The Assignment: Writing an Evaluation

Pick a subject to evaluate—one you have personal experience with and feel competent to evaluate. This subject might be a movie, a TV program, a piece of music, a work of art, a new product, a government agency, a campus facility or policy, an essay or a reading, or anything else you can think of. Then, in a thoughtful essay, analyze your subject and evaluate it. You will need to determine specific criteria for evaluation and make them clear to your readers. In writing your evaluation, you will have a twofold purpose: (1) to set forth your assessment of the quality of your subject and (2) to convince your readers that your judgment is reasonable.

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These three students wrote lively evaluations:

A music major evaluated works by American composer Aaron Copland, finding him trivial and imitative, “without a tenth of the talent or inventiveness that George Gershwin or Duke Ellington had in his little finger.”

A student planning a career in business management evaluated a software firm in which he had worked one summer. His criteria were efficiency, productivity, appeal to new customers, and employee satisfaction.

A student from Brazil, who had seen firsthand the effects of industrial development in the Amazon rain forest, evaluated the efforts of the U.S. government to protect forests and wetlands, comparing them with efforts in her own country.

Generating Ideas

Find Something to Evaluate. Try brainstorming or mapping to identify as many possible topics as you can. Test your understanding of each possible topic by concisely describing or summarizing it.

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Consider Sources of Support. You’ll want to spend time finding material to help you develop a judgment. You might watch a television program on your subject or read an article about it. Perhaps you’ll want to review several examples of your subject: watching several films or campus plays, listening to several albums, examining several works of art, testing several products, or interviewing several spectators.

Establish Your Criteria. Jot down criteria, standards to apply to your subject based on the features of the subject worth considering. How well, for example, does a popular entertainer score on musicianship, rapport with the audience, selection of material, originality? In evaluating Portland as a home for a young careerist, you might ask: Does it offer ample entry-level positions in growth firms? Any criterion for evaluation has to fit your subject, audience, and purpose. After all, ample entry-level jobs might not matter to an audience of retirees.

Try Comparing and Contrasting.Often you can readily size up the worth of a thing by setting it next to another of its kind. (When you compare, you point to similarities; when you contrast, you note differences.) To be comparable, of course, your two subjects need to have plenty in common. The quality of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle might be judged by contrasting it with a Honda but not with a school bus.

For example, if you are writing a paper for a film history course, you might compare and contrast the classic German horror movie The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari with the classic Hollywood movie Frankenstein, concluding that Caligari is more artistic. Then try listing characteristics of each film, point by point:

By jotting down each point and each bit of evidence side by side, you can outline your comparison and contrast with great efficiency. Once you have listed them, decide on a possible order for the points.

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Try Defining Your Subject. Another technique for evaluating is to define your subject, indicating its nature so clearly that your readers can easily distinguish it from others of its kind. Defining helps readers understand your subject—its structure, habitat, functions. In evaluating a classic television show such as Roseanne, you might want to include an extended definition of sitcoms over the years, their techniques, views of women, effects on the audience. Unlike a short definition, as in a dictionary, an extended definition is intended not simply to explain but to judge: What is the nature of my subject? What qualities make it unique, unlike others of its sort?

Develop a Judgment That You Can Explain to Your Audience. In the end, you will have to come to a decision: Is your subject good, worthwhile, significant, exemplary, preferable—or not? Most writers come to a judgment gradually as they explore their subjects and develop criteria.

Planning, Drafting, and Developing

Start with a Thesis. Reflect a moment: What is your purpose? What is your main point? Try writing a paragraph that sums up the purpose of your evaluation or stating a thesis that summarizes your main point.

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In reviews of books, movies, and other forms of entertainment, thesis may grow out of how the subject conforms—or doesn’t conform—to certain goals or standards. This is the approach that Scott Tobias used in his review of The Hunger Games. (His thesis is underlined.)

Consider Your Criteria. Many writers find that a list of specific criteria gives them confidence and generates ideas. Consider filling in a chart with three columns—criteria, evidence, judgment—to focus your thinking.

Develop an Organization. You may want to begin with a direct statement of your judgment: Based on durability, cost, and comfort, the Classic 7 is an ideal campus backpack. On the other hand, you may want to reserve judgment by opening with a question about your subject: How good a film is Mad Max: Fury Road? Each approach suggests a different organization:

Either way, you’ll supply lots of evidence—details, examples, maybe comparisons or contrasts—to make your case compelling. You’ll also cluster your evidence around your points or criteria for judgment so that readers know how and why you reach your judgment. You might try both patterns of organization to see which works better for your subject and purpose.

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Most writers find that an outline—even a rough list—helps them keep track of points to make. If you compare and contrast your subject with something else, one way to arrange the points is subject by subject: discuss subject A, and then discuss subject B. For a longer comparison, a better way to organize is point by point, applying each point first to one subject and then the other. If approved by your instructor, you also might include a sketch, photograph, or other illustration of your subject or develop a comparative table summarizing the features of similar items you have compared.

Revising and Editing

Focus on Your Thesis. Make your thesis as precise and clear as possible.

Be Fair. Make your judgments reasonable, not extreme. A reviewer can find fault with a film and still conclude that it is worth seeing. There’s nothing wrong, of course, with a fervent judgment (“This play is the trashiest excuse for a drama I have ever suffered through”), but consider your readers and their likely reactions. Read some reviews in your local newspaper or online, or watch some movie critics on television to see how they balance their judgments. Because readers will have more confidence in your opinions if you seem fair and reasonable, revise your tone where needed. For example, one writer revised his opening after he realized that he was criticizing the audience rather than evaluating the performance.

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After you have revised your evaluation, edit and proofread it. Carefully check the grammar, word choice, punctuation, and mechanics—and then correct any problems you find. Make sentences in which you describe the subject of your evaluation as precise and useful as possible. If you have used comparisons or contrasts, make sure these are clear: don’t lose your readers in a fog of vague pronouns or confusing references.