SOAPSTonE
Speaker
- The voice that tells the story
- Do not give only a name - how would you describe that person?
- The author and the speaker are NOT necessarily the same
- How does he/she establish ethos (personal credibility)?
- Does he/she come across as knowledgeable? Fair?
- Does the speaker's reputation convey a certain authority?
Occasion
- The time and place of the piece; the context that encouraged the writing to happen
- Larger Occasion: what is going on in the world
- Immediate Occasion: the event
- What kinds of values or customs would the people have that would produce this?
- How do the allusions, historical references, or kinds of words used place this in a certain time and location?
Audience
- The group of readers at whom the piece is directed
- It may be one person, a small group, or a large group
- What values does the audience hold that the author or speaker appeals to?
- Who have been or might be secondary audiences?
- Can you identify the responses of historical or contemporary audiences?
Purpose
- The reason the author wrote it
- "What does the author want the audience to think or do as a result?"
- To persuade, to inform, or to entertain
- Does the message/speech/text succeed in fulfilling the author's or speaker's intentions? For whom?
- Does the form complement the content? What effect could the form have, and does this aid or hinder the author's intention?
Subject
- The general topic, content, and ideas contained in the text
- You should be able to state this in a few words or a phrase
- What is the content of the message?
- Can you summarize the main idea?
- What are the principal lines of reasoning or kinds of arguments used?
Tone
- The attitude of the speaker
- Tone can be determined by examining
- Diction (choice of words)
- Syntax (sentence construction)
- Imagery (vivid descriptions that appeal to the senses)
- What figures of speech (schemes and tropes) are used?
- What kind of style and tone are used and for what purpose?
- How does the speaker appeal to reason? To emotion?
Complete your exit ticket based on M.L.K. Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech.
Effectiveness
- Does the message/speaker succeed in fulfilling the author's/ speaker's intentions? For whom?
- Does the author/speaker effectively fit his/her message to the circumstances, times, and audience?
- What does the nature of the communication reveal about the culture that produced it?