what is an evaluation essay

7 Steps for How to Write an Evaluation Essay (Example & Template)

In this ultimate guide, I will explain to you exactly how to write an evaluation essay.

1. What is an Evaluation Essay?

An evaluation essay should provide a critical analysis of something.

You’re literally ‘evaluating’ the thing you’re looking up.

Here’s a couple of quick definitions of what we mean by ‘evaluate’:

Merriam-Webster defines evaluation as: “to determine the significance, worth, or condition of usually by careful appraisal and study”
Collins Dictionary says: “If you evaluate something or someone, you consider them in order to make a judgment about them, for example about how good or bad they are.”

Here’s some synonyms for ‘evaluate’:

So, we could say that an evaluation essay should carefully examine the ‘thing’ and provide an overall judgement of it.

Here’s some common things you may be asked to write an evaluation essay on:

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Really, you can evaluate just about anything!

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2. How to write an Evaluation Essay

There are two secrets to writing a strong evaluation essay. The first is to aim for objective analysis before forming an opinion. The second is to use an evaluation criteria.

Aim to Appear Objective before giving an Evaluation Argument

Your evaluation will eventually need an argument.

The evaluation argument will show your reader what you have decided is the final value of the ‘thing’ you’re evaluating.

But in order to convince your reader that your evaluative argument is sound, you need to do some leg work.

The aim will be to show that you have provided a balanced and fair assessment before coming to your conclusion.

In order to appear balanced you should:

Discuss both the pros and cons of the thing
Discuss both the strengths and weaknesses of the thing
Look at the thing from multiple different perspectives
Be both positive and critical. Don’t make it look like you’re biased towards one perspective.

In other words, give every perspective a fair hearing.

You don’t want to sound like a propagandist. You want to be seen as a fair and balanced adjudicator.

Use an Evaluation Criteria

One way to appear balanced is to use an evaluation criteria.

An evaluation criteria helps to show that you have assessed the ‘thing’ based on an objective measure.

Here’s some examples of evaluation criteria:

Strength under pressure
Longevity (ability to survive for a long time)
Ease of use
Ability to get the job done
Friendliness
Punctuality
Ability to predict my needs
Calmness under pressure
Attentiveness

A Bed and Breakfast

Breakfast options
Taste of food
Comfort of bed
Local attractions
Service from owner
Cleanliness

We can use evaluation criteria to frame out ability to conduct the analysis fairly.

This is especially true for if you have to evaluate multiple different ‘things’. For example, if you’re evaluating three novels, you want to be able to show that you applied the same ‘test’ on all three books!

This will show that you gave each ‘thing’ a fair chance and looked at the same elements for each.

3. How to come up with an Evaluation Argument

After you have:

Looked at both good and bad elements of the ‘thing’, and
Used an evaluation criteria

You’ll then need to develop an evaluative argument. This argument shows your own overall perspective on the ‘thing’.

Remember, you will need to show your final evaluative argument is backed by objective analysis. You need to do it in order!

Analyze first. Evaluate second.

Here’s an example.

Let’s say you’re evaluating the quality of a meal.

You might say:

A strength of the meal was its presentation. It was well presented and looked enticing to eat.
A weakness of the meal was that it was overcooked. This decreased its flavor.
The meal was given a low rating on ‘cost’ because it was more expensive than the other comparative meals on the menu.
The meal was given a high rating on ‘creativity’. It was a meal that involved a thoughtful and inventive mix of ingredients.

Now that you’ve looked at some pros and cons and measured the meal based on a few criteria points (like cost and creativity), you’ll be able to come up with a final argument:

Overall, the meal was good enough for a middle-tier restaurant but would not be considered a high-class meal. There is a lot of room for improvement if the chef wants to win any local cooking awards.

Evaluative terms that you might want to use for this final evaluation argument might include:

All things considered
With all key points in mind

4. Evaluation Essay Outline (with Examples)

Okay, so now you know what to do, let’s have a go at creating an outline for your evaluation essay!

Here’s what I recommend:

4.1 How to Write your Introduction

In the introduction, feel free to use my 5-Step INTRO method . It’ll be an introduction just like any other essay introduction .

And yes, feel free to explain what the final evaluation will be.

So, here it is laid out nice and simple.

Write one sentence for each point to make a 5-sentence introduction:

Interest: Make a statement about the ‘thing’ you’re evaluating that you think will be of interest to the reader. Make it a catchy, engaging point that draws the reader in!
Notify: Notify the reader of any background info on the thing you’re evaluating. This is your chance to show your depth of knowledge. What is a historical fact about the ‘thing’?
Translate: Re-state the essay question. For an evaluative essay, you can re-state it something like: “This essay evaluates the book/ product/ article/ etc. by looking at its strengths and weaknesses and compares it against a marking criteria”.
Report: Say what your final evaluation will be. For example you can say “While there are some weaknesses in this book, overall this evaluative essay will show that it helps progress knowledge about Dinosaurs.”
Outline: Simply give a clear overview of what will be discussed. For example, you can say: “Firstly, the essay will evaluate the product based on an objective criteria. This criteria will include its value for money, fit for purpose and ease of use. Next, the essay will show the main strengths and weaknesses of the product. Lastly, the essay will provide a final evaluative statement about the product’s overall value and worth.”

If you want more depth on how to use the INTRO method, you’ll need to go and check out our blog post on writing quality introductions.

4.2 Example Introduction

This example introduction is for the essay question: Write an Evaluation Essay on Facebook’s Impact on Society.

“Facebook is the third most visited website in the world. It was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg in his college dorm. This essay evaluates the impact of Facebook on society and makes an objective judgement on its value. The essay will argue that Facebook has changed the world both for the better and worse. Firstly, it will give an overview of what Facebook is and its history. Then, it will examine Facebook on the criteria of: impact on social interactions, impact on the media landscape, and impact on politics.”

You’ll notice that each sentence in this introduction follows my 5-Step INTRO formula to create a clear, coherent 5-Step introduction.

4.3 How to Write your Body Paragraphs

The first body paragraph should give an overview of the ‘thing’ being evaluated.

Then, you should evaluate the pros and cons of the ‘thing’ being evaluated based upon the criteria you have developed for evaluating it.

Let’s take a look below.

4.4 First Body Paragraph: Overview of your Subject

This first paragraph should provide objective overview of your subject’s properties and history. You should not be doing any evaluating just yet.

The goal for this first paragraph is to ensure your reader knows what it is you’re evaluating. Secondarily, it should show your marker that you have developed some good knowledge about it.

If you need to use more than one paragraph to give an overview of the subject, that’s fine.

Similarly, if your essay word length needs to be quite long, feel free to spend several paragraphs exploring the subject’s background and objective details to show off your depth of knowledge for the marker.

4.5 First Body Paragraph Example

Sticking with the essay question: Write an Evaluation Essay on Facebook’s Impact on Society , this might be your paragraph:

“Facebook has been one of the most successful websites of all time. It is the website that dominated the ‘Web 2.0’ revolution, which was characterized by user two-way interaction with the web. Facebook allowed users to create their own personal profiles and invite their friends to follow along. Since 2004, Facebook has attracted more than one billion people to create profiles in order to share their opinions and keep in touch with their friends.”

Notice here that I haven’t yet made any evaluations of Facebook’s merits?

This first paragraph (or, if need be, several of them) should be all about showing the reader exactly what your subject is – no more, no less.

4.6 Evaluation Paragraphs: Second, Third, Forth and Fifth Body Paragraphs

Once you’re confident your reader will know what the subject that you’re evaluating is, you’ll need to move on to the actual evaluation.

For this step, you’ll need to dig up that evaluation criteria we talked about in Point 2.

For example, let’s say you’re evaluating a President of the United States.

Your evaluation criteria might be:

Impact on world history
Ability to pass legislation
Popularity with voters
Morals and ethics
Ability to change lives for the better

Really, you could make up any evaluation criteria you want!

Once you’ve made up the evaluation criteria, you’ve got your evaluation paragraph ideas!

Simply turn each point in your evaluation criteria into a full paragraph.

How do you do this?

Well, start with a topic sentence.

For the criteria point ‘Impact on world history’ you can say something like: “Barack Obama’s impact on world history is mixed.”

This topic sentence will show that you’ll evaluate both pros and cons of Obama’s impact on world history in the paragraph.

Then, follow it up with explanations.

“While Obama campaigned to withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, he was unable to completely achieve this objective. This is an obvious negative for his impact on the world. However, as the first black man to lead the most powerful nation on earth, he will forever be remembered as a living milestone for civil rights and progress.”

Keep going, turning each evaluation criteria into a full paragraph.

4.7 Evaluation Paragraph Example

Let’s go back to our essay question: Write an Evaluation Essay on Facebook’s Impact on Society .

I’ve decided to use the evaluation criteria below:

impact on social interactions;
impact on the media landscape;
impact on politics

Naturally, I’m going to write one paragraph for each point.

If you’re expected to write a longer piece, you could write two paragraphs on each point (one for pros and one for cons).

Here’s what my first evaluation paragraph might look like:

“Facebook has had a profound impact on social interactions. It has helped people to stay in touch with one another from long distances and after they have left school and college. This is obviously a great positive. However, it can also be seen as having a negative impact. For example, people may be less likely to interact face-to-face because they are ‘hanging out’ online instead. This can have negative impact on genuine one-to-one relationships.”

You might notice that this paragraph has a topic sentence, explanations and examples. It follows my perfect paragraph formula which you’re more than welcome to check out!

4.8 How to write your Conclusion

To conclude, you’ll need to come up with one final evaluative argument.

This evaluation argument provides an overall assessment. You can start with “Overall, Facebook has been…” and continue by saying that (all things considered) he was a good or bad president!

Remember, you can only come up with an overall evaluation after you’ve looked at the subject’s pros and cons based upon your evaluation criteria.

In the example below, I’m going to use my 5 C’s conclusion paragraph method . This will make sure my conclusion covers all the things a good conclusion should cover!

Like the INTRO method, the 5 C’s conclusion method should have one sentence for each point to create a 5 sentence conclusion paragraph.

The 5 C’s conclusion method is:

Close the loop: Return to a statement you made in the introduction.
Conclude: Show what your final position is.
Clarify: Clarify how your final position is relevant to the Essay Question.
Concern: Explain who should be concerned by your findings.
Consequences: End by noting in one final, engaging sentence why this topic is of such importance. The ‘concern’ and ‘consequences’ sentences can be combined

4.9 Concluding Argument Example Paragraph

Here’s a possible concluding argument for our essay question: Write an Evaluation Essay on Facebook’s Impact on Society .

“The introduction of this essay highlighted that Facebook has had a profound impact on society. This evaluation essay has shown that this impact has been both positive and negative. Thus, it is too soon to say whether Facebook has been an overall positive or negative for society. However, people should pay close attention to this issue because it is possible that Facebook is contributing to the undermining of truth in media and positive interpersonal relationships.”

Note here that I’ve followed the 5 C’s conclusion method for my concluding evaluative argument paragraph.

5. Evaluation Essay Example Template

Below is a template you can use for your evaluation essay , based upon the advice I gave in Section 4:

Introduction	Use the to write an introduction. This introduction should clearly state what you are evaluating, the criteria that you will be using to evaluate it, and what will be.
Body Paragraph 1: Outline of the Subject	Before evaluating the subject or ‘thing’, make sure you use a paragraph or two to clearly explain what it is to the reader. This is your chance to show your depth of knowledge about the topic.
Body Paragraphs 2 – 5: Evaluate the Subject	Use the evaluation criteria you have decided upon to evaluate the subject. For each element of the criteria, write one paragraph looking at the pros and cons of the subject. You might want to use my to write your paragraphs.
Conclusion	Use my to write a 5-sentence conclusion. Make sure you show your final evaluative argument in the conclusion so your reader knows your final position on the issue.

6. 23+ Good Evaluation Essay Topics

Okay now that you know how to write an evaluation essay, let’s look at a few examples.

For each example I’m going to give you an evaluation essay title idea, plus a list of criteria you might want to use in your evaluation essay.

6.1 Evaluation of Impact

Evaluate the impact of global warming on the great barrier reef. Recommended evaluation criteria: Level of bleaching; Impact on tourism; Economic impact; Impact on lifestyles; Impact on sealife
Evaluate the impact of the Global Financial Crisis on poverty. Recommended evaluation criteria: Impact on jobs; Impact on childhood poverty; Impact on mental health rates; Impact on economic growth; Impact on the wealthy; Global impact
Evaluate the impact of having children on your lifestyle. Recommended evaluation criteria: Impact on spare time; Impact on finances; Impact on happiness; Impact on sense of wellbeing
Evaluate the impact of the internet on the world. Recommended evaluation criteria: Impact on connectedness; Impact on dating; Impact on business integration; Impact on globalization; Impact on media
Evaluate the impact of public transportation on cities. Recommended evaluation criteria: Impact on cost of living; Impact on congestion; Impact on quality of life; Impact on health; Impact on economy
Evaluate the impact of universal healthcare on quality of life. Recommended evaluation criteria: Impact on reducing disease rates; Impact on the poorest in society; Impact on life expectancy; Impact on happiness
Evaluate the impact of getting a college degree on a person’s life. Recommended evaluation criteria: Impact on debt levels; Impact on career prospects; Impact on life perspectives; Impact on relationships

6.2 Evaluation of a Scholarly Text or Theory

Evaluate a Textbook. Recommended evaluation criteria: clarity of explanations; relevance to a course; value for money; practical advice; depth and detail; breadth of information
Evaluate a Lecture Series, Podcast or Guest Lecture. Recommended evaluation criteria: clarity of speaker; engagement of attendees; appropriateness of content; value for monet
Evaluate a journal article. Recommended evaluation criteria: length; clarity; quality of methodology; quality of literature review ; relevance of findings for real life
Evaluate a Famous Scientists. Recommended evaluation criteria: contribution to scientific knowledge; impact on health and prosperity of humankind; controversies and disagreements with other scientists.
Evaluate a Theory. Recommended evaluation criteria: contribution to knowledge; reliability or accuracy; impact on the lives of ordinary people; controversies and contradictions with other theories.

6.3 Evaluation of Art and Literature

Evaluate a Novel. Recommended evaluation criteria: plot complexity; moral or social value of the message; character development; relevance to modern life
Evaluate a Play. Recommended evaluation criteria: plot complexity; quality of acting; moral or social value of the message; character development; relevance to modern life
Evaluate a Film. Recommended evaluation criteria: plot complexity; quality of acting; moral or social value of the message; character development; relevance to modern life
Evaluate an Artwork. Recommended evaluation criteria: impact on art theory; moral or social message; complexity or quality of composition

6.4 Evaluation of a Product or Service

Evaluate a Hotel or Bed and Breakfast. Recommended evaluation criteria: quality of service; flexibility of check-in and check-out times; cleanliness; location; value for money; wi-fi strength; noise levels at night; quality of meals; value for money
Evaluate a Restaurant. Recommended evaluation criteria: quality of service; menu choices; cleanliness; atmosphere; taste; value for money.
Evaluate a Car. Recommended evaluation criteria: fuel efficiency; value for money; build quality; likelihood to break down; comfort.
Evaluate a House. Recommended evaluation criteria: value for money; build quality; roominess; location; access to public transport; quality of neighbourhood
Evaluate a Doctor. Recommended evaluation criteria: Quality of service; knowledge; quality of equipment; reputation; value for money.
Evaluate a Course. Recommended evaluation criteria: value for money; practical advice; quality of teaching; quality of resources provided.

7. Concluding Advice

Evaluation essays are common in high school, college and university.

The trick for getting good marks in an evaluation essay is to show you have looked at both the pros and cons before making a final evaluation analysis statement.

You don’t want to look biased.

That’s why it’s a good idea to use an objective evaluation criteria, and to be generous in looking at both positives and negatives of your subject.

Read Also: 39 Better Ways to Write ‘In Conclusion’ in an Essay

I recommend you use the evaluation template provided in this post to write your evaluation essay. However, if your teacher has given you a template, of course use theirs instead! You always want to follow your teacher’s advice because they’re the person who will be marking your work.

Good luck with your evaluation essay!

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ Montessori's 4 Planes of Development, Explained!
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2 thoughts on “7 Steps for How to Write an Evaluation Essay (Example & Template)”

What an amazing article. I am returning to studying after several years and was struggling with how to present an evaluative essay. This article has simplified the process and provided me with the confidence to tackle my subject (theoretical approaches to development and management of teams).

I just wanted to ask whether the evaluation criteria has to be supported by evidence or can it just be a list of criteria that you think of yourself to objectively measure?

Many many thanks for writing this!

Usually we would want to see evidence, but ask your teacher for what they’re looking for as they may allow you, depending on the situation.

Essay Papers Writing Online

Ultimate guide on writing an effective evaluation essay – tips, examples, and guidelines.

Are you puzzled when it comes to writing an evaluation essay? In this guide, we will provide you with all the essential information you need to master the art of crafting a compelling appraisal composition. Whether you are new to this type of writing or just looking to refine your skills, this comprehensive manual will equip you with the necessary tools and techniques to excel. From understanding the purpose and structure of an evaluation essay to exploring various tips and examples, this guide has got you covered.

An evaluation essay is a piece of writing that aims to assess the value or quality of a particular subject or phenomenon. It involves analyzing a topic, presenting your judgment or opinion on it, and providing evidence or examples to support your claims. This type of essay requires critical thinking, research, and effective communication skills to present a well-balanced evaluation.

Throughout this guide, we will delve into the nitty-gritty of writing an evaluation essay. We will start by discussing the key elements that make up a successful evaluation essay, such as establishing clear criteria, conducting thorough research, and adopting a structured approach. Additionally, we will explore practical tips and strategies to help you gather relevant information, organize your thoughts, and present a persuasive argument. To illustrate these concepts, we will provide you with a range of examples covering various topics and subjects.

Tips for Writing a Top-Notch Evaluation Essay

When it comes to crafting a high-quality evaluation essay, there are several key tips to keep in mind. By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your essay stands out and effectively evaluates the subject matter at hand.

1. Be objective and unbiased: A top-notch evaluation essay should approach the topic with an unbiased and objective perspective. Avoid personal bias or overly emotional language, and instead focus on presenting an honest and well-balanced evaluation of the subject.

2. Provide clear criteria: To effectively evaluate something, it’s important to establish clear criteria or standards by which to assess it. Clearly define the criteria you will be using and explain why these specific factors are essential in evaluating the subject. This will help provide structure to your essay and ensure that your evaluation is thorough and comprehensive.

3. Support your evaluation with evidence: In order to make a convincing argument, it’s crucial to support your evaluation with solid evidence. This can include examples, statistics, expert opinions, or any other relevant information that strengthens your claims. By providing strong evidence, you can enhance the credibility of your evaluation and make it more persuasive.

4. Consider multiple perspectives: A well-rounded evaluation takes into account multiple perspectives on the subject matter. Acknowledge and address counterarguments or differing opinions, and provide thoughtful analysis and reasoning for your stance. This demonstrates critical thinking and a comprehensive evaluation of the topic.

5. Use clear and concise language: Clarity is vital in an evaluation essay. Use clear and concise language to express your thoughts and ideas, avoiding unnecessary jargon or complex vocabulary. Your essay should be accessible to a wide audience and easy to understand, allowing your evaluation to be conveyed effectively.

6. Revise and edit: Don’t neglect the importance of revising and editing your essay. Take the time to review your work and ensure that your evaluation is well-structured, coherent, and error-free. Pay attention to grammar, spelling, and punctuation, as these details can greatly impact the overall quality of your essay.

7. Conclude with a strong summary: For a top-notch evaluation essay, it’s important to conclude with a strong and concise summary of your evaluation. Restate your main points and findings, providing a clear and memorable conclusion that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

By following these tips, you can enhance your writing skills and create a top-notch evaluation essay that effectively assesses and evaluates the subject matter at hand.

Choose a Relevant and Engaging Topic

When it comes to writing an evaluation essay, one of the most important aspects is selecting a topic that is both relevant and engaging. The topic you choose will determine the focus of your essay and greatly impact the overall quality of your writing. It is crucial to choose a topic that not only interests you but also captivates your audience.

When selecting a topic, consider the subject matter that you are knowledgeable or passionate about. This will enable you to provide a well-informed evaluation and maintain your readers’ interest throughout your essay. Additionally, choose a topic that is relevant in today’s society or has a direct impact on your target audience. This will ensure that your evaluation essay has a practical and meaningful purpose.

Furthermore, it is essential to select a topic that is controversial or debatable. This will allow you to present different perspectives and arguments to support your evaluation. By choosing a topic that sparks discussions and debates, you can engage your readers and encourage them to think critically about the subject matter.

In conclusion, choosing a relevant and engaging topic is crucial for writing an effective evaluation essay. By selecting a topic that interests you, appeals to your readers, and is relevant to society, you can ensure that your essay is engaging and impactful. Remember to choose a topic that is controversial or debatable to provide a comprehensive evaluation and encourage critical thinking among your audience.

Develop a Strong Thesis Statement

Crafting an impactful thesis statement is an essential aspect of writing an evaluation essay. The thesis statement serves as the main argument or claim that you will be supporting throughout your essay. It encapsulates the central idea and sets the tone for the rest of the paper.

When developing your thesis statement, it is crucial to be clear, concise, and specific. It should provide a clear indication of your stance on the subject matter being evaluated while also highlighting the main criteria and evidence that will be discussed in the body paragraphs. A strong thesis statement should be thought-provoking and hook the reader’s attention, compelling them to continue reading.

To build a strong thesis statement, you need to engage in a careful analysis of the topic or subject being evaluated. Consider the various aspects that you will be assessing and select the most significant ones to include in your argument. Your thesis statement should be focused and arguable, allowing for a clear position on the matter.

Additionally, it is crucial to avoid vague or general statements in your thesis. Instead, aim for specificity and clarity. By clearly stating your evaluation criteria, you provide a roadmap for the reader to understand what aspects you will be analyzing and what conclusions you intend to make.

Furthermore, a strong thesis statement should be supported by evidence and examples. You should be able to provide concrete support for your evaluation through relevant facts, statistics, or expert opinions. This strengthens the credibility and persuasiveness of your argument, making your thesis statement more compelling.

In summary, developing a strong thesis statement is a critical step in writing an evaluation essay. It sets the foundation for your argument, guiding your analysis and providing a clear direction for the reader. By being clear, concise, specific, and well-supported, your thesis statement helps you create a persuasive and impactful evaluation essay.

Provide Clear and Concise Criteria for Evaluation

One of the most important aspects of writing an evaluation essay is providing clear and concise criteria for evaluation. In order to effectively evaluate a subject or topic, it is essential to establish specific standards or benchmarks that will be used to assess its performance or quality.

When establishing criteria for evaluation, it is crucial to be thorough yet succinct. Clear criteria enable the reader to understand the basis upon which the evaluation is made, while concise criteria ensure that the evaluation remains focused and impactful.

There are several strategies you can employ to provide clear and concise criteria for evaluation. One approach is to define specific attributes or characteristics that are relevant to the subject being evaluated. For example, if you are evaluating a restaurant, you might establish criteria such as the quality of the food, the level of service, and the ambience of the establishment.

Another strategy is to utilize a scoring system or rating scale to assess the subject. This can help provide a more quantitative evaluation by assigning numerical values to different aspects of the subject. For instance, a movie review might use a rating scale of 1 to 5 to evaluate the acting, plot, and cinematography of the film.

In addition to defining specific attributes or using a scoring system, it is important to provide examples or evidence to support your evaluation. This can help make your criteria more concrete and relatable to the reader. For instance, if you are evaluating a car, you could provide examples of its fuel efficiency, handling performance, and safety features.

Clear Criteria	Concise Criteria
Define specific attributes	Utilize a scoring system
Provide examples or evidence	Ensure focus and impact

By providing clear and concise criteria for evaluation, you can effectively communicate your assessment to the reader and support your conclusions. This will help ensure that your evaluation essay is well-structured, informative, and persuasive.

Support Your Evaluation with Solid Evidence

When writing an evaluation essay, it is crucial to support your evaluations with solid evidence. Without proper evidence, your evaluation may appear weak and unsubstantiated. By providing strong evidence, you can convince your readers of the validity of your evaluation and make a compelling argument.

One effective way to support your evaluation is by using concrete examples. These examples can be specific instances or cases that illustrate the strengths or weaknesses of the subject being evaluated. By presenting real-life examples, you can provide tangible evidence and make your evaluation more persuasive.

Another way to support your evaluation is by referring to expert opinions or research studies. These external sources can add credibility to your evaluation and demonstrate that your assessment is based on sound knowledge and expertise. Citing respected experts or referencing reputable studies can enhance the validity of your evaluation and make it more convincing.

In addition to concrete examples and expert opinions, statistical data can also be a powerful tool for supporting your evaluation. Numbers and statistics can provide objective evidence and strengthen your evaluation by adding a quantitative dimension to your argument. By citing relevant statistics, you can add weight to your evaluations and demonstrate the magnitude of the subject’s strengths or weaknesses.

Furthermore, it is important to consider counterarguments and address them in your evaluation. By acknowledging opposing viewpoints and addressing them effectively, you can strengthen your own evaluation and demonstrate a thorough understanding of the subject. This approach shows that you have considered different perspectives and have arrived at a well-rounded evaluation.

In conclusion, supporting your evaluation with solid evidence is essential to writing a persuasive evaluation essay. By using concrete examples, expert opinions, statistical data, and addressing counterarguments, you can bolster the validity and strength of your evaluation. Remember to present your evidence clearly and logically, making your evaluation more compelling and convincing to your readers.

Use a Structured Format to Organize Your Essay

When writing an evaluation essay, it is important to use a structured format to organize your thoughts and arguments. This will help you present your ideas in a clear and logical manner, making it easier for your reader to follow along and understand your points. By using a structured format, you can ensure that your essay flows smoothly and effectively communicates your evaluation.

One effective way to structure your evaluation essay is to use a table format. This allows you to present your evaluation criteria and supporting evidence in a concise and organized manner. By using a table, you can easily compare and contrast different aspects of the subject being evaluated, making it easier for your reader to grasp the overall evaluation.

Aspect	Evaluation Criteria	Supporting Evidence
Plot	Engaging and well-developed storyline	Strong character development and unexpected plot twists
Acting	Convincing and compelling performances	Emotional depth and believable portrayal of characters
Visuals	Stunning cinematography and visually appealing scenes	Beautiful set designs and attention to detail

In addition to using a table format, you should also follow a logical structure within each section of your essay. Start with a clear introduction, where you introduce the subject you are evaluating and provide some background information. Then, present your evaluation criteria and explain why these criteria are important for assessing the subject. Next, provide specific examples and evidence to support your evaluation, using the table format as a guide. Finally, end your essay with a strong conclusion that summarizes your evaluation and reinforces your main points.

By using a structured format, you can effectively organize your evaluation essay and present your ideas in a clear and concise manner. This will make your essay more engaging and persuasive, and help your reader understand and appreciate your evaluation.

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Definition and Examples of Evaluation Essays

An Introduction to Punctuation
Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
B.A., English, State University of New York

An evaluation essay is a composition that offers value judgments about a particular subject according to a set of criteria. Also called evaluative writing , evaluative essay or report , and critical evaluation essay .

An evaluation essay or report is a type of argument that provides evidence to justify a writer's opinions about a subject.

"Any kind of review is essentially a piece of evaluative writing," says Allen S. Goose. "This type of writing calls for the critical thinking skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation" ( 8 Kinds of Writing , 2001).

