Speaker, Audience, Purpose, and Context
Analyze the rhetorical situation by identifying speaker, audience, purpose, context, exigence, message, and occasion in complex nonfiction.
A lesson of AP English Language and Composition, in Rhetorical Situation and Close Reading, about 10 minutes.
The Rhetorical Situation: SOAPS
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to analyze any text using the SOAPS framework and explain how the rhetorical situation shapes every communication choice.
Every Text Exists in a Context
No text is created in a vacuum. Before you can analyze how a writer argues, you need to understand why they are writing, for whom, and about what. The rhetorical situation is the set of contextual factors that shape a communication.
SOAPS: A Framework for Analysis
S — Speaker
Who is communicating? Consider:
- Identity, background, credentials, and authority
- Relationship to the subject and audience
- What position, values, or interests might shape their message
Example: A speech by the CDC director on vaccine safety carries different authority than the same claims made by a celebrity.
O — Occasion
What is the immediate context that prompted this communication?
The occasion includes both:
- The exigence (the problem, need, or opportunity that demands a response)
- The larger historical or social context in which it occurs
Example: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (1865) occurred as the Civil War was ending — that occasion demanded a different tone than a speech at the war's start.
A — Audience
Who is the intended recipient(s)?
Consider:
- Primary audience: directly addressed
- Secondary audience: others who might read/hear the text
- What do they already believe? What are their values? What resistance might they have?
Effective communicators adapt to their audience. The same message is written differently for a scientific journal than for a newspaper.
P — Purpose
What does the speaker/writer want to achieve?
Common purposes:
- Inform / explain
- Persuade / convince
- Inspire / motivate
- Entertain