Soapstone Analysis Assignment
SOAPSTone Analysis Assignment
60 Points Possible
Using the SOAPSTone strategy, analyze the essay or article given to you. For each element of the SOAPSTone, you must provide:
- A clear and thorough response
- Specific and sufficient evidence from the text
- An explanation of how the evidence you provide proves your assertions in the response
Examples of appropriate answers are provided below from the analysis of “Video Game Violence and Our Sons.”
Each element of the SOAPSTone is worth 10 points. 4 points for an accurate response. 3 points for specific and sufficient evidence from the text. And 3 points for a sufficient explanation of the evidence.
EXAMPLE:
Audience
Response:The intended audience for this piece is parents, particularly of American teenage boys who enjoy playing violent video games.
Evidence:Like the speaker, the first clue to the audience is in the title, “…Our Sons.” The use of “our” allows the writer to group herself and the audience together, even before the audience reads the first word of the article. Establishing this immediate relationship can help the writer more easily persuade her audience of her message. Again, the first half or so of the article is used to establish the issue and the writer’s tone towards it. But after making her issue clear, the writer begins to directly address her audience. “The parents of teens hardly need reminding that for all their joys, teens often lack judgment, critical thinking skills, and foresight.” Here the writer acknowledges the audience’s own intelligence and credibility as thoughtful parents. She wants parents to change their methods, but she must acknowledge them as having some credibility as parents before pointing out their possible shortcomings. As in the title, she again begins to identify herself with the audience by using the first-person, plural pronoun “we.” “We owe it to the students who died at Columbine; we owe it to Devin Moore’s victims; we owe it to our own children.” With this quote, the writer connects the tragic events of Columbine and her own tragic examples of Devin Moore with the audience’s children. She wants them to make this issue personal and about their own lives. In the final paragraph, she explicitly states what she wants parents to do. She reverts back to referring to her audience in the third person, “parents,” so she doesn’t sound too preachy to her audience. By now, the audience has already been directly addressed; there is no need to say “you should” or “you must.” Doing so would likely be too strong and run the risk of offending her audience. “Parents must wake up to the fact that our nation’s boys….” “…[I]t’s up to parents to use the information to protect our sons and our society.”