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How to analyze a text

How to analyze a text. THINGS YOU MUST KNOW. SOAPS. Speaker Occassion Audience Purpose Subject. SOAPS. Speaker Who is the speaker? Name Writer’s Credentials. Speaker Occasion Audience Purpose Subject. SOAPS. Occasion What is the occasion? When was the piece written?

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How to analyze a text

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  1. How to analyze a text THINGS YOU MUST KNOW

  2. SOAPS Speaker Occassion Audience Purpose Subject

  3. SOAPS Speaker Who is the speaker? • Name • Writer’s Credentials Speaker Occasion Audience Purpose Subject

  4. SOAPS Occasion What is the occasion? • When was the piece written? • Where was the piece published? • What is the context or situation that surrounds or affects this argument? • What is the genre of the text? Speaker Occasion Audience Purpose Subject

  5. SOAPS Audience Who is the intended audience? Speaker Occasion Audience Purpose Subject

  6. SOAPS Purpose What is the speaker trying to do with this argument? Speaker Occasion Audience Purpose Subject

  7. SOAPS Subject What is the speaker writing about? What is the overall topic of the argument? Speaker Occasion Audience Purpose Subject

  8. Time to analyze • Using “The Language Police” analyze to determine the SOAPS of the argument.

  9. Using Soaps in your intro:the format - 1. Speaker, Occasion Subject (Writer's Credentials), (Writer's first and last name), in his/her (Type of Text), (Title of Text), (strong verb) (writer's subject).

  10. Strong vs. weak verbs STRONG VERBS (Analysis) WEAK VERBS (Summary) says this quote shows relates explains goes on to say states tells shows • Implies • Suggests • Compares • Emphasizes • Defines • Trivializes • Denigrates • Vilifies • Demonizes

  11. Using Soaps in your intro:the format - 1. Speaker, Occasion Subject (Writer's Credentials), (Writer's first and last name), in his/her (Type of Text), (Title of Text), (strong verb) (writer's subject). 2. Purpose (Writer's Last Name)'s purpose is to (What the writer does in the text).

  12. Using Soaps in your intro:the format - 1. Speaker, Occasion Subject (Writer's Credentials), (Writer's first and last name), in his/her (Type of Text), (Title of Text), (strong verb) (writer's subject). 2. Purpose (Writer's Last Name)'s purpose is to (What the writer does in the text). 3. Audience He/she adopts (or equivalent verb) a(n) (adjective describing the attitude/feeling conveyed by the writer) tone in order to (verb phrase describing what the writer wants readers to do/think)in his/her (intended audience). NOTE: This would be followed by your thesis.

  13. Soaps in the intro example: Novelist, Amy Tan, in her narrative essay, “Fish Cheeks,” recounts an embarrassing Christmas Eve dinner when she was 14 years old. Tan’s purpose is to convey the idea that, at fourteen, she wasn’t able to recognize the love her mother had for her or the sacrifices she made. She adopts a sentimental tone in order to appeal to similar feelings and experiences in her adult readers. Use your SOAPS information to try to write the intro for “The Language Police.”

  14. Analyze for use of appeals Logos • Hard Evidence • Facts • Polls/Surveys • Testimonies • Statistics • Common Sense • Enthymemes • Syllogisms • Cultural Vaules/Assumptions Pathos • Who is the audience? Is the use of emotion appropriate to the audience? • What emotion is evoked? Are specific kinds of emotion evoked such as sentimental or nostalgic appeals? • How does it work to connect the argument with the reader? • How does it work to show the reader that the author understands them? Ethos • Authority • Credibility • Motives

  15. “The Language Police” Intro • Logos – • “Censors on the political right . . . behavior.” (276 -277) AND “Censors from the political left . . . being.” (277) i. This reflects differing cultural values or assumptions. • Definition of censorship (276) i. Fact, even though the source is not given (negative ethos) • Censorship vs. selection (276) i. Logical - Syllogism II. Ethos A. “Censors on the political right . . .” (276) and “Censors from the political left . . .” (277) i. This shows that she is knowledgable and that she is addressing all sides of the issue which makes her argument more credible. III. Pathos A. “The word censorship refers to the deliberate removal of language, ideas, and books from the classroom or library because they are deemed offensive and contraversial.” (276) i. B. “. . . Delete words, ideas, and topics from textbooks and tests for no other reason that their fear of controversy.” (276) i. C. “Arcadia . . .intruded. (276-277) i. Great example of nostalgic appeal – may work with older educators but could go against the argument with younger educators or readers

  16. Components of style ANALYZE FOR THE AUTHOR’S USE OF STYLE Diction Syntax Details Imagery Tone Etc.

  17. dICTION • Look for SPECIFIC WORDS or WORD PHRASES that seem stronger than others. Diction is NEVER the entire sentence. • Look for a PATTERN (or similarity) in the words the writer chooses. • The pattern could include REPETITION of the same words or phrases. The words a writer chooses to convey a particular meaning

  18. dICTION His adventures allowed him to slingshot around the world. VS His adventures allowed him to travel around the world. Look for SPECIFIC WORDS or WORD PHRASES that seem stronger than others. Diction is NEVER the entire sentence.

  19. dICTION Do the words used imply a certain feeling? Sadness? Happiness? Etc? This pattern helps to create a particular kind of diction. 2. Look for a PATTERN (or similarity) in the words the writer chooses.

  20. dICTION Repetition helps the speaker emphasize a point, feeling, etc. 2. The pattern could include REPETITION of the same words or phrases. Be watchful of REPETITION in the argument.

  21. OK WORDS VS. GREAT WORDS • A coat isn't torn; it is tattered. • The US Army does not want revenge; it is thirsting for revenge. • A door does not shut; it thuds.

  22. syntax • SCHEMES A variance in the normal subject- verb- object pattern • SENTENCE LENGTH Look at how the writer varies the length of sentences – What is the effect? • SENTENCE TYPE Look at the types of sentences the author uses – What is the effect? • PUNCTUATION Look at or for a variety in the punctuation – What does this change do to the meaning of the text? The way words are arranged within sentences

  23. syntax SENTENCE TYPE look at the types of sentences the author uses – What is the effect? • Simple: Subject - Verb (I went to the store.) • Compound:two independent clauses joined by a conjunction (I went to the store, and I bought candy.) • Complex:Independent clause and dependent clause (While traveling to the store, I saw my friend.) • Compound-Complex: Two indepedent clauses and one or more dependent clauses (While traveling to the store, I saw my friend, and she gave me money for candy.) • Declarative:a statement ( I went to the store.) • Exclamatory:strong feeling (What a wonderful candy store!) • Interrogative:question (Is this a store?) • Imperative:command (Go to the store.) The way words are arranged within sentences

  24. syntax • PUNCTUATION Look at or for a variety in the punctuation – What does this change do to the meaning of the text? • SEMICOLON: (;) gives equal weight to two or more independent clauses in a sentence. Writers use this to reinforce parallel ideas and show how both ideas are equally important • COLON: (:) directs the reader's attention to the words that follow. Writers use this to show the reader that the information after the colon is important • DASH: (-) marks a sudden change in thought or tone or sets off a brief summary The way words are arranged within sentences

  25. tone It is a special kind of rhetorical strategy because tone is created by the writer's use of all of the other rhetorical strategies: • Diction and Tropes • Syntax and Schemes • Details and Lack of Details t the teller's attitude or feeling about the subject of his text

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