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, 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?
Audience
While reading the text, it is important to determine WHO THE AUDIENCE IS.
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? 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: 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?
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?
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?
Tone
While reading the text, one of the most important
questions is WHAT’S 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 media’s, and
therefore out society’s, 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 you’re a
man…”
Established audience. Use
of words “man” and
“woman” imply subject
2 Dialogue “How do I look?”
she’ll 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.
