Because the Nissan has the lowest initial price, it receives the most favorable judgment. The evidence is found on the price tag. Each car is compared by way of a single criterion: cost.
When we evaluate informally (passing judgments during the course of conversation, for instance), we typically assume that our criteria are self-evident and require no explanation. However, in written evaluation, it is often necessary that we clarify and define our criteria in order to make a persuasive evaluative argument.
Although we frequently find ourselves needing to use abstract criteria like "feasibility" or "effectiveness," we also must avoid using criteria that are overly vague or personal and difficult to support with evidence. As evaluators, we must steer clear of criteria that are matters of taste, belief, or personal preference. For example, the "best" lamp might simply be the one that you think looks prettiest in your home. If you depend on a criterion like "pretty in my home," and neglect to use more common, shared criteria like "brightness," "cost," and "weight," you are probably relying on a criterion that is too specific to your own personal preferences. To make "pretty in my home" an effective criterion, you would need to explain what "pretty in my home" means and how it might relate to other people's value systems. (For example: "Lamp A is attractive because it is an unoffensive style and color that would be appropriate for many people's decorating tastes.")
When you make judgments, it is important that you use criteria that are appropriate to the type of object, person, policy, etc. that you are examining. If you are evaluating Steven Spielburg's film, Schindler's List , for instance, it is unfair to criticize it because it isn't a knee-slapper. Because "Schindler's List" is a drama and not a comedy, using the criterion of "humor" is inappropriate.
Once you have established criteria for your evaluation of a subject, it is necessary to decide which of these criteria are most important. For example, if you are evaluating a Mexican restaurant and you have arrived at several criteria (variety of items on the menu, spiciness of the food, size of the portions, decor, and service), you need to decide which of these criteria are most critical to your evaluation. If the size of the portions is good, but the service is bad, can you give the restaurant a good rating? What about if the decor is attractive, but the food is bland? Once you have placed your criteria in a hierarchy of importance, it is much easier to make decisions like these.
When we evaluate, we must consider the audience we hope to influence with our judgments. This is particularly true when we decide which criteria are informing (and should inform) these judgments.
After establishing some criteria for your evaluation, it is important to ask yourself whether or not your audience is likely to accept those criteria. It is crucial that they do accept the criteria if, in turn, you expect them to accept the supporting judgments and overall claim or judgment built on them.
Related Information: Explaining and Defending Criteria
In deciding which criteria will be effective in your evaluation is determining which criteria your audience considers important. For example, if you are writing a review of a Mexican restaurant to an audience comprised mainly of senior citizens from the midwest, it is unlikely that "large portions" and "fiery green chile" will be the criteria most important to them. They might be more concerned, rather, with "quality of service" or "availability of heart smart menu items." Trying to anticipate and address your audience's values is an indispensable step in writing a persuasive evaluative argument.
Related Information: Understanding Audience Criteria
Laura Thomas - Composition Lecturer Your background experience influences the criteria that you use in evaluation. If you know a lot about something, you will have a good idea of what criteria should govern your judgments. On the other hand, it's hard if you don't know enough about what you're judging. Sometimes you have to research first in order to come up with useful criteria. For example, I recently went shopping for a new pair of skis for the first time in fifteen years. When I began shopping, I realized that I didn't even know what questions to ask anymore. The last time I had bought skis, you judged them according to whether they had a foam core or a wood core. But I had no idea what the important considerations were anymore.
Evidence consists of the specifics you use to reach your conclusion or judgment. For example, if you judge that "La Cocina's green chile is superb" on the basis of the criterion, "Good green chile is so fiery that you can barely eat it," you might offer evidence like the following:
"I drank an entire pitcher of water on my own during the course of the meal."
"Though my friend wouldn't admit that the chile was challenging for him, I saw beads of sweat form on his brow."
Related Information: Example Text
In the following paragraph, evidence appears in italics. Note that the reference to the New York Times backs up the evidence offered in the previous sentence:
Since killer whales have small lymphatic systems, they catch infections more easily when held captive ( Obee 23 ). The orca from the movie "Free Willy," Keiko, developed a skin disorder because the water he was living in was not cold enough. This infection was a result of the combination of tank conditions and the animal's immune system, according to a New York Times article .
Evidence for academic evaluations is usually of two types: concrete detail and analytic detail. Analytic detail comes from critical thinking about abstract elements of the thing being evaluated. It will also include quotations from experts. Concrete detail comes from sense perceptions and measurements--facts about color, speed, size, texture, smell, taste, and so on. Concrete details are more likely to support concrete criteria (as opposed to abstract criteria) used in judging objects. Analytic detail will more often support abstract criteria (as opposed to concrete criteria), like the criterion "feasibility," discussed in the section on criteria. Analytic detail also appears most often in academic evaluations of solutions to problems, although such solutions can also sometimes be evaluated according to concrete criteria.
Good evidence ranges from personal experience to interviews with experts to published sources. The kind of evidence that works best for you will depend on your audience and often on the writing assignment you have been given.
When you choose evidence to support the judgments you are making in an evaluation, it will be important to consider what type of evaluation you are being asked to do. If, for instance, you are being asked to review a play you have attended, your evidence will most likely consist primarily of your own observations. However, if your assignment asks you to compare and contrast two potential national health care policies (toward deciding which is the better one), your evidence will need to be more statistical, more dependent on reputable sources, and more directed toward possible effects or outcomes of your judgment.
Comparison and contrast is the process of positioning an item or concept being evaluated among other like items or concepts. We are all familiar with this technique as it's used in the marketing of products: soft drink "taste tests," comparisons of laundry detergent effectiveness, and the like. It is a way of determining the value of something in relation to comparable things. For example, if you have made the judgment that "La Cocina's green chile is superb" and you have offered evidence of the spiciness and the flavor of the chile, you might also use comparison by giving your audience a scale on which to base judgment: "La Cocina's chile is even more fiery and flavorful than Manuel's, which is by no means a walk in the park."
In this case, the writer compares limestone with wood to show that limestone is a better building material. Although this comparison could be developed much more, it still begins to point out the relative merits of limestone. Concrete is a feasible substitute for wood as a building material. Concrete comes from a rock called limestone. Limestone is found all over the United States. By using limestone instead of wood, the dependence on dwindling forest reserves would decrease. There are more sedimentary rocks than there are forests left in this country, and they are more evenly distributed. For this reason, it is quite possible to switch from wood to concrete as the primary building material for residential construction.
Comparing and contrasting rarely means placing the item or concept being evaluated in relation to another item or concept that is obviously grossly inferior. For instance, if you are attempting to demonstrate the value of a Cannondale mountain bike, it would be foolish to compare it with a Huffy. However, it would be useful to compare it with a Klein, arguably a similar bicycle. In this type of maneuver, you are not comparing good with bad; rather, you are deciding which bike is better and which bike is worse. In order to determine relative worth in this way, you will need to be very careful in defining the criteria you are using to make the comparison.
In order to make comparison and contrast function well in evaluation, it is necessary to be attentive to: 1) focusing on the item or concept under consideration and 2) the use of evidence in comparison and contrast. When using comparison and contrast, writers must remember that they are using comparable items or concepts only as a way of demonstrating the worth of the main item or concept under consideration. It is easy to lose focus when using this technique, because of the temptation to evaluate two (or more) items or concepts rather than just the one under consideration. It is important to remember that judgments made on the basis of comparison and contrast need to be supported with evidence. It is not enough to assert that "La Cocina's chile is even more fiery and flavorful than Manuel's." It will be necessary to support this judgment with evidence, showing in what ways La Cocina's chile is more flavorful: "Manuel's chile relies heavily on a tomato base, giving it an Italian flavor. La Cocina follows a more traditional recipe which uses little tomato and instead flavors the chile with shredded pork, a dash of vinegar, and a bit of red chile to give it a piquant taste."