Observations

"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 $45,000 (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 evaluate your subject, you could do some research . For example, if you are reviewing a film, you could read a few recent film reviews online or in the library, noting the standards that reviewers typically use and the reasons that they assert for liking or disliking a film. If you are evaluating a soccer team or one winning (or losing) game, you could read a book on coaching soccer or talk to an experienced soccer coach to learn about what makes an excellent soccer team or winning game." (Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Cooper, Axelrod & Cooper's Concise Guide to Writing , 4th ed. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006)

Ways of Organizing an Evaluation Essay

"One way to organize an evaluation essay is point-by-point: describe one element of the subject and then evaluate it; present the next element and evaluate it; and so on. Comparison/contrast could be an organizing structure as well, in which you evaluate something by comparing (or contrasting) it to a known item. Culinary and music reviews often use this strategy. Chronological organization can be used for evaluating an event (either current or historical). Sequential organization can be used when describing how something works and evaluating the effectiveness of the process, procedure, or mechanism. Spatial organization can be used for evaluating art or architecture in which you describe and evaluate one element of the artifact and then move spatially to the next major element to be described and evaluated." (David S. Hogsette, Writing That Makes Sense: Critical Thinking in College Composition . Wipf and Stock, 2009)
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Evaluation Essay

Evaluation Essay - Definition, Examples, and Writing Tips

13 min read

What is an Evaluation Essay?

Let’s first understand the evaluation essay meaning, here is the standard definition:

An evaluation essay offers a value judgment or an opinion of something. It presents an overall view of a particular subject’s quality. Moreover, it provides a critical analysis and a complete evaluation of something.

What is the Purpose of an Evaluation Essay?

The main purpose of an evaluation essay is to present an opinion and evaluate a topic critically. This type of writing determines the condition, worth, or significance by careful appraisal and study.

This essay features the writer’s opinion, but when done correctly, it does not sound opinionated. Instead, it provides the facts and evidence to justify the opinions about the essay’s subject.

To write a good evaluation essay, you need to master critical evaluation and present the evaluation in an unbiased manner. You may also discuss both the pros and cons of the subject.

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Evaluation Essay Structure

The four different ways to format and organize the evaluation essay are as follows.

1. Chronological Structure

It is a sequential organization that could be used for evaluating historical or current events. It tells how something works and assesses the effectiveness of a mechanism, procedure, or process.

2. Spatial Structure

The spatial organization structure is used for evaluating or describing art or architecture. Here, you will define one element of the artifact and spatially move to the next.

3. Compare and Contrast Structure

The compare and contrast structure is used to evaluate or review the culinary or music genre. Here the writer evaluates a subject by comprising and contrasting it with the known subject.

4. Point-by-Point Structure

The point-by-point structure is also used for culinary and music reviews. But, in this structure, you describe one element and then evaluate it, describe the second element and evaluate it, and so on.

After setting the criteria and collecting evidence for strengthening your judgment, you’ll start your evaluation essay. Let’s see what are the steps involved in starting an evaluation essay.

How to Start an Evaluation Essay?

When you start writing an evaluation essay, grabbing the reader’s attention is essential. For this, hook the reader from the beginning until the end to ensure that your essay’s opening follows an engaging tone.

Step 1. Choose an Interesting Topic

Deciding the topic and evaluation essay criteria is important. Make sure it's not just compelling and interesting, but also informative so that you can find enough material for a detailed evaluation.

Step 2. Set the Evaluation Essay Criteria

For an evaluation essay, you have to set the criteria for evaluation first. Criteria are the standards or measures by which someone assesses the quality or value of the subject.

Some key points to establish the criteria are:

Identifying relevant aspects that relate to the subject
Defining the criteria clearly so that it is specific and understandable for readers
Your criteria should be directly relevant to the nature of the subject
Always consider the audience’s expectations and standards while setting the criteria
Your thesis statement should always align with your evaluation criteria

Step 3. Collect Evidence for Your Judgment

The author’s judgment of the subject states whether the subject is good or bad. It is an overall assessment or the opinion supported by the evidence. The judgment corresponds to the benchmarks set by the author in the essay criteria.

The evidence is a combination of supporting data and facts. Using the evidence, the author demonstrates how well the subject meets the judgment. The evidence serves as the foundation of your evaluation.

Without providing strong and accurate evidence, you will not be able to convince the readers of your judgment.

Step 4. Decide the Essay Structure

After that, decide on the structure that you want to follow. It can be a chronological or point-by-point structure

Step 5. Craft the Essay Outline

When you create an essay outline , evaluate what should be added and removed. If you skip this step before writing, you may lose track of what to include in your essay while you write.

So, writing an outline for your evaluation essay is a critical step that eases your writing journey.

Here is a sample evaluation essay outline:

Step 6. Declare Your Thesis Statement

For an evaluation essay that keeps the reader hooked from the start, opt for a catchy thesis statement . The thesis should state the main point of the evaluation.

In the thesis statement, you should always express your stance on the subject clearly. In doing so, the readers will have a clear idea about the purpose and direction of your essay.

Now, understand how to write an evaluation essay by following the detailed procedure mentioned below.

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How to Write an Evaluation Essay?

Here is a step-by-step guide for you to write an evaluation essay.

Step 1. Write the Introduction

The introduction is the first impression your readers will have of you, so it's crucial to make a good one. It should capture attention and excite readers, drawing them into what you have to say about this topic.

The following are the elements that you should consider while writing the introduction:

Start with an interesting hook statement so that you can get the reader’s attention.
Provide background information about the topic for the reader to understand the subject
Establish the evaluation essay thesis statement. It sets out the overall purpose of the evaluation, so make sure it is apparent and to the point

Read this evaluation essay introduction example, and you’ll understand exactly what to pen down in yours:

Step 2. Draft the Body Section

The body of the essay consists of three paragraphs. Each paragraph holds different ideas related to one another and flows smoothly from start to finish, just like how a good story should be told.

Here are the important points that must be included in the body paragraphs.

Start with the topic sentence that presents your judgment about the topic
Present the supporting evidence to back up the topic sentence and your viewpoint.
Present a balanced evaluative argument to show impartiality
Compare and contrast the subject to another subject to show the strengths and weaknesses
Present the evaluation from multiple perspectives, while being both positive and critical
Always use transition words between your paragraphs to ensure a smooth and coherent flow for the reader.

Step 3. Write the Conclusion

It is the final chance to convince your reader to agree with your point of view. You’re supposed to summarize and conclude the essay. In the conclusion , you present your final evaluation of the essay.

Keep in mind the following aspects while writing a closing paragraph of an evaluation essay.

Summarize the points and evaluative arguments that you made in the body section.
Justify your thesis statement.
Provide a concrete and secure conclusion to your argument by ultimately leaving the reader convinced by your evaluation.

Step 4. Proofread, Revise, and Edit

The final step is proofreading and editing. Always spend enough time reading your essay carefully. It will help you catch the unintentional mistakes you have made and recover them. If needed, you can also revise your essay 2–3 times.

How to Format Your Evaluation Essay?

For formatting your evaluation essay, follow the standard academic writing guidelines. You can opt for different formatting styles like APA, MLA, or Chicago.

In general, you should stick to the below formatting guidelines:

Font and Size:

Use a legible font such as Times New Roman or Arial.
Choose a standard font size, often 12-point.
Set one-inch margins on all sides of the paper.
Double-space the entire essay, including the title, headings, and body paragraphs.
Create a title for your essay that reflects the subject and purpose of the evaluation.
Center the title on the page.
Use title case (capitalize the first letter of each major word).
Include a header with your last name and page number in the top right corner.
Follow the format “Last Name Page Number” (e.g., “Smith 1”).

Citations (if applicable):

Include citations for any sources used in your evaluation.
Follow the citation style specified by your instructor or the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago).

Counterargument (if included):

Clearly label and present any counterargument.
Provide a well-reasoned response to the counterargument.

References or Works Cited Page (if applicable):

Include a separate page for references or a works cited page if your essay includes citations.
List all sources in the appropriate citation style.

Well, the time has come to look at some great evaluation essay examples. Getting help from sample essays is always a great way to perfect your evaluation papers.

Evaluation Essay Examples

Evaluation can be written on any topic, i.e., book, movie, music, etc. Below, we have given some evaluation essay examples for students:

Evaluation Essay Sample PDF

Movie Evaluation Essay Example

Critical evaluation Essay Example PDF

Product Evaluation Essay PDF

Source Evaluation Essay Example PDF

Employee Self-Evaluation Essay Example

How to Start A Self-Evaluation Essay Example PDF

Evaluation Essay Topics For College Students

For writing an amazing evaluation essay, the first thing that you require is an essay topic. Here are some incredible topic ideas for college students. You can use or mold them according to your preference.

Artificial intelligence's impact on society: A double-edged sword?
Evaluate the online teaching and on-campus teaching styles
Analyze and evaluate the Real Madrid football team and their performance
Is media a threat to cultural cohesion or a source of enrichment?
Compare and evaluate recorded music and live performance
Evaluate how a university's football team impacts students' personalities
Critically evaluate a remake of an original movie you have watched recently
Analyze how the roles of females and males changed in recent romantic movies
Evaluate your favorite restaurant, its food, aroma, and everything
Critically evaluate gender disparities in college majors and career choices.

Evaluation Essay vs. Review

At first glance, an evaluation essay might look like a review. But, there are some notable differences between them. See this table to see how both pieces of writing differ from each other.


	Assess and judge based on criteria.	Inform and express personal opinions.
	Analysis, assessment, and judgment.	Personal opinions and subjective responses.
	Formal and objective.	Informal and subjective.
	Specific criteria for assessment.	May include personal preferences.
	Concrete evidence and examples.	Personal anecdotes and impressions.
	Structured with clear organization.	Can be more flexible.
	Persuade based on objective analysis.	Persuade through personal opinions.
	Summarize key points and overall judgment.	Summarize opinions and recommendations.
	May include academic sources.	Primarily reflects personal experiences.
	Varies based on subject complexity.	Varies, from short to longer, based on the platform.

To conclude,

After reading the step-by-step guide and examples, you must have learned the art of writing a good evaluation essay. We’re confident that you’re now able to provide a balanced and effective evaluation of the topics you choose for your essay.

But writing a perfect essay is not that simple; you require a lot of practice and experience to become a good writer. That is why we are here to help you write any type of academic essay.

MyPerfectWords.com is a writing service that offers help for all academic writing assignments. We have a team of professional writers who are experts in writing all types of essays and evaluation papers.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. what are the four components of an evaluation essay.

The four components of an evaluation essay are:

Introduction
Background information

2. What are the 4 types of evaluation?

The four types of evaluation are:

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The ultimate guide to writing an evaluation essay, carla johnson.

June 14, 2023
How to Guides

Evaluation essays are a common type of writing assignment in school. They ask students to evaluate and analyze the quality or value of something like a book, movie, product, or service. In this article, we’ll give you the most complete guide to writing an evaluation essay. We’ll talk about everything from an evaluation essay’s purpose and importance to the steps you need to take to write a good one.

An evaluation essay is a type of writing that tries to give an unbiased opinion about a topic based on a set of criteria. It’s not just a summary of the topic; it’s a critical analysis of what’s good and bad about it . The writer should give a fair assessment of the topic by pointing out both its strengths and weaknesses.

The point of an evaluation essay is to give a critical analysis of a topic so that the reader can form a well-informed opinion about it. For this kind of essay , the writer needs to know a lot about the subject, including its background, history, and effects. It is a good activity for students to do because it helps them learn how to think critically , do research, and write well.

Evaluation essays are also important in academic writing because they help students show that they can think critically and explain their ideas clearly. Because of this, evaluation essays are often given in many different classes, such as literature, film studies, business, and marketing. By learning how to write an evaluation essay, students can do better in school and improve their chances of getting jobs in their chosen fields.

An evaluation essay is a type of academic writing that asks students to give a critical analysis of a certain topic based on a set of criteria. The point of writing an evaluation essay is to give the reader an unbiased look at the topic so that they can form an opinion about it.

Lastly, evaluation essays are an important part of academic writing because they help students improve their critical thinking, research, and writing skills, all of which are important for academic success and moving up in a career. In the sections that follow, we’ll talk more about the steps you need to take to write a good evaluation essay.

What You'll Learn

Choosing a Topic for an Evaluation Essay

Choosing the right topic is crucial when it comes to writing an effective evaluation essay. A well-chosen topic will not only make the writing process easier but will also ensure that the essay is engaging and relevant to the reader. Here are some tips for selecting an evaluation essay topic:

– Choose a topic that you are interested in: It is essential to choose a topic that you are passionate about and have some knowledge of. This will make the writing process more enjoyable and will also result in a more engaging and informative essay .

– Select a topic that is relevant: Choose a subject that is current and relevant to the reader. This will ensure that your essay is informative and interesting to read.

– Narrow down your topic: It is important to select a topic that is specific and narrow. This will enable you to focus on a particular aspect of the subject and provide a more detailed evaluation.

– Consider both sides of the argument: Choose a topic that allows you to evaluate both the strengths and weaknesses of the subject. This will ensure that your essay is balanced and provides a fair evaluation .

– Use credible sources: Ensure that your topic is backed by credible sources, such as academic journals, books, and reputable websites.

Here is a list of 50 evaluation essay topics:

1. The impact of social media on modern relationships

2. The effectiveness of online learning compared to traditional classroom learning

3. The portrayal of mental health in popular media4. The impact of technology on our daily lives

5. The effectiveness of government policies on climate change

6. The quality of customer service in the hospitality industry

7. The effectiveness of performance-enhancing drugs in sports

8. The portrayal of women in the media

9. The impact of smartphones on communication skills

10. The effectiveness of gun control laws in reducing gun violence

11. The quality of healthcare services in rural areas

12. The impact of video games on children’s behavior

13. The effectiveness of alternative medicine in treating chronic illnesses

14. The portrayal of minorities in the media

15. The impact of social media on body image and self-esteem

16. The effectiveness of online dating in finding a partner

17. The quality of fast food restaurants

18. The impact of globalization on cultural diversity

19. The effectiveness of police body cameras in reducing police brutality

20. The portrayal of mental illness in popular media

21. The impact of artificial intelligence on job opportunities

22. The effectiveness of vaccination programs in preventing diseases

23. The quality of public transportation in urban areas

24. The impact of social media on political campaigns

25. The effectiveness of rehabilitation programs for prisoners

26. The portrayal of LGBTQ+ individuals in the media

27. The impact of technology on education

28. The effectiveness of animal testing in developing new drugs

29. The quality of public schools in low-income areas

30. The impact of social media onteenagers’ mental health

31. The effectiveness of renewable energy sources in reducing carbon emissions

32. The portrayal of disability in the media

33. The impact of celebrity culture on society

34. The effectiveness of anti-bullying programs in schools

35. The quality of public parks and recreation areas

36. The impact of social media on political polarization

37. The effectiveness of online therapy in treating mental illness

38. The portrayal of aging in the media

39. The impact of automation on job security

40. The effectiveness of recycling programs in reducing waste

41. The quality of public libraries

42. The impact of social media on privacy

43. The effectiveness of parenting classes in improving child behavior

44. The portrayal of mental health in the workplace

45. The impact of technology on the music industry

46. The effectiveness of drug rehabilitation programs

47. The quality of public restrooms

48. The impact of social media on activism

49. The effectiveness of sex education programs in schools

50. The portrayal of race in the media.

Understanding the Structure of an Evaluation Essay

A basic structure for an evaluation essay is an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The purpose of the introduction is to give background information about the subject and explain how it will be judged. Based on the criteria set out in the introduction, the body paragraphs should give a detailed analysis of the topic. In the end, the conclusion should summarize the main points of the essay and give a final opinion on the subject.

Here is a breakdown of each section of an evaluation essay:

1. Introduction: The introduction should begin with an attention-grabbing hook that draws the reader in and provides some background information on the subject. This should be followed by a clear thesis statement that outlines the criteria that will be used to evaluate the subject.

2. Body Paragraphs: Each of the body paragraphs should look at a different part of the topic and judge it based on the criteria set out in the introduction. Every paragraph should start with a topic sentence that makes it clear what is being evaluated and how. The evaluation should then be backed up with evidence , such as examples, statistics, and quotes from reliable sources.

3. Conclusion: The conclusion should provide a summary of the main points made in the essay and restate the thesis statement . The writer should then provide a final evaluation of the subject based on the evidence presented in the body paragraphs. This evaluation should be balanced and fair, taking into account both the strengths and weaknesses of the subject.

An evaluation essay outline can be helpful in organizing and structuring the essay. Here is an example of an evaluation essay outline:

I. Introduction

– Hook

– Background information

– Thesis statement

II. Body Paragraphs

– Aspect 1

– Criteria

– Evidence

– Aspect 2

– Aspect 3

-Criteria

III. Conclusion

– Summary of main points

– Restate thesis statement

– Final evaluation

Understanding the structure of an evaluation essay and choosing the right topic are both critical to writing an effective evaluation essay. By following the tips provided for selecting a topic and using an evaluation essay outline, you can create a well-organized and engaging essay that provides a fair assessment of the subject.

Writing an Effective Evaluation Essay

Writing an effective evaluation essay requires careful planning and execution. Here are some tips to help you write a powerful evaluation essay:

1. Developing a thesis statement for an evaluation essay: A strong thesis statement should clearly state the criteria that will be used to evaluate the subject. It should also provide a clear indication of the writer’s stance on the subject, whether it is positive, negative, or neutral.

2. Tips for writing a powerful evaluation essay:

– Use specific criteria: Provide clear and specific criteria for evaluating the subject, and use evidence to support your evaluation.

– Use credible sources: Use credible sources to support your evaluation, such as academic journals, books, and reputable websites.

– Be objective: Provide a balanced evaluation of the subject, highlighting both its strengths and weaknesses.

– Use clear and concise language: Use clear and concise language to make your evaluation easy to understand and engaging to read.

– Use transitions: Use transitions to connect your ideas and ensure that the essay flows smoothly.

3. Common mistakes to avoid when writing an evaluation essay:

– Being too subjective: Avoid being too subjective and provide a balanced evaluation of the subject.

– Failing to provide evidence: Use evidence to support your evaluation, and avoid making unsupported claims.

– Focusing too much on summary: Avoid simply summarizing the subject and focus on providing a critical analysis of its merits and demerits.

– Failing to use credible sources: Use credible sources to support your evaluation andavoid relying solely on personal opinions or unsupported claims.

Examples of Evaluation Essays

To help you get a better understanding of how to write an effective evaluation essay, here are 10 inspiring evaluation essay examples from different fields:

1. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout strategy in the United States

2. Evaluation of the impact of the #MeToo movement on workplace culture

3. Evaluation of the nutritional value of plant-based diets compared to meat-based diets

4. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the Paris Climate Agreement in reducing global carbon emissions

5. Evaluation of the impact of social media influencers on consumer behavior

6. Evaluation of the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation in reducing stress and anxiety

7. Evaluation of the quality of customer service provided by leading airlines

8. Evaluation of the portrayal of mental illness in popular TV shows

9. Evaluation of the effectiveness of online therapy in treating depression and anxiety

10. Evaluation of the impact of video games on children’s cognitive development

Writing an effective evaluation essay involves selecting the right topic, understanding the structure of the essay, and following the tips provided to develop a powerful evaluation essay. By avoiding common mistakes and using credible sources, you can create an engaging and informative evaluation essay that provides a balanced assessment of the subject. The examples provided can also serve as a guide to help you craft a compelling evaluation essay in any field.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. what is an evaluation essay.

An evaluation essay is a type of academic writing that asks students to evaluate and analyze the quality or value of something like a book, movie, product, or service. The writer should give a fair assessment of the topic by pointing out both its strengths and weaknesses.

2. What are the elements of an evaluation essay?

An evaluation essay has three parts: an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. In the introduction, you should give some background information about the topic and explain how it will be judged. Based on the criteria set out in the introduction, the body paragraphs should give a detailed analysis of the topic. In the end, the conclusion should summarize the main points of the essay and give a final opinion on the topic .

3. How do I choose a topic for an evaluation essay?

To pick a topic for an evaluation essay, think about something you are interested in and know a little bit about. It’s also important to choose a topic that is relevant and specific. Think about both sides of the argument and back up your opinion with information from reliable sources.

4. What is the difference between an evaluation essay and a review?

The main difference between an evaluation essay and a review is that an evaluation essay has a different focus and goal. An evaluation essay tries to give a critical analysis of the subject based on a set of criteria, while a review gives a summary of the subject and often includes personal opinions.

In conclusion, writing an effective evaluation essay is an essential skill for students to master, as it helps to develop critical thinking , research, and writing abilities. To write an effective evaluation essay, it is important to choose the right topic, understand the structure of the essay, and follow the tips provided in this guide. It is also important to avoid common mistakes and use credible sources to support your evaluation.

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Unlocking the Art of Evaluation Essays: A Comprehensive Guide

Writing an evaluation essay is an opportunity to express your critical thinking skills and provide an informed judgment on a specific subject or topic. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the concept of evaluation essays , understand what evaluation means within this context, delve into the essential components of an evaluation essay outline, and learn how to write a compelling evaluation essay that meets the necessary requirements.

What is an Evaluation Essay?

An evaluation essay is a type of academic writing where the writer assesses and analyzes a particular subject, product, service, or idea. The primary objective is to form a well-founded opinion and provide evidence-based reasoning to support the evaluation. In essence, an evaluation essay seeks to answer the question: “Is this good or bad, effective or ineffective, successful or unsuccessful?”

What Does Evaluation Mean in an Essay?

In the context of an essay, evaluation refers to the process of critically analyzing and assessing the chosen subject matter. It requires the writer to present a balanced judgment based on specific criteria, evidence, and supporting details. The evaluation should be objective, fair, and grounded in solid evidence to make the argument convincing to the reader.

Evaluation Essay Outline: How to Structure Your Essay

Creating a well-organized evaluation essay is essential for presenting a coherent and persuasive argument. Here is a typical outline structure:

I. Introduction:

Introduce the subject or item being evaluated.
Provide background information and context.
Present a clear thesis statement that includes your judgment and criteria.

II. Criteria for Evaluation:

Identify the specific criteria on which you will base your evaluation.
Explain why these criteria are relevant and important in assessing the subject.

III. Evaluation Body Paragraphs:

Devote each body paragraph to one criterion.
Provide evidence and examples to support your judgment for each criterion.
Use facts, data, and expert opinions to strengthen your argument.

IV. Counterarguments (Optional):

Address potential counterarguments to your evaluation.
Refute or acknowledge opposing viewpoints with persuasive reasoning.

V. Conclusion:

Summarize your evaluation and restate your overall judgment.
Emphasize the significance of your evaluation and its implications.

How to Write a Good Evaluation Essay: Requirements

Writing a compelling evaluation essay requires adherence to specific requirements to ensure a well-structured and well-reasoned piece. Consider the following key requirements:

Choose a Relevant Topic: Select a subject that is timely, relevant, and interests both you and your readers. Make sure there is enough material available for evaluation.
Be Objective and Fair: Present a balanced evaluation by considering both the strengths and weaknesses of the subject. Avoid personal biases and base your judgment on credible evidence.
Use Concrete Evidence: Support your evaluation with concrete evidence, such as statistics, expert opinions, examples, and real-life situations. Reliable evidence adds credibility to your essay.
Follow a Logical Structure: Organize your essay using a clear and logical structure. Use a well-defined introduction, body paragraphs, and a strong conclusion to ensure coherence.

How Do You Write an Evaluation Essay?

Writing an evaluation essay can be simplified into the following steps:

Choose a Subject: Select a subject that you can assess objectively and for which you can establish clear criteria for evaluation.
Develop Criteria: Identify the specific standards or criteria on which you will base your evaluation. These criteria will form the backbone of your essay.
Gather Evidence:Conduct thorough research to gather evidence that supports your evaluation. Use reliable sources to back up your claims.
Create an Outline: Organize your essay using the evaluation essay outline mentioned earlier. This will help maintain a coherent structure throughout your writing.
Write the Introduction: Introduce the subject, provide context, and present your thesis statement with the criteria you will use for evaluation.
Body Paragraphs: Devote each body paragraph to one criterion. Present evidence and examples to support your judgment for each criterion.
Address Counterarguments (Optional): If applicable, address potential counterarguments and provide strong rebuttals to strengthen your evaluation.
Write the Conclusion: Summarize your evaluation, restate your judgment, and emphasize the significance of your assessment.

Common Mistakes in an Evaluation Argument Essay

Avoid these common pitfalls when writing an evaluation essay:

Biased Evaluation. Providing a one-sided evaluation based on personal preferences or opinions without sufficient evidence.
Lack of Evidence. Failing to support your evaluation with concrete evidence and examples.
Weak Structure. Lacking a clear and logical structure, leading to a confusing and disorganized essay.
Overgeneralization. Making sweeping judgments without considering specific details or criteria.

Evaluation Essay Example

To better understand the elements of an evaluation essay, consider this example:

Topic: Movie Review – “The Great Gatsby”

Introduction. “The Great Gatsby,” directed by Baz Luhrmann, is a film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic novel. This evaluation essay aims to assess the movie’s fidelity to the source material, the effectiveness of its cinematography, and the portrayal of characters.
Criteria 1: Fidelity to Source Material. The movie largely stays true to the essence of Fitzgerald’s novel, maintaining the main plot and character arcs. However, certain key details are altered or omitted, detracting from the depth of the narrative.
Criteria 2: Cinematography and Visuals. Luhrmann’s extravagant and visually captivating style is evident throughout the film, creating a mesmerizing and immersive experience. The opulent sets and elaborate costumes add to the movie’s allure, but at times, the visual spectacle overshadows the storytelling.
Criteria 3: Character Portrayals. Leonardo DiCaprio delivers a standout performance as Jay Gatsby, capturing the character’s enigmatic charm. However, some supporting roles lack the depth and development needed to enhance the overall story.
Conclusion. “The Great Gatsby” is a visually stunning adaptation that captures the essence of the classic novel. While its extravagance may overshadow the storytelling, DiCaprio’s compelling portrayal of Gatsby remains a highlight.

Evaluation Essay Topics

Here are some thought-provoking evaluation essay topics to spark your creativity:

Evaluate the impact of social media on modern relationships.
Assess the effectiveness of online learning versus traditional classroom education.
Evaluate the environmental policies of a specific country or government.
Assess the influence of technology on the entertainment industry.
Evaluate the health benefits of a vegan diet compared to a traditional omnivorous diet.
Assess the impact of a specific book on contemporary literature.
Evaluate the effectiveness of a recent blockbuster movie.
Assess the efficiency of a popular productivity app.
Evaluate the impact of a particular video game on youth behavior.
Assess the success of a recent marketing campaign by a famous brand.

FAQ about Evaluation Essay Writing

Q1: Can I use first-person pronouns in an evaluation essay? A: Yes, the use of first-person pronouns is acceptable in an evaluation essay, as it allows the writer to share personal insights and experiences related to the evaluation process.
Q2: How do I ensure objectivity in my evaluation essay? A: To maintain objectivity, rely on credible evidence and avoid personal biases. Use a balanced approach when presenting strengths and weaknesses, and support your claims with factual information.
Q3: How long should an evaluation essay be? A: The length of an evaluation essay can vary depending on the assignment or guidelines. However, a typical evaluation essay is usually around 500 to 1,000 words.

Sources Used in Guide Preparation Process

The information presented in this comprehensive guide is thoroughly researched and collected from reputable sources, including academic journals, writing manuals, and educational websites. All sources have been meticulously evaluated for credibility and relevance to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information provided.

In conclusion, mastering the art of writing an evaluation essay opens the door to developing critical thinking skills and effectively presenting well-informed judgments. By following the outlined steps and adhering to the essential requirements, aspiring writers can craft compelling and persuasive evaluation essays that resonate with their readers. So, go forth and embrace the power of evaluation essays to convey your insights and opinions with clarity and conviction. Happy writing!

Note: Please ensure that you cite the appropriate sources as per your academic requirements when using information from this guide. The sources mentioned here are used as examples and may not be suitable for direct citation.

Secrets of Writing an Excellent Evaluation Essay

05 July, 2020

14 minutes read

Author: Elizabeth Brown

Many people prefer to check reviews on the movie or book before watching or reading it. The summary information and honest point of view on the subject matter are usually included in an evaluation essay. You just need to analyze both sides of the chosen criterion through thorough research, analysis of your thesis, and examination of your own values. To write a good evaluation essay, you should forget about your feelings and create an objective overview of the topic. That way, you will reveal the truth about the real worth of the particular subject matter.

So, what is an evaluation essay? The answer to this question you will find out in this post.

