13 Basics of Evaluation Writing

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 must 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.

The question, “Why?”, is an important gateway to specific criteria because it forces the writer to articulate his/her reasons. Not only should you be able to clearly define appropriate criteria for your subject, but you should know enough about it that you can also teach your readers something new about the topic. According to Lunsford & Ruszkiewicz (2008), “If you know a subject well enough to evaluate it, your readers should learn something from you when you offer an opinion.” In general, researching your topic before beginning to write about it is wise, but, in the case of an evaluation, you should begin with a familiar topic. If you are writing about a particular software, for example, you need to be familiar with various types of software and explain what qualities make it desirable. This allows you to create a basic structure of your essay based on your opinion, and then later look for more information to help strengthen your argument.

Evaluation Brainstorming

For this assignment, you will choose a topic for an evaluation paper. Your topic should belong to one of the following categories:

• A business
• A product (pet food, car, beauty, etc) or service (doctor, cell phone service, etc)
• A website or blog

You should choose a subject that you can make a confident judgment about, so think about your areas of expertise. You also want to be sure to choose something that is appropriate for the academic situation. In addition, be sure that your topic is sufficiently narrow. In other words, don’t do a review of cell phones in general, but a particular model. Instead of Wal-Mart in general, review a particular location.

This video provides a good overview of writing an evaluation essay:

Attributions:

Adapted from “Basics of Evaluation Writing” created by Dr. Karen Palmer. Last edited 5/28/2020. Licensed under CC BY NC.

Quotation from 2008 edition of Everything’s An Argument, edited by Lunsford & Ruszkiewicz.