(Not literally a space cat!)

S.P.A.C.E.C.A.T is an acronym used to help analyze rhetorical elements in pieces of literature, standing for “Speaker, Purpose, Audience, Context, Exigence, Choices, Appeal, Tone” Examine the text and use outside sources to complete each word in regards to the

SPEAKER: What do you know about the author and what don’t you know?

Purpose: What is the author trying to do? Inform, persuade, call to action, etc.

Audience: Who was the intended audience and what did the author assume about them?

Context: What was happening in the world when this text was produced? What were the biggest issues that the author faced?

Exigence: Why did the Author write it NOW? What made them write it?

Choices: What rhetorical choices did the author make and what were the rhetorical reasons behind them? Appeal: Appeals to logos, ethos or pathos?

Tone: What was the author’s attitude toward the subject? How do you know and prove it. Does the tone shift, when and why?

Answer these one at a time to make things easier and then you can relate each word them to one another. It is useful for understanding literature because it can help you understand different perspectives, historical context which are crucial for understanding the author’s message, their intentions and criticism.

Through my experience using this rhetorical analysis aid, analyzing Plato’s book 7th book of “The Republic” called “Allegory of the Cave” using SPACECAT was definitely hard because I need to dive deeper into his life and what he did and other additional works he has stated. On the other hand, analyzing Sojourner Truth’s speech “Ain’t I a Woman?” with the same technique was easier because her text was easier to understand compared to Plato’s.