Evaluation Essays
Evaluation essays ask students what they feel about certain things instead of being passive receivers of marketing. Writing the essay calls for analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and other critical thinking skills.
This guide provides insight into what evaluation essays are, their components, and the process of writing them. Use our basic guidelines to succeed in writing an evaluation essay of any complexity.
What is an evaluation essay?
Every idea or concept measures up differently. Evaluation writing offers critical insight and presents a reasonable and fair case to allow the reader to form their own opinion on the criteria being evaluated. An evaluation essay is a piece of writing that presents an opinion or value judgment on a subject or body of work according to a set of criteria.
The essay highlights the subject of evaluation in summary before presenting a well-structured argument supported with evidence and examples to justify the writer's opinions. An evaluation essay is essentially a review that judges whether something is good or bad based on specific criteria.
Evaluation Essay vs. Review
Students often mistakenly assume that evaluation essays and reviews are interchangeable. These two types of papers have some similarities, but they are not the same. They have a number of differences that set them apart.
- Type of analysis: Reviews offer a generalized look at the topic while evaluation essays thoroughly analyze the topic to get an in-depth look.
- Opinions: A review can be opinionated, but an evaluation essay has to remain unbiased.
- Evidence: A review is the writer's personal opinion, so no evidence is required, but judgments made in an evaluation essay must be supported by evidence.
- Set criteria: A review can offer an opinion on any part of the topic, but an evaluation essay must have a defined set of criteria
- References: Reviews generally do not require references, but all the sources used to make judgments must be cited or referenced.
How to evaluate an essay?
The first step to evaluating is studying the subject thoroughly. If it is a piece of writing, you need to read it in detail while keeping in mind the evaluation criteria you will use. A literary piece's evaluative aspects can be sentence structure, grammar, style, content, spelling, usage of sources, and many more.
You cannot evaluate something you have not used, tried, or tested. You must also have a base knowledge of similar subjects to make a comparison. Study evaluation essay examples to get as idea of how to evaluate.
Identifying evaluation criteria
There are three crucial elements at the core of every evaluation essay:
- Criteria
- Judgment
- Evidence
To avoid creating an overly opinionated evaluation essay, you should establish concise criteria. Criteria are the reasonable outcomes for the component being evaluated. The process of verifying if a criterion is being met is referred to as judgment, while evidence is the information that supports the judgment.
Conduct some research and make a list of the standards you will use for evaluating your subject. The standards should be prominent and widely recognized. If you are not familiar with the standards, you should study evaluation essay examples by other writers to find out.
Writing an Evaluation Essay step by step
1. Choose a topic
Choosing evaluation essay topics is an important first step. If the instructor has not allocated a specific topic, you should choose the one you are familiar with. Since you must make an in-depth study of the subject before making a judgment on its value, you should choose something you are knowledgeable about. Evaluation essay topics set the tone for the entire paper.
2. Develop a thesis
The thesis states the primary purpose of your evaluation essay. It should also the criteria for judgment and the value of what is being evaluated. Your thesis statement should be clear and to the point. You can revise it as your essay takes shape.
3. Research to find supporting evidence.
An evaluation essay should be fact-based and not opinionated. Search for supporting evidence for your argument from credible sources.
4. Draft your essay
After you have made a plan, collected all the information you need, and created an outline, the next thing to do is write. Write down your first draft on paper. You should be prepared to write more than one draft before you can write an excellent evaluation essay.
How to organize your evaluation essay
1. Comparison/ contrast: Compare your subject to the best of its kind. Do not provide an extended comparison but instead use one comparison to introduce your judgment.
2. Causal analysis: Measure the effect that a subject has on the audience.
3. Chronological order: This means telling how things unfolded in the order it happened. It is ideal for restaurant reviews and or performance.
4. Visual analysis: Visual analysis focuses on focus, arrangement, composition, symbols, foreground and background, and other features of the visual. The evaluation is ideal for analyzing pictures and works of art.
5. Social context-focused analysis: This evaluation takes an image of a controversial or emotionally. Charged historical or cultural events and analyzes its effectiveness at demonstrating and contributing to the event's debate or emotion.
6. Analysis by criteria: This evaluation involves introducing a subject, stating your reason for evaluation, competition, and process of data gathering.
7. Define and compare: Describe your typical expectations of the subject and provide evidence of how it deviates from the norm or exemplifies the genre
8. Frame: Describe a subject halfway to create suspense for your readers and then evaluate and conclude with the end of your frame
Final Thoughts
An evaluation essay is more structured, technical, and extensive than a review. However, anyone can write a good evaluation essay. Reading other evaluation essay examples, learning how to organize your essay, learning how to evaluate, and other tips highlighted in this guide can help you write an evaluation essay that earns you a top grade.