A variety of writing assignments call for evaluation. Bearing in mind the various approaches that might be demanded by those particular assignments, this section offers some general strategies for formulating a written evaluation.
Sometimes your topic for evaluation will be dictated by the writing assignment you have been given. Other times, though, you will be required to choose your own topic. Common sense tells you that it is best to choose something about which you already have a base knowledge. For instance, if you are a skier, you might want to evaluate a particular model of skis. In addition, it is best to choose something that is tangible, observable, and/or researchable. For example, if you chose a topic like "methods of sustainable management of forests," you would know that there would be research to support your evaluation. Likewise, if you chose to evaluate a film like Pulp Fiction , you could rent the video and watch it several times in order to get the evidence you needed. However, you would have fewer options if you were to choose an abstract concept like "loyalty" or "faith." When evaluating, it is usually best to steer clear of abstractions like these as much as possible.
Once you have chosen a topic, you might begin your evaluation by thinking about what you already know about the topic. In doing this, you will be coming up with possible judgments to include in your evaluation. Begin with a tentative overall judgment or claim. Then decide what supporting judgments you might make to back that claim. Keep in mind that your judgments will likely change as you collect evidence for your evaluation.
Start by making an overall judgment on the topic in question, based on what you already know. For instance, if you were writing an evaluation of sustainable management practices in forestry, your tentative overall judgment might be: "Sustainable management is a viable way of dealing with deforestation in old growth forests."
With a tentative overall judgment in mind, you can begin to brainstorm judgments (or reasons) that could support your overall judgment by asking the question, "Why?" For example, asking "Why?" of the tentative overall judgment "Sustainable management is a viable way of dealing with deforestation in old growth forests" might yield the following supporting judgments:
When brainstorming possible judgments this early in the writing process, it is necessary to keep an open mind as you enter into the stage in which you collect evidence. Once you have done observations, analysis, or research, you might find that you are unable to advance your tentative overall judgment. Or you might find that some of the supporting judgments you came up with are not true or are not supportable. Your findings might also point you toward other judgments you can make in addition to the ones you are already making.
To prepare to organize and write your evaluation, it is important to clearly define the criteria you are using to make your judgments. These criteria govern the direction of the evaluation and provide structure and justification for the judgments you make.
We often work backwards from the judgments we make, discovering what criteria we are using on the basis of what our judgments look like. For instance, our tentative judgments about sustainable management practices are as follows:
If we were to analyze these judgments, asking ourselves why we made them, we would see that we used the following criteria: wellbeing of the logging industry, conservation of resources, wellbeing of the environment, and cost.
Once you have identified the criteria informing your initial judgments, you will want to determine what other criteria should be included in your evaluation. For example, in addition to the criteria you've already come up with (wellbeing of the logging industry, conservation of resources, wellbeing of the environment, and cost), you might include the criterion of preservation of the old growth forests.
In deciding which criteria are most important to include in your evaluation, it is necessary to consider the criteria your audience is likely to find important. Let's say we are directing our evaluation of sustainable management methods toward an audience of loggers. If we look at our list of criteria--wellbeing of the logging industry, conservation of resources, wellbeing of the environment, cost, and preservation of the old growth forests--we might decide that wellbeing of the logging industry and cost are the criteria most important to loggers. At this point, we would also want to identify additional criteria the audience might expect us to address: perhaps feasibility, labor requirements, and efficiency.
Once you have developed a long list of possible criteria for judging your subject (in this case, sustainable management methods), you will need to narrow the list, since it is impractical and ineffective to use of all possible criteria in your essay. To decide which criteria to address, determine which are least dispensable, both to you and to your audience. Your own criteria were: wellbeing of the logging industry, conservation of resources, wellbeing of the environment, cost, and preservation of the old growth forests. Those you anticipated for your audience were: feasibility, labor requirements, and efficiency. In the written evaluation, you might choose to address those criteria most important to your audience, with a couple of your own included. For example, your list of indispensable criteria might look like this: wellbeing of the logging industry, cost, labor requirements, efficiency, conservation of resources, and preservation of the old growth forests.
Stephen Reid, English Professor Warrants (to use a term from argumentation) come on the scene when we ask why a given criterion should be used or should be acceptable in evaluating the particular text, product, or performance in question. When we ask WHY a particular criterion should be important (let's say, strong performance in an automobile engine, quickly moving plot in a murder mystery, outgoing personality in a teacher), we are getting at the assumptions (i.e., the warrant) behind why the data is relevant to the claim of value we are about to make. Strong performance in an automobile engine might be a positive criterion in an urban, industrialized environment, where traveling at highway speeds on American interstates is important. But we might disagree about whether strong performance (accompanied by lower mileage) might be important in a rural European environment where gas costs are several dollars a litre. Similarly, an outgoing personality for a teacher might be an important standard of judgment or criterion in a teacher-centered classroom, but we could imagine another kind of decentered class where interpersonal skills are more important than teacher personality. By QUESTIONING the validity and appropriateness of a given criterion in a particular situation, we are probing for the ASSUMPTIONS or WARRANTS we are making in using that criterion in that particular situation. Thus, criteria are important, but it is often equally important for writers to discuss the assumptions that they are making in choosing the major criteria in their evaluations.
Once you have established the central criteria you will use in our evaluation, you will investigate your subject in terms of these criteria. In order to investigate the subject of sustainable management methods, you would more than likely have to research whether these methods stand up to the criteria you have established: wellbeing of the logging industry, cost, labor requirements, time efficiency, conservation of resources, and preservation of the old growth forests. However, library research is only one of the techniques evaluators use. Depending on the type of evaluation being made, the evaluator might use such methods as observation, field research, and analysis.
The best place to start looking for evidence is with the knowledge you already possess. To do this, you might try brainstorming, clustering, or freewriting ideas.
When you are evaluating policies, issues, or products, you will usually need to conduct library research to find the evidence your evaluation requires. It is always a good idea to check journals, databases, and bibliographies relevant to your subject when you begin research. It is also helpful to speak with a reference librarian about how to get started.
When you are asked to evaluate a performance, event, place, object, or person, one of the best methods available is simple observation. What makes observation not so simple is the need to focus on criteria you have developed ahead of time. If, for instance, you are reviewing a student production of Hamlet , you will want to review your list of criteria (perhaps quality of acting, costumes, faithfulness to the text, set design, lighting, and length of time before intermission) before attending the play. During or after the play, you will want to take as many notes as possible, keeping these criteria in mind.
To expand your evaluation beyond your personal perspective or the perspective of your sources, you might conduct your own field research . Typical field research techniques include interviewing, taking a survey, administering a questionnaire, and conducting an experiment. These methods can help you support your judgment and can sometimes help you determine whether or not your judgment is valid.
When you are asked to evaluate a text, analysis is often the technique you will use in collecting evidence. If you are analyzing an argument, you might use the Toulmin Method. Other texts might not require such a structured analysis but might be better addressed by more general critical reading strategies.