What Is an Evaluation Essay?

An evaluation paper is a kind of essay in which you express your argumentative point of view on various topics. As a form of literary thinking, it is based on much more than just a quick judgment about a person, place, or object. The common standards of evaluation writing, such as clearance, objectivity, and coherence, are to be followed throughout the text. These standards help identify how well a subject meets up or falls short of the ideal. No wonder this kind of essay is widely used for scientific purposes when the comparison of two inventions or technologies is required. In an evaluation essay, all the arguments are delivered objectively, while your personal opinion is stated at the very end as a summary.

On the Internet, you can find lots of reviews with one sentence only: “This essay is fine.” Does it look informative to you? Can you rely on this kind of feedback? Let’s be honest, such a review can hardly provide you with a clear understanding of whether the subject is worth your attention or not. The main feature of an evaluation essay is that it contains details and evidence to support your point of view. Instead of discussing every observation, you just need to underpin your point of view with examples that will make your paper look convincing.

CJE guidelines

How to start an evaluation essay? What needs to be preconsidered? Every evaluation essay consists of three structural elements – criteria, judgement, and evidence. Let’s get deeper into details.

The criteria that you choose should evaluate a person or subject through the prism of their ideal version. What can their best features be? For instance, you would expect an interesting plot and professional acting from a movie. Once you have specific benchmarks in mind, they can be used to evaluate these points.

The judgement aspect is used to estimate whether or not the benchmarks have been met. For instance, you can start a movie evaluation from judging whether it aligns with the specific benchmark. Does it offer the quality acting you expect? Does it have gaps in the plot? These are only some of the possible options to consider.

Remember that you must develop clues to advocate your judgements. For instance, if you make the judgement that the movie quality does not meet your expectations, you should be ready to provide evidence. Without eligible evidence, your evaluation essay won’t look convincing.

When structuring your evaluation essay, it is crucial to address a different criterion in each paragraph. In that paragraph, you should reflect on each criterion, make the relevant judgements and provide supporting proofs.

How to Write an Evaluation Essay?

With this step-by-step guide, you will learn how to write an evaluation essay. Here are the major steps to be taken:

Choose your topic. Whatever kind of essay you are writing, you will have to take this step. Your topic can be offered by your instructor, as the case may be. But if you have to choose it yourself, you should consider a subject that you are familiar with. Thus, it will be easier for you to take an in-depth look at the subject and make a judgement on its value.
Create a thesis statement. This is an important element of your essay as it contains the general purpose of the evaluation. In the thesis, you need to reflect on the criteria being used to judge the subject matter and state its value. Your statement should look apparent and to the point. In the process of writing, you may revise it as your essay gets shaped.
Identify the criteria to be used for accessing the subject matter. Determine the benchmarks in your essay in order to make it interesting and engaging. The criteria you choose will depend on the subject of your evaluation. For instance, a movie will be judged using different points of reference than a book.
Find supporting evidence . Don’t forget that an essay is not just about your opinion. You will need to find some supporting information from trustworthy sources while making each judgement. Don’t think that stating the movie or book title is enough. Use some questions to find out answers that can help you collect more information. How can you evaluate the subject? What kind of readers are you focused on? Will you focus on good or bad sides of the subject?
Write a draft of your essay . All you need to do is to continue writing. As soon as you have something written on paper, you will rewrite or restructure it unless you are totally happy with the result.

Review, revise and rewrite. When a draft is completed, you will read over your work and make some changes if needed. You should be ready to rewrite your paper several times to get it just right.

Evaluation Essay Example

Here, you will find a well-written evaluation essay example that you can use for yourself:

https://academichelp.net/samples/academics/essays/evaluation/standardized-tests.html
https://www.examples.com/education/evaluation-essay-examples.html

Evaluation Essay VS Review

An evaluation essay is widely associated with a review paper. This is a common mistake many students make. Although the two types of paper have some similarities, there are more differences that set them apart. You can take a look at those differences in the table below.


Analysis	The topic is examined thoroughly.	Evaluation of a product or service is provided.
Depth of analysis	You get engaged in in-depth analysis.	You do not need to conduct profound scientific research.
Evidence	Adequate supporting evidence aims to increase the quality of the evaluation essay. You should provide only credible and scholarly evidence.	You don’t need academic evidence throughout the appraisal process.
Opinion	You provide an unbiased view on the subject.	You provide unbiased information by relying on personal consideration that analyzes the subject.
Benchmarks	You use predefined criteria that evaluate the subject matter.	You express opinions that do not follow particular criteria.
Scope	You cover a broader scope by evaluating a particular topic and searching for adequate data that can critique the particular subject.	You cover a narrower scope by providing views focused on the particular subject.
Thesis statement	You provide a central claim as the essay’s thesis .	You do not need a thesis statement.
Structure	You follow the standard essay structure splitting the paper into sections.	You do not have to follow any specific structure in review writing.
References	You include the works cited page.	You do not have to include the works cited page.

Tips on Writing an Evaluation Essay from Our Experts

Following the quick tips below, you will find it easier to write an effective evaluation argument essay:

Provide the right amount of details: Make sure you explain your thoughts clearly and provide sufficient information to convince the reader in the correctness of your judgment.
Thesis sentence should reveal your actual opinion. If you want to build up the basis for your body, you can include the main reasons for your evaluation in the thesis sentence.
Know your target audience. By knowing your reader, you can adjust the plot to their specific needs. Whether you write for college students or professors, you will have to apply a bit different approach in the language choice.
Make some notes. By using a three-column note-taking method, you can organize your thoughts. The columns of criteria, evidence, and judgment will contain the relevant information which will not let you forget or mix facts.
Be opinionated . By sounding passionate in your evaluation essay, you will increase your chances of catching readers’ attention. The use of vivid nouns and engaging verbs will strengthen the effect produced by your paper. You should have a strong judgment of how the particular subject is either better or worse than other subjects of the same type.
Back up every judgement you make. Every time you make a judgment, you should be ready to use specific, interesting, and convincing reasons to make it up. For evidence, you can describe the subject, use funny stories, or compare and contrast some notions with a similar subject.
Provide counter-arguments. When you disagree with what most people think about the particular subject, it makes sense to provide some counter-arguments. This will make the narration more engaging for readers.

List of 50 Evaluation Topics

Since there are many people and objects you are able to assess, an evaluation essay can be written on a wide range of topics. To evaluate something, you will need to compare it with an example within a subject you have chosen. Some possible evaluation essay topics can be found below:

Analyze the dissimilarity between seeing a sporting event live and watching it on ITV.
Create a comparative assessment of watching a sporting event in a cafe and watching it without leaving the comfort of your home.
Evaluate the experience of watching a sporting event on your own and with other people.
Evaluate how a recent drama movie portrays the tragedies of real life.
Evaluate a classic criminal movie and what it states about the real crime rates in the modern society.
Evaluate your favorite Chinese restaurant.
Compare two popular Chinese restaurants in your city.
Appraise football or basketball from the perspective of a contestant or that of a watcher.
Analyze the way in which football or basketball has advanced over the last decade.
Discuss the influence of ESPN on sporting events.
Evaluate the coverage of the latest Eurovision Song Contest.
Evaluate a fancy restaurant for how it makes the customer feel after having the meal
Analyze the way in which a popular horror movie depicts people’s fears.
Assess a classic action movie and talk about its ideas regarding the functions of men and women.
Explore the change that occurred in recent war movies if compared to classic war movies.
How do drama books affect readers?
Evaluate a book about war and analyze whether it addresses current concerns associated with war and peace.
Evaluate the effects of online educational programs on students’ performance.
Do historical movies encourage history learning?
Evaluate an Italian cafe located in your city. What is the difference between the Italian and local food?
What makes a traditional Italian meal great?
Can hamburgers be healthy? Mention some details and provide relevant arguments.
How mental health issues affect students’ academic performance?
Analyze teachers’ responsibilities in terms of elementary students’ needs.
Evaluate the power of verbal encouragement as a motivational factor in the educational process.
Critically reflect on education services provided to children experiencing difficulties in learning.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of German secondary education.
Evaluate teaching methods used at the American universities.
Ways in which online libraries affect the students’ academic performance.
How well the film “BraveHeart” portrays historical events?
Analyze a movie produced in a foreign country and discuss how it reveals its national characteristics.
Assess Kate Winslet’s play in “Titanic” and discuss which means this actor applies to adapt to this role.
Make a comparison between modern and classic drama movies.
Assess the distinct approaches used to transfer data from a smartphone to a PC.
Make comparisons between various phone plans and determine which provider has the best deals for travelers.
Assess current information security methods. Which one is the most efficient?
Assess the key characteristics of WhatsApp.
Compare the use of several cloud systems that can be implemented by the movie hub website.
Estimate the chances of Facebook as a marketing resource.
Evaluate the effectiveness of online advertising.
Assess the existing approaches to using the Internet in colleges.
Analyze the consequences of cultural shock.
Assess the negative sides of overwhelming cultural diversity in the United States.
Discuss the development path of rap and hip-hop music.
What is the impact of Buddhism on Indian culture?
Compare two popular social media platforms in terms of their users, features, and benefits.
Evaluate the latest version of your favorite smartphone and estimate the positive or negative changes that will affect the industry.
Compare an educational approach in the military, Christian, or classical school.
Evaluate the SAT versus the ACT tests.
Compare the foreign policies established by a few states in the US.

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How to Write an Evaluation Essay – A Complete Guide

Introduction

Welcome to The Knowledge Nest's complete guide on how to write an evaluation essay. If you're looking to enhance your writing skills and learn the art of evaluating different subjects or objects effectively, you've come to the right place. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the essential steps of crafting an evaluation essay, offer valuable tips, and provide examples to support your understanding. So let's dive in!

Understanding the Purpose

Before we dive into the specifics, it's crucial to understand the purpose of an evaluation essay. An evaluation essay aims to assess the quality, significance, or value of a particular subject or object. It goes beyond mere description and requires you to provide an informed judgment based on specific criteria and evidence.

Key Components of an Evaluation Essay

When writing an evaluation essay, keep in mind the following key components:

Subject: Clearly define the subject you will be evaluating. It could be a book, movie, restaurant, product, or any other topic.
Criteria: Establish the criteria on which you will base your evaluation. These criteria should be relevant and objective.
Evidence: Provide evidence to support your judgment. This can include facts, statistics, expert opinions, or examples.
Analysis: Examine and analyze the subject thoroughly, considering different perspectives and angles.
Conclusion: Summarize your evaluation and restate your overall judgment.

Step-by-Step Guide

Now that you have a basic understanding of what an evaluation essay entails, let's explore the step-by-step process of crafting an impressive evaluation essay:

Step 1: Choosing a Subject

The first step in writing an evaluation essay is selecting a subject that you can assess and analyze effectively. Choose a topic that you are familiar with and have enough knowledge or experience to make an informed judgment.

Step 2: Establishing Criteria

Once you have chosen your subject, it is essential to establish the criteria on which you will evaluate it. Consider the qualities or attributes that are relevant to the subject and define specific criteria accordingly.

Step 3: Gathering Evidence

Before you can begin evaluating your subject, you need substantial evidence to support your analysis. Conduct thorough research, gather relevant data, and find reliable sources to back up your claims.

Step 4: Structuring Your Essay

A well-structured evaluation essay enhances readability and ensures your points are effectively communicated. Consider the following structure:

Introduction: Provide a brief overview of the subject and state your evaluation's purpose and significance.
Main Body: Break your evaluation into logical paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the subject. Provide evidence, present your analysis, and relate everything back to the established criteria.
Conclusion: Summarize your evaluation, restate your judgment, and offer final thoughts or recommendations.

Step 5: Writing and Revising

Once you have gathered all the necessary information and structured your essay, it's time to start writing. Begin with a strong introduction, develop coherent paragraphs, and ensure your arguments flow logically. After completing your initial draft, revise and edit it for clarity, coherence, and grammatical accuracy.

Step 6: Providing Examples

Support your evaluation with relevant examples that illustrate specific points or highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the subject. These examples will add depth and credibility to your essay.

Let's explore a couple of examples to solidify your understanding of how to write an evaluation essay:

Example 1: Evaluating a Movie

Subject: "Inception" directed by Christopher Nolan

Plot structure
Character development
Cinematography

Begin describing your evaluation here, providing evidence and analysis for each criterion. Remember to support your claims with specific examples from the movie.

Example 2: Evaluating a Restaurant

Subject: "The Taste Haven"

Quality of food

Start your evaluation by discussing the selected restaurant. Evaluate each criterion individually, citing specific instances and experiences to back up your assessment.

Congratulations! You've now completed The Knowledge Nest's complete guide on how to write an evaluation essay. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can master the art of crafting well-structured and compelling evaluation essays. Remember to choose your subject wisely, establish objective criteria, gather sufficient evidence, and structure your essay effectively. Don't forget to revise and provide examples to support your evaluation. Happy writing!

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The Evaluation Essay

Key features of a well-written paper about an evaluative essay about a film, a concise description of the subject.

You should include just enough information to help readers who may not be familiar with your subject understand it. Remember, the goal is to evaluate, not summarize.

For instance, if writing about a movie, you’d want to describe the main plot points, only providing what readers need to understand the context of your evaluation. While you are evaluating the movie, you want to try to avoid retelling the story of it.

Another thing to keep in mind is that depending on your topic and medium, some of this descriptive information may be in visual or audio form.

Clearly Defined Criteria

Since you are evaluating the subject, you will need to determine clear criteria as the basis for your judgment. In reviews or other evaluations written for a broad audience, you can integrate the criteria into the discussion as reasons for your assessment. In more formal evaluations, you may need to announce your criteria explicitly.

For instance, you could evaluate a film based on the stars’ performances, the complexity of their characters, and the film’s coherence. There are lots of other criteria to choose from, depending on your film choice.

A few things to keep in mind when coming up with your criteria:

Don’t try to have too many things to evaluate. Using three to four elements to evaluate should be enough criteria to support an overall evaluation of the subject.
Pick things relevant to evaluating your subject. For instance, if you are specifically reviewing a movie, you don’t want to include criteria evaluating the popcorn at the movie theater.
Remember, you’re going to have to define the criteria for your evaluation, so make sure you pick things you either know about or that you can learn about.

A Knowledgeable Discussion of the Subject

To evaluate something credibly, you need to show that you know it yourself and that you understand its context. Cite many examples showing your knowledge of the film. Some evaluations require that you research what other authoritative sources have said about your subject. You are welcome to refer to other film reviews to show you have researched other views, but your evaluation should be your own.

A Balanced and Fair Assessment

An evaluation is centered on a judgment. You can point out both its weaknesses and strengths. It is important that any judgment be balanced and fair. This is why it’s important to select your criteria before starting your evaluation. Seldom is something all good or all bad, and your audience knows this. If only presenting the positive or negative, your audience may feel you aren’t that credible of a source. While it may feel weird to include less-than-positive comments about something you enjoy, a fair evaluation acknowledges both strengths and weaknesses.

Well-Supported Reasons

You need to argue for your judgment, providing reasons and evidence that might include visual and audio as well as verbal material. Support your reasons with several specific examples from the film. This is also a good place to use knowledge of other movies, movie terminology, and other references to not only support your argument (aka your evaluation) but also show your ethos of the subject.

Step 1: Choosing a Topic

For this assignment, you will choose a film you have watched that was meaningful enough to evaluate. It can be one that was meaningful because it changed your perspective, for instance. You are also welcome to choose a film that was critically acclaimed, but you have objections to it. Choose something that strikes you as a film worth analyzing and discussing.

Things to consider while making this selection:

What is the purpose of your evaluation? Are you writing to affect your audience’s opinion of a film?
Who is your audience? To whom are you writing? What will your audience already know about the film? What will they expect to learn from your evaluation of it? Are they likely to agree with you or not?
What is your stance? What is your attitude toward the subject, and how will you show that you have evaluated it fairly and appropriately? Think about the tone you want to use should it be reasonable? Passionate? Critical?

What film are you going to evaluate in this essay? Make sure it is accessible to you (accessible as in you own it, you have checked it out from the library, or it’s available through a subscription you have like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, etc.). You will need to watch it and take detailed notes so that you have specifics, dialogue, etc., to include. So, what film will you evaluate?

Step 2: Generating Ideas and Text

Now that you know the film you want to evaluate, it’s time to watch it. Make sure you take extensive notes as it needs to be clear that you have taken the time to watch and study your film and that you have thought through not only the criteria that you want to talk about but also specific examples of those criteria.

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 film reflect or affect your basic values or beliefs?
How have others evaluated subjects like this?

Now, it’s time to identify criteria. Make a list of criteria you think should be used to evaluate your film. Consider which criteria will likely be important to your audience.

Here are ideas for specific criteria:

Evaluate your subject. Study your film 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 as you watch the film.
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.
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.
State your judgment as a tentative thesis statement. Your thesis statement should address both pros and cons. “Hawaii Five-O is fun to watch despite its stilted dialogue.” “Of the five 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.
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, but I can at least demonstrate that by certain criteria he should be appreciated. You may need to research how others have evaluated your subject.
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.

Step 3: Organization of the Evaluation Essay

The following provides two ways to organize your document:

Black text "start with your subject" above five light blue boxes in a line connected with black arrows pointing to the next box in the line. Each box includes writing. First box, "describe what you are evaluating"; second box "state your judgement"; third box "provide reasons and evidence, discussing criteria as you apply them"; fourth box "acknowledge objections or other opinions"; "restate your overall judgement"

Step 4: Drafting

Now that you’ve watched the thing, written the notes, and collected your thoughts, it’s time to draft. Use the organizational scheme you created in Step 3 to help you create your evaluation.

Step 5: Get Feedback

Step 6: revising.

Once you’ve received feedback, if possible, read through it and then walk away from the work for a little while. This will allow your brain time to process the feedback you received making it much easier to sit back down to make adjustments. While revising, try to avoid messing with punctuation or fixing any grammatical issues. Revision is when you focus on your ideas and make sure they are presented properly, so make sure you’ve set aside plenty of time or scheduled multiple times to go through your project.

Once you’re finished with revision—everything is well defined, claims justified, and conclusions given—it’s time to edit. This is when you correct punctuation and adjust grammatical issues. During this stage, try to only focus on one or two issues at a time. Work all the way through your project looking for these two things, and then start again with the next couple of issues you may need to smooth.

Hopefully, you’ve finished all of these steps before the deadline. If you are running behind, make sure you reach out to your instructor to let them know; they may have some tips to help get you through the final push.

ATTRIBUTIONS AND LICENSE

“ The Evaluation Essay ” by Rachael Reynolds is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License and adapted work from the source below:

Adapted from “ Writing the Evaluation Essay ” by Sara Layton and is used according to CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

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Evaluation Essay Definition, Example & Parts

Juliann Urban has taught high school English and has previously held the positions of English tutor for at-risk high school students and lead teacher at a private K-12 tutoring center. She holds a bachelor's degree in English with a concentration in secondary education from Governors State University, an associate in arts degree from Moraine Valley Community College, and a professional educator license with senior high and middle school language arts endorsements.

Kelly earned her Master of Mass Communication from Arizona State and has taught consumer behavior and communication courses at the undergraduate level.

Can you use "I" in an evaluation essay?

Whether or not words like "I," "me," and "you" can be used in an evaluation essay may differ across assignments. Typically, pronouns such as these should not be used in a essay in order to maintain a formal, objective tone.

What is a good topic for an evaluation essay?

Good topics for evaluation essays are those about which the writer cares and already knows something. Some possible topics are a movie, play, restaurant, museum, book, car, vacation, or festival.

How do you write an evaluation essay?

An evaluation essay is written by first making an overall judgment about the topic in the introduction and previewing the main points. The body of the essay lists the criteria that led to the overall judgment and provides evidence to support the writer's opinion. The conclusion restates the overall opinion and reviews the main points.

What is an example of an evaluative thesis?

An evaluative thesis should make an overall judgment about the topic and preview the criteria or main points of the essay. Here is an example: The Washington Park Zoo is a wonderful attraction to visit because of its affordability, close proximity the the beach, and easy accessibility.

What is an evaluative essay?

An evaluative or evaluation essay offers an opinion or gives a review of something. It is similar to the review of a new movie in a newspaper or a new car in a magazine.

What is an evaluation essay, parts of the evaluation essay, evaluation essay example, lesson summary.

"To evaluate" means to judge the quality of something, but what is an evaluation essay? An evaluation essay , or evaluation argument essay, offers an opinion or a review of something.

There are many possible topics for an evaluation essay. Here are some possibilities:

A movie or other performance (concert, play, dance, etc.)
A restaurant or other place (store, museum, park, etc.)
A book or other product (car, phone, guitar, etc.)
A vacation or other experience (festival, tour, cooking class, etc.)

An evaluation essay is like an in-depth customer review.

Judgement, Criteria, and Evidence

Evaluative writing has three key elements: judgment, criteria, and evidence.

The judgment is the writer's opinion on the topic.
The criteria are the reasons for the writer's judgment.
The evidence is proof or information that provides support for the criteria.

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1:15 Judgement, Criteria & Evidence
1:56 Intro & Background
4:15 Criteria
5:14 Tools for Effective Evidence
6:00 Conclusion
6:33 Lesson Summary

There are three main parts to an evaluation essay: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. The three key elements (judgment, criteria, evidence) each appear within the parts of the essay.

The first paragraph of an essay is called the introduction . An introduction typically introduces the reader to the essay's topic. An important component of the introduction in evaluative writing is background information. Background helps to establish the purpose of the essay by giving a brief summary of the essay's topic. For instance, if a book is being evaluated in the essay, providing a brief summary of the book would be helpful to the reader. The background information should be provided in the beginning of the introduction, before the essay's thesis.

Evaluative Thesis

The introduction also contains the essay's thesis statement . The thesis statement is the main idea or the main argument of the essay.

In an evaluation essay, the evaluative thesis statement contains the first key element: the overall judgment . One may recall that the judgment is the writer's overall opinion of the topic being evaluated in the essay. The thesis should state the writer's overall judgment of the essay's topic.

The thesis should also preview the second key element, the criteria ; one may recall that the criteria are the reasons for the judgment.

Providing the overall judgment and criteria in the essay's thesis statement helps to define the focus of the essay.

As previously stated, the criteria are the reasons for the writer's overall judgment. The criteria should be briefly mentioned in the thesis statement, but these reasons will be expanded upon in the body , or main part, of the essay. One good method of organization is to cover one criterion per body paragraph. Therefore, a five paragraph essay would contain an introduction, three criterion discussed in three separate body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

An important thing to keep in mind is that each body paragraph should also contain the three elements: judgment, criteria, and evidence. To compose each body paragraph, the writer would begin by introducing one of the criteria. The next step would be to give a judgment or opinion on this criterion that caused the writer to arrive at the overall judgment. Lastly, the writer should provide evidence to support the judgment.

Tools for Effective Evidence

One method of providing supporting evidence in an evaluation argument essay is through comparing or contrasting the criterion to other examples. For instance, if one of the criterion is the limited menu at a particular restaurant, the writer could contrast the restaurant's menu with another restaurant's menu that provides more options. This would be effective evidence to support the judgment that the restaurant being evaluated does not provide enough menu choices.

Another method for incorporating supporting evidence is presenting counterarguments . Counterarguments are arguments that are against or opposed to one's argument. Providing counterarguments can be helpful in situations in which the essay presents a controversial viewpoint. By presenting a known counterargument, the writer can acknowledge that the counterargument exists and then use evidence to dismantle it or explain why it is invalid. This is a powerful persuasive technique .

The conclusion is the last paragraph of an essay. The conclusion should drive home the main points of the essay. This is done by restating the essay's overall judgment and reviewing the criteria for the overall judgment.

Below is an example of the parts of an evaluation essay. One should note how the three key elements are incorporated into the three main parts of the essay.

Indianapolis hosts many amazing restaurants serving a variety of cuisine for a variety of palettes. Big Catch, located in the center of downtown, is Indy's newest seafood restaurant. The restaurant's grand opening this past August was surrounded with much excitement from locals. Unfortunately, Big Catch does not live up to the hype. Big Catch's menu, decor, and service designate it as a second-rate establishment.

This introduction to an evaluative essay contains the required elements. First, it begins by giving the reader background information on the restaurant so that even a reader who is not familiar with the restaurant can follow the essay. Second, the introduction ends with a thesis statement . The evaluative thesis in this example provides the writer's overall judgment that the restaurant is second-rate. Finally, the thesis previews the main points, or criteria , that will be evaluated in the body of the essay: menu, decor, and service.

To begin with, Big Catch's menu is limited and unimaginative. The menu includes conventional seafood options that one can get at most any restaurant, let alone seafood restaurants. Seafood lovers can choose from grilled or breaded shrimp, crab legs, lobster tail, lake perch, or salmon. Diners who do not want or cannot eat seafood have even less choices. The menu lists grilled chicken, a burger, and fettuccine alfredo as the only non-seafood options. Children will have an even harder time picking an entree as there is no children's menu.

This evaluative essay body paragraph follows the methods outlined above. It discusses one of the criteria mentioned in the thesis statement, the menu. Secondly, it provides a judgment on the criteria: the menu is limited and unimaginative. Thirdly, it provides evidence to support the judgment by listing and discussing the menu's options.

All in all, Big Catch is a mediocre seafood restaurant that is not worth experiencing. The limited and unimaginative menu, the stark decor, and the poor service place it beneath the surrounding restaurants in the heart of downtown Indy. Although Indianapolis has never been known for its seafood, Big Catch's seafood sets a poor precedent.

This evaluative essay conclusion does the two main things that a conclusion should do: it restates the essay's thesis statement and it reviews the main points, or criteria , of the essay.

Plan your essay by choosing a topic and formulating the overall judgment, criteria, and gathering evidence.

Tips for Evaluative Writing

The writer should choose a topic about which they feel strongly and already know something.
Before drafting the essay, the writer should create an organized outline with an overall judgment, criteria that led to the overall judgment, judgments of the criteria, and evidence for the criteria.
The essay should have an overall judgment of the topic that is stated in the thesis statement of the introduction.
The criteria, or reasons, for the overall judgment should be discussed in the body paragraphs. Discussing one criterion per body paragraph is recommended.
Each criterion, or reason, should also include a judgment. For example, if one criterion is the musical score of a movie, the writer should make a judgment about the music that is related to his or her overall judgment about the movie.
Each criterion must include evidence to prove or explain how the writer arrived at the judgment. For example, if the criterion is the multiple points of view of a book, and the judgment is that it is confusing, the writer must provide evidence from the novel that shows or explains how or why the points of view are confusing.
The overall judgment should be restated and the criteria should be summarized in the conclusion.

An evaluation essay offers an opinion or a review of something. Evaluative writing has three key elements: judgment, criteria, and evidence. The judgment is the writer's opinion on the topic. The criteria are the reasons for the writer's judgment. The evidence is proof or information that provides support for the criteria.

An evaluative essay should contain an introduction, body, and a conclusion. The introduction of the essay should contain background information on the topic to establish the purpose of the evaluation. The introduction should also contain a thesis statement that makes an overall judgment about the essay's topic and previews the criteria that will be discussed in the essay. Doing these two things in the introduction helps to focus the critique.

The criteria should be discussed within separate paragraphs in the body , or main part, of the essay. Each body paragraph should also provide a judgment about each criterion as well as evidence that supports the judgment.

One method to effectively provide evidence is through comparing and contrasting the subject to other similar subjects. Another method is to provide counterarguments , or arguments against one's opinion, and then provide evidence that disproves the counterargument.

The essay's conclusion should restate the thesis and review the main points, namely the criteria.

Video Transcript

Defining an evaluative essay.

It's Friday night and you and your best friend, Gina, have plans to see a new movie. The only thing is, you can't decide between two that just came out: Love, Specifically , a lighthearted, romantic comedy, or The Mountains Have Ears , a new, artsy independent film thriller.

You're kind of in the mood to laugh, but Gina thinks a scary movie would be fun. Since you two can't seem to come to an agreement, you call your friend Samantha, a movie buff who's already seen both of them. Samantha tells you she thought Love, Specifically was good and you should go see that one. Gina, still wanting a good scare, asks her what was so much better about Love, Specifically compared to The Mountains Have Ears . 'I dunno, I just liked it more, I guess,' she answers.

