarcastic, somber, or optimistic—conveyed through word choice and style.
TDA Author's Craft and Style 1
In a TDA response, analyzing an author's word choice (diction) primarily helps the reader understand what?