After developing a list of indispensable criteria, you will need to "test" the subject according to these criteria. At this point, it will probably be necessary to collect evidence (through research, analysis, or observation) to determine, for example, whether sustainable management methods would hold up to the criteria you have established: wellbeing of the logging industry, cost, labor requirements, efficiency, conservation of resources, and preservation of the old growth forests. One way of recording the results of this "test" is by putting your notes in a three-column log.
One of the best ways to organize your information in preparation for writing is to construct an informal outline of sorts. Outlines might be arranged according to criteria, comparison and contrast, chronological order, or causal analysis. They also might follow what Robert K. Miller and Suzanne S. Webb refer to in their book, Motives for Writing (2nd ed.) as "the pattern of classical oration for evaluations" (286). In addition to deciding on a general structure for your evaluation, it will be necessary to determine the most appropriate placement for your overall claim or judgment.
Writers can state their final position at the beginning or the end of an essay. The same is true of the overall claim or judgment in a written evaluation.
When you place your overall claim or judgment at the end of your written evaluation, you are able to build up to it and to demonstrate how your evaluative argument (evidence, explanation of criteria, etc.) has led to that judgment.
Writers of academic evaluations normally don't need to keep readers in suspense about their judgments. By stating the overall claim or judgment early in the paper, writers help readers both to see the structure of the essay and to accept the evidence as convincing proof of the judgment. (Writers of evaluations should remember, of course, that there is no rule against stating the overall claim or judgment at both the beginning and the end of the essay.)
The following is an example from Stephen Reid's The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers (4th ed.), showing how a writer might arrange an evaluation according to criteria:
Introductory paragraphs: information about the restaurant (location, hours, prices), general description of Chinese restaurants today, and overall claim : The Hunan Dynasty is reliable, a good value, and versatile.
Criterion # 1/Judgment: Good restaurants should have an attractive setting and atmosphere/Hunan Dynasty is attractive.
Criterion # 2/Judgment: Good restaurants should give strong priority to service/ Hunan Dynasty has, despite an occasional glitch, expert service.
Criterion # 3/Judgment: Restaurants that serve modestly priced food should have quality main dishes/ Main dishes at Hunan Dynasty are generally good but not often memorable. (Note: The most important criterion--the quality of the main dishes--is saved for last.)
Concluding paragraphs: Hunan Dynasty is a top-flight neighborhood restaurant (338).
Sometimes comparison and contrast is not merely a strategy used in part [italics] of an evaluation, but is the strategy governing the organization of the entire essay. The following are examples from Stephen Reid's The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers (4th ed.), showing two ways that a writer might organize an evaluation according to comparison and contrast.
Introductory paragraph(s)
Thesis [or overall claim/judgment]: Although several friends recommended the Yakitori, we preferred the Unicorn for its more authentic atmosphere, courteous service, and well-prepared food. [Notice that the criteria are stated in this thesis.]
Authentic atmosphere: Yakitori vs. Unicorn
Courteous service: Yakitori vs. Unicorn
Well-prepared food: Yakitori vs. Unicorn
Concluding paragraph(s) (Reid 339)
The Yakitori : atmosphere, service, and food
The Unicorn : atmosphere, service, and food as compared to the Yakitori
Concluding paragraph(s) (Reid 339).
Writers often follow chronological order when evaluating or reviewing events or performances. This method of organization allows the writer to evaluate portions of the event or performance in the order in which it happens.
When using analysis to evaluate places, objects, events, or policies, writers often focus on causes or effects. The following is an example from Stephen Reid's The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers (4th ed.), showing how one writer organizes an evaluation of a Goya painting by discussing its effects on the viewer.
Criterion #1/Judgment: The iconography, or use of symbols, contributes to the powerful effect of this picture on the viewer.
Evidence : The church as a symbol of hopefulness contrasts with the cruelty of the execution. The spire on the church emphasizes for the viewer how powerless the Church is to save the victims.
Criterion #2/Judgment: The use of light contributes to the powerful effect of the picture on the viewer.
Evidence : The light casts an intense glow on the scene, and its glaring, lurid, and artificial qualities create the same effect on the viewer that modern art sometimes does.
Criterion #3/Judgment: The composition or use of formal devices contributes to the powerful effect of the picture on the viewer.
Evidence : The diagonal lines scissors the picture into spaces that give the viewer a claustrophobic feeling. The corpse is foreshortened, so that it looks as though the dead man is bidding the viewer welcome (Reid 340).
Robert K. Miller and Suzanne S. Webb, in their book, Motives for Writing (2nd ed.) discuss what they call "the pattern of classical oration for evaluations," which incorporates opposing evaluations as well as supporting reasons and judgments. This pattern is as follows:
Present your subject. (This discussion includes any background information, description, acknowledgement of weaknesses, and so forth.)
State your criteria. (If your criteria are controversial, be sure to justify them.)
Make your judgment. (State it as clearly and emphatically as possible.)
Give your reasons. (Be sure to present good evidence for each reason.)
Refute opposing evaluations. (Let your reader know you have given thoughtful consideration to opposing views, since such views exist.)
State your conclusion. (You may restate or summarize your judgment.) (Miller and Webb 286-7)
The following is a portion of an outline for an evaluation, organized by way of supporting judgments or reasons. Notice that this pattern would need to be repeated (using criteria other than the fieriness of the green chile) in order to constitute a complete evaluation proving that "Although La Cocina is not without its faults, it is the best Mexican restaurant in town."
Intro Paragraph Leading to Overall Judgment: "Although La Cocina is not without its faults, it is the best Mexican restaurant in town."
Supporting Judgment: "La Cocina's green chile is superb."
Criterion used to make this judgment: "Good green chile is so fiery that you can barely eat it."
Evidence in support of this judgment: "I drank an entire pitcher of water on my own during the course of the meal" or "Though my friend wouldn't admit that the chile was challenging for him, I saw beads of sweat form on his brow."
Supporting Judgment made by way of Comparison and Contrast: "La Cocina's chile is even more fiery and flavorful than Manuel's, which is by no means a walk in the park itself."
Evidence in support of this judgment: "Manuel's chile relies heavily on a tomato base, giving it an Italian flavor. La Cocina follows a more traditional recipe which uses little tomato, and instead flavors the chile with shredded pork, a dash of vinegar, and a bit of red chile to give it a piquant taste."
If you have an outline to follow, writing a draft of a written evaluation is simple. Stephen Reid, in his Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers , recommends that writers maintain focus on both the audience they are addressing and the central criteria they want to include. Such a focus will help writers remember what their audience expects and values and what is most important in constructing an effective and persuasive evaluation.
In his Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers , 4th ed., Stephen Reid offers some helpful tips for revising written evaluations. These guidelines are reproduced here and grouped as follows:
Criteria are standards of value . They contain categories and judgments, as in "good fuel economy," "good reliability," or "powerful use of light and shade in painting." Some categories, such as "price," have clearly implied judgments ("low price"), but make sure that your criteria refer implicitly or explicitly to a standard of value.
Examine your criteria from your audience's point of view. Which criteria are most important in evaluating your subject? Will your readers agree that the criteria you select are indeed the most important ones? Will changing the order in which you present your criteria make your evaluation more convincing? (Reid 342)
Include both positive and negative evaluations of your subject. If all of your judgments are positive, your evaluation will sound like an advertisement. If all of your judgments are negative, your readers may think you are too critical (Reid 342).
Be sure to include supporting evidence for each criterion. Without any data or support, your evaluation will be just an opinion that will not persuade your reader.
