Soaps-tone WORKSHEET
(The following two pages are an AP graphic organizer to be used for
primary document analysis within the lesson)
S What is the subject of the
piece?
What are the general
topics/and/or/ideas
contained in the text?

O What is the occasion?
What are the time, place,
and setting of the piece?

A Who is the audience?
To whom is the piece
directed?

P What is the purpose?
What is the purpose or
reason this piece was
written?

S Who is the speaker?
Who is the voice that
tells the story?
Tone What is the tone of the
piece?

What is the attitude or
emotional characteristics
present in the piece?
SOAPSTone DESCRIPTION
Who is the Speaker?
 The voice that is speaking. Identification of the historical person (or group of people) who created the
primary source.
 What do we know about this historic or contemporary person?
 What role does he play in an historic event?
What is the Occasion?
 What is the time and place? The context in which the primary source was created?
 What is the Geographic and Historic intersection at which this source was produced?
Who is the Audience?
 The readers to whom this document is directed.
 The audience may be one person, a small group, or a large group; it may be a certain person or a certain
people.
What is the Purpose?
 What is the reason behind the text
 Why was it written?
 What goal did the author have in mind?
What is the Subject?
 What is the general topic, content, or idea contained in the text?
 Summarize in a few words or phrase.
What is the Tone?
 What is the attitude expressed by the speaker?
 Examine the choice of words, emotions expressed, imagery used to determine the speaker’s attitude