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Berea_Midpark High School Library General Information: Papas - College Prep English

A guide to everything library for the staff and students of Berea-Midpark High School.

Evaluation Essay Assignment

Assignment Requirements: 

Your Evaluation Essay-Criteria and Getting Started 

Topic: Your choice!

Possible topics: Evaluate a book; movie; a website; a video game; an album; an art exhibit; a policy or law; a procedure; a restaurant; a tv series...and more.   You must be qualified to evaluate the topic.

Format:  The Evaluation Paper should be between 1500 and 1750 words.

You must have 3-4 credible sources with a works cited page, one of which must come from EBSCO or INFOHIO.  

Also, refer to our textbook and GOOGLE CLASSROOM for examples of MLA-formatted essays and parenthetical citations.

Assessment

The Evaluation Paper will be assessed according to the following criteria:

  • Does the paper identify what is being reviewed?

  • Does the paper have a thesis statement?

  • Does the paper have clear criteria against which the topic is judged?

  • Does the paper use descriptive details to convey a clear opinion about the selected topic?

  • Does the paper meet the required length for the assignment?

  • Is the paper well-organized and easy to understand?

  • Is the paper persuasive?

  • Is the paper engaging and fun to read?


 

Different types of sources

There are many different types of sources that you can use for your essay.  The ones listed below are just a few of the main sources:

  • Blogs - an online posting 
  • Books - a printed work of fiction and/or non-fiction
  • Images - a photograph, picture, painting
  • Magazine/Journal articles - articles, reviews, analysis of a topic either in a printed sources and/or online from a database
  • Newspaper articles - news or informative article from a print and/or online source
  • Interviews - speaking with an expert on a topic to gather information
  • Databases - an organized collection articles and information from magazine/journal, encyclopedias, video, audio, images, interviews 
  • Audio/Video - clips from news sources and/or informative programs
  • Website - an online page and/or collection of pages about a topic

Criteria for determining credible sources

Use the ABC's as a way to critically evaluate sources of information including:

Authority - Who or what organization is publishing this information?  Are they experts? Do they have the knowledge and expertise to publish this information?

Bias - What is the point of view being expressed?  Are there multiple points of view? Is this source trying to sell something? Does there appear to be any bias in the content? (Bias - beliefs that are not founded by known facts about someone or about a particular group of individuals. For example, one common bias is that women are weak (despite many being very strong)

Content - Is this content accurate and factual?  To be certain, try gain some background knowledge on your topic by reading an encyclopedia article.

Currency - Is this information recent? When was it published? Check for the dates in books, magazine articles and at the bottom of websites

 

Why use databases vs. Google/Online sources?

Credible Sources Presentation - Mrs. Schmuhl

Databases vs. Google - Which is best?

Google searches the Internet to locate websites that match whatever you've typed into the search box.  Many of the websites that may come up in your search will not be of any value to you.   If you use Google to locate websites, then you must apply the ABC's criteria to evaluating the credibility of the website.   Databases are developed by experts and use keyword searching.  The information contained in the database has already been evaluated for it credibility for you.  Databases also contain a variety of sources including magazine, journal and newspaper articles, video/audio, interviews and encyclopedia articles.   This is why a database should be the first place you begin your research.  

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