SOAPSTONE & STRATEGIES Annotation Notes

SOAPS Speaker Occasion Audience Purpose Subject

Speaker Who is addressing the reader? What is important to know about his/her background? What experience or bias might he/she bring to the writing?

Occasion When was the text written? Is there any significance to the date? To what situation is the author responding?

Audience To what audience is the text directed? Is the audience specific or general?

Purpose What is the writer’s overall goal? Explanatory Persuasive Descriptive Narrative

Expository Purpose – to explain and analyze information by presenting an idea, relevant information, and appropriate discussion

Persuasive Purpose – to prove the validity of an idea, or point of view, by presenting sound reasoning, discussion, and argument that thoroughly convinces the reader, typically urging action

Descriptive Purpose – to re-create, invent, or visually present a person, place, event or action so that the reader can picture that which is described; may be straightforward and objective or highly emotional and subjective

Narrative Purpose – to tell a story or event or series of events

Subject What is the writer writing about? BE CAREFUL – big idea vs. examples!!!

Tone the author’s attitude toward his or her subject, the audience, or both usually described in one or two words – always an adjective

Appeals Ethos Pathos Logos

Ethos Ethical Appeal – an appeal to the morality of the audience For example, a speaker might make an argument in favor of fuel-efficient cars. He or she might make an ethical appeal by pointing out the benefits of these cars to the environment.

Pathos Emotional Appeal – an appeal to the feelings or imagination of the audience Emotional appeals evoke feelings in audience members in order to convince them of a point of view or motivate them to action.

Logos Logical Appeal – an appeal to an audience’s rational judgment by giving reasons supported by evidence, such as examples, statistics, or expert opinions

Diction A writer’s or speaker’s choice of words Can be described as formal or informal house, home, digs, domicile, residence, abode Relies on readers being able to differentiate between words’ denotation (dictionary definition) vs. connotation (situational or emotional definition) Be on the lookout for certain words that carry various meanings … writers use words on purpose to get a reaction … that’s diction!

Figurative Language A word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of another and that is not meant to be understood on a literal level

Imagery Language that appeals to the senses Physical level – use terms related to five senses Deeper level – images may represent more than one thing (symbolic)

Metaphor A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike thing without using a connective word such as like, as, than, or resembles

Simile A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two seemingly unlike things by using a connective word such as like, as, than, or resembles

Hyperbole A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion or to create a comic effect or irony

Euphemism A mild or neutral expression substituted for a blunt one used to adhere to social correctness or add humor or ironic understatement downsizing vs. laying people off passed away vs. died

Allusion A reference to a statement, a person, a place, an idea, or an event from literature, history, religion, mythology, sports, politics, science, or the arts

Anecdote A very brief account of a particular incident, frequently used to illustrate a point

Syntax The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences; similar to diction, but syntax is groups of words while diction refers to individual words

Parallelism (parallel construction or parallel structure) The repetition of words, phrases, or sentences that have the same grammatical structure or state a similar idea Usually in a grouping of THREE

Repetition The recurrence of a word, sound, phrase or idea

Rhetorical Question Question a writer poses and does not answer Involves readers and challenges them to contemplate their answers

Style Evaluation of the sum of choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices Can analyze and describe author’s personal style and make judgments about how appropriate it is to author’s purpose