SOAPSTone - W · PDF fileSlang, colloquial, jargon, dialect, concrete, ... Read “The Ugly Truth about Beauty ... Barry in groups

SOAPSTone

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

Subject

While reading the text, determine the

SUBJECT OF THE TEXT.

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?

Occasion

While reading, its 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?

Audience

While reading the text, it is important to determine WHO THE AUDIENCE IS.

Dont 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? Is the audience the financial experts of the business

world? Stay-at-home mothers? College students? Athletes?

The audience is never anybody

Purpose

While reading the text, it is necessary to understand the PURPOSE OF THE TEXT.

Ask yourself: Whats 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?

Purpose could be: to entertain, to advocate, to raise awareness, to persuade, to inform, to describe, to reflect on a personal level, to justify, to recommend

Speaker

While reading the text, ask yourself this major question: WHO IS SPEAKING?

Dont 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: Whats 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?

Tone

While reading the text, one of the most important

questions is WHATS THE TONE OF THE TEXT?

How is the author saying what he or she is

saying? What is his/her attitude towards the

subject? Toward the audience?

Is he/she angry? Biased? Persuasive? Neutral?

Remember, DIDLS can help us create tone and

analyze tone.

See next slide

DIDLS

Diction Slang, colloquial, jargon, dialect, concrete, abstract,

denotation, connotation, formal, informal

Imagery Sensory details, symbols, allusions, words/phrases, effect

Details Chosen facts, details left out

Language Literary devices, figurative language

What does choice in language tell you about the audience?

Syntax Sentence structure and patterns: simple, long, parallel

structures, repetition, juxtaposition, interrogative, declarative, imperative, exclamatory

Other Considerations

Organization Cause/effect

Compare/contrast

Chronology

Classification

Spatial

Example

Degree of importance

Mode of Writing Expository

Narrative

Persuasive

Descriptive

Dave Barry

Read The Ugly Truth about Beauty

Annotate only for your personal reaction

first.

Subject

Differences in perceptions of beauty

between genders

Occasion

Written in 2006, still contemporary

A reflection of common interaction

between a man and a woman in modern

American society

Audience

You = male specific for first 9

paragraphs

Paragraph 10: YOU is women

Adults who conform to traditional

stereotypes in modern America

Purpose

To critique how the medias, and

therefore out societys, unrealistic

expectations of female beauty create

dissonance between male and female

perceptions of beauty

Speaker

Middle-aged man in America

Familiar with mainstream cultural beliefs

about gender roles

Takes on traditional male perspective

Tone

Humorous, sarcastic, and honest

Stylistic Devices continue chart

together during a second close reading Paragraph # Technique/Device Quotation Effect

1 Hypothetical

scenario, 2nd

person pronouns,

diction

If youre a

man

Established audience. Use

of words man and

woman imply subject

2 Dialogue How do I look?

shell ask.

Generalization about

women made by man =

male audience will say

YES! While female readers

will squirm. Creating

opposition between sexes

to set the scene for an

essay about their

differences.

3 Hyperbole The best

technique

collapse on the

floor

Creates humor to diffuse

sensitivity of the upcoming

topic

Other Considerations

Structure

Compare and contrast (women v. men

beauty routines)

Cause and effect (Barbie + Cindy Crawford

+ other media sensations = women believe

they are not good enough

Mode of Writing

Expository

Dave Barry

Directions

Read Lost in the Kitchen by Dave

Barry in groups.

Annotate stylistic devices for each

paragraph.

At the end, identify all elements of

SOAPStone.