Project Ideas

The following suggestions provide means of focusing your work on an evaluative essay or another type of evaluative document.

Suggestions for Essays

1. EVALUATE A PROPOSED SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM

Evaluate a proposed solution to a problem. You might focus on proposed legislation for addressing problems with public schools in your state, or on a proposal for addressing a foreign policy problem. Or you might evaluate a new means of dealing with copyright on digital media such as music or videos. You should define the problem, outline the proposed solution, identify and define a set of criteria on which to base your evaluation, and collect information about the problem and its proposed solution by gathering sources or interviewing an expert.

2. EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A PUBLIC OFFICIAL OR GROUP

Write an essay that evaluates the effectiveness of an elected official or group, such as a mayor, a state legislator, or a city council. Your evaluation might focus on overall performance, or on performance related to a specific issue, such as addressing urban growth. Identify and define the criteria you’ll use to conduct your evaluation. Collect information from published sources. If you can, interview or correspond with the official or a representative of the group.

3. EVALUATE A PERFORMANCE

Review a public performance, such as a concert, a play, or a poetry reading, for your classmates. To prepare, read reviews that have appeared in print and online publications, and familiarize yourself with the criteria that other reviewers have used. In your review, describe the performance and evaluate it, keeping in mind the characteristics of your readers. Take notes and, if possible, interview others who attended the performance. If you can, interview one of the performers. Your review should focus primarily on your personal assessment of the performance. You should draw on your notes and interviews to introduce ideas, illustrate a point, or support your conclusions.

4. EVALUATE A PRODUCT

Select a product you are thinking about purchasing, such as a kitchen gadget, television, laser printer, cosmetic, or piece of athletic equipment. Evaluate it using the criteria of effectiveness, cost, and quality. Provide clear definitions of each criterion in terms of the product you’ve chosen to evaluate. Your evaluation should draw on written sources, interviews with people who have used the product, and, if possible, your own use of the product.

5. EVALUATE AN ATHLETE OR A COACH

Evaluate the performance of a professional athlete, such as a basketball or baseball player, or evaluate the effectiveness of a coach. Select criteria such as the contributions made to the team’s success, leadership qualities, entertainment provided to fans, contributions to the community, and so on. In your essay, identify the athlete or coach, explain the contributions that person has made to his or her team or sport, identify and define the criteria you are using to evaluate his or her performance, and present your evaluation to your readers. To support your evaluation, draw on your observations of the athlete or coach, interviews or surveys of other sports fans familiar with the athlete or coach, and published sources that discuss the athlete or coach. If possible, you might also interview the athlete or coach.

Suggestions for Other Genres

6. POST A MOVIE REVIEW

Review a recently released movie for the readers of a specific blog or Web site. To prepare, read movie reviews that have appeared on the site you have selected, and familiarize yourself with its conventions. In your review, describe the movie and evaluate it, keeping in mind the interests of your readers. Take notes and, if possible, interview others who have seen the movie. Visit the movie’s Web site to learn about the movie, its director, and its cast. Your review should focus primarily on your personal assessment of the movie. Draw on your notes, interviews, and materials from the movie’s Web site to introduce ideas, illustrate a point, or support your conclusions.

7. POST A RESTAURANT REVIEW

Review a restaurant for the readers of a specific blog or Web site. To prepare, read restaurant reviews that have appeared in the blog or on the Web site you have selected, and familiarize yourself with its conventions. To conduct the review, have a meal at the restaurant with one or more friends. Order a variety of items, examine the decor, and keep track of the quality of the service provided by the waitstaff. After you leave the restaurant, take notes to remind yourself of your impressions of the food, decor, and service. Ask your friends for their reactions, and take note of them as well. In your review, describe the restaurant and evaluate it, keeping in mind the interests of readers who read the blog or visit the site. Your review should focus primarily on your personal assessment of the restaurant. Draw on your notes to introduce ideas, illustrate a point, or support your conclusions.

8. EVALUATE A SOURCE

Choose a source that you might use in another assignment (if possible, a group assignment) for your writing class. Evaluate the source for your instructor and your classmates. Select criteria such as the source’s relevance to the project, use of evidence, clarity and organization, timeliness, comprehensiveness, author, and publisher. Using these criteria, evaluate the contribution the source might make to your writing project. To support your evaluation, draw on the requirements of the assignment and your reading of the source.

9. EVALUATE AN ASSIGNMENT

Choose an assignment you’ve been given in one of your classes, and evaluate it for your instructor and your classmates. Select criteria such as the assignment’s contribution to your understanding of the subject, the amount of work required to obtain an educational benefit from the assignment, the clarity of the assignment, its relevance to the course, and so on. Describe the course and the assignment, identify and define the criteria you are using to evaluate the assignment, and present your evaluation to your readers. To support your evaluation, draw on your experiences with the assignment, interviews or surveys of other students who have completed the assignment, and related course materials. You can also interview the instructor who gave the assignment.

10. WRITE A PROGRESS REPORT

Write a report that evaluates the progress that a group or organization you belong to has made during a particular period of time, such as the last six months or the last year. To develop the criteria for your progress report, interview key members of the group or organization, or locate any written documents that define its goals. Draw on your personal experience with the group, interviews, and documents (such as funding proposals or a Web site) as sources of evidence for your evaluation. Your report should define the group’s or organization’s goals and assess its progress in meeting them. The report might also include recommendations about strategies for enhancing the group’s or organization’s efforts to meet its goals.