NONFICTION READING

STRATEGY
An Adaptation….
Pre-Reading Strategies
Survey
—Look at the title. Identify the topic of the piece
—Scan the piece. How long is it? How many pages or paragraphs does it have? Are there chapter or section titles? Are there graphs or images?

—Look at the beginning paragraph/page. What do you notice about the language, style (diction and syntax?)

Question/Predict
--Based on your observation about the title, structure, language, and style, what questions do you have about the subject matter or the content of the text?

--Based on your observations about the title, structure, language, and style, what questions or predictions do you have about author of the text?

READ
As you read the piece, pay attention to the topic/main idea of the piece (Thesis). Make summary, reference, and/or inquiry annotations in the margins of the
text.

RE-READ
-- Once you’ve read the piece as a whole, review your notes and key sections of the text.
-- Use the reading strategy *SOAPSTone (for nonfiction text to understand text at a deeper level (analysis annotations)
NOTE* SOAPS explained on next slide.
 Guided Reading Strategies Cont. “S-O-A-P-S”

S = SPEAKER/writer: The speakers background and point-of-view (ethos)

What is the speaker’s point of view? Consider his/her class, gender, race, education, religion, time period, etc.

O = OCCASION: The time, place and context (Kairos)

What events motivated the author to write the piece? Consider social, cultural, political, historical context, etc.

A = AUDIENCE: The group to whom the text is directed.

Who is the author’s target audience? Consider where and to whom the piece was published/delivered.

P = PURPOSE: The reason behind the text; how the author uses evidence to persuade the audience to…(logos)
What is the author’s goal? What does he/she want the reader to understand or do, after reading/listening? What concrete
evidence does the author use to support his/her main idea?

S = STYLE/TONE: The speaker’s use of language, voice (pathos)

What is the speaker’s attitude about the subject? Toward the audience? What emotional appeal does the author make? What
kind of language does the author use (such as metaphor, imagery, repetition, patterns, rhetorical questions, etc.) that
demonstrate the author’s style?