Evaluation Essay Activity

Write answers to the following questions to begin generating text. Much of it may be used later as you draft your paper, but don’t worry about that now. Use these exercises to help you get your ideas down.

1. Explore what you already know. Freewrite to answer the following questions: What do you know about this subject? What are your initial or gut feelings, and why do you feel as you do? How does this subject reflect or affect your basic values or beliefs?
                                                                                                                                                 
2. Identify criteria. Make a list of criteria you think should be used to evaluate your subject. Think about which criteria will likely be important to your audience.

3. Evaluate your subject. Study your subject closely to determine to what extent it meets each of your criteria. You may want to list your criteria and take notes related to each one. You may develop a rating scale for each criterion to help stay focused on it. Come up with a tentative judgment. Choose 3-4 criteria to discuss in your essay.

4. Compare your subject with others. Often, evaluating something involves comparing and contrasting it with similar things. We judge movies in comparison with other movies we’ve seen in a similar genre, for example.

5. State your judgment as a tentative thesis statement. Your thesis statement should be one that addresses both pros and cons. “Hawaii Five-O is fun to watch despite its stilted dialogue”; “Of the three sport utility vehicles tested, the Toyota 4 Runner emerged as the best in comfort, power, and durability, though not in styling or cargo capacity.” Both of these examples offer a judgment but qualify it according to the writer’s criteria. Experiment with thesis statements and highlight one you want to use.

6. Anticipate other opinions. I think Will Ferrell is a comic genius whose movies are first-rate. You think Will Ferrell is a terrible actor who makes awful movies. How can I write a review of his latest film that you will at least consider? One way is by acknowledging other opinions–and refuting those opinions as best I can. I may not persuade you to see Ferrell’s next film, b
7. can at least demonstrate that by certain criteria he should be appreciated. You may need to talk to friends or family members to find out how others have evaluated your subject.

7. Identify and support your reasons. Write out all the reasons you can think of that will convince your audience to accept your judgment. Review your list to identify the most convincing or important reasons. Then review how well your subject meets your criteria and decide how best to support your reasons; through examples, authoritative opinions, statistics, visual or audio evidence, or something else.