If you need additional evidence to persuade your readers, [go back to the "Collecting" stage of this process] (Reid 343).
Avoid overgeneralizing your claims. If you are evaluating only three software programs, you cannot say that Lotus 1-2-3 is the best business program around. You can say only that it is the best among the group or the best in the particular class that you measured (Reid 343).
Unless your goal is humor or irony, compare subjects that belong in the same class. Comparing a Yugo to a BMW is absurd because they are not similar cars in terms of cost, design, or purpose (Reid 343).
If you are citing other people's data or quoting sources, check to make sure your summaries and data are accurate (Reid 343).
Signal the major divisions in your evaluation to your reader using clear transitions, key words, and paragraph hooks. At the beginning of new paragraphs or sections of your essay, let your reader know where you are going.
Revise sentences for directness and clarity.
Edit your evaluation for correct spelling, appropriate word choice, punctuation, usage, and grammar (343).
Nesbitt, Laurel, Kathy Northcut, & Kate Kiefer. (1997). Academic Evaluations. Writing@CSU . Colorado State University. https://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=47
Evaluative arguments center around the question of quality. Is something good? Bad? Honest? Dishonest? Evaluative judgments are also about values—what the writer thinks is important. Sometimes the writer’s values are not the same as his/her readers’ values, so he/she has to bridge the gap by showing respect for the audience’s opinions and clarifying the points that they do and don’t agree upon.
An important first step in writing an evaluation is to consider the appropriate standards/criteria for evaluating the subject. If a writer is evaluating a car, for example, the writer might consider standard criteria like fuel economy, price, crash ratings. But the writer also might consider style, warranty, color, special options, like sound systems. Even though all people might not base their choice of a car on these secondary criteria, they are still considered acceptable or standard criteria.
To be taken seriously, a writer must have valid reasons for his evaluation. These reasons are based on criteria. Imagine choosing your attire for a job interview at a very prestigious law firm. You look at the jeans and t-shirts in your closet and immediately decide to go shopping. Why? Because the clothes in your closet don’t meet the criteria for the interview.
Writers evaluate arguments in order to present an informed and well-reasoned judgment about a subject. While the evaluation will be based on their opinion, it should not seem opinionated. Instead, it should aim to be reasonable and unbiased. This is achieved through developing a solid judgment, selecting appropriate criteria to evaluate the subject, and providing clear evidence to support the criteria.
Evaluation is a type of writing that has many real-world applications. Anything can be evaluated. For example, evaluations of movies, restaurants, books, and technology ourselves are all real-world evaluations.
by Dr. Karen Palmer
Presenting the subject is an often misunderstood aspect of an evaluative essay. Either writers give too little information or too much. Presenting the subject occurs in two different places in the essay.
First, the writer should give a brief introduction of the subject in the introduction of the evaluation. This introduction occurs in the second part of the introduction–the intro to the topic. At this point, the writer should simply name the subject and give a very brief description. For example, a restaurant review should include at a minimum the name and location of the restaurant. An evaluation of a vehicle might include the make, model, and year of the vehicle and any important features.
Second, the writer should give a more detailed description of the subject following the introduction in the background section of the paper. Here the writer could give a more detailed overview of the restaurant (the type of decor, type of food, owners, history), describe the vehicle in detail, etc. Striking a balance between giving the reader the necessary information to understand the evaluation and telling readers everything is important. The amount of detail necessary depends on the topic. If you are reviewing a brand new technology or a machine, specific to your line of work, for example, you will need to give readers more information than if you are simply reviewing a restaurant or a doctor’s office.
The language used in your description can be evaluative. For example, a writer can use descriptive adjectives and adverbs to convey a certain impression of the subject, even before the claim is made.
The main point/thesis should be located at the end of the paper’s introduction. It should be definitive—certain, clear, and decisive. Asking a question does not pose a definitive claim. Giving several different perspectives also does not give a definitive claim. It is ok to balance your claim, though, acknowledging weaknesses (or strengths) even as you evaluate a subject positively: “While the Suburban is a gas guzzler, it is the perfect car for a large family….”
Providing a map of your reasons/criteria within the thesis is a great technique for creating organization and focus for your essay. For example, “While the Suburban is a gas guzzler, it is the perfect car for a large family because it can seat up to 9, it has a high safety rating, and it has the best in class towing capacity.” Not only does this example give a clear, balanced claim, but it also lays out the writer’s reasons upfront, creating a map in the reader’s mind that will help him follow the reasoning in the essay.
After presenting the subject and providing readers with a clear claim, the writer must explain and justify his/her evaluation using reasons that are recognized by readers as appropriate. This occurs in the argument section of the paper and should be the most extensive part of the paper. Reasons should reflect values or standards typical for the subject. If a writer uses criteria that is not typical for the subject, he/she must be prepared to defend that decision in the essay. For example, “Buying local may not always be at the forefront of a buyer’s mind when shopping for eggs, but…” Each reason should be clearly stated as a topic sentence that both states the reason and refers back to the main claim. Going back to the suburban example, a body paragraph/section might begin with the following topic sentence: “One of the obvious reasons a suburban is great for large families is its capacity for holding that large family and all of their necessary traveling items.”
Following the topic sentence, a writer must include relevant examples, quotes, facts, statistics, or personal anecdotes to support the reason. Depending on what the subject is, the support might be different. To support a claim about a book/film, for example, a writer might include a description of a pivotal scene or quotes from the book/film. In contrast, to support a claim about gas mileage, a writer would probably simply give the information from the vehicle specifications. Support can come from a writer’s own knowledge and experience, or from published sources.
Counterarguing means responding to readers’ objections and questions. In order to effectively counterargue, a writer must have a clear conception of his/her audience. What does the audience already know or believe about the subject? Effective counterarguing builds credibility in the eyes of the audience because it creates a sense that the writer is listening to the reader’s questions and concerns.
Counterarguments can occur at the end of the essay, after the writer has made his/her point, or throughout the essay as the writer anticipates questions or objections. Writers can respond to readers’ objections in two ways. First, a writer can acknowledge an objection and immediately provide a counter-argument, explaining why the objection is not valid. Second, a writer can concede the point, and allow that, the subject does have a flaw. In either case, it is important to be respectful of opposing positions, while still remaining firm to the original claim.
A writer’s credibility and authority lead to readers’ confidence in your judgment and their willingness to recognize and acknowledge that credibility and authority. An author can gain credibility by showing that he/she knows a lot about the subject. In addition, the writer shows that his/her judgment is based on valid values and standards.
The writer’s authority is in large part based upon the background of the author—education, etc. Is the author qualified to make a judgment? For some subjects, like a film review, simply watching the film might be enough. In other instances, like evaluating the quality of newly constructed cabinets or the engine of a new car, more experience might be necessary.
Evaluation essays are structured as follows.
First, the essay will present the subject . What is being evaluated? Why? The essay begins with the writer giving any details needed about the subject.
Next, the essay needs to provide a judgment about a subject. This is the thesis of the essay, and it states whether the subject is good or bad based on how it meets the stated criteria.
The body of the essay will contain the criteria used to evaluate the subject. In an evaluation essay, the criteria must be appropriate for evaluating the subject under consideration. Appropriate criteria will help to keep the essay from seeming biased or unreasonable. If authors evaluated the quality of a movie based on the snacks sold at the snack bar, that would make them seem unreasonable, and their evaluation may be disregarded because of it.
The evidence of an evaluation essay consists of the supporting details authors provide based on their judgment of the criteria.
