Page 59 - SpringBoard_Writing_Workshop_Grade7_Flipbook

Writing Workshop 5 (continued)
SOAPSTone
Audience:
Who is the target audience? What references from the text support your assertion?
Purpose:
Why did the author write this text?
Subject:
What is the central idea, position or main message about life?
Tone:
What is the writer’s attitude toward the subject? Give examples.
Rooney’s tone shifts: He begins and ends with a flippant tone intended to mirror his audience’s indifferent attitude toward the Earth, but he contrasts this tone with a serious tone in the body
of his text. Rooney believes that Americans need to take ownership of this pervasive environmental issue and do something about it before it is too late.
“We don’t know how to fix anything, and anyone who does know how is too busy to come, so we throw it away and buy a new one.”
“The problem is staggering. I often think of it when I go in the hardware store or a Sears Roebuck and see shelves full of poison.”
“. . . some of the things we’re throwing away are poisoning the Earth and will eventually poison all of us and all living things.”
“If 5 billion people had been living on Earth for the past thousand years as they have been in the past year, the planet would be nothing but one giant landfill . . .”
“Throwing things out is the American way.”
“. . . we’ve run out of places to throw things . . . the things we’re throwing away are poisoning the Earth . . .”
Flippant, humorous, sarcastic:
“Next to saving stuff I don’t need, the thing I like to do best is throw it away.” “The best solution may be for all of us to pack up, board a spaceship, and move out.”
Serious:
“. . . some of the things we’re throwing away are poisoning the Earth and will eventually poison all of us and all living things.”
Analysis
Americans who are filling our planet with trash and destroying our environment in the process (adults and companies).
Rooney’s purpose is to convince Americans that trash is a serious problem and that they should cut back on their wastefulness before it is too late to save the planet.
American people and companies are “trashing” the Earth.
Check Your Understanding
How does Rooney make his purpose more acceptable to his audience?
ACTIVITY 2
Writing a Class Essay
WRITING PROMPT: In Andrew Rooney’s persuasive essay, “America the Not-So- Beautiful,” he presents his perspective on waste in America. In a multi-paragraph class response to this persuasive essay, explain Rooney’s position and the purpose of his essay.
Textual Support
4 SpringBoard® Writing Workshop with Grammar Activities Grade 7
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