Formula for Evaluation Argument

Choose a situation, event, or item and evaluate it, attempting to persuade an audience of a debatable claim of value. In Toulmin terms, your enthymeme should be based on the formula

X is (or is not) a good Y because it meets (or does not meet) criteria A, B, C, etc.

Note well that you need not phrase it this way: the structure above is offered as a guide for your invention process. Your finished essay will need to state the central claim clearly but in a way consistent with your purpose in the essay itself. Your argument should include the following elements:

  1. An interesting and significant evaluative claim (no "best pizza" arguments, please, it must pass the "who cares?" test)
  2. An effective exposition of your claim's significance and rhetorical context
  3. At least two well-explained and defended criteria
  4. An examination of your claim in terms of the stated criteria
  5. Evidence for every part of the argument, not only for your evaluative claim but also for your criteria selection, particularly if you suspect your audience may not share your ideas about what is most important.
  6. A consideration of alternative views and counter-arguments from the audience most likely to be interested in your claim.
  7. Effective essay structure
  8. Proper use, citation, and documentation of source material (i.e., compliance with Kean Scholastic Integrity and MLA or APA guidelines for dealing with sources, including a Works Cited list at the end of your essay).

Some tips to help you

Read Chapter 56 of The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers (Chapter 55a-c, 3rd edition) carefully for details on how to approach this assignment. I cannot stress strongly enough how helpful you will find this advice to be. The textbook contains step-by-step instructions for how to formulate a topic, a set of criteria, effective qualifiers, and the rest of the elements essential to an evaluative argument.

Remember the value of controversy in your arguments. Your paper will be uninteresting if you choose a topic with which everyone will clearly agree.

Make sure that you select a category that is broad enough to be arguable yet narrow enough to be fair. While it is certainly true, for instance, that Chicken Run is the finest animated-clay full-length feature film released this summer, the claim is not arguable because Chicken Run is the only member of this category„the claim is too narrow. On the other hand, arguing that Chicken Run is the greatest movie of the past ten years may be unconvincing because comparing it with such films as Schindler's List or The Matrix is difficult, because the category is too broad to have criteria about which most people will agree. So, be appropriately specific in your topics. If talking on affirmative action, for example, choose a particular university's admissions policy or a specific company's hiring policy.

On criteria, choose those appropriate for your topic. If other criteria might also be chosen, you need to explain why the criteria you chose are most suitable. E.g., you might have to explain why the criteria for best offensive lineman would be different from those for best defensive lineman, or why the criteria for critiquing a grunge CD would differ from the criteria for evaluating Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

When locating sources, expand your range of possibilities, and try to incorporate opposing views. Don't try to find a source that makes the same argument you plan to make: if it's been written already, why should you write it also? You may, of course, find sources that agree with your point of view; use them sparingly, but acknowledge their existence through correct citations. Neither should you ignore contrary opinions. As the recommended structure for the assignment indicates, part of your job is to deal with such opinions, either by refuting them or by some other method. See Chapter 57, pp. 773-774, (Chapter 56, pp. 755, 758-759, 3rd edition) in The Longman Handbook for further hints on how to do this.

Your source material adds authority to your argument, so you must specify reliable sources. Source material should contribute something to your paper that you cannot: specific facts, clarification or emphasis of a point, a voice with authority in a specific area, illustration of the controversy or complexity around your issue. See The Longman Handbook for some information on documentation of both in-text citations and the Works Cited page.

If you evaluate some product or course of action, factor cost into your criteria. Cost need not involve money: it may also involve time, energy, or convenience, among other things. For examples of argumentative essays, look at the end of Chapter 57 (Chapter 55, 3rd edition) in The Longman Handbook.

Topic proposal

1. State your evaluative claim or thesis.

2. Specify a particular audience for your argument and briefly discuss strategies you might use to persuade them.

3. Explain why you think your claim is important or controversial, and why your audience will be interested in reading your paper.

4. List the criteria (reasons for your claim) you tentatively plan to use in your argument and discuss any challenges you anticipate encountering from your audience.

5. List warrants connecting your claim and reasons.

6. Finally, mention any secondary sources you have already found.