English 103
Van Noy
Paper #3 – Evaluation

A primary objective of English 103 is for you to write about your positions in a clear, precise way. Every day it seems we make evaluations and judgments, sometimes spontaneously, in response to events, people and things. "Oh, I don’t know, I just like it." Rarely do we think out a reasoned, careful argument based on appropriate criteria, although we constantly give reasons for our evaluations in a casual way. Once you study your subject (as we’ve tried to study good writing), you begin to cultivate judgment, making it more sound, more discriminating, less reckless, and not merely "judgmental" or opinionated.

Your purpose in writing this paper is to convince (persuade) readers that you have an informed judgment.

Evaluations provide:

A basic summary of your subject

An authoritative judgment—the movie is good because . . .

Relevant criteria. Film reviews, for example, might include story line, theme, unity, acting, directing. Most important can come first or last.

If you wrote about a movie, your essay could take two forms. It was good (or bad) because of aesthetic reasons (those particular to movies), or it was a good (or bad) movie because of the manner in which it treated X (the themes it brings up). For either, you may want to compare it with other movies particular to the genre. For example, you would want to read Stephen King's "Why We Crave Horror Movies" if writing about one of them.  

Other possibilities: a poem or play, essay or novel, a television series, a musical performance, a consumer product, a theory, a restaurant, an invention, an accomplishment, or a policy. You could evaluate our library (or the holdings in a particular area), a political figure, an athlete, a dorm, the school newspaper, or a school policy. You'll probably be more successful if you can narrow down the class or category: for example, athlete to basketball guard. 

Evaluations can be organized in various ways. The important thing is to include all the parts: a presentation of the subject, a judgment of some kind based on criteria, and reasons and evidence to support the judgment. One possible sequence is:

Presentation of the subject
Discussion of criteria
Judgment (unless you delay it)
Reason 1
    Evidence
Reason 2
    Evidence
Reason 3
    Evidence, with comparison
(etc.)
Consideration of opposing judgment (if they might have a different view)
Conclusion

*You need to find at least one source (it may agree or disagree with you) to quote and ultimately cite in your paper.