2.  College requires critical reading and writing skills. This tutorial is designed to get you started by teaching you to attend to critical features of a non-fiction text and how to take effective notes about its features.

3.  SOAPS4STEAA is a tool for active reading. Each capitalized letter of the acronym stands for a series of questions that you should ask yourself every time you read a text, as follows:  Speaker  Occasion (Situation)  Audience  Purpose  Subject  Style (4 parts)  Tone  Evidence  Assumptions  Appeals

4.  As you read, ask:  What voice is telling the story, reporting on the event, or making the argument?  When you write, ask:  What voice do I want readers to hear? Should I use the first person, or does this assignment call for a more “objective” perspective? What characteristics of my personality should I reveal (if any) to my readers to accomplish my purpose?

5.  When you read, you must also ask about context for the writing:  What places and events have influenced the author’s ideas and opinions?  What situation does the author/character face?  When you write, consider the context of the assignment, the problem, etc., which will help you to better anticipate the needs of your reader.

6.  When you read, ask:  For whom was this written? Am I a member of that group?  Did the author make assumptions about those who would read the text?  How do I know who the author wanted to read the text? What clues does he/she give about the audience?  When you write, ask:  For whom do I write?  What do I know about my readers? What do they need to know? What do they already know?

7.  When you read, ask:  Why did the author write this? What did he/she want me to learn? In other words, what is the reason for this text?  When you write, ask:  What do I intend to accomplish? What is my reason for writing? How does the assignment help me to determine my purpose?

8.  When you read, ask:  What is the author talking about? On what subject does he/she write?  When you write, ask:  What am I writing about?

9.  Style: includes the rhetorical mode as well as rhetorical devices and strategies (4 entries).  Diction: word choice intended to convey a certain effect.  Detail: The facts revealed by the author or speaker that support the tone.  Imagery: Language used to create sensory impressions and evoke specific responses.  Syntax: The arrangement of words, sentence structure, and the order of grammatical elements.

10.  How does the author’s arrangement of words, such as passive versus active voice, affect meaning? Does the author favor active voice? If not, does the passive voice fit the genre/purpose?  Does the author effectively leverage sentence variety (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex)? For example, is subordination used when coordination is not appropriate?  How do the author’s sentence choices add to the meaning?

11.  Tone or Attitude: Identify the overall tone and identify the tonal shifts.  How does the author’s attitude shape what I understand? Does the author imply more than what he/she actually says?

12.  Assumptions or Warrants  Assumption: The author’s belief regarded as true, upon which his other claims are based.  Warrant: the statement (expressed or implied) that establishes the logical connection between a claim and its supporting reason. Claim: Don’t eat the mushrooms. Reason: They are poisonous. Warrant: What is poisonous should not be eaten.

13.  Evidence or Data (goes along with Assumptions)  Are there any assumptions or beliefs (explicit or unspoken) that warrant using this evidence/data to support the claim?

14.  Appeals: Ethical (Ethos), Emotional (Pathos), or Logical (Logos).  Ethos (Credibility), or ethical appeal: The character of the author is used to convince his audience. i.e. How does the author build his credibility?  Pathos (Emotional): Persuasion by appealing to the reader’s emotions.  Logos (Logical): Persuasion through the use of reasoning. i.e. How does the author logically construct his argument?

15.  Create a SOAPS4STEAA for “Once More to the Lake”  Example:  “Once More to the Lake” SOAPS Speaker:  E.B. White Occasion: Audience: Purpose: Subject:

16.  “Once More to the Lake”  4S.T.E.A.A  Style Diction: Detail: Imagery: Syntax: