Highlight text formatting and punctuation marks that signal that the reader should change tone.

Question

"Well, everyone," Mr. Summers said, "that was done pretty fast, and now we've got to be hurrying a little more to get done in time." He consulted his next list. "Bill," he said, "you draw for the Hutchinson family. You got any other households in the Hutchinsons?"

"There's Don and Eva," Mrs. Hutchinson yelled. "Make them take their chance!"

–“The Lottery,”
Shirley Jackson

Which kind of punctuation tells the reader to end the sentence with a higher tone of voice?

a question mark
an exclamation point
a period
a comma

Answer 1

In the provided text, the punctuation mark that tells the reader to end the sentence with a higher tone of voice is an exclamation point. Exclamation points are used to convey strong emotions or excitement, prompting the reader to adopt an elevated tone when reading the sentence.

Here’s how it applies to the quoted text:

• Mrs. Hutchinson's line: "Make them take their chance!" The exclamation point at the end signals that this statement should be read with enthusiasm or urgency.