Samantha's response would be frustrating to most people. If only she'd learned the essential components to an evaluative essay - then she'd be able to give a better explanation of why Love, Specifically was her favorite. You see, an evaluative essay is basically a review of something. As the name suggests, the evaluative essay presents a value judgment based on a set of criteria.

Judgment, Criteria, and Evidence

There are three key parts to an evaluative essay:

The judgment , or your overall opinion
The criteria , or reasons why you've made your opinion
And last, evidence to support it

Think about all those times you asked your mom why you couldn't do something that you wanted to do, and she simply responded, 'Because I'm your mother, that's why!' or 'Because I said so!' Remember how frustrating that was? When writing an evaluative essay, 'because I said so' is not a good enough argument. Neither is Samantha's answer, 'I dunno, I just liked it more, I guess.' You have to have specific reasons and evidence to support your judgment.

Parts of the Evaluative Essay: Intro and Background

So, how do we put these three elements to work to make an evaluative essay that says more than 'Because I said so'? For starters, you will want to include four main components: your introduction , some background information , your criteria , and your conclusion . The introduction has a pivotal role in this paper: it gives your overall judgment in the form of a thesis statement. This is where, if you were Samantha, you'd say, 'The engaging plot, relatable characters and believable storyline made Love, Specifically a must see.' Sounds a lot better than, 'I just liked it more, I guess,' doesn't it?

You'll notice in Samantha's new thesis, she not only tells you whether or not she thought it was a good movie, which was her overall judgment, she gives you some specific reasons, or criteria, why she thought it was a good movie. This is key to the evaluative essay; it helps to focus your review. Being as specific as possible helps you formulate an effective evaluation because you're not trying to cover it all: just a few key parts that come together to make your overall judgment.

After establishing your overall judgment and defining your focus, you'll move on to the next key component: background . Before you start giving your opinion on something, people need to have some kind of idea of what you are talking about. In the case of a movie or book review, you'd include a brief summary. For a restaurant review, you'd talk about what kind of food is served and the style of dining.

The background's purpose is twofold: first, it helps the reader get on the same page and understand exactly what you are reviewing. Second, it helps establish the purpose of whatever it is you are evaluating and justify your criteria. Think about it, romantic comedies are generally geared toward a different audience than artsy, independent films. They often have different goals, too. While a romantic comedy may be made purely for entertainment purposes, the independent film might try to present some sort of commentary on everyday life or make you consider a new idea or viewpoint.

Or, in the case of a restaurant review, Bob's Burger Stand, a casual, walk-up burger joint would be evaluated using completely different criteria than Merlot Burger, a gourmet, sit-down restaurant that serves Kobe beef burgers marinated in fine wines.

Parts of the Evaluative Essay: Criteria

Once you've set the focus and given your background, you'll move on to your criteria . In your essay, you should devote at least one paragraph to each criterion. This way, you have plenty of room to discuss what the criterion is, give your judgment, and present your supporting evidence. That's right, those three key elements need to live in each paragraph as well as your essay as a whole.

So, for Samantha's evaluative essay, each criterion she mentioned in her thesis would have it's own paragraph: the plot, characters, and storyline. For each paragraph, she'd go on to give her judgment and evidence. Samantha's paragraph on the plot might sound something like this:

'The plotline in Love, Specifically was especially engaging.' She establishes her criterion and judgment. 'As the movie progressed, the situational humor in almost every scene left you waiting to see what would happen next and how it would play out in this long-distance love story.' She backs up her judgment of the criterion with evidence.

Now that you see how the criteria should be set up, let's talk about a couple of tools that can help make your evidence most effective. One way to present evidence is to use comparison or contrast. So, when talking about the characters in the movie, Samantha could compare them to common figures we run into in real life, like the high school jock or girl next door. She could also contrast them to characters in other movies in the same genre.

Another tactic is to play your own devil's advocate. This is especially helpful if you are presenting an opinion that might be controversial. If it turns out the majority of people thought Love, Specifically was an absolute flop, you might list the common reasons why people said the movie fell short and present a counterargument to each one.

Parts of the Evaluative Essay: Conclusion

In her most effective evaluative essay, Samantha would go on to talk about the other criteria, mixing in the tools we just talked about to make a very convincing argument to go see Love, Specifically . After discussing each of the criteria, she'd present a nice conclusion that restated her overall judgment and gave a quick recap of her reasoning.

Ideally, Samantha's essay would be well-organized so that it arrives naturally at this point, and she wouldn't have to start her conclusion with a phrase like, 'In conclusion.'

So, to review, an evaluative essay contains three key elements: judgment , criteria and evidence . These elements are presented using four key essay components: it starts with an introduction that houses a thesis, which gives your overall opinion and focuses your evaluation. Next, background information is included to help your reader understand what it is you are evaluating. Then, paragraphs discuss each of your criteria and present evidence to support your reasoning. Last, a conclusion wraps up your evaluation and provides closure for your reader.

Learning Outcomes

Following this lesson, you will be able to:

Identify the three key elements of an evaluative essay
Describe the four components of an evaluative essay
Explain how to tie the key elements into the four components to draft an effective evaluative essay

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Crafting Insightful Evaluation Essay: Tips and Techniques

Table of contents

1 Defining Evaluation Essays
2 Choose a Subject for Evaluation
3 Develop a Clear Thesis Statement
4 Gather Information and Evidence
5 Establish Evaluation Criteria
6 Organize Your Essay
7 Write the Introduction
8 Write the Body of The Essay
9 Present Evidence and Examples
10 Address Counterarguments
11 Write The Conclusion
12 Revise and Edit
13.1 Easy Evaluation Essay Topics
13.2 Evaluation Essay Topics on History
13.3 Evaluation Essay Topics on Government and Law
13.4 Evaluation Essay Topics on Technology
14 Final Words & Expert Thoughts

Many students are required to write an evaluation essay during their academic career. While this task is challenging, it provides an opportunity for deeper learning. We believe that every student should understand how to write an evaluation essay to succeed with their coursework.

We’ll start by demystifying what an evaluation essay is. We’ll outline its purpose in academic settings, highlighting how it differs from other essay types and why it’s a valuable tool for critical thinking and analysis.
We’ll provide insights on how to choose a subject that is both interesting and suitable for evaluation.
A well-organized essay is the key to success. In our article, we will break down the structure of an evaluation essay.

Examples for Clarity: Finally, we’ll provide examples of successful evaluation essays. These samples will illustrate the principles discussed and offer practical insights into what makes an effective evaluation essay.

Defining Evaluation Essays

Evaluation essays are a type of academic writing that provides value, quality, and effectiveness of a given topic. Every student must follow set criteria and provide evidence supporting their opinion.

Furthermore, an evaluation essay should always present facts and opinions in a clear and formal tone. Of course, any student can buy a custom essay , but every student should know how to plan and write one correctly for success. The first step is to choose a subject.

When it comes to choosing a subject for an evaluation paper, students have many options to choose from.

This includes:

Movies & television shows
Performance of sports teams
Restaurant review
Comparisons

Choose a Subject for Evaluation

If you’re looking for ideas, consider pulling inspiration from your experiences or interests. You can also get ideas from current events and media.

Moreover, once you begin brainstorming ideas, you should narrow your options to choose the best topic. Ideally, you should choose a subject that’s equally interesting and suitable for evaluation. Start by reviewing topic ideas related to your main area of study.

Compare different ideas that interest you. Start asking questions that your target audience would have on your subject. Narrow your choice to what you believe would be the most interesting to study and write about.

In addition, some examples that would make an interesting evaluation subject include:

Learning on campus vs online learning
Your evaluation of the most recent movie or television show you’ve watched
How social media affects modern relationships
Availability of athletic programs in your area
Comparison of restaurants or coffee shops in your area

Develop a Clear Thesis Statement

Every evaluation essay needs a thesis statement. In this statement, the writer will cover evaluation criteria and an overall judgment. It’s essential that the purpose of the evaluation is clearly stated.

First, be specific by keeping the thesis statement short and sweet. It doesn’t need to be a paragraph filled with real-life information. Instead, it should be a concise sentence encouraging the reader to continue reading. Here are some excellent examples of thesis statements:

“This cafe brews coffee beans provided by a local source, and they became popular for having the largest selection of latte flavors in the city.”
“The gore and effects in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie may be outdated, but the tension and horror in the film still hold up for today’s audience.”
“Minecraft continues to be one of the best-selling video games because players enjoy the creative freedom they have in the open world and connecting with other players online.”

Gather Information and Evidence

An important step of evaluation essays is to gather information and evidence. You will want as much information and relevant examples as possible to support your essay.

In any case, experienced writers will provide as many sources as they can find to support their argument. This helps the writer establish credibility and also helps the reader discover where they can find more information on the topic.

So, you might be wondering what type of sources you can use for crafting an evaluation paper. Students may use any of the following sources to provide evidence for their evaluation:

Books: choose books that have been written by experts on the subject that you’re evaluating.
Online resources: students can find credible information online from reputable sources and government websites.
Magazines and newspapers — print media is an excellent source to use for current events and opinions.
Interviews: you can interview an expert in the field your essay is in. This includes in-person, over-the-phone, email, or live chat interviews.
Opinions from credible sources: these opinions can be accessed using any of the sources listed above.

Establish Evaluation Criteria

Every writer must follow set criteria to write an interesting and well-structured essay. As mentioned above, the thesis statement is significant. This is because it’s a clear and descriptive way to present the topic.

Finally, every good evaluation essay must include the following specific criteria:

Assertion of the writer’s overall judgment based on supporting evidence.
Responses to counterarguments that a reader could make on the evaluation. The writer should introduce a balanced argument so their judgment makes sense to readers.

Organize Your Essay

Another crucial aspect of evaluation criteria is to display a well-structured essay. Before writing an evaluation essay, you should always plan the organization.

The entire outline for the essay should remain focused. Once complete, the final evaluation paper should be organized, developed, and maintained a specific style. Every paper should include the following in a detailed evaluation essay outline:

Introduction: introduce your subject with a topic sentence that grabs readers’ attention and inspires them to keep reading.
Body: this will contain all of the key information that supports your evaluative argument and counterarguments.

Conclusion: this is where you can summarize the key points made throughout the evaluation essay and add any other relevant points.

Write the Introduction

The introduction is the first impression of your essay. Every paragraph of the essay should start with a topic sentence that introduces what the essay will be about. Always aim to write a topic sentence that’s engaging so the reader immediately establishes interest.

Basically, every student should aim to craft an attention-grabbing hook that sparks the reader’s interest. Here are a few good evaluation essay introduction example topic sentences for your evaluative essay:

One of the growing concerns of parents in recent years is the effects of social media on their teen’s mental health.
The quality of customer service a patron receives in restaurants and retail establishments is a crucial factor in their experience.
Older films get lost on the younger generation for outdated graphics and dialogue, but many of them address topics that are very relevant to today’s society.

Evidently, we understand that crafting a good introduction can be intimidating. The intro can make or break the reader’s interest. Some ways to make your introduction effective are by stating an exciting or unknown fact, asking a rhetorical question, or mentioning an interesting story about the subject.

Write the Body of The Essay

The body paragraphs of your evaluative essay hold the most weight. After all, this is where you will present your opinions and facts. All the information you provide in this section must be relevant to your topic.

Basically, it must be presented in a structured manner. The main body should always include proper sentence structure, have a readable flow, and include all information and examples necessary to support your final judgment. It’s also important to use language that will convey your point formally and professionally.

Present Evidence and Examples

Anyone can write an evaluated essay. If you want people to take your evaluation essay seriously, you must demonstrate evidence for every point. You can use example quotes from reputable sources or citations to reference where you found the information for your analysis.

Additionally, you must cite sources for evaluation criteria to avoid accusations of plagiarism. An excellent tip for writing essays is to create a body paragraph that’s a block quote.

By directly quoting the author (or source), you avoid any errors that could be mistaken for plagiarism. A direct quote can also give your evaluation more value in the middle of a body paragraph, and also be used to support the writer’s opinion.

Address Counterarguments

An evaluation essay is different from an argumentative essay . When you’re writing an evaluation essay, you will not be required to include counterarguments in the evaluative thesis of the essay. However, it is a good idea for students to acknowledge different perspectives or criticisms of their topic.

In any case, one of the best ways to approach a counterargument is to provide an example of a common critic. Then, explain why that perspective is or isn’t valid to the opinion the student covered in their essay.

Write The Conclusion

The conclusion is the final area of the evaluation essay, where students can summarize their analysis and provide additional facts supporting their judgment.

Every good evaluation argument essay will answer all the reader’s questions on the subject before they reach the final sentence. The best way to do this is to make the conclusion restate the main ideas by presenting the key takeaways and wrapping the concluding paragraph with a secure closure on the research subject.

Revise and Edit

Once you have completed the evaluative writing process, you must revise and edit it before submitting it. This is how you can ensure your paper is of good quality and your opinion is clearly stated and backed up.

But before you review your work, it’s always good to give yourself a break. If you review the paper immediately after writing it, your brain might not pick up on typos and mistakes. By giving yourself a break, you can return and proofread it in a clear frame of mind.

When you proofread the evaluation essay, there are a few aspects that are critical for revision. You should always review the sentence structure, spelling, grammar, and punctuation usage in your essay. You should also check to ensure you used appropriate font, and headers and the essay is double-spaced.

Good Evaluation Essay Topics List

These subjects will encourage college and high school students, as well as professional writers, to critically evaluate present culture. These themes not only teach students important critical thinking skills, but also demonstrate how students influence and contribute to general knowledge.

Race and Ethnicity in the United States
Hitler was influential, determined, and strategic
Importance of Sex Education
Brown v. Board: Lgal Changes in Respect to Segregation
Martin Luther King and the fight against racism in the US
Industrialization and imperialism
Starbucks Found in a Crisis
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The Apparel Industry in the U.S.
France: New Gender Equality Obligations Established

Easy Evaluation Essay Topics

Here is a list of handpicked good literature topics that will ignite your curiosity and engage your critical thinking skills. These easy topics cover a wide range of subjects and are just a few clicks away from inspiring your next masterpiece.

How Do You Define Racism?
Homeschooling vs Public School
The Book is Composed of Two Sections
Edgar Allan Poe in Romantic Literature
Gerard Jones’ Biased Evaluation of Violence in Media
Self Evaluation and Supervision
Marriage in a World
Climate Change Training Course
The Importance of Evaluation in Counseling
Animal Welfare, Chickens: Factory or Field

Evaluation Essay Topics on History

There are several historical evaluation essay ideas to consider. They vary from major events that affected our global culture to examining the historical veracity of “saving private Ryan.” These topics will intrigue you and give plenty of writing possibilities:

John F. Kennedy’s Legacy
Barack Obama’s Inaugural Speech
Main Issues Of Border Wall
After Civil Rights: Racial Realism in the New American Workplace
Cold War in China, Cold War in Cuba, and Space Race
Progressing the Civil Rights Movement with Aristotle’s Artistic Appeals
China-Australia Free Trade Agreement
What was the Harlem Renaissance?
Aftershock: Beyond the Civil War Summary
Mark Antony’s Described Julius Caesar

Evaluation Essay Topics on Government and Law

These topics cover the key characteristics of how we interact with society and the law. They also explore government and law by examining political marketing strategies on how some particular laws affect social behavior.

Brown V. Board of Education and Civil Rights
Criminal Profiling
The Significance of the Gettysburg Address
Race Relations have Improved in America
Temporary Labor Migrants
The Electoral College and How Popular Vote Doesn’t Matter
Jeffersonian Democracy
Granada Hills Charter High School
Transgender Individuals in the Military
The Segregation of Schools in the United States

Evaluation Essay Topics on Technology

As we delve into technological evaluation essay topics, you can choose to examine the merits, drawbacks, and overall impact of technological advancements. From artificial intelligence to social media, we have a plethora of ideas to explore.

Social Media Marketing As A Way To Promote Business
Pros And Cons Of Virtual Reality Gaming.
Assessing Online Clothes Shop For Its Contribution To The Fashion Sector
Evaluation of the Process of Creating Computer-Generated Graphics In Contemporary Art.
Technology’s Role In Healthcare.
Cybersecurity Measures’ Effectiveness.
The Culture Wars in the Digital Age: Impact of Technology on Cultural Values.
Ai’s Role In Job Automation.
Impact Of Biometric Technology On Privacy.
How The Internet Changed Communication Patterns In Online Interactions.

Final Words & Expert Thoughts

This covers everything you need to know about writing an evaluation essay. The format we discussed today can help students create a detailed analysis of the subject they’re researching while providing an educated opinion. Following proper instructions for evaluation essay criteria can help you write a detailed paper that will impress your instructor (and yourself).

Additionally, if you’re not 100% sure how to start or finish your paper, look at an evaluation argument essay example online. Don’t copy the examples, but use them for inspiration to get your thoughts flowing.

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Evaluation Essay: Writing Guide, Outline & Free Samples

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Are you wondering how to write an evaluation essay? We are here to inspire and let you know all the essential steps to get started. This blog post will describe what is an evaluative essay, including its purpose and elements. In addition, you will be enlightened on how to actually write evaluations - all the necessary factors and steps will be elaborated on. These steps are: deciding what to appraise, what criteria to apply, and how to develop arguments and outlines. Toward the end, you will be provided with evaluation essay samples that will enable you to put theoretical guidelines into practice. Strictly follow this blog post from our essay writer services to the end.

What Is an Evaluation Essay: Definition

The starting point of being well-versed in this from of writing is understanding its definition and purpose, as it will lay a good foundation for further work. Evaluation essay is a paper that offers evidence that helps to justify writer's opinion on different subjects by providing enough facts to convince readers. Such type of writing requires critical thinking skills when analyzing, synthesizing, and assessing given topics to avoid misleading your audience. The main purpose of this type of paper is to provide objective criticism oт various subjects and make conclusions about them. As a result, the latter helps readers to take a stance about a topic. In addition, there is an exhaustive review of fundamental characteristics, styles, and quality of subjects under discussion. The value of a particular topic is obtained through supportive and factual evidence provided. Finally, this paper helps present well-reasoned and informed judgment on particular standards, hence clearing concerning issues about a given subject.

Things You Can Write an Evaluation About

Preparing evaluative essay is a broad topic, and you need to be well-organized, or else the text will quickly lose meaning and purpose. There are various abstract categories and exact things that you can assess in writing. When you write evaluations, ensure you deeply understand your topic of discussion. Reading through an evaluation example will help you know what to do. Some evaluation essay topics and objects suitable for assessment include:

Experience: gaming, traveling, and shopping.
Music: its content, the impact, instruments played, and comparison to other works by artists.
Furniture: chair, desk, stool, table, etc.
Fruits: guava, mangoes, oranges, pineapples.
Trees: oak, teak, pine.
Sports: volleyball, table tennis, golf.
Clothes: casual wear, sportswear, formalwear.
Class: methods of teaching , challenges, type of assessments, etc.
Social trend: origin, overall influence, and objectives.
Courses: journalism, mathematics, business, and history.

Elements of an Evaluation Essay

Understanding all components of evaluation papers - three in total - is important during writing. They include:

Criteria In order to determine aspects you will assess about certain brands, services, or products, a proper set of standards is required. Standard helps in demonstrating expectations. During evaluative writing, it is essential to think about some good samples of similar brands, services, or products. Also, contemplate on related significant features. For instance, a house can be well-ventilated, secure, and clean, which are quite helpful benchmarks.
Judgment A second element in essay evaluation is judgment. This aspect helps to establish if stated standards were met. Considering the previous example of a house discussed under this criteria, you may first assess if the house is secure or not. Find out if the house meets, exceeds, or falls short of your anticipated security standards, then move on to other criteria.
Evidence This component focuses on providing facts supporting the judgment. For instance, in the house example, if you conclude that security level does not meet the expected standards, provide evidence to prove this judgment. When you structure an evaluation essay, ensure each paragraph discusses a different criterion. It helps you to make judgments and provide evidence under each paragraph.

What to Consider Before Writing an Evaluation

There are two factors to put into consideration before writing evaluations. One of them is ensuring that evaluation argument remains objective. Objectivity is achieved by not including personal opinions in disputes. Besides, one remains objective by supporting claims with relevant facts. Also, included references need to fully support your stand. You should know that a discourse must be balanced and fair. Secondly, deciding on evaluative standards is another important factor to consider. You need to have a deeper understanding of subjects before deciding on measures to use during this analysis. Chosen standards must adequately and appropriately represent particular subjects' features, qualities, and values. Besides, when deciding on evaluation essay criteria, ensure that you focus on defending your stated thesis. In addition, have enough evidence and details to support the chosen criterion. Finally, appropriately organize your facts and make sure you have imperative and unbiased information concerning your subjects of discussion.

Evaluation Essay Outline

A clear outline provides a map of organizing ideas when you write evaluation essay. An evaluation essay outline covers at least five structured paragraphs. The first is an introductory paragraph followed by three or more body paragraphs, and finally, an essay conclusion . Below is an evaluation paper outline example under the topic of practicing vaping.

Introduction

An introduction presents subjects, hooks readers, and elaborates on topic of evaluation.
The last part of your introduction is a thesis statement, which asserts arguments, determines focus, and helps understand essays’ gist.
The body must contain a minimum three paragraphs.
Each body paragraph needs to have a criterion followed by judgment.
Support judgments with relevant evidence.
When concluding, summarize main points.
Give some food for thought.

Here’s how your evaluation essay outline look:

Introductory paragraph

Do you know that vaping is a better alternative to smoking? How is it rated?
Some notable issues with vaping include its safety, cost, and utility.
This essay discusses vaping while focusing on safety issues, incurred costs, and utility to prove how it is preferred compared to traditional smoking.

Body part

Safety: According to the British government, vaping is 95% safer when compared to cigarette smoking. Vaping is less harmful. No second-hand smoke is produced during vaping, hence the best smoking alternative.
Cost: Vaping is cheaper when compared to smoking. The price for a vape pen is almost $20. Coils and E-juice are inexpensive, unlike a cigarette carton, and can last twice longer.
Utility: From environmental health, vaping has high utility. Many places have banned cigarette smoking; thus, vaping is the best alternative. Indoors and outdoor vaping is allowed, unlike cigarette smoking, which is banned indoors.

Concluding paragraph

Vaping offers the best smoking alternative. It is of high quality, and people need to embrace it. Also, it is less costly, practical, and safer.

How to Start an Evaluation Essay

There are various steps that one can follow when writing an evaluation essay. These steps include:

Choosing a topic A topic provides credibility for opinions and gives room for a thorough analysis of essential issues. Always start an evaluation essay by choosing an appropriate subject. You must be familiar with and have in-depth knowledge of a chosen theme to avoid misleading and losing readers. Ensure it is well-engaging for both the readers and you.
Thesis statement development Coming up with a thesis statement is the second step, actual writing starts here. Thesis statements define main purposes of evaluative essays. Besides, they offer directions for distinguishing criteria from the examples provided. Use only relevant information when writing thesis statements.
Criteria determination A third step to consider when preparing evaluation is thinking about criteria. Assess if evaluating a chosen topic is difficult or easy. In case of problematic topics, subdivide them into various points to make it easier.
Conduct research and obtain supportive evidence You need to support your opinion with logical and physical facts, or else it will remain invalid. Your readers must make sense of your proof and have opportunities to use those facts to make their assumptions. After this step, you can start composing your essay.

How to Write an Evaluation Essay

Several steps exist that one can follow during evaluative writing. The first step in how to write an evaluation is to decide on a particular subject you wish to assess, followed by coming up with criteria you will use. Besides, develop solid arguments backed up with evidence. Also, create an outline, and start writing. Once you complete your writing, proofread your work. The steps below describe the chronological order of writing your essay.

1. Decide on What You Want to Evaluate

The first step when writing this essay is deciding on a topic you will assess. During writing to evaluate, choose a subject you understand better so that you have enough facts to support or oppose it. The chosen issue needs to be engaging to your readers, otherwise yo may lose your audience. Besides, when selecting a theme, ensure it is interesting in general to avoid boredom. Also, a chosen subject needs to be relevant to keep the readers informed about current trends and new developments. The majority of your audience must be aware of the concept. Always ensure that chosen topics are specific and not generic.

2. Find Criteria for Evaluation Essay

Once you discuss a subject, you must come up with criteria for essay evaluation. At this point, turn your opinions into assessments to help you define a chosen subject. You may use different ways to find criteria on how to do an evaluation paper. For instance, you can focus on a chosen characteristics of a topic to help you develop standards. Besides, you might assess the relevance of that topic and decide whether it is good or bad for your readers. Also, focusing on the impacts of subjects helps find standards when evaluating. Researching positive or negative impacts of the topic helps in mastering what and how to evaluate in an essay. Also, you may find criteria by focusing on the effectiveness of that subject, whether it is successful or not. Apart from that, one may focus on the morals or aesthetic standards of a particular subject to develop measures to discuss.

3. Come Up With an Evaluation Argument

Reader understands your decision by following the argument. Evaluative arguments refer to claims concerning the quality of particular subjects being assessed. This argument will always rate subjects as either negative or positive. With this rating, one can think of subjects as harmful or helpful, bad or good. An argument in evaluation essay defines and supports criteria. A judgment always elaborates and explains reasons for choosing particular standards despite controversy. Evaluation argument essay assesses subjects depending on chosen measures. Considered factors include practicability, aesthetics, and ethics. Make sure to determine which standards will convince your audience. Effective development of arguments starts by creating an evaluative thesis statement: take position, develop criteria, and find out if topic meets standards. For instance, when evaluating meal’s quality, you may say:

Meal’s strength depended on its presentation, it was enticing, and its outlook was appropriate.

Another example could be:

Meal’s weakness was in overcooking, as its flavor became less pronounced.

Additionally, another example of a subject could be practicing vaping. In such case, an evaluation argument example will be:

Vaping is safe, inexpensive, and highly practical when compared to cigarette smoking, and due to these reasons, it is a recommendable practice for traditional smokers who wish to break old habits.

4. Create an Evaluative Essay Outline

After choosing a discussion topic, one can create an outline for essay . Outlines start with the development of thesis statements, followed by a list of main ideas and a conclusion. For this essay type, outlines require a minimum of five paragraphs. The first paragraph of the evaluation in writing is introduction that ends with a thesis statement. An introduction is followed by at least three body paragraphs and a conclusion. Outlines are important as they form a basis for thoughtfully constructing ideas. Also, they help in organizing your points sequentially for them to remain orderly. In addition, they are useful in picking relevant information, providing steady foundation when starting to write. Thus, it is worth noting that outlines form a crucial part of these essays, and they give a sketch of writing.

5. Write an Evaluation Paper

When you write evaluative papers, ensure you follow everything stated in your outline. The sections discussed below will help you understand how to write evaluation:

Introduction When writing your introductory paragraph, ensure it engages you and your readers. Introduce subjects by capturing the reader’s attention. Elaborate on selected subjects, their influence, and reasons for assessing those topics. Be clear with chosen criteria you will be discussing. Generally, when writing your introductory paragraph, provide your entire subject overview.
Thesis statement The last sentence of an introduction is a thesis statement. It tells your readers what they should expect from evaluation essay and its purpose. Include evaluative arguments that rate subjects either positive or negative with supportive facts. A good evaluation thesis example must include all the stated parts.
Body A body is commonly the lengthiest part in this type of writing. You must develop a minimum of three body paragraphs in your evaluation paper. When writing body paragraphs, always use transition words while moving from a thesis statement to the first reason and other successive reasons. During evaluate writing, all body paragraphs must start with topic sentences, which inform your reader about your opinion. After stating topic sentences, write your criteria. A criterion will elaborate on the standards of a topic you are discussing. When you are done with it, provide judgments. Judgments must elaborate whether the standards of subjects were met or not. Thereafter, provide evidence supporting your argument. Following that, mention any objections about your judgment, then finalize by refuting those claims. Repeat all these steps for each body paragraph. Ensure you remain relevant in all the paragraphs to avoid losing your readers.
Conclusion A conclusion is the final evaluation paragraph. When concluding, start by restating your thesis statement and follow by summarizing and reflecting on major points.

