Rhetorical Analysis Using SOAPSTone

Speaker Who is the speaker?

What is the speaker like?

Describe the speaker’s personality.

Occasion What is the cultural & historical context?

Describe the settings within the piece— time, place, situation

Audience Who is the intended audience?

What are they like?

What might be their attitudes?

Their expectations?

Purpose What response does the speaker expect?

Why did the author write this piece?

Subject What is the piece about?

Why is this subject important to the author? To the speaker? To us?

Tone What is the speaker’s attitude?

How is this attitude conveyed through diction? details? figurative language?

sentence style?