What is an Evaluation Essay?
An evaluation essay aims to validate the quality (or lack thereof) of a specific item, product, business, service, program, book, movie, etc. Every evaluation will contain some opinion, but to be done correctly, the evaluation should read differently than it is opinionated. A good evaluation will be fact-based, unbiased, and reasonable.
To write evaluations that follow this criterion, it is crucial to follow CJE guidelines. In other words, they are evaluative criteria, judgement, and evidence.
Criteria reference the desire to demonstrate what can be expected as a reasonable outcome for the evaluated component. Establishing concise criteria will prevent the evaluation paper from becoming overly opinionated.
Judgement comes from establishing if the criteria are being met.
Evidence is all of the information used to support the judgement.
Specifically, every paragraph in the evaluation essay’s body will focus on one key fact. If you want to write an evaluation paper, remember each fact should be explained in detail, offering judgement and evidence to support the evaluative argument.
Evaluation Essay Outline and Structure
This is the outline structure most commonly used for evaluative writing. Each point should be addressed, ideally in the order mentioned.
Introduction
- Introduce the evaluative subject. Write a complete paragraph that introduces the evaluative subject. Give definitions and necessary information. It can be done by providing a big-picture overview of the evaluative subject, discussing its influence on people, and why it is worth evaluating. You should also establish the criteria to be called upon to prove your thesis.
- Create your thesis statement. Establish your evaluative thesis statement, including the overall judgement and supporting reasons.
Useful information: Generate your thesis with this free thesis statement generator!
Body Paragraphs
First Reason
- Criterion One. Provide a topic sentence and your judgement of the first evaluative criterion. You will want to use transition words to help you move smoothly from your thesis to your first reason.
- Support for the first reason. Provide valid supporting information through quotes, examples, expert testimonials, evaluative statistics, comparisons, etc.
- Address any objections and refute them. Every argument is always made stronger when the writer can address objections or opposing views and is capable of providing reasons for refuting them.
Second Reason
- Criterion Two. Provide a topic sentence and your judgement of the second evaluative criterion. You will want to use transition words to help you move smoothly from your thesis to your next reason.
- Support for the second reason. Provide valid supporting information through quotes, examples, expert testimonials, evaluative statistics, comparisons, etc.
- Address any objections and refute them. Every evaluative argument is made stronger when the writer can address objections or opposing views and provide reasons for refuting them.
Conclusion
Restate your thesis statement and the purpose of your essay.
Read also: Get a 100% plagiarism-free essay at a cheap writing service.
How to Start an Evaluation Essay?
Writing an evaluation essay is a fantastic way to see how a specific idea or concept measures up. This type of writing offers critical insight into the criteria you want to evaluate in an essay. It presents fair and reasonable evidence so anyone reading the evaluation paper can form their opinion.
Starting an evaluation essay is easy.
- Choose your topic. You may be writing an evaluation essay on a movie or evaluating the service provided at a local restaurant. Whatever you write about, you must provide a critical judgement based on a series of criteria, so choosing a topic you know well or can research is necessary.
- Develop your evaluation argument essay. The thesis statement of an evaluation paper should define the overall goal or purpose of the evaluation essay. It should provide clear direction that can be used to distinguish between criteria and relevant illustrations. You will need to be careful to cite quality, or the lack of it, concerning the specific topic you are writing about.
- Consider the criteria used to make your judgement. Do you need help to evaluate your chosen topic at first glance? If so, consider choosing multiple points of interest that make this step easier.
- Gather supporting evidence, meanings, or material to establish your viewpoint. You are the one making the judgement about the topic, it is up to you to support your argument in a way that will allow others to make their own opinion.
Read also: How to start a paper and improve your writing.
How to Write an Evaluative Essay: Step-by-step Writing Guide
Once you’ve chosen a topic, thesis, and criteria, it’s time to write your essay.
Describe the evaluation criteria
The people reading your essay are less familiar with the topic than you are. Therefore, before writing the central part of the work, you need to indicate what you evaluated and why. Describe why this is an important setting and how it affects your problem.
Write a plan
Once you’ve chosen an evaluative thesis and gathered your arguments, writing a plan is time. Consider making one coherent essay from the data obtained, leading the reader to the necessary conclusion. Consider how you will argue for each point in your evaluation paper.
Write an evaluation essay
Draw up an evaluation paper following your plan. Give arguments and examples where necessary. Be specific, and don’t write text for the sake of text. Better pay attention to essential details.
Write conclusions
Reread the finished essay and conclude. Briefly recall what the evaluation paper was about, your research, and what you got.
Make a review of the finished essay and remove all unnecessary details
You may have added too many unimportant details while writing. Remove everything that doesn’t make sense. Also, check the evaluation paper for errors and logical inaccuracies. Check the citation and the document’s originality.
Evaluation Essay Format
The format of the assessment essay is no different from any other. It contains an introduction, main body, and conclusions. In the introduction, it is essential to talk about the problem and the methods that you will use. The central part claims arguments for resolving the issue and the results you got. In the final part, we briefly recall the subject under study and the results obtained.
Do not forget that you need to format your work according to your college formatting and citation standards.
Evaluation Essay Example
Here is a compilation of evaluation essays samples found online:
- http://home.ku.edu.tr/~doregan/Argumentation/SampleEvaluativeEssay.html
- http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/wr122/handouts/essays1.htm
Conclusion Sentence Examples for Essays
Your closing statement is your final opportunity to speak to your audience. You need to be able to persuade them, highlight your point of view, or impress as an expert on the subject. The end of your evaluation essay should boast completeness and offer closure. However, it should also give the reader everything they need to form their own opinion or provoke them to want to learn more.
To create a sense of closure, you might choose to:
- End your essay by linking the final evaluation paragraph to the opening statement. It can be done by restating the key point established in the beginning using other words.
- End with a sentence made up largely of single-syllable words. Simple language helps to convey the effect of understated drama.
To end a discussion while leaving room for further thought, you might choose to:
- End with a quote or reference from a secondary source. It should echo your primary evaluation argument or provide a different perspective.
- End by redefining one of the primary terms used in your argument.
- End by considering the implications of your analysis. What are you implying with the argument that you’ve made?
How not to end your essay?
- Do not only summarize or paraphrase your essay. Yes, it is helpful to briefly summarize your argument, especially if your essay is more than ten pages in length. However, for shorter essays, it typically isn’t necessary to restate your main ideas.
- Steer clear from phrases like ‘in closing, ‘in summation’, ‘in summary’, etc. These phrases are useful when delivering oral presentations. Still, when reading an essay, they can typically determine when it is about to end, so there is no need to state the obvious.
- Avoid the urge to apologize for knowing the things that you know. If you’ve done any research, you will know much more about a topic than you can conceivably include in a five or ten-page essay. Because of this, as you conclude your essay, you may feel reservations about the content you have produced. Avoid phrases like ‘this is only one approach’ or ‘ there may be better ways’, etc.
Use our basic guidelines on how to follow research paper structure requirements and succeed in writing a student assignment of any complexity. You can also get assistance if you want to write a good evaluation.