6. Proofread Your Evaluation Essay

When you complete your evaluation writing, the last step is proofreading and revising your work. Reading through your work helps improve your paper's quality and remove mistakes. Besides, it enables you to locate and correct inconsistencies in your text. Also, when you edit your work, you ensure that the ideas of your paper are well-defined. Revising your work helps in assessing if the content was appropriately conveyed. Also, it guarantees that sentences are grammatically appropriate by correcting typing and spelling errors to avoid readers’ confusion. Finally, you should read through your work critically and develop better ways of improving clarity, good structure of sentences, and entire effectiveness.

Evaluative Essay Structure

There are various examples of evaluation essays format. These formats include:

Chronological structure It is used when describing events based on how they happened in an orderly manner, starting from the earliest to the last, like when evaluating current or historical events. Chronological essay structures are more descriptive because they are detailed.
Spatial structure In contrast to previous type, this one is used when presenting details of particular subjects depending on their location in space. A spatial essay form is used when describing an item like architecture or art depending on how they appear when observed. Something else that people need to understand is that it is easy to remember a spatial essay structure because physical location is used when describing subjects.
Compare and contrast structure Compare structure is used when exploring existing similarities between subjects, while contrast structure exists for discussing differences between items. Mostly, subjects discussed in compare and contrast papers fall under the same category; however, there may exist exceptions to this rule.
Point-by-point format structure This is a subtype of compare and contrast essay that provides a general view of individual items being analyzed. This essay type compares a set of subjects because paragraph arrangement depends on main points and not by topic. Each paragraph discusses the main point and include subjects as they relate to each main point.

Evaluation Essay Example

There are millions of evaluative essays samples posted online. These examples offer impressive descriptions of evaluative essays with all the key steps to follow and will help you polish your skills when writing this paper. However, not all of the examples posted online are reliable. Therefore, the only preferred evaluation essay sample that students can use must come from peer-reviewed sources. Essay types from scholarly sites are written by reputable authors who meet all required standards; moreover, you can easily find an excellent book on this subject with appropriate examples. Attached are evaluation essays samples from credible writers.

Tips on How to Write Evaluation Essay

For one to write perfect essays, there are some helpful tips you may follow. Following these points will help you produce impressive evaluation and your readers will enjoy. Some of those tips when writing an evaluation essay include:

Carefully read certain materials while making notes and analyzing content.
Read through each paragraph before transitioning to another section.
Avoid leaving out negative aspects, but try to discuss both pros and cons of your subjects.
When reading other’s evaluative essay, analyze each paragraph and notice the authors’ mistakes: is information helpful? what can you do better?
Avoid adding minor details with insufficient supportive evidence, as they will mislead you and your readers.
Express your thoughts concisely and clearly as you peruse the written evaluation examples.
Ensure that your evaluation essay thesis is anchored to your judgment.
Write your paper with precision and attention to details while avoiding wordiness and providing enough useful information as you keenly follow the guide.
Enable your readers to feel and agree with your assessment.

Bottom Line on Writing Evaluation Essays

Understanding the text’s definition and purpose is your first step toward knowing how to write a good evaluation. Thereafter, list categories and respective things you will assess during your writing. Master the three elements of an evaluative essay and use them effectively. Your argument must be objective and help clearly decide on what criteria to use. Besides, you need to understand all sections of an outline, how to start evaluative essay, and then, follow essential steps. In addition, get acquainted with the four types of essay structure. Remember that you always can increase your experience by reading some good evaluative writing examples. Keep all these tips in mind to ensure you write a proper essay.

Contact Studycrumb and order essays online from professional writers. From topic research to writing and formatting, our experts can do everything from A to Z.

FAQ About Evaluation Papers

1. what are the four components of an evaluation essay.

Introduction is the first component of evaluation essay that hooks readers, introduces the subject, and contains thesis statement.
Background information is the second component; it clarifies to readers your evaluation topic.
Criteria is the third component, which entails standards for evaluating subjects.
Conclusion is the fourth component; it restates your thesis statements and summarizes main points.

2. What to write in an evaluation essay?

There are numerous things that one can consider during essay evaluations. Evaluation writing examples and their respective criteria include:

Movies: A plot, relationship among actors, and scenes.
Restaurants: Quality of food, price, and cleanliness.
Websites: Type of content, its design, and ease of navigating.
House: Overall quality, accessibility, and cost.
Business: Market share, its strengths and weaknesses.
Social trend: Origin, overall influence, and objectives.
Leader: Overall achievements, style of leadership, integrity.
University: Offered programs, number of graduates per year, online or in-person, reputation.
Class: Methods of teaching, challenges, type of assessments.
Job: Nature of work, working hours, bosses, salary, demand.
Advertisement: Media used when advertising, effectiveness, level of convincing, level of engagement.
Speech: Type of audience, main purpose, compelling.

3. What is the difference between an evaluation and review?

Despite similarities existing between an evaluation essay and a review, the two differ. An evaluative essay focuses on deeper research and analysis of certain subjects, while a review provides a general outlook of particular subjects. Evaluative essays must have criteria that judge specific subjects, and reviews do not need criteria. In addition, under certain conditions, it is mandatory to cite sources used in writing evaluative essays, while reviews do not require references.

4. What is a good evaluative thesis example?

A good evaluative thesis must inform readers what to expect and its impact and determine an essay’s focus. Also, a strong thesis must state evaluative arguments. Here is a proper evaluation essay thesis example: Vaping is highly practical, inexpensive, and safe compared to cigarette smoking, and following these reasons, it is a recommendable practice for traditional smokers wishing to leave old habits.

Daniel Howard is an Essay Writing guru. He helps students create essays that will strike a chord with the readers.

Evaluation Essay Examples: Master the Art of Critical Assessment with Examples and Techniques

Want to turn good evaluation essays into great ones? We've got you covered with the guidance and insights you need. Join us as we delve into the art of critical assessment!

An evaluation paper's main purpose is to assess entities like a book, movie, restaurant, or product and provide constructive criticism. This writing style can be approached with serious objectivity or with humor and sarcasm. Reviewing is a common form of academic writing that serves to assess something and is often used in various fields as a research method. For example, research papers might include literature reviews or case studies, using evaluation as an analytical tool.

Evaluation reports can also take the form of analyses and critiques. A critique of a scientific study would look at its methodology and findings, while an analysis of a novel would focus on its themes, characters, and writing style. It's essential to consider your audience and your purpose before starting an evaluation document.

Evaluation papers are a versatile and meaningful writing form that can both educate and entertain audiences. Regardless of whether the tone is serious or humorous, objective or subjective, a well-written review can engage and educate.

To understand everything about evaluation essays, from their definition and purpose to potential topics and writing tips, read on.

What are Evaluation Essays?

An evaluation essay allows the author to make a claim and offer a verdict on a topic. This essay type can be used to identify the best option among several alternatives, or to analyze a specific method, product, or situation. It is a common academic task across all levels. Evaluation essays come in different forms, from online product reviews to business cases prepared by management professionals.

In contrast to a descriptive essay, an evaluation essay aims to express the author's judgment. However, this essay type is defined by an objective tone. The author's judgment should be based on careful examination of the available evidence. This differs from a persuasive essay, which seeks to convince the reader to adopt the author's point of view. An evaluation essay starts with the facts and forms conclusions based on these facts.

How to Write an Evaluation Essay?

To write an effective evaluation essay, follow these essential writing tips:

1. Select a Topic

The essay topic is crucial. It should be both educational and interesting, providing enough information to fill an entire essay.

2. Draft an Evaluation Essay Outline

Professional writers always advise creating an evaluation essay outline before writing the essay itself. This aids in writing and ensures content coherence. An outline is also easier to modify than a complete essay. Think about what should be included and excluded when designing your essay's outline. However, skipping this step and diving straight into the essay writing can create extra work later, as it can mean editing and revising the entire piece.

The general components of an evaluation essay outline include:

a. Introduction

The introduction is vital as it forms the readers' first impression. It should engage readers and arouse their interest in the topic. The aspects to consider when writing the introduction are as follows:

Begin with a compelling hook statement to capture the reader's interest.

Provide background information on the topic for better understanding.

Formulate a clear and concise thesis statement, outlining the main objective of the evaluation.

b. Body Section

The body of the essay consists of three paragraphs. Each paragraph should deliver several related ideas and flow seamlessly from start to finish. The key ideas to cover in the body paragraphs include:

Start with a sentence that presents your view on the topic.

Provide arguments that support the topic sentence and your stance.

Present a well-rounded argument to show impartiality.

Compare the subject to a different topic to showcase its strengths and weaknesses.

Present the evaluation from various angles, applying both approving and critical thinking.

c. Conclusion

This is your final chance to convince the reader of your viewpoint. The conclusion should summarize the essay and present the overall evaluation and final assessment. When composing an evaluation essay's conclusion, keep the following points in mind:

Restate your main points and arguments from the essay body.

Present evidence to support your thesis.

Conclude your argument convincingly, ultimately persuading the reader of your assessment.

3. Review, Edit, and Proofread

The final steps after writing the essay are editing and proofreading. Carefully reading your essay will help identify and correct any unintentional errors. If necessary, review your draft multiple times to ensure no mistakes are present.

Structure of an Evaluation Essay

An evaluation essay, like any good piece of writing, follows a basic structure: an introduction, body, and conclusion. But to make your evaluation essay standout, it's crucial to distinctly outline every segment and explain the process that led you to your final verdict. Here's how to do it:

Introduction

Start strong. Your introduction needs to captivate your readers and compel them to read further. To accomplish this, begin with a clear declaration of purpose. Provide a brief background of the work being evaluated to showcase your expertise on the topic.

Next, rephrase the essay prompt, stating the purpose of your piece. For example, "This essay will critically assess X, utilizing Y standards, and analyzing its pros and cons." This presents your comprehension of the task at hand.

Wrap up your introduction with a thesis statement that clearly outlines the topics to be discussed in the body. This way, you set the stage for the essay's content and direction, sparking curiosity for the main body of the work.

Body of the Essay

Dive deep, but not without preparation. Before delving into the assessment, offer an unbiased overview of the topic being evaluated. This reaffirms your understanding and familiarity with the subject.

Each paragraph of the body should focus on one evaluation criterion, presenting either support or criticism for the point. This structured approach ensures clarity while presenting evidence to substantiate each point. For instance, discussing the benefits of a product, you can outline each advantage and back it up with supporting evidence like customer reviews or scientific studies.

Ensure a smooth flow of thoughts by linking paragraphs with transitional phrases like "in addition," "moreover," and "furthermore." Each paragraph should have a clear topic sentence, explanation, and supporting evidence or examples for easy understanding.

Your conclusion is where you make your final, compelling argument. It should focus on summarizing the points made according to your evaluation criteria. This isn't the place for new information but rather a concise summary of your work.

To conclude effectively, revisit your thesis and check whether it holds up or falls short based on your analysis. This completes the narrative arc and provides a solid stance on the topic. A thoughtful conclusion should consider the potential impact and outcomes of your evaluation, illustrating that your findings are based on the available data and recognizing the potential need for further exploration.

Evaluation Essay Examples

Now that we've covered the structure, let's take a look at some examples. Remember, an evaluation essay is just one type of essay that can be generated using tools like Jenni.ai. This AI-powered software can produce high-quality essays on any topic at impressive speeds. Here are some ideas to kickstart your assessment essay writing journey.

Evaluation Essay: Online Teaching vs. On-campus Teaching

In the face of technological evolution, education has seen a shift in teaching styles, with online learning platforms providing an alternative to traditional on-campus teaching. This essay will evaluate and compare the effectiveness of these two teaching styles, delving into various factors that contribute to their strengths and weaknesses.

The landscape of education has transformed significantly with the advent of online learning. This essay will scrutinize and juxtapose the effectiveness of online teaching against traditional on-campus teaching. The evaluation will take into account numerous factors that contribute to the success of each teaching style, focusing on their individual benefits and drawbacks.

On-campus Teaching

On-campus teaching, the time-tested method of education, has proven its effectiveness repeatedly. The physical classroom setting provides students direct access to their teachers, promoting immediate feedback and real-time interaction. Moreover, the hands-on learning, group discussions, and collaborative projects intrinsic to on-campus teaching cultivate crucial soft skills like communication and teamwork.

A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research reveals that students attending on-campus classes show higher academic performance and are more likely to complete their degrees compared to those in online classes (Bettinger & Loeb, 2017). However, on-campus teaching isn't without its challenges. It offers limited flexibility in scheduling and requires physical attendance, which can be inconvenient for students residing far from campus or those with mobility constraints.

Online Teaching

Online teaching, propelled by technological advancements and digital learning platforms, offers a compelling alternative. The most significant benefit of online teaching is its scheduling flexibility. Students can access classes and course materials from anywhere, at any time, providing a superior balance for work, family, and other commitments.

Online teaching democratizes education by enabling access for students in remote areas or with mobility challenges. The use of innovative teaching methods like interactive multimedia and gamification enhances engagement and enjoyment in learning.

Despite its numerous advantages, online teaching presents its own set of challenges. A major drawback is the lack of direct interaction with teachers and peers, potentially leading to delayed feedback and feelings of isolation. Furthermore, online classes demand a higher degree of self-motivation and discipline, which may be challenging for some students.

Both online teaching and on-campus teaching present their unique benefits and drawbacks. While on-campus teaching fosters direct interaction and immediate feedback, online teaching provides unmatched flexibility and accessibility. The choice between the two often depends on factors such as the course content, learning objectives, and student preferences.

A study by the University of Massachusetts reports that the academic performance of students in online classes is on par with those attending on-campus classes (Allen & Seaman, 2017). Furthermore, online classes are more cost-effective, eliminating the need for physical classrooms and related resources.

In conclusion, while both teaching styles have their merits, the effectiveness of each is heavily dependent on the subject matter, learning objectives, and the individual needs and preferences of students.

Citations: Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2017). Digital learning compass: Distance education enrollment report 2017. Babson Survey Research Group. Bettinger, E., & Loeb, S. (2017). Promises and pitfalls of online education. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Spring 2017, 347-384.

Evaluation essay: Analyze how the roles of females and males changed in recent romantic movies

Romantic movies have long been a popular genre, offering a glimpse into the complex and varied world of relationships. Over the years, the portrayal of gender roles in romantic movies has evolved significantly. This essay aims to evaluate and analyze how the roles of females and males have changed in recent romantic movies.

Historical Context of Gender Roles in Romantic Movies:

Gender roles have played a significant role in shaping the portrayal of romantic relationships in movies. In the past, traditional gender roles were often reinforced, with women playing the role of the damsel in distress, and men playing the role of the protector and provider.

However, over the years, the feminist movement and other social changes have led to a more nuanced portrayal of gender roles in romantic movies. Women are no longer just passive objects of desire, and men are not just dominant figures. Instead, both genders are portrayed as complex and multifaceted individuals with their desires, needs, and struggles.

Analysis of Recent Romantic Movies:

In recent years, romantic movies have become more diverse and inclusive, featuring a wider range of gender identities, sexual orientations, and cultural backgrounds. As a result, the portrayal of gender roles in these movies has also become more nuanced and complex.

One significant trend in recent romantic movies is the portrayal of female characters as strong, independent, and empowered. Female characters are no longer just passive objects of desire, waiting for the male lead to sweep them off their feet. Instead, they are shown to be capable of taking charge of their own lives, pursuing their goals, and making their own decisions.

For example, in the movie "Crazy Rich Asians," the female lead, Rachel, is portrayed as a strong and independent woman who stands up for herself and refuses to be intimidated by the wealthy and powerful people around her. Similarly, in the movie "The Shape of Water," the female lead, Elisa, is portrayed as a determined and resourceful woman who takes action to rescue the creature she has fallen in love with.

Another trend in recent romantic movies is the portrayal of male characters as vulnerable and emotionally expressive. Male characters are no longer just stoic and unemotional but are shown to have their insecurities, fears, and vulnerabilities.

For example, in the movie "Call Me By Your Name," the male lead, Elio, is shown to be sensitive and emotional, struggling with his feelings for another man. Similarly, in the movie "Moonlight," the male lead, Chiron, is shown to be vulnerable and emotionally expressive, struggling with his identity and his relationships with those around him.

However, while there have been significant changes in the portrayal of gender roles in recent romantic movies, there are still some aspects that remain problematic. For example, female characters are still often portrayed as objects of desire, with their value determined by their physical appearance and sexual appeal. Male characters are still often portrayed as dominant and aggressive, with their masculinity tied to their ability to assert control over others.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the portrayal of gender roles in recent romantic movies has evolved significantly, with female characters being portrayed as strong, independent, and empowered, and male characters being portrayed as vulnerable and emotionally expressive. These changes reflect the shifting social norms and values of our society and offer a more nuanced and complex portrayal of romantic relationships.

However, there are still some problematic aspects of the portrayal of gender roles in romantic movies, such as the objectification of female characters and the perpetuation of toxic masculinity. Filmmakers and audiences need to continue to push for greater diversity, inclusivity, and nuance in the portrayal of gender roles in romantic movies so that everyone can see themselves reflected in these stories.

"Crazy Rich Asians" Directed by Jon M. Chu, performances by Constance Wu, Henry Golding, and Michelle

Final Thoughts

The step-by-step guide and examples provided should have equipped you with the skills necessary to write a successful evaluation essay. However, crafting the perfect essay isn't a simple task; it demands practice, patience, and experience.

Incorporate Jenni.ai into your academic journey to revolutionize your writing experience. This advanced AI writing tool is designed to assist with a range of academic writing projects. With Jenni.ai, you can confidently tackle essays on any topic, easing your writing tasks considerably. Don't hesitate to register with Jenni.ai today ! Discover a world of writing opportunities and take your essay writing skills to new heights!

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Evaluation Essay

A Comprehensive Guide to Write an Evaluation Essay

19 min read

Published on: Mar 24, 2023

Last updated on: Jan 30, 2024

What is an Evaluation Essay?

Looking for evaluation essay meaning? Here is an easy meaning for you.

An evaluation essay is a type of writing which involves providing an opinion on a particular subject. This can be done in different ways and differs from all other types of essays as it requires the writer to pass judgment on their topic rather than give a fact-based report or dissertation.

The most common types of evaluation essays are critical analysis and interpretive essays. In both types, the writer evaluates a particular subject based on their own opinion or perspective and then explains why they feel that way.

The goal of an evaluation essay is to present both sides of an issue objectively and provide readers with enough information so that they can form their own opinions.

Evaluations are meant to be unbiased and should not contain any opinionated statements. They must instead only focus on facts because this will help ensure that they won't come off as personally biased, which would make them unreliable for the intended audience.

Purpose of Evaluating Writing

Why are evaluative essays assigned to the students?

The purpose of evaluating essays is to determine the quality and effectiveness of a student's writing. Evaluation helps instructors determine if students have achieved mastery level

Understanding of the material in question
Understood the main ideas or points being made,
Can effectively express their own thoughts and opinions.

Additionally, evaluation allows teachers to assess a student's ability to organize and present their thoughts in an effective and meaningful way.

How can you write the best evaluation essay? To do this you must be aware of its characteristics.

Characteristics of Evaluative Essay

There are five characteristics of an evaluative essay:

Present the subject in a descriptive and evaluative way
Assert an overall judgment by providing the reason evaluation within the thesis statement
Support your reasons and points with evidence
Provide counterarguments by responding to the opposition's objections and claims
Establish credibility and authority by providing enough knowledge on the subject

Elements of an Evaluation Essay

Before beginning to learn how to write an evaluation essay, it is must to get educated about its elements. So the four elements of evaluation essay are mentioned below along with a brief detailsâ¦

An evaluation essay should start by clearly establishing the subject that is being evaluated. This could be a product, service, person, experience, or even an event. It is also important to explain why you have chosen this particular subject and what purpose it serves.

Is the subject suitable for the assignment?
Does it present an opportunity to explore a certain topic in greater detail?

Consider these questions and make sure to provide clear answers.

The criteria you use in your evaluation will depend on what you are evaluating and for whom you are writing the evaluation. It is best to provide clear and specific criteria that you can use to judge the quality of the item or service being evaluated.

This is usually based on certain factors such as quality, effectiveness, value, and/or suitability. It is important to provide a clear definition of these criteria so that readers are able to follow your analysis.

Now it is the time to judge whether or not the standards have been achieved. Returning to our hotel example, you might start by assessing whether or not the establishment offers excellent accommodations. Is it sufficient? Or does it fall short of your high expectations? You may then move on to the other criteria.

In order to effectively evaluate the subject, it is important to gather evidence in support of your evaluation. The evidence gathered should help to explain why the criteria are relevant and why the subject is being evaluated in a certain way.

If you reach the conclusion that the quality of food does not meet expectations, be ready to provide proof for why this is so.

It's common for each paragraph in an essay to address a different topic. In that paragraph, you should thoroughly explain the criterion, make relevant judgments, and provide supporting evidence.

Evaluation vs. Review - What are the Differences?

Some students have a misconception about how to write an evaluation paper. They think that it is the same as writing a review, but in reality, there are many differences between the two types of papers.

Although these two types of papers do have some similarities, there are also a number of differences between them that set them apart.

Below are the key differences between these two.


	The topic is thoroughly analyzed and in depth.	The topic is discussed generally and without any depth.
	For the most part, it is unbiased.	It could be based on the writerâs personal opinion.
	The writer must use pre-defined criteria.	The writer does not need any set criteria.
	The essay must have substantial evidence to back the claims.	It is a personal view and does not need any evidence.
	Citing and referencing the sources are important.	No references are generally required.

Evaluation Essay Outline

Understanding the evaluation essay format and creating an outline is important.

The essay format is based on the 5-paragraph structure that contains one introduction paragraph, three body paragraphs, and one conclusion paragraph.

Here is how to make an outline of your evaluation essay.

Introduction - Introduce the main theme or topic of the essay. Start the paragraph with a hook sentence and pique the readersâ interest.
Thesis Statement - Create a brief thesis statement and add it at the end of the introduction.
Body Paragraphs - Add at least three paragraphs in this section. Each explains one idea and gives supporting evidence to back them. You can also add more paragraphs if there is scope for it.

Each paragraph will follow the following structure.

Supporting Evidence
Opposing Views

It is important that you add all these things into your essay so that your evaluation presents and explains a complete idea.

Conclusion - Restate your thesis statement here and explain the main points. However, keep everything brief and to the point.

This outline will be helpful for you when you write your evaluation essay. Follow it carefully, and you will have your essay done in no time.

If you need more help, check out this outline template.

Evaluation Essay Outline Template

How to Start an Evaluation Essay?

Here are the essential steps to start your evaluation essay.

1. Choose the Essay Topic Idea

When you have to write an evaluation essay, the topic must be something that will give your opinion credibility and allow for a thorough analysis of what it is about.

When choosing topics for critical evaluation essays, one should be familiar with the subject matter. Also, the quality of writing skills necessary when composing evaluative essays about particular subjects.

Therefore, choose a topic that is engaging for both you and your readers.

2. Develop the Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is a crucial element of an evaluative essay and should make it easy to evaluate the paper's arguments.

It must provide clear direction for where your evaluation stands on specific criteria so that you can distinguish between examples with differing levels of quality.

You need to be careful in citing only relevant information while supporting your points.

3. Think about the Criteria for Your Essay

Once you have chosen the topic of your evaluation essay, it is important to consider what criteria will be used to evaluate the subject.

How easy or difficult is it to explain your chosen topic or theme? If it is difficult, then you should divide it into multiple points that would help make this step easier.

Criteria should be objective and relevant. They must also be measurable so that the right kind of evidence can be collected.

4. Research and Gather Supporting Evidence

Your opinion on a topic is not valid unless you have the support of physical or logical evidence.

You need to be able to back up your statements with facts that will allow people who read them to make their own assumptions about what they are reading and come to an independent conclusion.

Research the strengths and weaknesses of the chosen idea or topic and give a clear idea about it to your readers.

Otherwise, there's no point in arguing because nobody can agree if both sides don't provide any information.

Once you have worked through these steps, you can move forward to writing the essay.

How to Write an Evaluation Essay?

Here are the steps to write an evaluation essay.

1. Create an Outline of the Essay

After choosing the topic and researching it, make an outline for your essay. Follow the outline given above and create an outline for your evaluation essay.

Make it detailed and add everything you want to discuss in your essay for a more helpful outline.

2. Write a Strong Introduction

The first paragraph of an essay should be engaging not only to keep your readers engaged. However, also to establish what you're going to tell about and why they need this information. To do so requires a hook that captures their attention, like something important or less known statement, for them to continue reading the rest of it.

3. Add a Thesis Statement

Evaluation essay thesis statement follows the introduction paragraph. It informs readers of what to expect from reading this essay and how it could affect your thinking about a certain matter.

4. Draft the Main Body of the Essay

The main body of an essay is the lengthiest part of the essay. It contains three paragraphs, but you can add more paragraphs if you feel that three paragraphs are not enough.

Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that tells the readers about one of the writerâs opinions about the topic.

However, make sure that you stay relevant and strong. If required, use compares and contrast techniques and make the reader agree with your point of view.

Add criteria, judgment, evidence, and opposing point of view for each idea. Make sure that you explain everything properly.

5. Write a Good Conclusion

The end of your evaluation essay is the conclusion part. It should be an opportunity to summarize what you have said or emphasize the most important points. You can also use this space as closure and reflection on everything discussed so far. Donât forget to restate your thesis statement and how you proved it right.

6. Edit, Revise, and Proofread

Once you are done with the writing, proofread and revise it thoroughly. Do not submit anything without proper editing and proofreading.

This final step is important if you do not want to lose your score because you did not add a âtheâ at the beginning of the sentence.

All of these steps are important for writing a good evaluation essay. Follow them carefully and craft a winning essay.

Here is an evaluation essay sample;

âThe Shiningâ is one of the most obscure works by Stanley Kubrick, a horror film that recounts the tale of a family who has moved into a hotel called the Overlook and becomes terrorized by ghosts. The Torrance family's story centers on Jack, Wendy, and Danny throughout the movie. The original book, which Kubrick based the film on, was written by Steven King. The literary basis is quite thrilling and intriguing, and the film may be considered in much the same way.
Jack Torrance, a writer who has quit drinking, moves his family to a remote mountain resort in the film adaptation. The hotel is entirely isolated from the outside world due to the winter colder temperatures. All routes leading to it are buried under snow, therefore no cars can get through. The facility is currently shut. Jack needs isolation to write his next book, but he will also be the hotel's caretaker. The hotel was erected on a plot of property that had previously been used as an Indian burial ground. While Jack Torrance depicts the tale of a father trying to kill his family, the evil spirits influence him and he gradually becomes insane until he tries to kill his wife Wendy and son Danny but fails.
The primary and most important consideration when assessing "The Shining" is the atmosphere that was created in the movie. Kubrick was able to evoke a sensation of loneliness and alienation, as well as an ever-increasing sense of dread throughout the film. Despite all the opulence, the Overlook hotel appears to be a graveyard. The atmosphere is also enhanced with ghost scenes and depictions of how Jack becomes crazier as the story progresses. When Wendy looks at the manuscript that Jack had been writing during their family's stay at the hotel, one of the film's most frightening moments occurs. She notices that all of the pages are covered with just one sentence: "All fun and no play makes Jack a dull boy," at which point she knows her husband is completely deranged. The sense of dread and desperation intended by Kubrick is effectively conveyed, thus defending the film's merit.
Then again, with the exception of Jack Nicholson and Scatman Crothers, the acting is poorly executed. While Jack Nicholson was able to produce a depiction of a maniacal writer suffering from alcoholism, Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd's performances as the Torrance family members were unnatural and fake-looking. Danny Lloyd is a good example of someone who doesn't get the full credit he deserves because he's young and inexperienced, whereas Shelley Duvall in this film isn't at her finest. In most action sequences, her performance appears to be manufactured, and at times inappropriate. This makes for a significant difference when contrasted with Nicholson's character, who has performed at a top-level in the movie.
The technical aspect is also crucial for film evaluation, and "The Shining" may be cited for its strong cinematography. The film provides a number of new ideas that had not previously been used or were seldom employed. The majority of Danny's stills were taken from the growth rate of a young boy. This method aids audiences in feeling more like a child and seeing ghosts and the frightening environment through his eyes. A Steadycam system was also used during filming. The device helps to keep the picture steady in dynamic settings. The moment Danny rides his bike throughout the hotel's corridors was captured with the use of this gadget.
"The Shining" is a fantastic horror film, directed by an illustrious filmmaker based on a famous writer's work. It depicts a thick atmosphere of sorrow and loneliness, which is important when conveying the story. During filming, technical gimmicks added to the good evaluation of the movie. Jack Nicholson's acting ability in playing the image of a lunatic writer who is realistic and genuinely frightening was one of the most significant factors in favor of "The Shining." Other characters are lost, however, because Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd appear synthetic in their roles.