For example, if the subject of an evaluation is a restaurant, a judgment could be “Kay’s Bistro provides an unrivaled experience in fine dining.” Some authors evaluate fine dining restaurants by identifying appropriate criteria in order to rate the establishment’s food quality, service, and atmosphere. The examples are evidence.
Another example of evaluation is literary analysis; judgments may be made about a character in the story based on the character’s actions, characteristics, and past history within the story. The scenes in the story are evidence for why readers have a certain opinion of the character.
Job applications and interviews are more examples of evaluations. Based on certain criteria, management and hiring committees determine which applicants will be considered for an interview and which applicant will be hired.
Example Outline
Thesis: McAdoo’s is a fantastic family restaurant, offering young and old alike a great atmosphere, wonderful customer service, and a fantastic menu.
Possible “Get Started” Idea
In this essay, you will evaluate potential obstacles to learning. Think about the health and wellness of a college student during an international pandemic. What do you need to be successful? Do you have access to resources? Are the GCC resources adequate to support the community and its students during the pandemic?
You will evaluate at least three campus resources. Your recommendation should clearly state which of the resources should be maintained, which should be improved, and which might be eliminated, if any.
Purpose: This assignment will demonstrate the understanding of how to do a thorough evaluation of an approved topic. Students will review the complex elements of the topic they have chosen. Evaluative essays call for the writer to assess a subject in light of specific and explicit criteria and to make a judgment based on the assessment.
Task: This assignment evaluates a campus resource.
Write an Evaluation Essay. For this essay, you will choose a clear topic, give a reason for the evaluation, use description and categorization, create evaluation criteria, use concrete evidence and demonstrate the “why” of your position.
Some topics to consider are listed here:
English 101: Journey Into Open Copyright © 2021 by Christine Jones is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
Evaluation Essay
13 min read
People also read
Learn How to Write an Editorial on Any Topic
Best Tips on How to Avoid Plagiarism
How to Write a Movie Review - Guide & Examples
A Complete Guide on How to Write a Summary for Students
Write Opinion Essay Like a Pro: A Detailed Guide
How to Write a Thematic Statement - Tips & Examples
How to Write a Bio - Quick Tips, Structure & Examples
How to Write a Synopsis – A Simple Format & Guide
How to Write a Comparative Essay – A Complete Guide
Visual Analysis Essay - A Writing Guide with Format & Sample
List of Common Social Issues Around the World
Writing Character Analysis - Outline, Steps, and Examples
11 Common Types of Plagiarism Explained Through Examples
Article Review Writing: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide with Examples
A Detailed Guide on How to Write a Poem Step by Step
Detailed Guide on Appendix Writing: With Tips and Examples
Are you unsure about what it takes to evaluate things from your perspective in an evaluation essay?
If you’re having a hard time understanding how to present a balanced assessment of the subject, worry not! We are here to help you get through the evaluation essay writing process.
In this blog, you will learn all about evaluation essays. From the definition, writing process, topics, tips, and a lot more, you’ll learn how to write an evaluation essay effortlessly!
Continue reading to get a better idea.
Let’s first understand the evaluation essay meaning, here is the standard definition:
An evaluation essay offers a value judgment or an opinion of something. It presents an overall view of a particular subject’s quality. Moreover, it provides a critical analysis and a complete evaluation of something.
The main purpose of an evaluation essay is to present an opinion and evaluate a topic critically. This type of writing determines the condition, worth, or significance by careful appraisal and study.
This essay features the writer’s opinion, but when done correctly, it does not sound opinionated. Instead, it provides the facts and evidence to justify the opinions about the essay’s subject.
To write a good evaluation essay, you need to master critical evaluation and present the evaluation in an unbiased manner. You may also discuss both the pros and cons of the subject.
Paper Due? Why Suffer? That's our Job
The four different ways to format and organize the evaluation essay are as follows.
1. Chronological Structure
It is a sequential organization that could be used for evaluating historical or current events. It tells how something works and assesses the effectiveness of a mechanism, procedure, or process.
2. Spatial Structure
The spatial organization structure is used for evaluating or describing art or architecture. Here, you will define one element of the artifact and spatially move to the next.
3. Compare and Contrast Structure
The compare and contrast structure is used to evaluate or review the culinary or music genre. Here the writer evaluates a subject by comprising and contrasting it with the known subject.
4. Point-by-Point Structure
The point-by-point structure is also used for culinary and music reviews. But, in this structure, you describe one element and then evaluate it, describe the second element and evaluate it, and so on.
After setting the criteria and collecting evidence for strengthening your judgment, you’ll start your evaluation essay. Let’s see what are the steps involved in starting an evaluation essay.
When you start writing an evaluation essay, grabbing the reader’s attention is essential. For this, hook the reader from the beginning until the end to ensure that your essay’s opening follows an engaging tone.
Deciding the topic and evaluation essay criteria is important. Make sure it's not just compelling and interesting, but also informative so that you can find enough material for a detailed evaluation.
For an evaluation essay, you have to set the criteria for evaluation first. Criteria are the standards or measures by which someone assesses the quality or value of the subject.
Some key points to establish the criteria are:
The author’s judgment of the subject states whether the subject is good or bad. It is an overall assessment or the opinion supported by the evidence. The judgment corresponds to the benchmarks set by the author in the essay criteria.
The evidence is a combination of supporting data and facts. Using the evidence, the author demonstrates how well the subject meets the judgment. The evidence serves as the foundation of your evaluation.
Without providing strong and accurate evidence, you will not be able to convince the readers of your judgment.
After that, decide on the structure that you want to follow. It can be a chronological or point-by-point structure
When you create an essay outline , evaluate what should be added and removed. If you skip this step before writing, you may lose track of what to include in your essay while you write.
So, writing an outline for your evaluation essay is a critical step that eases your writing journey.
Here is a sample evaluation essay outline:
|
For an evaluation essay that keeps the reader hooked from the start, opt for a catchy thesis statement . The thesis should state the main point of the evaluation.
In the thesis statement, you should always express your stance on the subject clearly. In doing so, the readers will have a clear idea about the purpose and direction of your essay.
Now, understand how to write an evaluation essay by following the detailed procedure mentioned below.
Tough Essay Due? Hire Tough Writers!
Here is a step-by-step guide for you to write an evaluation essay.
The introduction is the first impression your readers will have of you, so it's crucial to make a good one. It should capture attention and excite readers, drawing them into what you have to say about this topic.
The following are the elements that you should consider while writing the introduction:
Read this evaluation essay introduction example, and you’ll understand exactly what to pen down in yours:
|
The body of the essay consists of three paragraphs. Each paragraph holds different ideas related to one another and flows smoothly from start to finish, just like how a good story should be told.
Here are the important points that must be included in the body paragraphs.
It is the final chance to convince your reader to agree with your point of view. You’re supposed to summarize and conclude the essay. In the conclusion , you present your final evaluation of the essay.
Keep in mind the following aspects while writing a closing paragraph of an evaluation essay.
The final step is proofreading and editing. Always spend enough time reading your essay carefully. It will help you catch the unintentional mistakes you have made and recover them. If needed, you can also revise your essay 2–3 times.
For formatting your evaluation essay, follow the standard academic writing guidelines. You can opt for different formatting styles like APA, MLA, or Chicago.
In general, you should stick to the below formatting guidelines:
Font and Size:
Citations (if applicable):
Counterargument (if included):
References or Works Cited Page (if applicable):
Well, the time has come to look at some great evaluation essay examples. Getting help from sample essays is always a great way to perfect your evaluation papers.
