Introduction

Evaluations are important in college, and knowing how to write one will be invaluable as you critique books/journals, judge a hypothesis against the results of an experiment, or assess the value of conflicting accounts. Evaluations are also important on the job—you will be evaluated, and you will be asked to evaluate others and their ideas. In fact, we make evaluations everyday, stating judgments about food, clothes, books, classes, teachers, political candidates, TV shows, performers, and films, etc.

Most evaluations express personal preference–we like it or we don’t like it. But, when someone asks why?, evaluation goes beyond individual taste. For your opinion to be taken seriously, you must have reasons that are considered appropriate standards for evaluating that particular subject and be able to support your reasons with clear evidence. While basing an evaluation solely on personal taste might work for telling your friend your favorite candy bar, that won’t work for a professional or academic evaluation.