Evaluation Essay Examples

Here are some evaluation essay examples for students. These will help you in writing a good evaluation essay.

Evaluation Essay Example

Evaluation Essay on a Movie

Employee Self Evaluation Essay Example

Evaluation Essay Example PDF

Critical Evaluation Essay Example

Source Evaluation Essay Example

Evaluation Essay Topics

Here are some interesting evaluation essay topics that will help you write a good essay in no time.

Evaluate the role of smartphones in redefining long-distance communication.
How does social media affect our personal relationships?
What is the effect of the internet on the learning process of the students?
Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning programs.
How do peer mentoring and tutoring affect learning?
How important is physical education in high schools?
Evaluate the reasons behind global warming.
Digital vs. Physical Textbooks: Which one is a better option for schools?
Analyze a historical movie and discuss its main themes.
Evaluate multiple works of the same writer and draw similarities between them.

Grading Rubric

Understanding the key grading considerations of a grading rubric is essential for evaluation essays.

Here are some important factors that instructors typically consider when grading evaluation essays.

Start

|- Read the essay thoroughly
| |- Is there a clear thesis statement?
| | | - Yes â------------------------ |
| | | |
| | | ?
| | | - Evaluate the clarity and focus of the thesis statement
| | | - Is it specific and debatable?
| | | | - Yes â------|
| | | | |
| | | | ?
| | | | - Assess the quality of the critical analysis
| | | | - Does it demonstrate logical reasoning and evidence-based judgments?
| | | | | - Yes â-----|
| | | | | |
| | | | | ?
| | | | | - Evaluate the organization and structure of the essay
| | | | | | - Does it have a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion?
| | | | | | | - Yes â----|
| | | | | |
| | | | | ?
| | | | | | | - Assess the quality and relevance of evidence used
| | | | | | | - Is there sufficient evidence to support the evaluations?
| | | | | | | |- Yes â-----|
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | ?
| | | | | | | - Evaluate the clarity of expression and writing style
| | | | | | | - Are the ideas conveyed clearly and concisely?
| | | | | | | | -Yesâ-------------|
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | ?
| | | | | | | - Assess the effectiveness of the conclusion
| | | | | | | | - Does it summarize the main points and leave a strong
final impression?
| | | | | | ? | | - Yes â-------------------------|
| | | | | | | ? | |
| | | | | | | ?
| | | | | | | ? | - End â------------------------|
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | - Return to assess other essays
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | - Return to assess other essays
| | | | | |
| | | | | | - Return to assess other

Evaluation Essay Writing Tips

Here are some helpful and easy-to-follow tips for writing a perfect evaluation essay.

Read the given material carefully and make important notes while reading and analyzing it.
Read each of the paragraphs carefully before transitioning to the next section.
Do not discuss points that only you find interesting; instead, choose something that will interest your readers.
Do not leave negative aspects but discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of the said topic
Understand the pros and cons of the chosen topic.
Maintain a consistent tone throughout the essay.
If evaluating a book or an article, notice the mistakes of the author and discuss them.
For a better evaluation, it is important to discuss the emotions that you may have while reading the work.
Do not add too many minor details and things that could not be backed with proper reasoning.
Read other reviews but try to maintain your own and unique tone and voice in it.
Express your thoughts clearly and concisely.

We hope you now understand what an evaluation essay is and how to write a critical evaluation essay.

This is not all! We have also brought a helpful video for you to understand evaluation essay. So donât forget to watch this:

To sum up,

An evaluation essay is different from other essays. It requires you provide opinion on the subject instead of factual information or simply reporting findings.

By reading our helpful guide, we hope that you have gained an understanding of the basics of evaluation essays and how to create them. So get started with your writing!

Although, if you're looking for someone who can help write an evaluative essay, visit out evaluation essay writing service now.

We specialize in providing authentic and custom writing assistance to everyone. With us, your essay comes with an A+ guarantee.

Every essay is written to meet the requirements of individual customers. Our custom essay service strives to offer our customers high-quality service at reasonable prices.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of an evaluation.

An evaluation is a systematic method that gives insight into the effectiveness of programs, practices, or initiatives. The information gathered can be used to make adjustments for these things to work better and achieve their goals.

What are the four types of evaluation?

Here are the four types of evaluation:

Summative Evaluation

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Quick guide to an evaluation essay

Contributor: UWSC Staff

Ever read a restaurant review or movie review? These types of reviews are evaluations of businesses, products and/or services. When evaluating, writers should consider the following components:

Criteria for these products/services/businesses

Without knowing what the criteria are, readers will not have any idea how you (the evaluator) are attempting to formulate your evaluation.
Service : Attention must be given to the customer.
Wait time : If it takes two hours to seat me, dinner time has already passed, and now I am starving.
Timeliness of food arrival/service : Food must be served immediately after having been cooked, with all parties receiving their food at the same time (nothing more awkward than being the only one eating).
Quality : The food itself must also be fresh and of a high quality—if I can’t stand it, I can’t eat it.
Cleanliness of the restaurant : If my shoes stick to the floor as I walk to my table, I am thoroughly grossed out.
Value : Last but not least, what is the value of the food that I am getting? What did this meal cost me, because if I can get the same quality of food at a fast-food place, why am I paying these high prices for low-quality food? One would expect high quality everything for a high-priced restaurant.
Now, I have just established the criteria by which I will judge restaurant X (and set up my future essay organization).

Writers need to make a clear decision

Did restaurant X live up to expectations/standards?
Did it go above and beyond, being worthy of praise, or was it subpar and worthy of criticism?
Namely, what was the point in reviewing this business/service/product? Have you answered the “So what?” question?

Prove it

If your judgment of the restaurant (for example) is coming down on the negative side, your evidence should mostly be about all the negative things that brought you to that decision.
That said, a concession to the alternative point of view will prove that you are not biased, but that you are open to what might have been positive about restaurant X (just not to the point of sounding wishy-washy and undecided).
You should be providing your own experience with the business/product/service (for example your experience in the restaurant). Firsthand experience is great for this type of evaluation.
What do other connoisseurs say? Secondary evidence, which is quoting/paraphrasing what other reviewers/researchers have said about restaurant X, is also important; they may have had a different experience than yours or may provide information about the business/product/service that had previously gone unrecognized.
What do consumers say about restaurant X? Plenty of places exist to find customer reviews, such as Yelp, to gain the support of actual customers. You could also stand outside restaurant X and do interviews (time consuming, but worthy).

If an evaluation essay does not have criteria by which you are judging something, an actual judgment on whatever it is you are evaluating and plenty of evidence to support your judgment, then readers of your evaluation will ask, “So what? What was the point of me reading this?” This is not the goal. The above listing of criteria will benefit you by setting up your outline and providing you with direction and organization, which is a higher-order concern when writing.

19 Evaluation Essay

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 has to 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 Purpose of Evaluative Writing

Writers evaluate arguments in order to present an informed and well-reasoned judgment about a subject. While the evaluation will be based on their opinion, it should not seem opinionated. Instead, it should aim to be reasonable and unbiased. This is achieved through developing a solid judgment, selecting appropriate criteria to evaluate the subject, and providing clear evidence to support the criteria.

Evaluation is a type of writing that has many real-world applications. Anything can be evaluated. For example, evaluations of movies, restaurants, books, and technology ourselves are all real-world evaluations.

Five Characteristics of an Evaluative Essay

by Dr. Karen Palmer

1. Presenting the subject.

Presenting the subject is an often misunderstood aspect of an evaluative essay. Either writers give too little information or too much. Presenting the subject occurs in two different places in the essay.

First, the writer should give a brief introduction of the subject in the introduction of the evaluation. This introduction occurs in the second part of the introduction–the intro to the topic. At this point, the writer should simply name the subject and give a very brief description. For example, a restaurant review should include at a minimum the name and location of the restaurant. An evaluation of a vehicle might include the make, model, and year of the vehicle and any important features.

Second, the writer should give a more detailed description of the subject following the introduction in the background section of the paper. Here the writer could give a more detailed overview of the restaurant (the type of decor, type of food, owners, history), describe the vehicle in detail, etc. Striking a balance between giving the reader the necessary information to understand the evaluation and telling readers everything is important. The amount of detail necessary depends on the topic. If you are reviewing a brand new technology or a machine, specific to your line of work, for example, you will need to give readers more information than if you are simply reviewing a restaurant or a doctor’s office.

The language used in your description can be evaluative. For example, a writer can use descriptive adjectives and adverbs to convey a certain impression of the subject, even before the claim is made.

2. Asserting an overall judgment.

The main point/thesis should be located at the end of the paper’s introduction. It should be definitive—certain, clear, and decisive. Asking a question does not pose a definitive claim. Giving several different perspectives also does not give a definitive claim. It is ok to balance your claim, though, acknowledging weaknesses (or strengths) even as you evaluate a subject positively: “While the Suburban is a gas guzzler, it is the perfect car for a large family….”

Providing a map of your reasons/criteria within the thesis is a great technique for creating organization and focus for your essay. For example, “While the Suburban is a gas guzzler, it is the perfect car for a large family because it can seat up to 9, it has a high safety rating, and it has the best in class towing capacity.” Not only does this example give a clear, balanced claim, but it also lays out the writer’s reasons upfront, creating a map in the reader’s mind that will help him follow the reasoning in the essay.

3. Giving Reasons and Support

After presenting the subject and providing readers with a clear claim, the writer must explain and justify his/her evaluation using reasons that are recognized by readers as appropriate. This occurs in the argument section of the paper and should be the most extensive part of the paper. Reasons should reflect values or standards typical for the subject. If a writer uses criteria that is not typical for the subject, he/she must be prepared to defend that decision in the essay. For example, “Buying local may not always be at the forefront of a buyer’s mind when shopping for eggs, but…” Each reason should be clearly stated as a topic sentence that both states the reason and refers back to the main claim. Going back to the suburban example, a body paragraph/section might begin with the following topic sentence: “One of the obvious reasons a suburban is great for large families is its capacity for holding that large family and all of their necessary traveling items.”

Following the topic sentence, a writer must include relevant examples, quotes, facts, statistics, or personal anecdotes to support the reason. Depending on what the subject is, the support might be different. To support a claim about a book/film, for example, a writer might include a description of a pivotal scene or quotes from the book/film. In contrast, to support a claim about gas mileage, a writer would probably simply give the information from the vehicle specifications. Support can come from a writer’s own knowledge and experience, or from published sources.

4. Counterarguing:

Counterarguing means responding to readers’ objections and questions. In order to effectively counterargue, a writer must have a clear conception of his/her audience. What does the audience already know or believe about the subject? Effective counterarguing builds credibility in the eyes of the audience because it creates a sense that the writer is listening to the reader’s questions and concerns.

Counterarguments can occur at the end of the essay, after the writer has made his/her point, or throughout the essay as the writer anticipates questions or objections. Writers can respond to readers’ objections in two ways. First, a writer can acknowledge an objection and immediately provide a counter-argument, explaining why the objection is not valid. Second, a writer can concede the point, and allow that, the subject does have a flaw. In either case, it is important to be respectful of opposing positions, while still remaining firm to the original claim.

5. Establishing credibility and authority:

A writer’s credibility and authority lead to readers’ confidence in your judgment and their willingness to recognize and acknowledge that credibility and authority. An author can gain credibility by showing that he/she knows a lot about the subject. In addition, the writer shows that his/her judgment is based on valid values and standards.

The writer’s authority is in large part based upon the background of the author—education, etc. Is the author qualified to make a judgment? For some subjects, like a film review, simply watching the film might be enough. In other instances, like evaluating the quality of newly constructed cabinets or the engine of a new car, more experience might be necessary.

The Structure of an Evaluation Essay

Evaluation essays are structured as follows.

First, the essay will present the subject . What is being evaluated? Why? The essay begins with the writer giving any details needed about the subject.

Next, the essay needs to provide a judgment about a subject. This is the thesis of the essay, and it states whether the subject is good or bad based on how it meets the stated criteria.

The body of the essay will contain the criteria used to evaluate the subject. In an evaluation essay, the criteria must be appropriate for evaluating the subject under consideration. Appropriate criteria will help to keep the essay from seeming biased or unreasonable. If authors evaluated the quality of a movie based on the snacks sold at the snack bar, that would make them seem unreasonable, and their evaluation may be disregarded because of it.

The evidence of an evaluation essay consists of the supporting details authors provide based on their judgment of the criteria.

For example, if the subject of an evaluation is a restaurant, a judgment could be “Kay’s Bistro provides an unrivaled experience in fine dining.” Some authors evaluate fine dining restaurants by identifying appropriate criteria in order to rate the establishment’s food quality, service, and atmosphere. The examples are evidence.

Another example of evaluation is literary analysis; judgments may be made about a character in the story based on the character’s actions, characteristics, and past history within the story. The scenes in the story are evidence for why readers have a certain opinion of the character.

Job applications and interviews are more examples of evaluations. Based on certain criteria, management and hiring committees determine which applicants will be considered for an interview and which applicant will be hired.

Example Outline

Thesis: McAdoo’s is a fantastic family restaurant, offering young and old alike a great atmosphere, wonderful customer service, and a fantastic menu.

Introduction
Location–New Braunfels, TX
History–old post office, restored
Type of food
Walking up to the restaurant–cool exterior
Lobby–original post office doors, etc
Tables–great decor–memorabilia from NB history
prompt, courteous service
refills, bread
taking care of complaints–all you can eat lobster out–so price reduced
land lovers
Conclusion…If you’re ever in NB, I highly suggest stopping in at McAdoo’s and absorbing some of the great old world charm with some delicious food.

Possible “Get Started” Idea

Evaluate a restaurant. What do you expect in a good restaurant? What criteria determine whether a restaurant is good?
List three criteria that you will use to evaluate a restaurant. Then dine there. Afterward, explain whether or not the restaurant meets each criterion, and include evidence (qualities from the restaurant) that backs your evaluation.
Give the restaurant a star rating. (5 Stars: Excellent, 4 Stars: Very Good, 3 Stars: Good, 2 Stars: Fair, 1 Star: Poor). Explain why the restaurant earned this star rating.

Suggested Assignment: Time to Write

Purpose: This assignment will demonstrate the understanding of how to do a thorough evaluation of an approved topic. Students will review the complex elements of the topic they have chosen. Evaluative essays call for the writer to assess a subject in light of specific and explicit criteria and to make a judgment based on the assessment.

Task: This assignment evaluates a social phenomenon or work.

Write an Evaluation Essay. For this essay, you will choose a clear topic, give a reason for the evaluation, use description and categorization, create evaluation criteria, use concrete evidence and demonstrate the “why” of your position.

Possible Topics

Some topics to consider are listed here:

Social media
Pop music trends
The regulations on technology use while driving
The impact of video games
A film based on a book
A major literary movement (Harry Potter or The Hunger Games)
A major sporting event (or the impact of a minor one)
A movie, T.V. series, or theatrical show
An art installation

Key Features of an Evaluation:

Make clear why a particular phenomenon or work needs to be evaluated.
Describe the particular phenomenon or work in a way that the rhetorical audience will understand and value.
Identify the precise category into which the phenomenon fits: successful movie, effective detergent, dependable computer, easy-to-use smartphone. Just consider the ways your doctor evaluates your symptoms before determining your illness.
Present the criteria on which the phenomenon or work is to be evaluated clearly, persuasively, authoritatively, and often in an order indicating importance. Criteria can be categorized into three groups: necessary (crucial but not enough to meet your overall assessment), sufficient (meeting all of your minimum standards, including the necessary ones), and accidental (unnecessary but an added bonus to the necessary and sufficient criteria).
Include concrete evidence and relevant examples from your personal experience and research illustrate the ways (usually in the form of assertions) the phenomenon does or does not meet each evaluative criterion. These fair and balanced assertions support the thesis statement.
Articulate a clear argument (usually in the form of a thesis statement) about whether or not the object or phenomenon meets the criteria on which it is being evaluated.
Demonstrate an ethical approach to the process.

Key Grading Considerations

A clear reason for the evaluation
Use of description
Categorizing
Clear evaluation criteria
Concrete evidence & Examples
A clear argument presented (Thesis)
The establishment of ethos (balanced argument)
Secure closure to the argument (conclusion)
Key Features are included
One inch margins
Typed and double-spaced
The heading is double-spaced on the left side of the page (includes name, my name, class, date)
Upper right-hand corner has last name and page number (EX: Dewey 1)
The font is Times New Roman, size 12
The title is original and is centered one line under the heading
Descriptive Language
Correct, appropriate, and varied integration of textual examples, including in-text citations
Limited errors in spelling, grammar, word order, word usage, sentence structure, and punctuation
Good use of academic English
Demonstrates cohesion and flow

Attribution

Content Adapted from “Five Characteristics of an Evaluative Essay” from The Worry-Free Writer by Dr. Karen Palmer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Content Adapted from Susan Wood, “Evaluation Essay,” Leeward CC ENG 100 OER, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Original Content contributed by Christine Jones “Time to Write” licensed under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

ENG101 for Health Sciences Copyright © by Lori Walk; Christine Jones; and Aaron Fried is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Social Sciences

How to Write an Evaluation Paper With Sample Essays

Author: Virginia Kearney

Learn how to write an evaluation with this guide, including some examples!

What Is an Evaluation Paper?

Evaluation essays are just like reviews. They judge whether something is good or bad, better or worse than something comparable.

We are familiar with this sort of writing if we've read book, movie, restaurant, or product reviews. Evaluation papers can be serious or funny, earnest or sarcastic. We all love to read reviews of a really bad movie or restaurant experience. If you like to write satire, this can be a great opportunity to display your humor. Chances are you will have a great time, and so will your reader.

Choosing a Topic

Your topic can be something you've experienced once or many times. Keep in mind that you will write a better paper if you:

Have a strong opinion—positive or negative—about this topic.
Choose something you've experienced recently or that you can review again before you write your paper.
Know a lot about this type of experience.

Use the following list of categories to brainstorm ideas for what you might want to evaluate.

Use this list of categories to brainstorm topic ideas for your essay.
Performances	Products	Experiences	Places
Movie	Technological Device	Restaurant	Museum
Play	Website	Store	Sports Stadium
Concert	Book	Event (like State Fair)	Concert Venue
Sporting Event	Album	Club	Park
Advertising Campaign	Luxury Item	Program (like Study Abroad)	Zoo
Fashion Show	Clothing Line	Vacation	Unique Building
art show	makeup	Video game	Shopping Mall

Evaluate an advertising campaign: Does this ad make you want to buy those clothes?

iStyle Magazine, CC-BY, via Flicker

Finding Criteria for Evaluation Essays

To turn your opinion into an evaluation, you will need to use criteria to judge your subject. What are criteria? Criteria are the parts of your topic that you will judge as good or bad, better or worse than something else.

How can you find criteria? Criteria are the parts of the thing you are evaluating. Here are some examples of criteria:

movie criteria : plot, actors, scenery, score, directing, chemistry between actors, humor.
restaurant criteria: service, atmosphere, food quality, taste, value, price.
website criteria: ease of navigation, design, visuals, writing, content.

Finding the best criteria for your evaluation: In order to do this kind of writing well, you need to determine what sort of a topic you are evaluating. If it is a movie, then what genre is it: horror, romance, drama, etc.? Then you need to decide what would make an excellent movie in that genre in your opinion. For example, you may decide that a good romantic comedy has to have three things: humor, surprising plot twists, and actors you enjoy getting to know. Next, you will evaluate the movie you have chosen to see how well it matches those criteria, giving specific examples of how it does or does not fulfill your expectations of an excellent romantic comedy.

Turning Your Topic into an Essay

In order to evaluate something, you need to compare it with the best example of that particular thing. So, to help you develop your topic into an essay, there are two important questions to ask when you are choosing your topic to evaluate:

First question: What category of a thing is it? Second question: What is the ideal example of something in that category?

Example: McDonald's

Wellington House: Britain's WW1 Propaganda Bureau

What category is it? For the best evaluation essay, you want to compare your topic with things that are very similar, so try to narrow the category as much as possible. To get there, you want to keep on asking the question, "What kind is it?" What category does McDonald's fit into?

Answer to first question : Restaurant. (What kind of restaurant?) Fast food restaurant. (Better, but what kind of fast food?) Hamburger-serving fast food restaurant. (This is what you want!)

So if you were evaluating McDonald's, you would want to compare it to other fast food restaurants that mostly serve hamburgers.

Now the second question: What is the ideal example of something in that category? What makes that example better than others? Thinking about what you consider to be the very best example of something in the category of what you are reviewing can help you decide what criteria you will use, and also what judgment you can make. For example, here is a list of criteria my students have come up with for an ideal burger fast food restaurant:

looks clean
serves food fast
makes it easy to order
has great fries
has options on the menu
offers large drinks with free refills
serves juicy burgers with lots of grease
doesn't cost a lot of money

No two people will come up with exactly the same list, but most restaurant reviews look at the following criteria:

Answer to second question: A great fast food burger joint offers great service, atmosphere, and food at a fair cost.

Now you know what your paper is going to be about how close McDonald's comes to this ideal.

Is This an Effective Advertisement?

How to organize your essay.

Using the list of criteria above, we can make a very fast outline for an essay about an imaginary fast-food hamburger restaurant called Bob's Burgers:

Thesis Statement : While you may have to wait a while to get your meal at Bob's Burgers, that is because everyone finds the meal is worth the wait; Bob's Burgers offers not only great service, but a fun atmosphere for eating with friends or family, terrific food, and a good value for the price.

Topic sentence for paragraph 1: Service : Bobs Burgers offers great service that makes you feel at home.

Food served quickly
Easy to order
They get the order correct

Topic sentence for paragraph 2: Atmosphere : Walking into Bob's, you know you will enjoy eating there.

Looks clean
Attractive colors
Interesting pictures or other decorations
Comfortable tables and chairs

Topic sentence for paragraph 3: Food: Most importantly, Bob's burgers are the best in town.

Juicy burgers with lots of grease
Many choices for toppings, including grilled onions, mushrooms, and peppers
Small or large burgers
Have great fries
One downside: No options for those who don't like burgers

Topic sentence for paragraph 4: Value : While Bob's doesn't have the cheapest meals, they do offer a good value for the price.

Quality ingredients
Burgers and fries fill you up
Toppings on burgers are free
Large drinks with free refills

Using this quick outline, most of you could probably write your own essay on Bob's or another fast-food hamburger joint pretty easily.

Other Ways to Organize

Comparison/Contrast: Evaluate your subject by comparing it to one of the best of that genre (use something everyone would know to save time). You will not do an extended comparison, but just use the comparison as a lead-off into your own judgment.
Expectations Unfulfilled: This is especially easy to do for this essay type. Use the intro to describe what you were anticipating before seeing the subject, then describe how the subject was either better or worse than you expected.
Frame : Use a description of the subject to frame the essay. That way you get right into the action. Then break off half-way through to keep your reader in suspense. Give your evaluation and then conclude with the end of your frame.
Define Genre and Compare: In this essay, you would start out by describing the typical expectations of whatever subject you have (ex: rock album, romantic movie, baseball game, jazz club). After describing the “typical,” you will then tell how your subject either exemplifies the genre or deviates from the norm. Probably this type of organization is best used for a satire or for a subject that deliberately tries to break out of the normal expectations of that genre.
Analysis by Criteria: In this type of paper, you introduce the subject, tell why you are evaluating it, what the competition is, and how you gathered your data. Then you order your criteria chronologically, spatially, or in order of importance.
Chronological Order : You might use this for all or part of your paper. It means telling what happened in the order it happened. This is particularly useful for a performance or restaurant review.
Causal Analysis: This measures the effect on the audience. How does this subject cause a certain effect?
Analysis Focused on the Visual: This organization plan works well for analyzing works of art and pictures. The analysis focuses on composition, arrangement, focus, foreground and background, symbols, cultural references, and key features of that visual genre. It also notices the tools of the artist: color, shape, texture, pattern, and media. This paper analyzes these details in order to explain how they are related to the cultural and historical context of the work of art and then tells how they relate to the overall meaning of the piece. Be sure to evaluate if and why this piece is effective or ineffective.
Analysis Focused on the Social Context or the Story : This type of evaluation takes an image and analyzes how it is effective for a particular point. Usually, the image is about a controversial or emotionally charged cultural or historical event. Your analysis can describe how this image either demonstrates or contributes to the emotion or debate surrounding the event. It may be that the image is ironic or misleading.

Evaluate an athlete.

skeeze, CC0 Public Domain via Pixaby

Introduction and Conclusion Tips

The only problem with our example above is that it is so easy to write, and so it might seem rather trite and unoriginal. How can you make your essay stand out?

Describe vividly, using interesting verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
Make the reader feel that they have been to the restaurant with you.
Use the introduction and conclusion to entice the reader.

Introduction and Conclusion Ideas

Use a conversation about the food.
Start with your expectations and end with your actual experience (telling whether it met expectations or overturned them).
Talk about popularity or history of the restaurant.
Use statistics of people eating fast food more. Discuss the controversy about fast food and obesity and health.

See the chart below for more ideas.

How to Connect Introduction and Conclusion

You can mix and match these introduction and conclusion ideas.
Introduction Ideas	Conclusion Ideas
Frame story.	Finish frame story.
Vivid description of subject.	What your audience should expect.
Explain your expectation before seeing or experiencing subject.	Were expectations fulfilled or unfulfilled?
Discuss what other people think of this subject.	Should agree with other people?
Give a quote from someone about this (especially if you disagree).	Tell your audience what they should think, do, or believe about this subject.
Describe how popular or unpopular it is.	Is popularity a good judge for this?
Show a conversation of people talking about it.	Show a conversation of what people think after experiencing it.
Give a scenario of a typical person interested in this.	Would you recommend this? Do you have a better idea?
Tell a personal story of your interest in the subject.	Explain your final conclusion about this subject.
Give history of event, piece of art, or other object.	What is the meaning of this thing over time?
Describe previous work of musician, director, actor, or artist.	How does this work compare to rest of work?
Cite statistics or evidence about this subject.	How does this subject fit into or challenges statistics or facts?
Define this thing or genre and what people typically expect.	Does this fulfill, fall short of, or reverse the conventions of the genre?

Writing Tips for Evaluation Essays

1. Present the Subject in an Interesting Way

Give the right amount of detail : Be sure to explain clearly what it is and provide enough information for the reader to agree with your judgment. Sometimes movie reviews leave the reader in suspense as to the outcome of the story. You will have to decide what you want to tell.
Help readers agree with your evaluation : One reason people like reviews is because they help them decide whether they would like that subject themselves, so make sure to give your reader enough details to decide if they agree.
Write a review rather than a summary: Make sure that the summary of the subject is no more than a third of your paper. The main part of your paper is supposed to be the evaluation, not the summary. It is possible to do the summary separately and then do the evaluation, or you can summarize as part of your evaluation.
Make sure what you are evaluating is clear: It is often effective to use an introduction which describes the subject or gets the reader involved in the action quickly.

