Who is the speaker who produced this piece? What is the their background and why are they making the points they are making? Is there a bias in what was written?
What is the Occasion? The time and place of the piece. What promoted the author to write this piece? What event led to its publication or development? It is particularly important that students understand the context that encouraged the writing to happen.
Who is the Audience? The group of readers to whom this piece is directed. The audience may beone person, a small group or a large group; it may be a certain person or a certain people. What assumptions can you make about the audience? Is it mixed racial/sex group? What social class? Political party? Who was the document created for? Are there any words or phrases that are unusual or different? Does the speaker use language the specific for a unique audience? Does he speaker evoke God? Nation? Liberty? History? Hell? Does the speaker allude to classical themes: the Fates, the Classical, Pericles, Caesar? Why is the speaker using this type of language?
What is the purpose? The reason behind the text. In what ways does he convey this message? How would you perceive the speaker giving this speech? What is the document saying? What is the emotional state of the speaker? How is the speaker trying to spark a reaction in the audience? What words or phrases show the speaker’s tone? How is the document supposed to make you feel? This helps you examine the argument or it's logic.
What is the subject of the document? The general topic, content, and ideas contained in the text. How do you know this? How has the subject been selected and presented? And presented by the author?