Evaluation Essay
Definition
In an essay of evaluation, a writer acts like a roving
critic, exploring the significance of your topic. The purpose of an evaluation essay is to
demonstrate the overall quality (or lack thereof) of a particular product, business,
place, service, or program. To develop
an essay of this type, think in terms of a subject’s value, impact, and
significance; its strengths and weaknesses; its place in the scheme of things.
Choosing a Subject
An Evaluation Essay explores a particular event, a
current trend, an extended project, a recent decision, a new product, and so
on. Consider recent experiences,
conversations, and headlines for possible ideas. It can focus on current events, political or
social events, or developments in medicine or technology.
Thesis Development
While any evaluation involves
injecting some form of opinion, if an evaluation is done properly, it should
not come across as opinionated. Instead,
the evaluation should seem reasoned and unbiased.
Organization
In
order to give a clear representation and reasonable, unbiased discussion of
your topic keep the following elements in mind:
- Critera – This refers to the elements or qualities that
demonstrate an ideal for any similar situation. Having clear criteria establishes your
paper with facts and details so that it does not appear to be only an
opinion. For example, if evaluating
a restaurant, you would choose the common characteristics of menu items,
cleanliness, staff, prices, etc.
- Judgment – This establishes whether or not your topic
meets the appropriate criteria that you’ve chosen to consider in your
evaluation. Using the example of a
restaurant, if you’ve chosen as a criteria the quality of food, the judgment
states whether or not the particular restaurant offers food that meets or
exceeds this stated quality.
- Evidence – These are the details that support your
judgment of the criteria. Again, in
the restaurant example, if you have determined that the quality does not
meet a certain standard, give an explanation that serves as evidence.
Generally,
each body paragraph of an evaluation essay is going to focus on one specific
criterion, which should be fully explained, followed by the judgment and a
variety of evidence offered as support.
Because of this, it is important that any evaluation contains several
different criteria, judgments, and evidence.
Essay Guidelines
Due dates:
Pre-Write due March 27; Rough Draft due April 3; Final Draft due April 24
Essay
length: 800 – 1000 words (between 3 and
6 pages)
Rough drafts can
be typed or hand-written, but must be double-spaced.
Final draft
format:
Typed (if this is
not possible, please let me know)
1 inch margins
Name and date on
the upper right hand corner
Number the pages
on the lower right hand corner
Title centered
above the text of the essay
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