2. Make a Clear, Authoritative Judgment (2/3 of paper)

Thesis sentence should tell exactly what you think. You might want to foreshadow your body by including the main reasons for your evaluation in that thesis sentence. (Ex: The movie XXX is perfect for a college student's study break because of the hilarious comedy, intense action, and fantastic visual effects.)
Define the audience you are addressing and the genre of the subject (in the above example, the audience is college students and the genre is action comedy).
Create a three-column-log to help you make notes for your paper. Separate your notes into three columns for criteria, evidence, and judgment.
Pick at least three criteria to talk about in your essay. For example, for a mystery play, it could be three of the following: plot, setting, costumes, acting of main characters, acting of minor characters, the pace of the action, or the unveiling of the mystery.
Be opinionated! Passionate reviews are always more interesting to read. Use vivid nouns and engaging verbs. Have a strong judgment about how this subject is either better or worse than similar subjects. Your judgment can be mixed. For example, you might say the concert on the mall was a good mix of bands and that the new songs from the main act were energetically played, but that the sound equipment was poorly set up and tended to make it hard to hear the singers.
Order the body paragraphs from least to most important.
Back up your opinions with concrete examples and convincing evidence.

3. Argue for Your Judgment

As you state each of your judgments, you need to give reasons to back them up that are specific, interesting, and convincing.
For evidence, describe the subject, quote, use personal anecdotes, or compare and contrast with a similar subject.
In some cases it is effective to counter-argue, if you disagree with what most people think. For example, if your subject is very popular and you think it is terrible, you may want to state what most people think and tell why you disagree.

Pre-Writing Exercise

This exercise is intended to help you prepare to write your paper. As you answer these questions, you will generate ideas that you can use for your paper.

What is the topic (subject) you are going to evaluate? Do a short description of it in a list or paragraph.
What category is your topic? Be as specific and narrow as possible.
Who might be interested in this? This is your audience for the paper.
What does this audience already know? What do they want or expect from this thing? (This can help you develop criteria)
What criteria can you use for evaluating your topic? (Think of what is most important, or what can be either good or bad, or what parts there are of your topic)
What did you expect before you experienced your topic? How did your experience either fulfill or reverse your expectations?
In your evaluation of your topic, what is good?
In your evaluation of your topic, what is not as good?
What is the best example of something in your topic? (Or what other things can you use to compare your topic with?). How does your topic compare to the best of this sort of thing?
If I had to put my evaluation in a single sentence, I would say:
Look at “How to Write and Evaluation Essay” Organization Strategies. Which of these will you use? Explain how you will use it.
Introduction/Conclusion ideas: Which of these will work best for you? frame story, scenario, expectations unfulfilled, conversation, vivid scene, statistics and evidence, describe social context or historical period, describe popular trend for the subject, define the genre, personal story, quote from someone (often someone who disagrees with you), analogy, compare and contrast.
How will you use this introduction and conclusion idea in your essay?
Now write a brief outline of your paper (see hamburger example above).

Group Exercise

Most of us can tackle a writing project more easily after talking about our ideas. Instructors may have you work in groups to talk out your ideas. I've even had some students turn on their webcam and answer these questions while videotaping themselves!

If your instructor doesn't have you work in a group, you can get together with some friends to answer the following questions and take notes to help you get ideas for your paper. Take turns in your group. The main goal is to help one another prepare to write. Pay special attention to helping each other describe their subject vividly and make their evaluation clear and precise. Also, look for good ways to organize papers.

Tell your subject to your group. Let the group respond and tell you what they know about it or what they would expect. You write down their answers.
Explain your subject. Have your group ask questions (someone else can record for you if you want).
Explain your criteria for judging it (#5 in pre-writing). Have the group respond. Do these seem like the best criteria? Any other suggestions?
Tell your group your one-sentence evaluation (this is your thesis). Get suggestions for how to make is more effective.
Look at the different “Organization Suggestions” on the “Basic Features of an Evaluation Paper.” What type of organization would work best for this paper? Try to write a simple outline.

Evaluation Essay

Questions & answers.

Question: I am writing a justifying an evaluation paper on "The Importance of Learning Practical skills in school" My point will be how schools focus too much on grades & how practical skill classes are not mandatory anymore. What would be a good thesis statement?

Answer: I have found that when people write their topic and thesis, it helps to start by formulating a thesis question which can be answered in more than one way. Then your answer to that question is your thesis. The problem with what you have written so far is that you have a point to make, but you haven't written down the question you are asking. Here are a few suggestions for topic questions:

1. What sorts of curriculum is most important for students in schools?

2. Does practical learning skills have a place in schools?

3. Do schools focus too much on grades?

4. What should schools focus on?

Your answer to that question is your thesis. For more help in developing your thesis see: https://hubpages.com/humanities/Easy-Ways-to-Write...

Question: My assignment is to write an evaluation justification essay using my own title. However, I can't find any topic like my assignment.

Would you help me, please?

Answer: Your assignment "evaluation justification" is just a different name for what I am calling an evaluation paper. In writing an evaluation paper, you will have to give reasons (which can also be called "justifications") and evidence for those reasons. To find a topic, you can look at my essay that lists 100 different ideas: https://owlcation.com/academia/100-Evaluation-Essa...

Question: I am writing an evaluation of a live performance of the T.V show, "Dora the Explorer," how should I start?

Answer: Any evaluation essay can start by using either your expectations before seeing the show or your previous history with the show or that subject. If you watched Dora and liked it as a child, that could be a very good introduction idea.

Question: My assignment was to make an evaluation and comparisons of the three video presentations which have the same subject or topic but are presented in different ways. I am also supposed to choose the best video presentation after evaluating and comparing the three presentations. So, how could I do the evaluation and comparisons in an essay form?

Answer: The type of essay you are doing is really a visual essay evaluation. I have instructions as well as samples in this article: https://hubpages.com/academia/How-to-Write-a-Visua...

Question: My paper is an evaluation of Starbucks versus Local Coffee. How do I evaluate while comparing the two subjects?

Answer: Typical criteria for evaluation of a coffee house would be similar to those you would use for any restaurant: service, food, atmosphere, and value. You can also use the criteria of which is a better place for a meeting with friends, studying, or doing work.

Question: My assignment is to write an evaluation essay on the movie, "The Grinch," the last one. What criteria should I use, and how can I make my introduction?

Answer: Start with your expectations for the movie before seeing it. Here is a list of some of the criteria you could use (choose at least 3):

Compare this movie with the first version.

Compare the movie with the book.

Voice acting

Animation quality

music score appropriateness

Use of humor

How movie would impact a variety of audiences.

Whether the movie is a good one for both children and adults.

Question: I have chosen to write about a job I'm considering in the future. I'm just not sure what to write my thesis on. Should I use, "This is a great job to earn a degree for because...?" Is most of the essay going to be measuring pros and cons?

Answer: Here are some questions:

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a career in ____?

2. Should you choose a career in _____?

3. What career will give you the most financial security?

4. Which career choice will lead to the most life satisfaction?

Question: How can I start my introduction of an evaluation?

Answer: Before you can do an evaluation, you need to make sure your readers understand what you are evaluating. Therefore, the best introduction is either a description or summary of what you are going to evaluate or else your expectations (or the general expectations of most people) about that subject.

Question: I'm writing an evaluating essay on the movie "Freedom Writers." What criteria should I consider?

Answer: Good movie evaluation criteria are similar to the following:

How interesting is the plot?

Is the acting well done?

Do the actors match the roles well?

Does the filming enhance the story?

Is the setting realistic to the story?

Is the movie visually appealing to the audience?

Does the movie get the audience involved and interested in the storyline?

Is the ending satisfactory?

Question: I am writing an evaluation essay on Netflix. Is the following criteria good? Netflix is convenient and easily accessible, has an affordable cost, no commercials, and allows users to sign in into an account from different devices. According to my professor, just the first two are good. What do you think?

Answer: In this case, the criteria depend on what your assignment has been as well as what category of evaluation you are doing. Are you comparing Netflix to other online streaming services? Or are you comparing it to cable? I would certainly pay attention to the instructions of your professor in writing your paper because that is the person who is teaching you. The problem with the list you have given is that you are talking about advantages of Netflix, which are not really criteria for evaluating Netflix. In other words, you are giving the answers, but not the questions. Here are some criteria questions:

1. Is it cost-effective compared to alternatives? Is it a good value?

2. Is it easy to use?

3. Is there a good variety of choices in content? Is it better for a certain age group or demographic?

4. Does it do a good job of suggesting content that the viewer would like?

Question: Can the introductory paragraph in a 7 paragraph essay be 2 sentences long?

Answer: The introductory paragraph should probably be at least 5 sentences long. In general, paragraphs in a short essay (less than 5 pages) should never be less than 5 sentences each.

Question: I'm writing an evaluation paper on Adidas and I don't know what my thesis should be about?

Answer: Adidas is one of the most popular brands of shoes, but are Adidas shoes really as good as they hype?

Question: I would like to write an evaluation of the movie Django Unchained. What elements should use to support my thesis?

Answer: It depends on what your thesis or evaluation is. Generally, with a movie, you will say whether it is as good, better, or worse than similar movies. Categories you can evaluate are:

1. How good is the acting?

2. How good is the action?

3. Is the filming and camera angles well done?

4. How well does the movie interpret the theme?

5. Is the ending satisfying?

Question: How can I start an evaluation essay about Facebook banning students who sign up?

Answer: Start with a story of this happening to some students and then end with the question, "Should Facebook be able to ban students from signing up?"

Question: My assignment is to write an evaluation of the novel 1984, highlighting the features that make it a fitting text for the genre of young adult literature, how should I proceed?

Answer: You are lucky that your instructor has given you a clear set of criteria for your paper. What you need to do is to decide what makes a good young adult novel. To do that, you can think about the best young adult novel you know and ask yourself, "What makes this good?" Actually, that is an excellent way to find the criteria of anything. Here are some possible criteria that I can imagine for this topic:

Keeps the reader's attention.

Has themes relevant to young adults.

Addresses problems that young adults care about.

Has interesting characters that seem real.

Has an interesting end that makes the reader think.

After you have come up with your own set of "things that make a great young adult novel" you can look at 1984 and evaluate how well it does those things. In organizing your paper, you can use one criterian per paragraph and then give examples from the novel to show how well it meets that criteria.

Question: How do I format an Evaluative Argument essay?

Answer: Use the format of an Evaluation Essay. An evaluation is a kind of argument. You are arguing that your judgment of the topic is correct. For more ideas on how to do this, you can look at my articles on how to write argument essays.

Question: Are there some ways to do an evaluation for a graphic novel?

Answer: You would evaluate a graphic novel in the same way you would a book or a movie. Compare the type of graphic novel to the best of that genre. You probably would use criteria like the following:

2. characters

4. drawing of characters and action

5. the quality of the drawing

6. whether there is a satisfying conclusion

Question: My paper is about the features of an iPhone X Max compared to an iPhone 8 plus. Can you give me some ideas on how I could start?

Answer: One good way to start is to give a description of the new phone. A second introductory idea would be to talk about the continuing desire for novelty and improvement in phones and the hype surrounding that.

Question: Can we use personal pronouns in such essays?

Answer: You will always want to check with your instructor to be sure that you abide by their standards; however, I would always recommend using first person in an evaluation essay since it is about your own opinion. In fact, if you don't use first person, you are suggesting there is only one right way to view that issue.

Question: Can I use the first person in this essay?

Answer: I always suggest that you check with your instructor, but I personally can't see how you can write an evaluation effectively without using the first person. Evaluations are always an opinion and if you didn't use the first person, you would be asserting that your own personal opinion was the only possible conclusion. No reasonable person thinks everyone will evaluate a restaurant, movie, album, car, or other product exactly the same way.

Question: I am writing a compare and contrast evaluation argument about advertisements. I picked two Courvosior ads, one from 1980 and the other from their new campaign here and now. What should my criteria be? I was thinking art, color, and the spontaneous environment that the new ads are set in vs the old ads.

Answer: I think that you need to be a bit more specific about how you word your criteria. It would probably help you to look at my article about how to write a Visual Analysis Essay, which should give you the art terms that would help you evaluate (analysis is another word for evaluation). You can find it here: https://hubpages.com/humanities/How-to-Write-a-Vis...

Question: I'm writing an evaluation paper on Chipotle, and I don't know what my thesis should be about. Do you have any ideas?

Answer: Your thesis would be the answer to this question: How does Chipotle compare to other Mexican fast food restaurants in terms of taste, atmosphere, service (or choose some other features)?

Question: How do I start the main body of an evaluation paper about "Evaluate the view that all firms are aiming to maximize profit?"

Answer: You will need to end your introduction with the thesis question: Is it true that all firms are aiming to maximize profit?

In the first sentence of your body, you will need a roadmap thesis question which is the answer to that question and all of the reasons for that answer. For example:

While the need for profits for investors means that many firms aim to maximize profits at all costs, for many businesses, what is also important is...

The truth is that all firms do maximize profits at all costs because (give three reasons or examples)...

For more help in writing a thesis and topic sentences see:

https://owlcation.com/humanities/Easy-Ways-to-Writ...

Question: How do you write a post teaching evaluation?

Answer: A post teaching evaluation can be written either as a self-evaluation by the person who did the lesson or by an outside observer. In either case, it is essential to know the goals of the lesson, and to establish the criteria or aspects of the teaching that you are going to evaluate. The introduction would probably include: the goals of the lesson, information about the students being taught, and any pertinent information about the teacher, as well as any special circumstances of this lesson. For example, that the teacher is a student teacher being evaluated on their first lesson, or a tenure-track teacher who has taught this grade for many years but is now trying a new curriculum.

The last sentence of the introduction can include a thesis sentence which would summarize the evaluation. Here is an example:

Mrs. Ruiz clearly explained how to write roadmap thesis sentences using a variety of examples and involving the class in an active discussion, whole-class participation in writing exercises and individual practice.

Following the introduction, the body of the essay should be divided into paragraphs which discuss the goals, or ideal teaching that should take place, and then describe how well that lesson met those goals. Here are some sample topic sentences, which would be elaborated on with examples:

Mrs. Ruiz followed good teaching practices by actively engaging her students and giving them many opportunities to practice the activity before being evaluated.

Mrs. Ruiz's enthusiasm for the subject and humorous examples kept the class engaged, and it was clear that they enjoyed her lesson.

Students were actively engaged in the lesson throughout, and when two students got off-task, Mrs. Ruiz was able to quickly bring them back to the focus of the less.

One weakness of the lesson is that Mrs. Ruiz did not pace her lesson as well as possible and many students ran out of time to finish their in-class work, making many grumbles as they left that they would have too much to do as homework.

Conclusion: In the conclusion, a final evaluation of the effectiveness of the teaching as a whole should be made, as well as any ideas for improvement. Giving "next steps to take" is a good way to end a lesson evaluation for both a personal evaluation as well as an outside one. Here is a sample:

To make her teaching more effective, Mrs. Ruiz should consider the timing of her lessons carefully. She may want to keep a closer watch on the clock and limit the amount of class discussion in order to move on to the next section of the lesson, or perhaps spread this type of three-step lesson over two days of instruction.

Question: How do I write an evaluation of learning theories?

Answer: On any topic for an evaluation paper, you need to decide what criteria to evaluate. For learning theories, the criteria could be:

1. How well do they translate to better teaching?

2. Does this theory work well in different kinds of learning situations?

3. How well does this learning theory explain problems with learning?

4. Is this learning theory easy to understand?

5. Can this learning theory help teachers to design a better curriculum?

Question: I'm writing an evaluation essay about the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing, "Iowa senator's comments on diabetes miss the mark." How will I be able to evaluate and make an introduction to it?

Answer: Start by explaining the situation for this particular piece and/or the award. Then give your thesis which will be what your main evaluation is of this story.

Question: What do you think of this topic: "Is loneliness a hidden killer of the elderly in the UK?"

Answer: You have a very interesting topic idea, although I think it is more of an argument than an evaluation. Here are some other ways to word this question:

1. How important is loneliness in the lives of the elderly in the UK?

2. What causes depression among the elderly in the UK?

3. What are the hidden killers of the elderly in the UK?

4. How important is social interaction for elderly in the UK?

Question: I need to evaluate an article and evaluate if the writer makes a convincing argument or not. How do I do this?

Answer: The assignment you are describing is what I call a Summary, Analysis and Response essay. The instructions are here: https://hubpages.com/academia/How-to-Write-a-Summa...

Question: I am writing an evaluation essay on a book. The book is called "A Child Called IT". How would I start my introduction and thesis statement?

Answer: The title of the book is provocative and so I think a good introduction would be to speculate on what the book is about and then your thesis would be your main evaluation of the book. Here would be an example: Although "A Child Called IT" was a moving story, I found it tedious at times because of repetitive situations and awkward word choice.

Another way to open your essay is to actually tell a short story from the book that shows the main point you want to make.

Question: My paper is an evaluation of an opinion article about "federal government plus autonomous regions" from Manila Bulletin. How should I start my essay effectively?

Answer: One thing you will need to do in this sort of evaluation essay is to explain to your audience the content of what you are evaluating, because they won't necessarily have read it. So the first thing I would do is to summarize the opinion article. However, you may need to give the reader some context for that opinion before you summarize if they are not familiar with the issue. I generally tell students to start with something that grabs the attention of the reader. For example, if the issue is about a bad law, you could start your paper with a story about someone encountering that bad law and all the problems that makes them have. Then you can explain the opinion article and what they think about that law. Your thesis sentence would be something like: "Does Ms. Johnson write effectively to convince her audience that....." Your article will evaluate the person's analysis of the situation as well as whether they have effectively argued their point of view. Your evaluation can consider the tone of the article, the use of examples, the quality of the evidence, the effectiveness of the arguments presented and whether or not their ideas offer the best way of looking at this situation.

Question: How do I write an evaluation essay about a language teaching coursebook?

Answer: You write it the same way as any evaluation essay but you use criteria that are appropriate for that kind of text. To decide on the criteria, think about what would make an excellent language teaching coursebook? Here are some ideas:

Clearly written

Good examples

The information taught moves at an appropriate pace

Instructions are easy to follow

Question: I need to write a qualitative evaluation essay about "YMCA health club" relying on values, tradition, or emotion. How can I start my introduction?

Answer: Start either with a history of the YMCA, which will talk about how the club was created based on values, or use the mission statement of the organization.

Question: How can I evaluate makeup?

Answer: For evaluating a product like makeup, you could use the criteria: color choices, quality, packaging, value, and uniqueness. You might also evaluate whether the advertising for this product or the claims on the packaging are true or not.

Question: I am writing an evaluation paper and I am evaluating if Head Start is a quality preschool program. How can I start the introduction and what should my thesis look like? My criteria are building relationships between children, teachers, and parents, following health guidelines, safety and environment practices, whether staff are well prepared and knowledge seeking, and whether the curriculum is age appropriate.

Answer: You have a good start on your paper outline. Start with a description or story of the program or the problem of daycare programs being well run. Then ask your thesis question: Is Head Start a quality preschool program? Your thesis will be the answer to that question.

Question: How should I start an evaluation essay on a vacation spot?

Answer: Use either a vivid description of the vacation spot in your introduction, or else describe your anticipation about the vacation.

Question: What do you think of the topic, "What is the best thesis for evaluating the game of softball?" as an evaluation essay?

Answer: 1. What is the best way to pitch in softball?

2. What is the best way to coach a softball team?

3. Is softball a good game for young people to play?

Question: How to I evaluate a movie without using personal opinion or judgment?

Answer: You cannot do an evaluation without using personal opinion. However, if that is part of your assignment, your instructor probably means that they want you to back up your personal opinion with facts from the movie.

Question: How can I start an essay on evaluating the claim that children are active and creative in their relationship with new media technology?

Answer: The best start for an evaluating essay is to give the reader a picture of what you are evaluating. So you can use a story of the topic and then back it up with some statistics.

Question: How do you evaluate music in an essay?

Answer: You probably want to compare it to the best music in that category. Here are some things you can evaluate: how it impacts the listener, how well the instruments are played; the meaning of words (if there are any); and how it compares to that artist's other work or work by contemporary musicians. Consider reading some reviews of that music for ideas.

Question: How would I start off an evaluation of a website?

Answer: You would probably start with an experience in going to that website and what happens, good or bad. Or you can start with the criteria of what makes a good website.

Question: I need to write an evaluative essay evaluating two forms of media. I will use the short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" and the film "Away from Her." Any title ideas?

Answer: Since you are comparing the short story with the film made about it, you could use that idea for the title. You could also use the topic of these works, which is about the love of a husband for his wife who has Alzheimer's. Generally, a short statement of the main evaluation point or a question makes the best title. Here are some ideas:

Alzheimer's Love Story Works Best in Film

Does a Film or Short Story Tell an Alzheimer's Love Story Best?

Question: How would I start an evaluation essay paper on a Samsung Galaxy watch?

Answer: Start with the story of someone trying to decide whether to buy a Samsung or iPhone.

Question: What four points should I look at when evaluating a nonprofit such as Autism Speaks?

Answer: I teach a course on evaluating nonprofits and have full instructions here: https://owlcation.com/academia/How-to-Write-a-Rese...

Here are typical ways to evaluate a non-profit:

1. Use of finances.

2. How well they solve the problem they focus on.

3. Does the website make it easy to see what they do and how they use resources?

4. Is the focus of the organization clear and specific?

5. Do they focus on the most important causes of the problem?

Question: My assignment is to write about the greatest impact that a teacher has made in me as a student. How should I proceed?

Answer: You are writing a reflection essay, and all of the instructions and a link to a sample essay are available in this article: https://hubpages.com/academia/How-to-Write-a-Perso...

Question: My evaluation is to write about the activity I have had with one of the patients in the ward. I have to reflect on the plan, the actual activity (how did it go), what would I change, and how the theories that I have applied helped. Could you please help me in how should do it in order to touch all the points?

Answer: Your assignment has actually given you a very clear outline. I suggest that you turn each of the sections into a question and use that question to develop each part of your paper. I would put these questions in bold print headers in the paper. However, before you turn that in, be sure your instructor allows this. Another way to do this is to use the question as the first sentence in each paragraph (or section). Here is how I would organize the paper with the questions:

Introduction: describe what the problem was, or what the situation with the patient is that made you feel this was a good activity. This paragraph can end with something like: What is the best activity to help the patient be able to eat independently?

1. What is the best activity to solve the problem?: describe the plan and why you chose that plan. Your reflection here would be why you chose that plan over other possible activities.

2. How did the activity go? Describe the actual activity and reflect on how it went.

3. What would I change?

4. What theories helped?

You might want to reverse the last two points to talk about the theories first and then reflect on how you might change the activity. This could involve talking about how you could apply a deeper understanding of the theories after having practiced doing an activity with a patient.

Question: Is Star Wars a good movie for an evaluation essay?

Answer: You can do an evaluation on any movie, but if you choose a very famous one, you will need to have a good angle to make it more interesting.

Question: How do I write an evaluation about roller coaster safety?

Answer: To evaluate roller coaster safety, you would need to determine what are the best practices for safe amusement park rides. You can probably find that online. Then you should also find out about the accident statistics of the particular roller coaster you are writing about. You can use that information to determine the criteria to use for evaluation.

Question: I'm writing my evaluation paper about black Friday shopping. I need more criteria, but I'm not sure what. I have the environment, prices, deals, and service. What other criteria would be good to include?

Answer: How about evaluating the enjoyment of the event (compared to doing something else over the Thanksgiving weekend), and what effect it has on family time over the holiday.

Question: How do I write in an evaluation essay on motherhood at a young age?

Answer: You need to start by establishing the criteria you will use to evaluate. To do this, write a list of what you think are the positives and negatives of women becoming mothers at a young age. Then after writing your list, try to put those items into groups. I would suspect your groups would be something like:

How this affects a woman's career.

How this affects her relationships.

How well young women are prepared for being a parent.

How well babies of young mothers do later in life.

Question: How can I start an evaluation essay on Sequoia National Park?

Answer: Start by describing being in the park and seeing the trees for yourself. Another good introduction would be to talk about what your expectations were before you went.

Paul on July 06, 2020:

I'm writing about a vehicle. The difference between the International ProStar Tractor Automatic Transmission VS. the International ProStarTractor Manual Transmission

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on February 10, 2020:

Hi London, criteria for art could include design, color, subject matter, history, meaning, perspective, and medium.

London on February 08, 2020:

I'm writing an evaluation on a piece of art. What criteria would you recommend looking at?

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on October 22, 2019:

Hi Diana, I think that you already have 3 criteria: authenticity of the challenges (problems) characters encounter, audience interest in plot, and ending. Other possible criteria are the realism of the action scenes, the audience involvement in the series, specific "ending" stories of particular characters, and visual effects. I think the thesis statement should be your overall impression about whether this was a satisfactory end to a popular series, or whether it met expectations of the audience.

Diana Brenneman on October 21, 2019:

I am writing an evaluation paper on The Avengers: Endgame and I'm not use how to go about it. I have to have at least 5 different criteria, so far i have: the characters are given real human problems making them more authentic, do the audience get involved and are interested in the storyline, and is the ending satisfactory. I also don't know what my thesis statemant should be.

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on August 27, 2019:

Hi Ashley, follow my instructions and start with thinking about what kind of movie this is and how it compares to the best movie of that kind. You can evaluate the setting, actors, plot, visuals or many other aspects. You might want to start by comparing it to other Alice movies or the book.

Ashley Hammonds on August 27, 2019:

I'm trying to write an evaluation over Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. I have no idea where to start, or even how to start it.

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on March 12, 2019:

Hi Jayde, what are the most important parts of the album in your opinion? Or what makes a top album?

Jayde McElveen on March 11, 2019:

What kind of criteria am I looking for in a music album?

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on November 25, 2018:

Yes, Pao, you could review a particular kind of car, say a sports car, or you could review new cars.

Pao on November 24, 2018:

Can I write an evaluation review about cars?

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on November 02, 2018:

Tom, your paper is more of a personal experience essay. To make it an evaluation, you need to pick some particular parts of the trip to rate as either good or bad. You might want to pick just one part of the trip to talk about.

Snake Tom on November 02, 2018:

Would this be consider an evaluation if not how can I turn it into a good one?

The Unexpected Turning Point in Vacation

Orlando, Florida is a very nice place to go on vacations. It is known as one of the best places with many attractions to do. There is Walt Disney world, Orlando Universal studios, Sea World, and Lego Land to name a few. I once won a week of vacation there from the Pepsi Company. They had an event that led to rewards when entering their code under the bottle caps. I saved up and enter them all in the Orlando sweepstakes. The odd part when I won was it was on April fool’s Day. It was real though, because the same day I got a package with the information along with Pepsi shirts, a bag and a Sea World note-book with a pen and four tickets. In the package they even took care of transportation and hotel nights. The hotel was called JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes. It was amazing until about the last two days when it all became a disaster visiting downtown Disney World and Sea World.

Downtown Disney World, now called Disney Springs, was beautiful with the sun shining and not too hot for it being end of June. There were many places to take family pictures and look at. For an example, there was a dragon in the water that was made of Lego’s. There are many shops to enjoy for a few hours. The cons of going to Disney Springs was they were expensive and clutter. On their website under reviews there are many that say how crowded they are. There are a few creepy people that will stare and stock you as if they are going to steal something. One review by Alan B. says, “It is unfair to demand people to park their strollers at the stroller parking without informing that Disney is not responsible”. They had their stroller stolen at night and Disney said they were not responsible for the lost of the stroller. In result, it is best to not go at night and always keep an eye on your stuff. One of the biggest problems was the debris everywhere. Maintenance or the people responsible did not do their job well. My family and I went early and it was like no one cleans up before opening. On one of the websites I visited said to plan and call to make plans accurately to get the best out of your vacation.

After Disney World we all went to Sea World the next day. We thought after Disney Springs that Sea World would be better. We arrived about ten o’clock and they were already crowded. The shops were amazing along with the dolphin show. The show lasted about an hour and when it was over we all went on some rides. The rides were packed and the line that we were waiting in was called the Kraken. We had to wait like thirty minutes until we could get on. The waiting for rides were not worth the wait. It was so hot that if you were wearing flip flops they melted. It did not help that is was black top mostly. The stores were outside and with no A/C. There was one store that had A/C but was jam-packed. After coming back after luch things started taking a worst turn. The

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on April 02, 2018:

Hi Tulip, I think that you may be writing an argument essay rather than an evaluation. See my articles on each of these for help.

