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SOAPSTone (a strategy for analyzing text)

SOAPSTone (a strategy for analyzing text). What is SOAPSTone ?. S peaker: The voice that tells the story O ccasion: The time and the place of the piece; the context that prompted the writing. A udience: The group of readers to whom this piece is directed

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SOAPSTone (a strategy for analyzing text)

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  1. SOAPSTone(a strategy for analyzing text)

  2. What is SOAPSTone? • Speaker: The voice that tells the story • Occasion: The time and the place of the piece; the context that prompted the writing. • Audience: The group of readers to whom this piece is directed • Purpose: The reason behind the text • Subject: The topic of the piece of writing • Tone: The attitude of the author

  3. Speaker • Don’t confuse the author with the speaker. They are two different voices; sometimes two different personas. For example, Jim is a reporter for the NY Times, but thespeaker is a man trying to influence readers to steer clear of a new product. • Ask yourself: What’s the point of a speaker? Why do we care who is speaking? How does it influence the text? How does it influence the reader? • Who is speaking to the reader? Is it an economist? A fashion guru? A teacher? A lawmaker?

  4. Occasion • While reading, it’s important to determine WHAT EVENT INFLUENCED THE TEXT. • Why do we write? Why does it matter? Do we just write about anything and everything, or are we influenced to write? • Ask yourself: Why is this person writing this text now? What major event or occurrence inspired this piece of writing? • Are they writing in response to a new law? An ongoing war? A celebrity mishap? A major world crisis?

  5. Audience • Don’t think an article on the health risks of elementary school cafeteria food is an article for just anyone. Who could an article like that be targeting? • Ask yourself: Who is the intended audience for this text? Why write to this specific audience? Why cant a piece of writing be meant for EVERYBODY? • Is the audience the financial experts of the business world? Stay-at-home mothers? College students? Athletes?

  6. Purpose • Ask yourself: What’s the purpose of the writing? What is it intended to do? What is the speaker hoping to achieve? Is there a goal? • Are they trying to influence consumers to buy a certain product? Vote for a specific politician? Save their money by investing? Send their kids to private school?

  7. Subject • Ask yourself: What is this piece of writing about? What topic(s) does it concern? Why does it matter? • Are they writing about the war in Iraq? A new law that just passed? A hot, new celebrity?

  8. Tone • How is the author saying what he’s saying? What is his attitude towards the subject? Towards the audience? • Is he angry? Biased? Persuasive? Neutral?

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