An Introduction to SOAPSTone

Modified from

Kerryann Tracy

Learning TargetsI can define and identify speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, and tone in the context of text analysis.

I can analyze texts (in this case speeches) to better understand the author’s message and intention.

I can evaluate the effectiveness of a piece of writing (or speech) based upon these factors.

SOAPSTone

Speaker

Occasion

Audience

Purpose

Subject

Tone

SOAPSTone

Who is the Speaker? It is not enough simply to name the speaker. What assumptions can you make about the

speaker based upon the text (e.g., age, gender, class, occupation, emotional state)?

What does the speaker believe and what evidence from the text do you have to

support this?

SOAPSTone

What is the Occasion? What is important to understand about the

historical context based? How does the speaker frame the occasion? Occasion is not

simply identifying the time and place. Consider the larger occasion or context: the

environment of ideas, attitudes, and emotions surrounding an issue. Then

examine the immediate occasion that may have inspired this specific response.

SOAPSTone

Who is the Audience?To whom is this speech directed (both

implicitly and explicitly)? It’s not enough to say: “Anyone who hears it.” What is the

relationship between the speaker and the audience? Where does the speech directly reference the audience? To what effect?

What assumptions can you make about the intended audience and their reactions

based upon the speech?

SOAPSTone

What is the Purpose? What is its intended effect of the speech on

the audience (emotional)? What change does the author want to see as a result

(action)? Is the author’s aim to entertain, to inform, to persuade, to critique, to

complain, to explain, to describe, or to reflect? Are there multiple purposes?

SOAPSTone

What is the Subject? The subject is different from the purpose.

The subjects of texts are frequently abstract: the right to die, racism, poverty,

conformity, freedom etc. Look for the deeper meaning when determining the

subject of a speech. Another way to think of this is write a one-word “meaning” for the speech and then build a statement

around it.

Abstractions

Love

Anger

Hate

Peace

Loyalty

Integrity

Pride

Courage

Deceit

Honesty

Trust

Compassion

Bravery

Misery

Childhood

Knowledge

Patriotism

Friendship

Brilliance

Truth

Charity

Justice

Examples of Subject Statements

One-word topic: Love

Statement of opinion:

Love is the most important but sometimes the most painful emotion.

One-word topic: Knowledge

Statement of Opinion:

Knowledge means nothing without action based upon what we’ve learned.

SOAPSTone

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? Consider how word choice, sentence structure, and imagery choices made by the

speaker might point to the tone.

Talking About Tone

aggravated ambiguousamusedangryapatheticapologeticappreciativeapprehensivearrogant

dramaticecstaticeffusiveelatedelegiacfactualfancifulflippantforeboding

moralisticmournfulnostalgicobjectiveoutragedpassionatepatronizingpedanticperplexed

Activity: In Your Groups

Complete the elements of the SOAPStone chart together

Column One: “Identify Element”“The tone is humorous but then shifts to…”

Column Two: Textual Support“I just flew in, and boy are my arms tired, but in all seriousness, let’s talk about airplane safety.”

Rotate

Go to the next group’s work.

Where do you agree with their analysis?

Where do you disagree?

What new insights do you gain about the speech based upon the group’s analysis?

Write any notes to the group on their paper