Tulip on March 31, 2018:

I am trying to write an evaluation essay, but I am not sure if I am using a correct topic for this kind of essay? My topic is about the social judgment on the immigrant by their name and the social judgment on disabled people. Also, I am asking about how to build my criteria according to that topic if it is correct?

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on March 28, 2018:

Hi Joseph. What might be confusing you is that an evaluation is a kind of argument. An evaluation essay argues for your judgment about something. It is an opinion type of essay. However, your marijana topic doesn't seem to be an evaluation exactly. What you can do to turn this into an evaluation is to use the question: Is legalizing marijuana beneficial to society? You will then need to decide what criteria you will use to evaluate this idea. Some possible criteria (or aspects) of legalizing any mind-altering substance:

1. Entertainment value.

2. Safety for user.

3. Safety for others.

4. Problems with criminalization and jail time when the substance is illegal.

5. Dangers of drug use over the long term.

6. Addiction and how this affects health or leads to other addictions.

Your conclusion should be your final idea about what should be done.

joseph-123 on March 28, 2018:

Dear Ma'am: thank you for accepting my comment, I tried to use the ask box but the problem it is not accepting a long paragraph and always says put it in a question format I tried to make an account and register to the website but still the same problem. I hope you can answer me.. please

These are my questions: I am planing to write an evaluation essay about dangerous of marijuana and the dangerous of legalization of marijuana I am confused about choosing my criteria I am thinking about stuff like addiction health issues ..etc. let me know what you think Also, my second question is that I didn't wrote an evaluation essay before only argument essays so how can I know if I am approaching the write requirements while writing because for it looks like the same thing, especially the paragraphs format and evidences, the only difference is the thesis judgment and conclusion.. Please let me know your thoughts . thank you appreciated.

Joseph, Because you have so many questions, I'm going to ask you to put this as a question rather than a comment before I answer.

Joseph on March 28, 2018:

Dear Ma'am:

Thank you for these great instruction on evaluation essay. I need your opinion on writing an evaluation essay about the dangerous of marijuana my problem that I didn't wrote an evaluation essay before only argument essays can you help me with any suggestion about this topic also with suggestion building my criteria, and how to distinguished between argument type of dissolution and evaluation because when evaluation I am still arguing.

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on March 24, 2018:

Hi Daisy--You have an interesting assignment. Researchers in the U.S. coined the term "extended self" to refer to all of the things, places, and people that a person associates with their own identity. An interesting paper ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC39623... suggests that not all cultures define themselves in the same way or by using the same types of possessions. For your assignment, be sure to check your instructions carefully, but my guess is that your teacher wants you to evaluate the idea of whether people really do create their identities through their possessions, project their identities through their possessions, or seek to be something through their choices of what they own, what they wear, what they "like," and what friends they choose.

daisy on March 22, 2018:

My assignment asked me to evaluate the concept of "extended self"....how to evaluate that?

Josh on January 31, 2018:

I really enjoyed reading this post! I am evaluating two medias, a short story in comparison to the film. I think what you have stated on here will guide me in my paper.

Let's see how it goes!

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on December 08, 2017:

Hi Za, these techniques should work for many types of applications, including companies. You also may want to look at my article on evaluating non-profits, which are a kind of company.

Za on December 07, 2017:

I'm working on evaluating companies for my exam is it okay if i follow this strategies!!

TJ on October 15, 2017:

This really helped me with my paper. Thank you! My professor didn't tell us how to form this kind of paper.

Olivia on September 18, 2017:

Thank you for this its really helped with my college English class.

J on February 13, 2017:

thank you gave a better explanation that my professor.

Yu on January 26, 2017:

Thanks! This is helpful.

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on January 22, 2017:

That is an interesting idea Lili.

Matt on January 13, 2017:

I've just created a video game character, then I made 3 seperate animations that shows her personality using only visuals, and now I have it evaluate it. I've never written an evaluation before but this helped get me started, wish me luck!

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on September 07, 2016:

Hi Janelle! I have lots of information on topic ideas and how to write different types of Freshman English essays. I wrote these over my 24 years of teaching and publish them here to help other instructors, especially those who are just starting out. Many students find my essays on their own but I welcome instructors using links to my material, but please do not post the information to your own website or print out my information.

Janelle on September 07, 2016:

Thank you for this. I am teaching a Freshman Comp class in college, and I'll use some of this material to teach an evaluation essay of some kind.

Jane Rugan on July 22, 2015:

I will be writing my essay on the gender inequality.

Trudy on March 26, 2015:

I am trying to evaluate a hotel

Jamal on March 21, 2015:

Evaluating a TED talks presentation/speech

Lily Galindo on November 30, 2014:

Reviewing a technological device - the Kindle Keyboard 3G. :)

askformore lm on October 28, 2014:

Thank you for a very interesting and useful hub. Thumbs up!

Arif from Bangladesh on July 27, 2013:

wow!! amazing really.... I should develop my hub just like you :)

FilipinoHeart on October 13, 2012:

Thank you for this very accessible and useful information. Cheers! :)

Virginia Kearney (author) from United States on May 11, 2012:

Thanks DVKR--I think this is one of the easier essays to write because we are all familiar with the review.

How to Write a Reading Response Essay With Sample Papers

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7.4: Evaluation Arguments

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Media Alternative

Listen to an audio version of this page (3 min, 42 sec):

What is an evaluation argument?

In college, professional life, politics, and everyday life, we constantly must assess how things measure up. We are faced with questions like the following:

Does our employer treat us fairly?
Does our local cafe deserve five stars or four?
Is the “Free City” program that makes City College of San Francisco tuition free for residents a success?
Is a particular hillside a good location for a wind farm?
Does the president deserve their current approval rating?

To answer each of these questions and convince others that our answer is valid, we would need to make an evaluation argument. Most commonly, evaluation arguments rate their subject on a scale from positive to negative. Evaluation arguments make a claim about the quality of something. We can think of them as answering the question "How good or bad is it?"

Woman pondering at a laptop, looking undecided.

Evaluation arguments usually need to define and justify the criteria they use to make the evaluation. These criteria may consist of moral standards, aesthetic standards, or tests of successful functioning. Depending on how controversial the criteria are, the argument may need to defend and explain why they have been chosen. How can we support our choice of criteria? We may cite precedent or the authoritative sources in the field, or we may discuss the merit of the criteria in themselves by arguing for the good results they lead to and aligning them with values we believe our audience will share.

Once we have convinced readers that the criteria for quality are valid, we will need to articulate our judgment about the extent to which the subject meets or doesn't meet those criteria.

Finally, the argument will need to provide evidence of the way in which the subject meets or does not meet the criteria. See 4.4: Decide How Strong the Evidence Is and 12.5: Developing Paragraphs. for ideas on the types of evidence to choose from.

Ranking criteria

In cases where there are multiple valid criteria, the writer may need to rank them in order of importance and justify this ranking. For example, an editorial supporting Alyesha Jenkins for mayor would need to explain what the city should be looking for in a mayor at the moment. The editorial might argue that the top priority should be finding someone who has a workable plan to address the homelessness crisis. It might then go on to identify as secondary priority finding someone who has been an effective leader of a large organization. Finally, it might argue that finding a candidate who will focus on ending police brutality in the city should be the third priority. Given these criteria, the argument might praise describe Alyesha Jenkins' concrete, popular plan on homelessness and background as a successful city supervisor and head of a law firm. It might note that her record on police brutality is limited, but we still judge her to be a strong candidate.

Types of criteria

We can classify evaluative arguments by the kind of criteria they use. They may focus on aesthetics, that is the appearance or appeal of something (a movie, a work of art, or a building), or practical concerns about how something functions, or moral judgements based on values.

Aesthetic Criteria

What makes a great film can be an academic question or an everyday debate among friends going to the movies. Film critics and Film Studies classes try to identify clear aesthetic criteria for award-worthy movies. Film blogger Tyler Schirado , who writes for the San Diego Film festival, details criteria including acting quality, dialogue, pacing, plot coherence, cinematography, production design, and special effects. Each of those criteria could in turn include sub-criteria. For example, the criteria for the quality of the special effects might include both how innovative and how spectacular they are.

Operational Criteria

Sometimes the criteria that matter are very practical. We use operational criteria when we are looking for certain concrete results. What does the subject we are evaluating do? If we want to evaluate a new car’s safety features, we will ended to see how it performs under challenging conditions. When the FDA evaluates and tests a new vaccine, they follow an set of procedures to test how the vaccine affects first cells, then animal bodies, and finally human bodies. The FDA considers the results of all these procedures to help it decide whether to approve the vaccine or not. And if the consumer has confidence in the FDA’s standards for data collection, they can use the criteria about the vaccine’s past record of immune protection and side effects to help them decide whether or not to get vaccinated.

Moral Criteria

An evaluation argument based on moral criteria will claim that something is right or wrong. It will need to appeal to shared values or make a case for a particular value that serves as criteria. Some values are nearly universal, such as honesty, reasonableness, and fairness, as we will discuss in 9.6: Moral Character . However, even values that seem universal may be defined differently by different groups. We each grow up in an environment that instills a particular set of family or cultural or religious values. These help to shape our own sense of morality, or personal values and codes that we chose to live by.

Many values may be unconsciously held, but a moral argument will need to articulate them explicitly in order to make its case. Remembering our discussion of assumptions in 4.5: Check the Argument’s Assumptions , we recall that each argument is based upon spoken or unspoken beliefs (warrants), such as “free speech is worthy of protection,” or “democracy is desirable,” or “cheating is wrong.” As we saw in 7.2: Tailoring an Argument to an Audience , it can be helpful to recognize our particular audience’s values and see where they align with our own. Convincing readers that we share values can enhance the sense of trust between reader and writer, as we will see in Chapter 9: How Arguments Appeal to Trust and Connection (Ethos) .

As an example, the Motion Pictures Academy includes some moral criteria as well as aesthetic criteria when it selects winners for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actors. Responding to the #OscarsSoWhite campaign, the Academy of Motion Pictures decided to incorporate the value of inclusiveness into their criteria. In order to emphasize “the inclusion of people in underrepresented groups, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people and those with cognitive or physical disabilities,” they developed a new set of criteria for nominations for Best Picture . The criteria state that starting in 2024, “To be eligible for best picture, a film must meet at least two standards across four categories: ‘Onscreen Representation, Themes and Narratives,’ ‘Creative Leadership and Project Team,’ ‘Industry Access and Opportunities’ and ‘Audience Development,’ (Rottenberg). Each of these new criteria responds to the demands for inclusivity and equity, and is evidence that criteria can and should evolve as social morals evolve.

Comparative Evaluation

Many times we will need to evaluate the worth of one subject in relation to another in order to judge which is better. Of course, we will need to decide on the basis for comparison, or the criteria to be used, and make that basis clear. Then we will need to evaluate each subject according to the criteria. In comparisons, ranking the criteria will often be important because one subject may do better on one criterion and worse on another. We'll need to know which criterion is more important in order to decide which comes out ahead overall.

The point-by-point organizational technique described in 3.9: Comparing and Contrasting Arguments can be helpful in structuring such an essay because it allows us to write about one criterion at a time and see how both subjects compare on that one point before moving on to the next criterion. For example, we might compare the job of being a nanny with the job of being a preschool teacher. In one section, we would compare earnings for each job, and in another section, we would discuss potential for professional growth. If nannies come out ahead on earnings and teachers come out ahead on professional growth opportunities, then we will need to rank these criteria in order of importance to decide which job to recommend.

Sample evaluation arguments

To get a sense of what research-based evaluation arguments look like in college classes, see this sample evaluation argument essay prompt and the sample outline to match it. For a full sample evaluation essay, see "Universal Health Care Coverage for the United States." Annotations on that essay point out how the author uses evaluation argument strategies. We offer it in two formats:

Sample evaluation essay "Universal Health Care Coverage for the United States" in PDF version with margin notes
Sample evaluation essay "Universal Health Care Coverage for the United States" accessible version with notes in parentheses

Practice Exercise $\PageIndex{1}$

Reflect on the following questions to construct your own evaluation argument.

What makes a person a good role model? Choose your top three criteria.
How would you rank those criteria in order of importance?
Choose two prominent public figures from history, pop culture or politics, dead or alive, who would be interesting to compare as role models.
Evaluate each person according to the three criteria you identified.
Which figure comes out as the better role model?
If you ranked the criteria differently, would the other one come out ahead?
What is most controversial in your evaluation? Is it the choice of criteria, the ranking of the criteria, or the idea that your figure fits certain criteria?

Masks Strongly Recommended but Not Required in Maryland, Starting Immediately

Due to the downward trend in respiratory viruses in Maryland, masking is no longer required but remains strongly recommended in Johns Hopkins Medicine clinical locations in Maryland. Read more .

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COVID-19 Vaccine: What You Need to Know

The COVID-19 vaccine is very good at preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death. Because the virus that causes COVID-19 continues to change, vaccines are updated to help fight the disease. It is important to check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 vaccine information for the latest details. (Posted 11/22/23)

What is the COVID-19 vaccine?

The COVID-19 vaccine lessens the severity of COVID-19 by teaching the immune system to recognize and fight the virus that causes the disease.

For fall/winter 2023–2024, the updated COVID-19 vaccine is based on the XBB.1.5 variant. The updated vaccine is made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Novavax. This season, only one shot of the vaccine is needed for most people, and there are no boosters. (People who are immunocompromised or ages 6 months to 4 years may need more than one 2023–2024 vaccine.)

How is the 2023–2024 COVID-19 vaccine different from previous COVID-19 vaccines?

The 2023–2024 COVID-19 vaccine targets XBB.1.5, a subvariant of Omicron. While none of the variants currently circulating are exact matches to the vaccine, they are all closely related to the XBB.1.5 strain. Studies show that the updated vaccine is effective against the variants currently causing the majority of COVID-19 cases in the U.S.

Who should get a COVID-19 vaccine?

Because the 2023–2024 vaccine is effective for recent strains of COVID-19, it is recommended that everyone stay up to date with this vaccine. Previous vaccines or boosters were not developed to target the more recent strains. For 2023–2024, the CDC recommends:

Everyone age 5 and older receive one shot of the updated vaccine.
Children ages 6 months to 4 years may need more than one shot to be up to date.
People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may need more than one shot.

You can review the full recommendations on the CDC’s Stay Up to Date with COVID-19 Vaccines webpage . Be sure to talk to your primary care doctor or pediatrician if you are unsure about vaccine recommendations.

What are the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine?

Side effects vary and may last one to three days. Common side effects are:

Soreness at the injection site

COVID-19 Vaccine and Pregnancy

COVID-19 vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are safe and recommended for people who are pregnant or lactating, as well as for those r intending to become pregnant.

People who are pregnant or were recently pregnant are at a greater risk for severe COVID-19. Having a severe case of COVID-19 while pregnant is linked to a higher risk of pre-term birth and stillbirth and might increase the risk of other pregnancy complications.

What should parents know about the COVID-19 vaccine and children?

The CDC recommends the 2023–2024 vaccine for adolescents and teenagers ages 12 and older, and for children ages 6 months through 11 years.

Children age 5 and older need one shot of the updated vaccine.

Children are less likely to become seriously ill from COVID-19 than adults, although serious illness can happen. Speak with your pediatrician if you have questions about having your child vaccinated.

If I recently had COVID-19, do I need a 2023–2024 vaccine?

If you recently had COVID-19, the CDC recommends waiting about three months before getting this updated vaccine. If you encounter the virus again, having the updated vaccine will:

Lessen your risk of severe disease that could require hospitalization
Reduce the chance that you infect someone else with COVID-19
Help keep you protected from currently circulating COVID-19 variants

How long should I wait to get this vaccine if I recently had an earlier version of a COVID-19 vaccine or booster?

People age 5 years and older should wait at least two months after getting the last dose of any COVID-19 vaccine before receiving the 2023–2024 vaccine, according to CDC guidance .

Is natural immunity better than a vaccine?

Natural immunity is the antibody protection your body creates against a germ once you’ve been infected with it. Natural immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19 is no better than vaccine-acquired immunity, and it comes with far greater risks. Studies show that natural immunity to the virus weakens over time and does so faster than immunity provided by COVID-19 vaccination.

Do I need a COVID-19 booster?

The 2023–2024 vaccine is a one-shot vaccine for most people, and there is no booster this season. (People who are immunocompromised or ages 6 months to 4 years may need more than one 2023–2024 vaccine.)

The FDA calls this an updated vaccine (not a “booster” like previous shots) because it builds a new immune response to variants that are currently circulating. This change reflects the current approach of treating COVID-19 similarly to the flu, with preventive measures such as an annual vaccination.

When should I get a COVID-19 vaccine?

Like the flu and other respiratory diseases, COVID-19 tends to be more active in the fall and winter, so getting a vaccine in the fall is recommended.

How quickly does the COVID-19 vaccine become effective?

It usually takes about two weeks for the vaccine to become effective. The CDC website provides more information on how the COVID-19 vaccines work .

How long does the COVID-19 vaccine last?

Studies suggest that COVID-19 vaccines are most effective during the first three months after vaccination.

Is it safe to get a flu and COVID-19 vaccine at the same time?

Yes, it safe to get both shots at the same time. Keep in mind that each has similar side effects and you may experience side effects from both.

Is the COVID-19 vaccine safe?

Yes. COVID-19 vaccines approved by the FDA meet rigorous testing criteria and are safe and effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death. Millions of people have received the vaccines, and the CDC continues to monitor their safety and effectiveness as well as rare adverse events.

Where can I get a COVID-19 vaccine?

The COVID-19 vaccine is available at pharmacies. See vaccines.gov to find a convenient location.

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On Tech: A.I.

Applying to college here’s how a.i. tools might hurt, or help..

ChatGPT might change the application essay forever.

By Natasha Singer

I spent the last week talking with university officials, teachers and high school seniors about the dreaded college admissions essay.

I cover education technology at The Times. And I’ve been thinking a lot about how artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, which can manufacture school essays and other texts, might reshape the college application process.

I was particularly interested to learn whether admissions officials were rejiggering their essay questions — or even reconsidering personal essays altogether.

Amid a deluge of high school transcripts and teacher recommendations, admissions officers often use students’ writing samples to identify applicants with unique voices, experiences, ideas and potential. How might that change now that many students are using A.I. chatbots to brainstorm topics, generate rough drafts and hone their essays?

To find out, I contacted admissions officials at more than a dozen large state universities, Ivy League schools and small private colleges, including Juan Espinoza , the director of undergraduate admissions at Virginia Tech.

Right now, he told me, many universities are still trying to figure out how the A.I. technologies work and what they mean for the admissions process.

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What Is an Evaluation Essay? Simple Examples To Guide You
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7 Steps for How to Write an Evaluation Essay (Example & Template)
How to write an Evaluation Essay. There are two secrets to writing a strong evaluation essay. The first is to aim for objective analysis before forming an opinion. The second is to use an evaluation criteria. Aim to Appear Objective before giving an Evaluation Argument. Your evaluation will eventually need an argument.
Ultimate Guide to Writing an Evaluation Essay: Tips and Examples
An evaluation essay is a piece of writing that aims to assess the value or quality of a particular subject or phenomenon. It involves analyzing a topic, presenting your judgment or opinion on it, and providing evidence or examples to support your claims. This type of essay requires critical thinking, research, and effective communication skills ...
What Is an Evaluation Essay? Simple Examples To Guide You
Learn what an evaluation essay is, how to write one, and see examples. An evaluation essay is a subjective judgment of a subject based on some criteria and evidence.
Definition and Examples of Evaluation Essays
An evaluation essay is a composition that offers value judgments about a particular subject according to a set of criteria. Also called evaluative writing, evaluative essay or report, and critical evaluation essay . An evaluation essay or report is a type of argument that provides evidence to justify a writer's opinions about a subject.
Evaluation Essay
Learn how to write an evaluation essay that offers a value judgment or an opinion of something. Find out the purpose, structure, criteria, evidence, and format of an evaluation essay with examples and topics.
The Ultimate Guide to Writing an Evaluation Essay
Here are some tips for selecting an evaluation essay topic: - Choose a topic that you are interested in: It is essential to choose a topic that you are passionate about and have some knowledge of. This will make the writing process more enjoyable and will also result in a more engaging and informative essay. - Select a topic that is ...
Unlocking the Art of Evaluation Essays: A Comprehensive Guide
An evaluation essay is a type of academic writing where the writer assesses and analyzes a particular subject, product, service, or idea. The primary objective is to form a well-founded opinion and provide evidence-based reasoning to support the evaluation.
Evaluation Essay: Tips, Guide, and 100 Top Ideas
Learn how to write an evaluation essay by following the criteria, judgement, and evidence structure. Find out the differences between an evaluation essay and a review, and see examples and topics for inspiration.
How to Write an Evaluation Essay
An evaluation essay is an essay where the writer presents an opinion or viewpoint on a topic and then provides a well-reasoned argument and plenty of supporting evidence to back up that opinion. You are probably more familiar with the evaluation essay than you realize, because you have encountered the format outside of the academic world.
How to Write an Evaluation Essay
Step 4: Structuring Your Essay. A well-structured evaluation essay enhances readability and ensures your points are effectively communicated. Consider the following structure: Introduction: Provide a brief overview of the subject and state your evaluation's purpose and significance. Main Body: Break your evaluation into logical paragraphs, each ...
The Evaluation Essay
Learn how to write an evaluation essay by choosing a topic, generating ideas, and supporting your judgment with criteria and evidence. Find out the key features of a well-written evaluation essay and see examples of film reviews.
Evaluation Essay Definition, Example & Parts
Learn how to write an evaluation essay by making a judgment, providing criteria, and giving evidence. See an example of an evaluative thesis and other parts of the essay.
PDF A Brief Guide to Writing Evaluation Essays
A Brief Guide to Writing Evaluation Essays Many of the features of evaluations are the same as those found in a cause and effect essay, although the writer is not showing a causal relationship. Evaluative essays seek to prompt readers to examine their own values and to perhaps accept the view of the writer. ...
How to Write an Evaluation Essay: A Step-By-Step Guide
A well-organized essay is the key to success. In our article, we will break down the structure of an evaluation essay. Examples for Clarity: Finally, we'll provide examples of successful evaluation essays. These samples will illustrate the principles discussed and offer practical insights into what makes an effective evaluation essay.
Evaluation Essays
Learn how to write an evaluation essay by presenting the subject, asserting a judgment, giving reasons and support, counterarguing, and establishing credibility. Find out the purpose, characteristics, and criteria of evaluative writing.
How to Write an Evaluation Essay: Easy Guide & Examples
Evaluation Essay Outline. A clear outline provides a map of organizing ideas when you write evaluation essay. An evaluation essay outline covers at least five structured paragraphs. The first is an introductory paragraph followed by three or more body paragraphs, and finally, an essay conclusion. Below is an evaluation paper outline example ...
Evaluation Essay Examples: Master the Art of Critical Assessment with
It is a common academic task across all levels. Evaluation essays come in different forms, from online product reviews to business cases prepared by management professionals. In contrast to a descriptive essay, an evaluation essay aims to express the author's judgment. However, this essay type is defined by an objective tone.
How to Write an Evaluation Essay (Interactive Examples)
"Unlock the art of evaluation essays in our 7-Minute Masterclass! 📝 Dive in to learn:🔍 Core principles of evaluation essays📚 Picking compelling topics an...
Evaluation Essay
Evaluation essay thesis statement follows the introduction paragraph. It informs readers of what to expect from reading this essay and how it could affect your thinking about a certain matter. 4. Draft the Main Body of the Essay. The main body of an essay is the lengthiest part of the essay. It contains three paragraphs, but you can add more ...
Quick Guide to an Evaluation Essay
If an evaluation essay does not have criteria by which you are judging something, an actual judgment on whatever it is you are evaluating and plenty of evidence to support your judgment, then readers of your evaluation will ask, "So what? What was the point of me reading this?". This is not the goal.
Evaluation Essay
Next, the essay needs to provide a judgment about a subject. This is the thesis of the essay, and it states whether the subject is good or bad based on how it meets the stated criteria. Criteria. The body of the essay will contain the criteria used to evaluate the subject. In an evaluation essay, the criteria must be appropriate for evaluating ...
How to Write an Evaluation Paper With Sample Essays
Have a strong opinion—positive or negative—about this topic. Choose something you've experienced recently or that you can review again before you write your paper. Know a lot about this type of experience. Use the following list of categories to brainstorm ideas for what you might want to evaluate. Use this list of categories to brainstorm ...
7.4: Evaluation Arguments
An evaluation argument based on moral criteria will claim that something is right or wrong. It will need to appeal to shared values or make a case for a particular value that serves as criteria. Some values are nearly universal, such as honesty, reasonableness, and fairness, as we will discuss in 9.6: Moral Character.
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We tested Turnitin's ChatGPT-detector for teachers. It got some wrong
The flag on a portion of Goetz's essay was an outlier, but shows detectors can sometimes get it wrong — with potentially disastrous consequences for students. Detectors are being introduced ...
Applying to College? Here's How A.I. Tools Might Hurt, or Help
I spent the last week talking with university officials, teachers and high school seniors about the dreaded college admissions essay. I cover education technology at The Times.

7 Steps for How to Write an Evaluation Essay (Example & Template)

1. What is an Evaluation Essay?

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2. How to write an Evaluation Essay

In order to appear balanced you should:

Use an Evaluation Criteria

3. How to come up with an Evaluation Argument

4. Evaluation Essay Outline (with Examples)

4.1 How to Write your Introduction

4.2 Example Introduction

4.3 How to Write your Body Paragraphs

4.4 First Body Paragraph: Overview of your Subject

4.5 First Body Paragraph Example

4.6 Evaluation Paragraphs: Second, Third, Forth and Fifth Body Paragraphs

4.7 Evaluation Paragraph Example

4.8 How to write your Conclusion

4.9 Concluding Argument Example Paragraph

5. Evaluation Essay Example Template

6. 23+ Good Evaluation Essay Topics

6.1 Evaluation of Impact

6.2 Evaluation of a Scholarly Text or Theory

6.3 Evaluation of Art and Literature

6.4 Evaluation of a Product or Service

7. Concluding Advice

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Tips for Writing a Top-Notch Evaluation Essay

Choose a Relevant and Engaging Topic

Develop a Strong Thesis Statement

Provide Clear and Concise Criteria for Evaluation

Support Your Evaluation with Solid Evidence

Use a Structured Format to Organize Your Essay

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Definition and Examples of Evaluation Essays

Observations

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Evaluation Essay - Definition, Examples, and Writing Tips

What is an Evaluation Essay?

What is the Purpose of an Evaluation Essay?

Evaluation Essay Structure

How to Start an Evaluation Essay?

Step 1. Choose an Interesting Topic

Step 2. Set the Evaluation Essay Criteria

Step 3. Collect Evidence for Your Judgment

Step 4. Decide the Essay Structure

Step 5. Craft the Essay Outline

Step 6. Declare Your Thesis Statement

How to Write an Evaluation Essay?

Step 1. Write the Introduction

Step 2. Draft the Body Section

Step 3. Write the Conclusion

Step 4. Proofread, Revise, and Edit

How to Format Your Evaluation Essay?

Evaluation Essay Examples

Evaluation Essay Topics For College Students

Evaluation Essay vs. Review

Frequently Asked Questions

2. What are the 4 types of evaluation?

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Choosing a Topic for an Evaluation Essay

Here is a list of 50 evaluation essay topics:

Understanding the Structure of an Evaluation Essay

Writing an Effective Evaluation Essay

Examples of Evaluation Essays

Frequently Asked Questions

2. What are the elements of an evaluation essay?

3. How do I choose a topic for an evaluation essay?

4. What is the difference between an evaluation essay and a review?

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Unlocking the Art of Evaluation Essays: A Comprehensive Guide

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Evaluation Essay Outline: How to Structure Your Essay

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