Lesson 4

• Evaluating text


  Assessing the degree to which the writer's ideas are valid
• Writing text evaluations

  1. Formulate a working thesis statement

  2. Support your thesis statement by providing textual evidence from the text itself or other related sources

  3. Consider possible objections to your judgment of text
• Formulating evaluative statements


  • Express your assertions about a text read
  • Support your assertions with pieces of evidence that can be found in the text
• Formulating assertions about the content and properties of a text read


  • Examine which ideas are facts or opinions
  • Make inferences and conclusions
  • Assess the overall quality of the text
• Assertions usually contain Evaluative language, such as:


  • Useful
  • Significant
  • Important
  • Insightful
  • Detailed
  • Up-to-date
  • Comprehensive
  • Practical
• Formulating meaningful counterclaims


  • Providing criticism to an illogical proposed claim
  • Considering that academic or professional writing requires a courteous tone, hedges are used.
• Determining textual evidence


  • Objective evidence: specific information such as scores, quantity, and percentages
  • Subjective evidence: assertions and inferences that can be used to prove the evaluation of the reviewer
• It clearly articulates the main point or argument of an essay, dissertation, or research paper.


  Thesis statement
• It takes a clear stance on a topic, presenting an argument about it.


  Thesis Statement
• It doesn't include evidence but it needs to be supported by evidence in the essay.


  Thesis Statement
• Evaluating a text is a serious reading part. It requires you to research on the subject matter aside from referring only to your prior knowledge or experience.