Card
SPACECAT
Students use the SPACECAT strategy to analyze reading. It is a mnemonic device for analyzing various components of a rhetorical situation. By breaking down these components, SPACECAT aids in a structured and thorough analysis of the piece.
SPACECAT
Summary
Students use a communication artifact, such as a text, visual, or speech, to analyze a rhetorical situation. This strategy guides students in their analysis process to ensure they focus on relevant details.
Procedure
1. Provide students with a text.
2. Distribute handouts and explain that they will be looking for the following in the text:
Speaker—Who is the speaker?
Purpose—What is the speaker hoping to accomplish?
Audience—Who is the speaker trying to reach?
Context—What is the time and place of this piece?
Exigence—What was the catalyst that moved the speaker to act or to write?
Choices—What are the rhetorical choices the speaker makes in the piece?
Appeals—How did the creator intend to appeal to the audience (ethos, pathos, logos)?
Tone—What is the speaker’s attitude toward the subject?
3. Once students have completed the handout, lead the whole class in discussion comparing and contrasting the shared information.
Newbold, Curtis. (2024). SPACECAT Method of Rhetorical Analysis. https://thevisualcommunicationguy.com/2021/01/28/spacecat-method-of-rhetorical-analysis-description-and-worksheet/
Publisher
Downloads
Placement In Lesson
- Explain/Closing
- Extend/Additional Learning Activity
Intention/Purpose
- Analyze
- Annotating Text
- Critical Thinking
- Identify
- Interpret
- Reason
- Recognize
- Synthesize
- Text analysis
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