Homework and Class Work for ENG 100/AP
Monday, Sept. 24, 2012
1st Pd: Autumn Bailey, Jonathan Eisenhour, Sebastian Taylor, Haley Morehouse, Andrea Wallace
2nd Pd: Allison Fletcher, Alexandria Northcutt
3rd Pd: Ginny Bowman
5th Pd: Tiffany McClain, Josie Slone, Dustin Pennington
INDEPENDENT WORK:

Practice Writing Thesis Statements for the Following Prompts (Pick two).

Remember that your thesis statement should include the following:
a. Topic, b. Claim, c. Arguable adverb, d. Universal theme, e. Three points
1. Should schools start later in the day?
2. Should schools ban the sale of junk food in school?
3. Should college athletes be paid for playing?
4. Should students be paid for having good grades?
5. Should students have to pass a basic skills test to graduate high school?
Turn in for credit.
CLASSWORK:
Essential/Guiding Questions
What do I need to know to analyze a text?
Learning Targets
I can read a text with analysis in mind.
I know what things to look for when reading to analyze.
Lecture: Things You Must Know in Order to Accurately Analyze a
a. SOAPS= Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject
b. Speaker - The speaker is the writer or the person who is putting the message out there. You
need to know the speaker's full name and his or her credentials. What can knowing these
credentials tell you? What is the purpose of putting this information in your paper?
This info plays into the writer's ethos (authority and credibility). It can also help your ethos as
a writer and can give you insight info the author's purpose, motives, etc.
c. Occasion - When was the piece written? Where was it published? What is the context or
situation that surrounds or affects this argument? What can you learn from this information?
This info can give you insight into the author's motives and who the audience is. Also,
knowing the context can give you info about the currency of the piece and the tone of the
writer.
d. Audience - Who is the speaker's intended audience? Where do you find this information?
It may not come right out and say it, so how do you figure it out? You can look at the
publisher and the kind of publication it appeared in. You can look at the occasion. You can
look at the tone the author takes or how the author goes about presenting the information.
You are looking for clues as you read. You still may not know for sure, but you can make an
educated guess.
e. Purpose - What is the speaker trying to do with this argument? How do you know this?
f. Subject - What is this argument about? What is the overall topic?
Record the SOAPS for “The Language Police” to be used in the next
activity.
AP students, record the SOAPS for the argument you are using for
your rhetorical analysis paper.
g. How can I use SOAPS in my introduction?
The introductory paragraph in an analysis essay is usually brief. However is MUST contain some
essential information. This information comes from your analysis of SOAPS.
It should take this format:
1. Speaker, Occasion Subject
(Writer's Credentials), (Writer's first and last name), in his/her (Type of Text), (Title of Text),
(strong verb) (writer's subject).
To help you move away from summary and toward ANALYSIS, you need to begin to
incorporate strong verbs into your writing when discussing the writer's rhetorical choices.
Discuss strong verbs vs. weak verbs.
What is the effect of the strong verbs as opposed to the weak ones?
See handout for future use.
2. Purpose
(Writer's Last Name)'s purpose is to (What the writer does in the text).
3. Audience
He/she adopts (or equivalent verb) a(n) (adjective describing the attitude/feeling conveyed
by the writer) tone in order to (verb phrase describing what the writer wants readers to do/think)
in his/her (intended audience).
h. Example:
Novelist, Amy Tan, in her narrative essay, “Fish Cheeks,” recounts an embarrassing Christmas
Eve dinner when she was 14 years old. Tan’s purpose is to convey the idea that, at fourteen, she
wasn’t able to recognize the love her mother had for her or the sacrifices she made. She adopts
a sentimental tone in order to appeal to similar feelings and experiences in her adult readers.
i. Use your notes and the above example to write the intro for "The Language Police." We will
be discussing Tone later in the week. For now leave a blank or space for the adjective
describing the tone in your intro. (AP students, write the background portion of your rhetorical
analysis paper, instead of “The Language Police.”
NOTE: Your introduction should begin with an attention getter, followed by background info (this
part) and then concluded by the thesis statement. This is the middle section of your intro.
j. Turn in for credit. (AP students, hold on to this. You will be turning it it on Monday, Oct. 1 as
a part of your first draft.)
ENG 100
STRONG VERBS VS. WEAK VERBS
WEAK VERBS (SUMMARY)
Says
Relates
Goes on to say
Tells
This quote shows
Explains
States
Shows
STRONG VERBS (ANALYSIS)
Implies
Demonizes
Dismisses
Lists
Suggests
Ridicules
Supports
Describes
Compares
Flatters
Admonishes
Questions
Emphasizes
Lionizes
Narrates
Contrasts
Defines
Praises
Processes
Argues
Trivializes
Establishes
Analyzes
Warns
Denigrates
Minimizes
Enumerates
Vilifies
Qualifies
Expounds
POWERFUL AND MEANINGFUL VERBS TO USE IN YOUR ANALYSIS
ALTERNATIVES TO “SHOW”
Acknowledge
Characterize
Correct
Determine
Employ
Address
Claim
Create
Differentiate
Enable
Analyze
Clarify
Convince
Disagree
Engage
Apply
Compare
Critique
Discard
Enhance
Argue
Complicate
Declare
Discover
Establish
Assert
Confine
Deduce
Discus
Evaluate
Augment
Connect
Defend
Distinguish
Exacerbate
Broaden
Consider
Demonstrate
Duplicate
Examine
Calculate
Construct
Deny
Elaborate
Exclude
Capitalize
Contradict
Describe
Emphasize
Exhibit
Expand
Instigate
Persist
Repair
Vary
Explain
Integrate
Point out
Report
View
Exploit
Interpret
Possess
Represent
Vindicate
Express
Intervene
Predict
Resolve
Yield
Extend
Invert
Present
Retrieve
Facilitate
Isolate
Prove
Reveal
Feature
Justify
Produce
Revise
Forecast
Locate
Promote
Separate
Formulate
Loosen
Propose
Shape
Fracture
Maintain
Prove
Signify
Generalize
Manifest
Provide
Simulate
Group
Manipulate
Qualify
Solve
Guide
Measure
Quantify
Specify
Hamper
Merge
Question
Structure
Hypothesize
Minimize
Realize
Suggest
Identify
Modify
Recommend
Summarize
Illuminate
Monitor
Reconstruct
Support
Illustrate
Necessitate
Redefine
Suspend
Impair
Negate
Reduce
Sustain
Implement
Nullify
Refer
Tailor
Implicate
Obscure
Reference
Terminate
Imply
Observe
Refine
Testify
Improve
Obtain
Reflect
Theorize
Include
Offer
Refute
Translate
Incorporate
Omit
Regard
Undermine
Indicate
Optimize
Reject
Understand
Induce
Organize
Relate
Unify
Initiate
Outline
Rely
Utilize
Inquire
Overstate
Remove
Validate