Forming Evaluative Statements

• Evaluative statements


  Judgements given by a reader that explain the strengths and weaknesses of a text using a set of criteria
• Evaluative statements


  • May be about the logic used by the author, the properties of a text, or the quality of the claims and arguments presented
  • Should be objective and formal
• Assertion


  A kind evaluative statement that expresses the quality of a text, or parts of a text
• How to write assertions


  1. Carefully read the text

  2. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the text

  3. Use reporting verbs or descriptive words

  4. Use hedging words

  5. Cite textual evidence to support your assertion
• Reporting verbs


  Verbs that help you introduce the ideas or words of others as paraphrases or quotations from scholarly literature
• Descriptive verbs


  Used to give more details about the text
• Hedging words


  Words that signal careful assumptions to make a statement look less absolute (e.g. modals, adverbs, approximators)
• Counterclaim


  A critical response that contradicts the claim found in the text
• How to write counterclaims


  1. Carefully read the text

  2. Identify the claims made by the author that you find wrong, invalid, or weak

  3. Use introductory phrases to introduce the author's claim and transitional phrases for your counterclaim

  4. Use hedging words

  5. Cite textual evidence to support your counterclaims

  6. Provide a clear reason or explanation of how the evidence contradicts the author's claim and supports your counterclaim

  7. Give a strong conclusion
• Evaluative statements should be

  objective and formal
• Formality means using appropriate language and tone for academic writing.
• Objectivity is important because it allows readers to see things clearly without being influenced by personal opinions.
• Counterclaims are also an another type of claim.