Evaluation can be written on any topic, i.e., book, movie, music, etc. Below, we have given some evaluation essay examples for students:
Evaluation Essay Sample PDF
Movie Evaluation Essay Example
Critical evaluation Essay Example PDF
Product Evaluation Essay PDF
Source Evaluation Essay Example PDF
Employee Self-Evaluation Essay Example
How to Start A Self-Evaluation Essay Example PDF
For writing an amazing evaluation essay, the first thing that you require is an essay topic. Here are some incredible topic ideas for college students. You can use or mold them according to your preference.
At first glance, an evaluation essay might look like a review. But, there are some notable differences between them. See this table to see how both pieces of writing differ from each other.
|
|
|
| Assess and judge based on criteria. | Inform and express personal opinions. |
| Analysis, assessment, and judgment. | Personal opinions and subjective responses. |
| Formal and objective. | Informal and subjective. |
| Specific criteria for assessment. | May include personal preferences. |
| Concrete evidence and examples. | Personal anecdotes and impressions. |
| Structured with clear organization. | Can be more flexible. |
| Persuade based on objective analysis. | Persuade through personal opinions. |
| Summarize key points and overall judgment. | Summarize opinions and recommendations. |
| May include academic sources. | Primarily reflects personal experiences. |
| Varies based on subject complexity. | Varies, from short to longer, based on the platform. |
To conclude,
After reading the step-by-step guide and examples, you must have learned the art of writing a good evaluation essay. We’re confident that you’re now able to provide a balanced and effective evaluation of the topics you choose for your essay.
But writing a perfect essay is not that simple; you require a lot of practice and experience to become a good writer. That is why we are here to help you write any type of academic essay.
MyPerfectWords.com is a writing service that offers help for all academic writing assignments. We have a team of professional writers who are experts in writing all types of essays and evaluation papers.
So what are you waiting for? Buy custom essay online and have a sigh of relief!
1. what are the four components of an evaluation essay.
The four components of an evaluation essay are:
The four types of evaluation are:
Write Essay Within 60 Seconds!
Dr. Barbara is a highly experienced writer and author who holds a Ph.D. degree in public health from an Ivy League school. She has worked in the medical field for many years, conducting extensive research on various health topics. Her writing has been featured in several top-tier publications.
Paper Due? Why Suffer? That’s our Job!
Table of contents
Use our free Readability checker
Are you wondering how to write an evaluation essay? We are here to inspire and let you know all the essential steps to get started. This blog post will describe what is an evaluative essay, including its purpose and elements. In addition, you will be enlightened on how to actually write evaluations - all the necessary factors and steps will be elaborated on. These steps are: deciding what to appraise, what criteria to apply, and how to develop arguments and outlines. Toward the end, you will be provided with evaluation essay samples that will enable you to put theoretical guidelines into practice. Strictly follow this blog post from our essay writer services to the end.
The starting point of being well-versed in this from of writing is understanding its definition and purpose, as it will lay a good foundation for further work. Evaluation essay is a paper that offers evidence that helps to justify writer's opinion on different subjects by providing enough facts to convince readers. Such type of writing requires critical thinking skills when analyzing, synthesizing, and assessing given topics to avoid misleading your audience. The main purpose of this type of paper is to provide objective criticism oт various subjects and make conclusions about them. As a result, the latter helps readers to take a stance about a topic. In addition, there is an exhaustive review of fundamental characteristics, styles, and quality of subjects under discussion. The value of a particular topic is obtained through supportive and factual evidence provided. Finally, this paper helps present well-reasoned and informed judgment on particular standards, hence clearing concerning issues about a given subject.
Preparing evaluative essay is a broad topic, and you need to be well-organized, or else the text will quickly lose meaning and purpose. There are various abstract categories and exact things that you can assess in writing. When you write evaluations, ensure you deeply understand your topic of discussion. Reading through an evaluation example will help you know what to do. Some evaluation essay topics and objects suitable for assessment include:
Understanding all components of evaluation papers - three in total - is important during writing. They include:
There are two factors to put into consideration before writing evaluations. One of them is ensuring that evaluation argument remains objective. Objectivity is achieved by not including personal opinions in disputes. Besides, one remains objective by supporting claims with relevant facts. Also, included references need to fully support your stand. You should know that a discourse must be balanced and fair. Secondly, deciding on evaluative standards is another important factor to consider. You need to have a deeper understanding of subjects before deciding on measures to use during this analysis. Chosen standards must adequately and appropriately represent particular subjects' features, qualities, and values. Besides, when deciding on evaluation essay criteria, ensure that you focus on defending your stated thesis. In addition, have enough evidence and details to support the chosen criterion. Finally, appropriately organize your facts and make sure you have imperative and unbiased information concerning your subjects of discussion.
A clear outline provides a map of organizing ideas when you write evaluation essay. An evaluation essay outline covers at least five structured paragraphs. The first is an introductory paragraph followed by three or more body paragraphs, and finally, an essay conclusion . Below is an evaluation paper outline example under the topic of practicing vaping.
Introduction
Here’s how your evaluation essay outline look:
Introductory paragraph
Body part
Concluding paragraph
There are various steps that one can follow when writing an evaluation essay. These steps include:
Several steps exist that one can follow during evaluative writing. The first step in how to write an evaluation is to decide on a particular subject you wish to assess, followed by coming up with criteria you will use. Besides, develop solid arguments backed up with evidence. Also, create an outline, and start writing. Once you complete your writing, proofread your work. The steps below describe the chronological order of writing your essay.
The first step when writing this essay is deciding on a topic you will assess. During writing to evaluate, choose a subject you understand better so that you have enough facts to support or oppose it. The chosen issue needs to be engaging to your readers, otherwise yo may lose your audience. Besides, when selecting a theme, ensure it is interesting in general to avoid boredom. Also, a chosen subject needs to be relevant to keep the readers informed about current trends and new developments. The majority of your audience must be aware of the concept. Always ensure that chosen topics are specific and not generic.
Once you discuss a subject, you must come up with criteria for essay evaluation. At this point, turn your opinions into assessments to help you define a chosen subject. You may use different ways to find criteria on how to do an evaluation paper. For instance, you can focus on a chosen characteristics of a topic to help you develop standards. Besides, you might assess the relevance of that topic and decide whether it is good or bad for your readers. Also, focusing on the impacts of subjects helps find standards when evaluating. Researching positive or negative impacts of the topic helps in mastering what and how to evaluate in an essay. Also, you may find criteria by focusing on the effectiveness of that subject, whether it is successful or not. Apart from that, one may focus on the morals or aesthetic standards of a particular subject to develop measures to discuss.
Reader understands your decision by following the argument. Evaluative arguments refer to claims concerning the quality of particular subjects being assessed. This argument will always rate subjects as either negative or positive. With this rating, one can think of subjects as harmful or helpful, bad or good. An argument in evaluation essay defines and supports criteria. A judgment always elaborates and explains reasons for choosing particular standards despite controversy. Evaluation argument essay assesses subjects depending on chosen measures. Considered factors include practicability, aesthetics, and ethics. Make sure to determine which standards will convince your audience. Effective development of arguments starts by creating an evaluative thesis statement: take position, develop criteria, and find out if topic meets standards. For instance, when evaluating meal’s quality, you may say:
Meal’s strength depended on its presentation, it was enticing, and its outlook was appropriate.
