Evaluation Essay assignment sheet 1 
ENGL 101/Stacy Steinberg
EVALUATION ESSAY
Length: 3-4 pages, typed, double-spaced and stapled, placed in an envelope or folder with your rough draft and editing guide(s)
First draft due March 1
Final draft due: March 9
Your second essay is an evaluation, which means it is written for the purpose of judging something, of determining whether--and for what reasons--something is or is not valuable or worthwhile. Your goal in this essay is to persuade others that your judgment about the subject is the correct one.
You may choose the subject of your evaluation: good ideas include movies, TV shows, books, websites, video games, or interesting/ innovative products (i.e. smart phones, computers, cars). I do not recommend focusing on restaurants or food products (i.e. cookies) unless there is a particularly interesting or unusual quality that you can use to focus your evaluation. Choose a subject that has different dimensions that you can explore. I strongly recommend that you email me for feedback on your topic idea before you write your first draft, especially if it is not one of the ideas listed here.
It is critical that you support your conclusions with specific details. Therefore, you must have access to the subject of your evaluation. You cannot evaluate from memory a product that you used once six months ago; you cannot evaluate a film or TV show unless you can watch it again (and again) as needed. Look closely at the subject you are evaluating as many times as necessary to gather specific details to support your conclusions. (Note that if you evaluate a TV show, your evaluation will necessarily focus on one or two episodes only; those episodes will serve to represent the series as a whole)
Your essay should begin with an introduction and thesis, and your thesis statement will assert your opinion of the subject. However, in a strong evaluation essay, the thesis will assert something more specific than just whether your conclusion is positive or negative
EVALUATION ESSAY
Length: 3-4 pages, typed, double-spaced and stapled, placed in an envelope or folder with your rough draft and editing guide(s)
First draft due March 1
Final draft due: March 9
Your second essay is an evaluation, which means it is written for the purpose of judging something, of determining whether--and for what reasons--something is or is not valuable or worthwhile. Your goal in this essay is to persuade others that your judgment about the subject is the correct one.
You may choose the subject of your evaluation: good ideas include movies, TV shows, books, websites, video games, or interesting/ innovative products (i.e. smart phones, computers, cars). I do not recommend focusing on restaurants or food products (i.e. cookies) unless there is a particularly interesting or unusual quality that you can use to focus your evaluation. Choose a subject that has different dimensions that you can explore. I strongly recommend that you email me for feedback on your topic idea before you write your first draft, especially if it is not one of the ideas listed here.
It is critical that you support your conclusions with specific details. Therefore, you must have access to the subject of your evaluation. You cannot evaluate from memory a product that you used once six months ago; you cannot evaluate a film or TV show unless you can watch it again (and again) as needed. Look closely at the subject you are evaluating as many times as necessary to gather specific details to support your conclusions. (Note that if you evaluate a TV show, your evaluation will necessarily focus on one or two episodes only; those episodes will serve to represent the series as a whole)
Your essay should begin with an introduction and thesis, and your thesis statement will assert your opinion of the subject. However, in a strong evaluation essay, the thesis will assert something more specific than just whether your conclusion is positive or negative