Watch the following clip from the film “Independence Day”, as you watch jot down notes on the following questions… Speaker- Who is the speaker? Subject-What is the subject? Occasion-What is the occasion? Audience- Who is the intended audience? Purpose- What is the speaker’s purpose? Tone-What is the speaker’s tone? (Remember speaker/subject.)

What is SOAPSTone? Speaker Occasion Audience Purpose Subject Tone

S O A P T o n e Who is the Speaker? It is not enough simply to name the speaker. Whose voice is telling the story? What assumptions can you make about the speaker (e.g., age, gender, class, occupation, emotional state)? Remember that the author and the speaker are not necessarily the same, and that the author may tell the story from more than one point of view. What does the speaker believe? Do not assume that the author believes what the speaker believes. If the text is non-fiction, include important facts about the speaker that might help you make judgments about his or her point of view.

S O A P T o n e What is the Occasion? Occasion is not simply identifying the time and place. Consider the larger occasion or historical context: the environment of ideas, attitudes, and emotions surrounding an issue. Then examine the immediate occasion that may have inspired this specific response.

S O A P T o n e Who is the Audience? To whom is this text directed? It’s not enough to say: “Anyone who reads it.” Is it one individual, a group, many groups? What assumptions can you make about the intended audience? How might the intended audience have been similar to or different from you?

S O A P T o n e What is the Purpose? What is the speaker’s reason for writing the text? What is its intended effect? How is it supposed to make the audience feel? What change does the author want to see as a result? Is the author’s aim to entertain, to inform, to persuade, to critique, to complain, to explain, to describe, or to reflect? Consider that oftentimes writers have a dual purpose. 

S O A P T o n e What is the Subject? The subject is the general topic, content, and ideas contained in the text. This can usually be stated in a few words or a phrase. The subjects of texts are frequently abstract: the right to die, racism, poverty, conformity, cloning, global warming, etc. 

S O A P T o n e What is the Tone? Tone is the attitude of the speaker towards his subject. What emotional sense do you take from the piece? Does it stay consistent throughout, or do the speaker’s feelings shift? While the spoken word can easily convey attitude through inflection, tone is often difficult to discern in the written word. Consider how word choice, sentence structure, and imagery might point to tone.

Rhetorical Appeals - A Quick Overview A way of using language that is designed to influence an audience’s thoughts about an issue We will study three major rhetorical strategies: Logos - appeals to logic uses facts and reasoning to support claims Pathos - appeals to emotions tries to invoke a feeling in the audience Ethos - (this is something the speaker has) the reader sees the speaker as reliable, trustworthy, competent, and credible; therefore, the reader might respect the author’s views.

Let’s look at this in action… listen for strategies! Senator Tim Kaine testified before the senate on why he did not want Betsy DeVos to be Secretary of Education. Listen to his speech for the rhetorical appeals. Jot down notes and we will discuss.

Creon’s Speech in Antigone Scene 1 Speaker Creon Occasion Under what circumstances is Creon delivering this speech? Audience What has happened? How are the feeling? Purpose What is Creon trying to accomplish? What is his motivation? Subject What topics does Creon cover in his speech? Tone What is Creon’s attitude toward his audience and the subject matter of the speech?

Creon Speech Analysis: Annotate for These Things Rhetorical Appeals (Ethos, Pathos, & Logos) D (Word Choice) S Syntax. (the way the author joins sentences, etc)

Next Class: Rhetorical Precis Quiz! Next class you will use your annotated copy of the speech to write a rhetorical precis. It will be a quiz grade. The Structure of a Rhetorical Précis (see handout for more details) Sentence One: Name of author, genre, and title of work, date in parentheses; an active verb; and the author’s position/ argument. Sentence Two: How the writer supports the main idea by providing a specific example for one rhetorical strategy used. Sentence Three: The third sentence explains how rhetorical strategies help the writer/ speaker achieve his purpose by using an in order to statement. Sentence Four: A description of the tone and the effect it has on the audience.