Another example could be:
Meal’s weakness was in overcooking, as its flavor became less pronounced.
Additionally, another example of a subject could be practicing vaping. In such case, an evaluation argument example will be:
Vaping is safe, inexpensive, and highly practical when compared to cigarette smoking, and due to these reasons, it is a recommendable practice for traditional smokers who wish to break old habits.
After choosing a discussion topic, one can create an outline for essay . Outlines start with the development of thesis statements, followed by a list of main ideas and a conclusion. For this essay type, outlines require a minimum of five paragraphs. The first paragraph of the evaluation in writing is introduction that ends with a thesis statement. An introduction is followed by at least three body paragraphs and a conclusion. Outlines are important as they form a basis for thoughtfully constructing ideas. Also, they help in organizing your points sequentially for them to remain orderly. In addition, they are useful in picking relevant information, providing steady foundation when starting to write. Thus, it is worth noting that outlines form a crucial part of these essays, and they give a sketch of writing.
When you write evaluative papers, ensure you follow everything stated in your outline. The sections discussed below will help you understand how to write evaluation:
When you complete your evaluation writing, the last step is proofreading and revising your work. Reading through your work helps improve your paper's quality and remove mistakes. Besides, it enables you to locate and correct inconsistencies in your text. Also, when you edit your work, you ensure that the ideas of your paper are well-defined. Revising your work helps in assessing if the content was appropriately conveyed. Also, it guarantees that sentences are grammatically appropriate by correcting typing and spelling errors to avoid readers’ confusion. Finally, you should read through your work critically and develop better ways of improving clarity, good structure of sentences, and entire effectiveness.
There are various examples of evaluation essays format. These formats include:
There are millions of evaluative essays samples posted online. These examples offer impressive descriptions of evaluative essays with all the key steps to follow and will help you polish your skills when writing this paper. However, not all of the examples posted online are reliable. Therefore, the only preferred evaluation essay sample that students can use must come from peer-reviewed sources. Essay types from scholarly sites are written by reputable authors who meet all required standards; moreover, you can easily find an excellent book on this subject with appropriate examples. Attached are evaluation essays samples from credible writers.
For one to write perfect essays, there are some helpful tips you may follow. Following these points will help you produce impressive evaluation and your readers will enjoy. Some of those tips when writing an evaluation essay include:
Understanding the text’s definition and purpose is your first step toward knowing how to write a good evaluation. Thereafter, list categories and respective things you will assess during your writing. Master the three elements of an evaluative essay and use them effectively. Your argument must be objective and help clearly decide on what criteria to use. Besides, you need to understand all sections of an outline, how to start evaluative essay, and then, follow essential steps. In addition, get acquainted with the four types of essay structure. Remember that you always can increase your experience by reading some good evaluative writing examples. Keep all these tips in mind to ensure you write a proper essay.
Contact Studycrumb and order essays online from professional writers. From topic research to writing and formatting, our experts can do everything from A to Z.
1. what are the four components of an evaluation essay.
There are numerous things that one can consider during essay evaluations. Evaluation writing examples and their respective criteria include:
Despite similarities existing between an evaluation essay and a review, the two differ. An evaluative essay focuses on deeper research and analysis of certain subjects, while a review provides a general outlook of particular subjects. Evaluative essays must have criteria that judge specific subjects, and reviews do not need criteria. In addition, under certain conditions, it is mandatory to cite sources used in writing evaluative essays, while reviews do not require references.
A good evaluative thesis must inform readers what to expect and its impact and determine an essay’s focus. Also, a strong thesis must state evaluative arguments. Here is a proper evaluation essay thesis example: Vaping is highly practical, inexpensive, and safe compared to cigarette smoking, and following these reasons, it is a recommendable practice for traditional smokers wishing to leave old habits.
Daniel Howard is an Essay Writing guru. He helps students create essays that will strike a chord with the readers.
Everything held constant; you will learn to write an evaluation essay in simple steps. Have that in mind as you read through this ultimate evaluative writing guide.
You have probably been assigned to shorter writing assignments that evaluate a single topic. These could have been easier. However, as many students observe, progressing to a four to eight-page evaluation paper that considers more than one subject can be challenging.
An evaluation essay is a critical component of developing high-order thinking skills in students and later in the workplace and general life. It entails making careful judgments backed by evidence and using specific criteria or standards.
Evaluating is synonymous with appraising, judging, estimating, analyzing, weighing, assessing, rate, or valuing.
An evaluative essay is an essay where you present an overall point of view or value judgment that is based on a selective set of criteria about a subject ('thing,' phenomenon, or person) or body of work . It is also known as a critical evaluation essay, evaluative essay, or evaluative writing.
While writing it, you provide evidence to justify your opinions about the subject.
In an evaluation essay, your general objective is to validate the quality or lack of a specific item, product, service, program, person, book, movie, process, etc. And although you are giving your point of view, it is not to be opinionated. Rather, it should be as objective as can be.
Students are asked to evaluate some of the common things, including movies, books, items, products, tools, events, speeches, vehicles, and anything else.
When writing an evaluative essay, you should review something, a place, a phenomenon, or an issue, then objectively give your opinion on the value.
Although an evaluation essay is similar to a persuasive essay, it provides a more balanced argument. You need to provide a judgment that is asserted through a clear thesis statement.
You need to understand three core elements of an evaluation essay as you set out to write one. These elements include criteria, judgments, and evidence. So, let's have a closer look at each in-depth.
This refers to the reasons you made your opinion. The criteria you select must establish the ideal of the product, place, or person that you are evaluating. For instance, it could be the characteristics, character, age, perceptions, etc. When choosing a criterion or criteria, you are setting a point of the benchmark where you can evaluate other similar products, people, or places based on the same criteria. The criteria or standards help you assess or measure how well a subject meets or falls short of the ideal.
The judgment aspect of an evaluation essay is your overall opinion that is underpinned by the criteria you selected. It means a more profound analysis as to whether the selected criteria are being met or not. For example, suppose you would judge a cruise ship based on the services and destinations. In that case, you will analyze whether the specific cruise ship you are evaluating meets this benchmark compared to other cruise ships.
Evidence refers to the information that you use to support the judgment. It answers the question "why?" elaborately. To avoid being subjective, you must provide strong clues or evidence for your judgments. For example, if your judgment is about quality workmanship, elaborate on what comprises quality workmanship and how the product you are evaluating demonstrates the same. It offers a basis upon which you can draw objective conclusions.
Now that you understand the three parts of an evaluative essay, you should ensure that each paragraph deals with a different criterion. For example, if you are writing a 5-paragraph essay, ensure that your three body paragraphs each explain a criterion, make a relevant judgment, and offer credible and reliable evidence to support the judgments.
We tasked our essay writers with coming up with some steps a student can take when writing an evaluation essay. Given that they have written thousands of evaluative essays and coached students in writing them altogether, they came up with these eight steps, which you can follow to write a well-structured, researched, and organized evaluative essay paper.
We will forever insist on the first step of any given assignment being reading the instructions. Most students who fail to read and comprehend the instructions eventually notice mistakes that are otherwise avoidable at their advanced stages of writing.
To avoid going astray, it is important to read the instructions. They provide information about the length and scope of the essay. Additionally, some professors will let you choose a topic or suggest a range of topics you can select.
After reading the instructions, you need to select a topic, just like you do with an essay. Sometimes, it could be that your professor or instructor allocated a topic. If you are asked to choose a topic, you are comfortable writing about, select one that is neither too narrow nor too broad.
