An implied attitude is a feeling or opinion the writer shows without stating it. To explain one, you name the attitude precisely, quote the words that show it and explain how those words create the effect. The skill builds on precise evidence and is one of the harder parts of close reading and evidence.
How do you explain an attitude?
Follow a three-part pattern.
- Name it precisely. Choose a specific word, for example mocking, sceptical, admiring, sympathetic, weary or dismissive.
- Prove it with short quotations. Look for loaded words, quotation marks used to doubt something, exaggeration, contrast and what the writer chooses to highlight.
- Explain the mechanism. Say how the words create the attitude, not only that they do.
It helps to ask: if the writer were speaking aloud, what would the voice sound like?
Worked example
Read this original passage.
The council’s new “Riverside Vision” car park opened on Monday, eleven storeys of grey concrete for a town that had asked for a library. Its brochure promised “a bold new landmark”. The pigeons, at least, seem delighted.
Question: What attitude does the writer show towards the new car park?
Name it: sceptical and mocking. The writer does not believe the car park deserves its grand description, and is gently making fun of it.
Proof 1: “Riverside Vision” is in quotation marks. This suggests the writer doubts the impressive name.
Proof 2: “for a town that had asked for a library” sets what people wanted against what they received, which suggests the council ignored the town.
Proof 3: “The pigeons, at least, seem delighted” is a joke. The only ones who benefit are birds, which suggests the project has little value for people.
The writer is mocking and sceptical about the car park. By placing “Riverside Vision” in quotation marks, the writer hints the grand name is not deserved, and the comment that the pigeons “at least” seem delighted implies that nobody else is, which makes the council’s project sound pointless.
The mistake to watch for
A common mistake is to use a vague label and then retell the passage.
Weak answer: The writer feels negative about the car park. It is made of concrete and it is eleven storeys. The council built it instead of a library.
The label “negative” is too general, there is no quotation and the details are simply repeated. The answer says what is in the passage but never shows how the writer’s words reveal an opinion.
The correction is to choose a sharper word, quote one or two short phrases and explain the effect: “the quotation marks around ‘Riverside Vision’ suggest the writer doubts the grand name”. Name, quote, explain, every time.
Check yourself
Use the passage above.
1. Which is the more precise word for the tone of “The pigeons, at least, seem delighted”: angry or ironic? Why?
Show answer
Ironic (or wryly mocking). The writer pretends to praise the car park by pointing to an unimportant group that likes it. The real meaning is that nobody else does. Angry would need harsher, more direct language.
2. What do the quotation marks around “a bold new landmark” suggest?
Show answer
They suggest the writer is repeating the brochure’s words without agreeing with them. The phrase is being held up as a claim to doubt, which adds to the sceptical tone.
3. A student writes: “The writer is sad.” Give one reason this is a weak answer.
Show answer
Nothing in the passage shows sadness. The tone is dry and humorous. A weak label with no quotation also gives the examiner nothing to credit. A better label would be sceptical, backed by the quotation marks or the pigeons comment.
Where this leads next
Once you can name and prove an attitude, use connecting a detail with the passage as a whole to show how one choice supports a bigger meaning. For more on how word choices create effect, see writer choices and effects.
Attitude vocabulary grows faster with someone to test it on your own answers. Our teachers do this in online one-to-one English First Language tuition.