1. SOAPSTone (a strategy for analyzing text)

2. 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 P urpose: The reason behind the text S ubject: The topic of the piece of writing T one: 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 the speaker 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?