Evaluative essay

Topic: Technology

Format for your evaluation paper

Basic guidelines

Your paper must be in MLA format

It should be at least four pages long plus a Works Cited page.

The writing should be in Standard American English, well-structured, easy to follow, free from personal references and unnecessary wordiness.

Your introduction should

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Present the subject of your evaluation: “the person, place, thing, event, or phenomenon that you are evaluating” (Ramage et al. 371).

Show why evaluating X is problematic or controversial

Present your evaluation claim and your criteria

Your audience

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Intelligent Texas taxpayers

Your purpose

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Persuade your audience to see the value (or lack of value) of X.

Each body paragraph should

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State a criterion and defend it if necessary

Show that X meets or does not meet the criterion

Treatment of alternative or opposing views

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Summarize objections to your criteria or your match

Respond to these objections

Each reference to a source should

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Introduce the source using an attributive tag (Ramage et al. 555)

Quote or summarize the important information from that source

Explain the significance of the information from the source

Include a correct MLA in-text citation which is also referenced in the final Works Cited page

Your conclusion should

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Sum up your evaluation.

A final note

This paper is not about you. It is about the issue. Therefore, the following words and phrases do not belong in your essay: I me, myself, we, us, in my opinion, I think, I believe. Your paper is also not about your reader, and you do not know your reader personally; therefore, the following words do not belong in your essay either: you, your, you’re, yourself.