To the linguist 'tone' means the quality of sound produced by the voice in uttering words.  Since it is harder for a writer to express his voice through pen and paper, he or she must approach their work with a variety of syntax, diction, sentence structure, etc, which fits the attitude toward the subject.   The tone of the passage is what draws the readers in and helps the writer get his point across.  Just remember, different tones distinguish different meanings.  This web site contains eighteen of the many words found in literature.  Truly analyze the following passages to obtain a greater understanding of the Tone used by authors.  You will later be able to use them in your own writting.