example of an evaluation argument essay

Print friendly page | Mobile site | Accessibility | Help | About S3 | Contact S3 This section gives you guidance on how to evaluate an argument in a text or in your own essay. In order to do this you need to consider whether it: Makes reference to other academics in the field Academic writing must be considered in the context of the writing that has previously been written on that topic. Other people's points of view should be examined, and used to inform the author's argument. Are different points of view considered fairly, not just the writer's?Has the author failed to refer to another author whose argument could be used to support or undermine their argument?In your own writing make sure you have researched what has previously been written on the subject. Contains appropriate evidence Effective arguments need to be supported by evidence. In different circumstances different types of evidence will be appropriate. As noted above the ideas of other authors may be used to support an argument. Sometimes statistics may be used to support an argument (perhaps collected by the author themselves in a survey). In evaluating an argument it may be useful to consider whether you think the appropriate type of evidence has been used to support the argument. Is there enough evidence?Is the evidence biased?If a poll/survey has been done, is the sample representative?Is the evidence used up to date/ currently relevant?In doing research for your own writing it is important to assess the credibility of the sources you are looking at. This may be especially pertinent when using the internet. For tips on how to assess the credibility of web sites, visit using the internet for research. Is written in an appropriate style In our everyday life we often try to persuade people to do something by using emotive language (e.g. using words such as ‘great', ‘fantastic'). Emotive language may.
Have you ever filled out a survey rating something from one to five? Often these surveys are used to find out how well something is liked or disliked. When it comes to rating something the person must think about his/her feelings about something. This is true for an evaluation essay. The writer must think about the topic and take a point of view about it. Sometimes the writer must research the topic before making any type of argument. The argument is usually stated in the thesis statement. The first steps in writing an evaluation essay is to obtain supporting evidence to support your viewpoint. It is similar to an argumentative essay in that the writer's point of view is given backed with evidence. An evaluation essay is also similar to an analysis. The steps to analyze a topic are the same for an evaluation essay. A clear point of view must be taken with supporting evidence that will show the reasons for the point of view. If the evaluation essay is written to evaluate an article or book, then the material must be read first. How can you evaluate something without at least reading it or examining it? It is important to be able to give the audience enough information to support the thesis. The best way to do this is to read the material or do some research on the topic. It is important to be able to give a clear judgment of the topic. In writing an evaluation it is essential to evaluate both sides of the issue. Why does the other person feel the way he/she does. For instance, take the subject of same sex marriage. If taking the viewpoint that marriage is between men and women only, it would also be important to state the reasons others are in favor of same sex marriage. It is important for the judgment to be balanced as it states by both sides of the issue. If the argument seems biased the audience will often be biased against the writer. It is important to clarify.
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The purpose of an evaluation essay is to demonstrate the overall quality (or lack thereof) of a particular product, business, place, service, or program.  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.  The key to making this happen, and therefore the key to a good investigative essay, is establishing clear and fair criteria, judgments, and evidence.  Criteria (the plural of criterion) means establishing what the ideal for the product/place/service/etc. should be.  In other words, it means demonstrating what one should expect as the ideal outcome.  Having clear criteria is what keeps an evaluation from feeling less like an opinion.  For example, if I am evaluating a restaurant, I want to establish the criteria (quality of food, service, price, cleanliness, etc.) that any good restaurant will adhere to; this criteria can then be applied to the specific restaurant I am evaluating.  The judgment is the establishment of whether or not the criterion is met.  In other words, the judgment is what actually is.  Using the example from above, if the first criterion for evaluating a restaurant is the quality of the food, the judgment states whether or not the particular restaurant offers food that meets or exceeds this stated quality. The evidence is the details offered to support the judgment.  If my judgment is that a particular restaurant does not consistently offer quality food, I need to support this with a variety of evidence to show how the judgment was reached.  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.
By Richard Nordquist Definition: A composition that offers value judgments about a subject according to a set of criteria.An evaluation essay or report (also called an evaluative paper) is a type of argument that includes evidence to justify a writer's opinions about a subject.See also: Examples of Evaluation EssaysObservations: Without good reasons for liking or disliking certain things, students can never get beyond being passive receivers of marketing, fickle consumers without a basis for their opinions. Writing evaluation papers asks them to question why they feel the way they do. (Allison D. Smith, et al., Teaching in the Pop Culture Zone: Using Popular Culture in the Composition Classroom. Wadsworth, 2009) How to Evaluate If you are evaluating a piece of writing, then you are going to need to thoroughly read the work. While you read the work, keep in mind the criteria you are using to evaluate. The evaluative aspects may be: grammar, sentence structure, spelling, content, usage of sources, style, or many other things. Other things to consider when evaluating a piece of writing is whether the writing appealed to its target audience. Was there an emotional appeal? Did the author engage the audience, or was the piece lacking something?.. If you are evaluating anything else, use your head. You need to try, use, or test whatever thing you are evaluating. That means you should not evaluate a 2005 Chevrolet Corvette unless you have the ,000 (or more) to buy one, or the money to rent one. You also need the know-how of driving a car of that power and a base of knowledge of other cars that you have tested to compare it to. (Joe Torres, Rhetoric and Composition Study Guide. Global Media, 2007) Identifying Criteria for an Evaluation Make a list of prominent, widely recognized standards for judging your subject. If you do not know the standards usually used to.
 Richard.Jewell.net  CollegeWriting.info Home Page      Sample Evaluations by Students   Chapter Home             The samples below are papers by students, unless specifically noted.  They are examples of A level undergraduate writing or entry-level professional work.  To get a better idea of how this type of paper is written, you will want to look at all the samples.  Then compare the samples to each other and to what the Basics part of this chapter says.                The authors of all sample student papers in this Web site have given their permission in writing to have their work included in CollegeWriting.info.  All such samples remain copyrighted by their original authors.             Unless otherwise noted, sample papers do not necessarily meet all requirements an individual instructor or work supervisor may have.  In addition, they are single spaced, whereas a proper manuscript given to an instructor or supervisor normally should be double spaced unless another format has been requested.              Sample One: Rough/Basic Evaluation    University of Minnesota Eng 3027-11 Advanced Expository Writing Evaluation Paper [Rough Draft]© 2000 by Jason Dreyer Should Prisons Punish? by Jason Dreyer Introduction         Francis Murphy argues in Prisons Should Punish Inmates that rehabilitative ideals should be abandoned and that criminals should be exclusively punished for breaking society’s moral rules. This article appears in America’s Prisons: Opposing Viewpoints. The arguments appear, however, to be obtuse, perhaps because the author is disillusioned by his experience on the New York Supreme Court. The following sections, explain what makes this a weak article. Bias         When discussing the lack of success of different rehabilitative programs, Murphy demonstrates clear bias stemming, possibly, from his prejudice as a judge. He states that interventions such as.