SOAPSTONE ORGANIZER
AN ORGANIZER FOR BETTER READING
COMPREHENSION AND BETTER WRITTEN WORK.
INTRODUCTION
• To misinterpret tone is to misinterpret meaning.
• Why are emails and texts so ambiguous?
• We rely heavily on a person’s inflection, intonation, and
tone of voice to communicate their attitudes toward
subjects.
• Emoticons are the “solution” to this tone issue.
WHAT IS TONE?
• Emotional attitude of the author or speaker toward
the subject of the piece of writing.
• Tone is addressed on every reading test.
• Tone is a part of every writing test.
SOAPSTONE
• Multi-use organizer
• Use to analyze literature
• Use to plan writing
S
• SUBJECT
• What is the subject of the writing?
• What words does the author use to describe it?
Keep in mind that there are literal and metaphoric subjects—
more about this later
O
• Occasion
• What is the IMMEDIATE occasion? This is the specific
context for the writing itself. Time and place also matter.
• What is the LARGE occasion? This is the climate of ideas
and the culture the author is engaging.
A
• Audience
• Who is the intended audience for this? How does the
author appeal to or address this particular audience?
P
• Purpose
• What the author wishes the audience to think, believe or
do in response to his/her writing.
• Why the author is writing.
SPEAKER
• What kind of person is the speaker?
• Not just a name—background matters
• What is he/she concerned with? Time period? Age?
Philosophical ideals?
TONE
• Author/speaker’s attitude toward the subject
• Words to describe tone linked with emotion
• Can use a phrase to describe tone
COMMON WORDS TO DESCRIBE TONE
angry
sad
sharp
sentimental
cold
upset
fanciful
urgent
complimentary
condescending
sympathetic
poignant
detached
afraid
contemptuous
apologetic
hollow
childish
humorous
joyful
peaceful
mocking
sarcastic
bitter
dreamy
restrained
somber
candid
proud
dramatic
pitiful
didactic
contemptuous sarcastic
mocking
sweet
tired
frivolous
objective
vibrant
confused
playful
dark
dreary
pensive
thoughtful
vibrant
silly
fearful
sorrowful
PRACTICE SOAPSTONE
• During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in
the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung
oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing
along, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract
of country, and at length found myself, as the shades of
the evening drew on, within view of the melancholy
House of Usher…I reined my horse to the precipitous
brink of a black and lurid tarn that lay in unruffled luster
by the dwelling…[with] vacant and eye-like windows.
• E.A. Poe “The Fall of the House of Usher”
REFERENCES
• College Board, The AP Vertical Teams Guide for
English, 2nd ed. 2002.
• Morse, Ogden. Pre-AP: Strategies in English—writing
tactics using SOAPSTone. College Board, 2004