Consider the subject from an in-depth point of view and ask yourself whether there is a set of criteria or standards that you can use to make judgments on its value.
It is advisable to select a subject or topic relating to a subject you have adequate knowledge of. That way, you can maneuver through research and write an evaluation essay with ease.
After choosing your topic, do some light research to establish a judgment asserted thesis statement. The thesis is the overarching purpose of the evaluation.
The thesis must include the criteria of evaluation used to judge the value of the subject. It is called a preliminary thesis because it undergoes revisions as your evaluation essay takes shape.
Even though you have stated the criteria or standards in the thesis, that's not the end of it. You must consider various points or benchmarks that you will use to evaluate your subject.
In most cases, the criteria vary depending on the subject. For instance, when evaluating a phone, you will use different standards, same as when you are evaluating social media. And with the criteria of evaluation, develop your main argument, as we show later in this article.
You need to write an outline with the evaluation criteria and potential judgments developed. An essay outline or plan helps you superficially organize your essay to make writing easy.
A successfully written evaluation essay has each opinion backed up with relevant evidence. For instance, if you evaluate the impact of technology on education during the pandemic period, consider examples of the use of technology in education. You can also use online class statistics, a quote from experts talking about e-learning during the pandemic, and check related studies.
You can only find credible evidence by reading from credible scholarly articles . Using scholarly evidence helps you present a balanced, unbiased, and objective argument, making it convincing.
Therefore, it is imperative to research, read through, and select the best sources to use when drafting the paper. As you research, you can manage your sources using online citation organizers. You should also take notes that can further help you fine-tune the thesis or the criteria.
As you now have everything you will need, write your first draft. The first draft should be just that, a first draft. Focus on writing first and editing later. With everything in place, write your body paragraphs first, the introduction, and finalize with the conclusion.
Ensure that each body paragraph focuses on a single criterion, judgment, and has a set of evidence to support the points you make. Develop your body paragraphs chronologically, ensuring you have adequate transition words for adequate flow.
After developing the body paragraphs and possibly revising the thesis, write the introduction paragraph. Finalize the draft by writing a solid conclusion . Your conclusion should entail your final evaluative argument that offers the overall assessment. As you conclude the essay, link your final paragraph to the opening statement. You can achieve this by restating the main point you established but in other words.
The climax of writing your evaluation essay is turning the first draft into the final draft. Therefore, it is recommended that you polish your essay after taking some breaks. The break is necessary for you to break the monotony of writing and to dawn an objective mind.
When doing this, read through the first draft and make necessary changes. For example, you can trim your essay to make it shorter, lengthen your evaluation essay , or rewrite some parts to make it flow and meet the criteria highlighted in the rubric. Then, if your final draft is okay, you can turn it in for marking.
After developing your criteria and potentially brainstorming about the judgments of the values of your subject, you need to come up with an evaluative argument. It is the argument that shows your overall stance on the subject.
The ultimate goal of your evaluative essay is to show your final evaluative argument backed by evidence and objective analysis. Therefore, you need to use a phased approach to maintain some order.
If, for instance, you are evaluating a social media like TikTok, you might want to consider:
After looking at these strengths and weaknesses and considering the number of users, reach, and quality of information as your criteria points, you need to develop a final argument. It could read:
Ultimately, TikTok is a new social media platform that kept people going through the COVID-19 pandemic and now dominates other social media. But, especially since it has become a top website other than YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, its creators should consider formal communication aspects that it can enable.
When writing your overall or final evaluation, consider using terms such as:
Although often confused as synonymous, an evaluation essay is not the same as a review essay. Although both papers have similarities, they have glaring differences that further set them apart. Let's look at these differences in the form of a table.
You can access various examples of evaluation essays by searching the internet. For example, while looking for credible sources, we came across these two:
You can access millions of sample essays online. Alternatively, you can also find evaluative essay samples written by our experts. The beauty of this approach is that we will write model evaluation essays based on your instructions and topic. This means that you will learn how to research, write, and polish an evaluation essay based on the samples.
Below are also some great samples that you can learn a thing or two as you set out to write your essay.
Adopted from Purdue.edu
Before you submit your final copy of an evaluation essay, there are a few things that you should consider doing. Here are some tips to help you write your essay better:
Now that you understand the steps it takes to write an outstanding evaluation essay, let's look at the topics you can write your essay about.
These topics are a great starting point for getting evaluation essay title ideas. Then, you can quickly develop standards or criteria of evaluation and compose your essay.
We have further categorized the topics for easier navigation.
If you are a high school, college, or university student, the chances are that you will write several evaluation essays. It is a common assignment.
Related Articles
To get excellent grades and marks, you should prove your prowess in writing. You must come up with a standard or criterion to judge the value of your subject. And as you conclude your essay, you should make your audience understand your final evaluation analysis statement.
As it is an essay with a balanced argument, you need not be biased. Instead, you must support your judgment using relevant evidence. Your evaluation should be objective and well-balanced.
We have provided an evaluation outline or template that can guide you as you settle to write your paper. Besides, the tips we have suggested here will make you write a top evaluation essay. Consider the instructions from class and advise. If you need someone to help you, you can also ask us.
We wish you good luck with writing your evaluation essay.
Gradecrest is a professional writing service that provides original model papers. We offer personalized services along with research materials for assistance purposes only. All the materials from our website should be used with proper references. See our Terms of Use Page for proper details.
COMMENTS
Judge. Estimate. Analyze. Weigh Up. So, we could say that an evaluation essay should carefully examine the ‘thing’ and provide an overall judgement of it. Here’s some common things you may be asked to write an evaluation essay on: A book. A product. An article. An event. A speech. This is by no means an exhaustive list.
When we evaluate, we make an overall value claim about a subject, using criteria to make judgments based on evidence. Often, we also make use of comparison and contrast as strategies for determining the relative worth of the subject we are considering.
Dishonest? Evaluative judgments are also about values—what the writer thinks is important. Sometimes the writer’s values are not the same as his/her readers’ values, so he/she has to bridge the gap by showing respect for the audience’s opinions and clarifying the points that they do and don’t agree upon.
An evaluation essay offers a value judgment or an opinion of something. It presents an overall view of a particular subject’s quality. Moreover, it provides a critical analysis and a complete evaluation of something.
Ensure that your evaluation essay thesis is anchored to your judgment. Write your paper with precision and attention to details while avoiding wordiness and providing enough useful information as you keenly follow the guide.
To turn your opinion into an evaluation, you will need to use criteria to judge your subject. What are criteria? Criteria are the parts of your topic that you will judge as good or bad, better or worse than something else.
An evaluation essay is written by first making an overall judgment about the topic in the introduction and previewing the main points. The body of the essay lists the criteria that led to...
The writer must assert him or herself by making a definitive judgment. This judgment should be the writer’s thesis sentence. All other paragraphs should seek to prove the thesis, even if a writer must give a balanced appraisal by anticipating objections. A convincing argument.
Every time you make a judgment, you should be ready to use specific, interesting, and convincing reasons to make it up. For evidence, you can describe the subject, use funny stories, or compare and contrast some notions with a similar subject.
Judgment. The judgment aspect of an evaluation essay is your overall opinion that is underpinned by the criteria you selected. It means a more profound analysis as to whether the selected criteria are being met or not. For example, suppose you would judge a cruise ship based on the services and destinations.