Answer: I don't know if this is a multiple choice question or not, but I would contend that even though both texts are referring to the same subject (a call for independence), the tone in Jefferson's text is serene, formal and argumentative, whether the tone in Paine's text is more emotional, informal and persuasive.
Explanation: <em>The Declaration of Independence </em>and <em>Common Sense</em> were both written in 1776 (although <em>Common Sense</em> appeared a few months earlier), but whether the former is a formal statement written by a committee of specialists and addressed to the Congress that declares the United States an independent nation, the latter is a pamphlet that encourages its readers, common people after all, to seek independence from Great Britain. The choice of words has been, therefore, very carefully made. <em>The Declaration of Independence </em>features words that grant it a legal, forceful, serious and objective tone (destructive, right, abolish, institute, principles, powers). The text does not address anybody in particular and it is logical, direct and to the point. <em>Common Sense</em>, however, can afford to appeal to the emotions of its readers and to address them more directly. It uses various exclamations, the passive voice, powerful and serious words (tyranny, oppression, warning), overstatements, and Old English words and expressions (O ye, hath), and it personifies the continents as if to make the readers feel for them, which grant it a more lyrical, less formal, and very persuasive tone.
