To get a good feeling for what tone is all about, look at works that have particularly strong tones. Works like The Catcher in the Rye. The Bear, by William Faulkner, or anything by William Faulkner, for that matter. Look at Hemingway–again, almost anything, but The Old Man and the Sea is a fine example. Or take the fiery, angry tone of a sermon of Jonathan Edwards. Now contrast THAT with, say, the gentle beatitudes of Jesus in the Bible.

Here’s an excellent way of getting a good feel for tone. Pick a work of literature, such as I’ve mentioned above, and then get ahold of the Cliffnotes summary of same. You’ll noticed that all those Cliffnotes are written in about the same tone. They stick to a pseudo-objective style, so that Holden Caulfield of Salinger is hardly distinguishable from Santiago of Hemingway. Virtually all Cliffnotes are written in one, anonymous style, whereas outstanding works of literature are all different. They are “tonefully” alive and different–and exciting. Cliffnotes and suchlike student cheatsheets do not convey the excitement and vibrancy of the works upon which they’re based–much of said vibrancy owing to the tone of the works.