Which term describes the author's attitude as reflected in a passage?

The term that describes the author's attitude as reflected in a passage is "tone." Tone refers to the emotional quality or mood conveyed by the author through their choice of words, sentence structure, and overall writing style. It encompasses how the author feels about the subject matter and how those feelings are communicated to the reader. For instance, an author may use a formal tone to convey seriousness or a playful tone to convey humor, indicating their attitude toward the topic and influencing the reader's perception of the material.

In contrast, theme refers to the underlying message or central idea of a work, style pertains to the distinct manner in which an author expresses their thoughts and ideas, often including elements like sentence length and rhythm, and diction involves the choice of words used by the author. While all these elements contribute to the overall reading experience, tone is specifically focused on expressing the author's attitude towards the content.