GMAT - Verbal Sample Questions
Question #6
6a. Identify the tone of the following paragraph and explain why the paragraph can be considered to have that tone: "Osmosis is a physical process where a fluid, such as water, moves through a partially permeable membrane towards the side of the membrane with the lowest concentration of solutes. Normally, this movement of fluid will continue until each side of the membrane has an almost equal concentration of solutes. The primary purpose of osmosis in plants and animals is to move water and other fluids from one cell to another. However, osmosis also allows plants to absorb water and nutrients from the soil through their roots."
6b. This particular paragraph has a neutral tone because the paragraph is not biased towards one particular opinion or the other. In other words, this paragraph is specifically stating the facts related to a specific scientific topic and therefore it is not presenting the topic in a negative, positive, or other similar tone. Paragraphs or essays that are not taking a side on a particular viewpoint, especially paragraphs or essays related to a definition or a scientific truth, will usually have a neutral tone. However, if this paragraph attempted to prove or disprove a particular scientific hypothesis instead of stating something that could normally be considered to be a scientific fact, it is likely that the paragraph might have a negative or positive tone instead of a neutral tone.