"Tone" is a four letter word and should be banned. It demeans the reason behind lifting weight: to gain and then maintain muscle.
Muscle is not bulky, but sleek and takes up less space than fat. Fat is bulky. A woman cannot and will never get as big as a man when it comes to drug free weight training. She can use many of the same programs; wave training, 8x3, 4x6, 5x5, max effort, dynamic, for example. She could try Olympic lifting, strongman(woman) training and she'd never, ever physically resemble a man.
That's the honest truth. Swear.
I believe what differentiates a woman's training from a man's would be volume. If a man's rep area for muscle gains would be 6-10, than a woman's would be 8-12, for example.
And since we're talkin' about a newbie here; as in, newbie to weight training, it's good to begin in the 8-12 rep range. You don't want to just go into the gym for the first time and begin performing singles for max effort. Why? Well, cuz you're not accustomed to the movements. Deadlifts, squats, bench and other exercises are just too new for a newbie's body.
Get use to working in full range (ROM) and correct form. Start with good habits. You're not training against the clock - take your time in learning the exercises. A weight where you can complete 8-clean reps, for example is a good weight to start with. And no, don't go to failure; once your form erodes, stop.
And that article is good, too (by Erik). That's a start. Erik.Is.Smart.
