The SOAPS Method of Document Analysis
Historians work with primary documents in trying to understand the past. However, the documents are hard to
decipher unless one knows about the creator of the document, the background of the document, and why it was
created. In a SOAPS analysis, historians look at a document this way:
S: Speaker - identify the speaker/creator of the document. This is more than simply providing a name.
Sometimes the speaker is someone everyone knows. Other times, it is someone no one knows. In any case,
WHO is the person? What does this document say about the speaker? Describe the speaker as completely as
possible. Base your description on the contents of the document. Do NOT view this part of the analysis as a
biography of the speaker.
O: Occasion - when was the document created? This is more than simply a date. What event(s) and/or era(s)
provide the backdrop and context for the document? What was going on in history that might help explain why
this document was created when it was? What was the specific event/issue of the time that prompted the
document’s creation?
A: Audience - for whom was the document created? Who does the speaker plan on delivering this message
to? What does the author think about his/her audience? Why is the audience paying attention to this document?
Describe the audience as completely as possible. What do you think the audience’s reaction(s) was/were?
P: Purpose - for what reason was this document created? What does the speaker hope to accomplish? This
paragraph is a perfect place for a quote from the document to illustrate meaning (with an explanation of its
relevance).
S: Significance - why is this document important? What does it say about the era in which it was created?
What, if anything, did it lead to? What was the response to the document? Did the speaker accomplish his/her
purpose? Explain. Is there a connection to later historical events or the modern world? If so, explain.
Writing & Formatting your SOAPS Papers
When writing a SOAPS paper, use the questions on the reverse as a guide, not a checklist. Do not attempt to
answer every question. Some questions apply to some documents but not others. Use your best judgment.
During this semester, you are required to submit SOAPS papers on historical documents.
All SOAPS papers must be typed in an easily-readable font sized 12, be double-spaced, and have margins of 1
inch on all sides. Papers (unless otherwise noted) must have 300 to 350 words. Use the tools in your word
processor to count the words.
Each paper should include a heading with your name & date, and include the title & author of the document as
the paper’s title. Words in the heading and title do not count towards your 350-word limit.
Each SOAPS paper should be made up of 5 short paragraphs, one for each letter of the SOAPS acronym.
While substance is the most important part of your grade for these assignments, pay attention to rules of
grammar and style. Most importantly, make sure to:
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use only 3rd person (no I, me, we, you, your, us, our)
avoid use of contractions
use quotation marks when quoting the document (no more than 2 quotes)
use active voice whenever possible
write in the past tense (present tense acceptable in the final paragraph)
write only in complete sentences with correct capitalization & end punctuation
use the spell check feature of your word processor
Grading
Each SOAPS paper is worth 50 points, 10 points for each letter of the acronym. Points will be subtracted from
your overall grade for failure to format your paper according to the above requirements. To get an “A,” your
paper must meet the following requirements:
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communicate that you understand the meaning of the document
describe the speaker & audience rather than simply stating them
relate the document to what is going on in history at the time of its creation
include your analysis of the document’s purpose - this means that it simply does not summarize or
restate the main points of the document, but includes your insight
meet all formatting requirements listed above
EXAMPLE SOAPS PAPER: Tacitus, “The Other Side of the Pax Romana”
S
“The Other Side of the Pax Romana” was written by Cornelius Tacitus. He was a Roman historian and orator
(speech-giver) in the first century CE. The writing was meant to show Tacitus’ views about how he thought the
Britons and other groups felt during Roman conquest of their land. Writing from the perspective of those who
had been conquered (one leader being Calgacus) shows that Tacitus was educated about what was happening in
the world and that he felt sympathetic to their problems. An example of this is when he wrote about the
Romans, “they have exhausted the land by their indiscriminate plunder, and now they ransack the sea.”
O
This writing was made during the height of the Roman Empire during the first century CE, when Romans were
conquering most of what is now Europe. Tacitus wrote this because his father-in-law, Agricola, was a general
who had helped conquer northern Briton under the emperor Hadrian. The document was written after the
conquest of Britain about the years 77-83 CE.
A
The audience of this writing is probably those who are sympathetic to those who have been conquered by the
Romans, as Tacitus describes the character Calgacus as someone who is strong but feels defeated: “We
instinctively love our children and our kinsmen above all else. These are torn from us by conscription to slave in
other lands.” Most people who were for Roman conquest probably would not feel the same way about those that
had been conquered, especially because they would not agree with Calgacus’ description of them as “violently
tempted to attack the poor as the wealthy. Robbery, butchery, rapine, the liars call Empire; they create a
desolation and call it peace.”
P
Tacitus wants to show others how cruelly those that were conquered by the Roman Empire were treated, as
when he says, “our goods and fortunes are ground down to pay tribute, our land and its harves to supply corn,
our bodies and hands to build roads through woods and swamps.” By using such a description, the writer tries to
gain sympathy for the conquered and speak out against the brutality of the Romans.
S
This document is important because it shows that not all Romans agreed with how the army treated those people
and lands conquered for the Empire. It is also significant because an educated, upper-class Roman wrote the
work—not an actual person that had lived through an attack. It is a work essentially of historical fiction. The
response to the document was probably mixed emotions, since some would agree with what they read, while
others would be angered that a fellow Roman would write terrible things about his own people.