One of the writing strategies that we used in class and on assignments was called “SPACECAT”. SPACECAT was used to comment on specifics features that make notetaking more effective.

Speaker: Who wrote this? What do we know about him or her?

Purpose: What is the writer/speaker hoping to accomplish by speaking to their audience?

Audience: Who was the audience for this speech/writing piece?

Context: What was happening in the world when this text was produced?

Exigence: Why did the author write this NOW?

Choices: What rhetorical choices does the author make?

Appeals: Appeal to logic/facts (logos), Appeal to authority/character (ethos), Appeal to emotion (pathos).

Tone: What is the author’s attitude toward the subject?