Using Academic Tools to Analyze Content:Use the SOAPSTONE or "Analyzing a Written Text"

          
          Students come to me all the time asking how do I analyze a text? I first ask the student what they are reading, and for what class. Those two bits of information are very important when deciding which rubric to use. From there I will either refer the student to SOAPSTONE, a College Board tool adapted from San Juan College, or Colorado State's "Analyzing a Written Text." SOAPSTONE is for analyzing literature, poems, chapters/verses from books, or anything non-research orientated. Colorado State's "Analyzing a Written Text" is used for articles, research papers, or anything factual and scientific. 

          If the student is, for example, in an English class and needs  to analyze a poem then I refer him/her to SOAPSTONE. SOAPSTONE is an acronym for SPEAKER, OCCASION, PURPOSE, SUBJECT,   TONE, ORGANIZATION, NARRATIVE STYLE, and EVIDENCE. This rubric is most important for literary analysis because it gets to the main idea, topics, point-of-view, and ideas discussed in the text. Here is the link to SOAPSTONE: SOAPSTONE 

          On the other hand if the student is in an anthropology class and needs to analyze an academic article, then I will refer them to CSU's "Analyzing a Written Text." CSU's technique is good for finding bias, comparing texts, discussing ideas, and evaluating sources. CSU's technique has eight steps:

1. Purpose/Context 
2. Authors
3. Audience
4. Topic and Position
5. Research/Sources
6. Proof/Evidence
7. Organization
8. Style

From the eight steps above the student can draw conclusions about not only the research content but also potential bias and important themes throughout the piece.
Please feel free to check out the link to CSU's technique:  "Analyzing a Written Text" 

* The key to analyzing content is determining which rubric to use: literature or research. One of my students famously said, "It's like a battle between books and evaluating sources." 

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