Evaluation/Critique/Review Essay
North Seattle Community College English Department
ENG 101 JC Clapp
Purpose of the Assignment:

Give you practice in basing evaluations on articulated evaluative criteria;

Show you the need to develop analytical, thoughtful, rigorous critiques;

Help you understand and relate these skills for many possible real-life situations:
employee/employer evaluations, customer feedback, course evaluations, reports, and
future employment.
Your Task: Choose a text (film, essay, book, ad campaign, TV show, editorial, textbook, class,
instructor, CD, opera, symphony, play, musical, etc.), and write a review that contains:

A clearly specified audience and possible place for publication (who will read this review
and where would they see it published?) – you can just write this information at the top of
the review

A form for the review that meets the needs and expectations of the target audience

An accurate and specific description of the item being evaluated;

Background information, as appropriate, to provide context for the evaluation;

Clear and appropriate criteria on which the evaluation is based;

A judgment of the item being evaluated that directly relates to your criteria (how does the
item measure up to an ideal sample?);

An evaluation based on analysis (that uses examples) and not mere opinion.
The Memo of Self-Reflection: After you’ve finished your review, write a memo of selfreflection that addresses the below questions. Attach this memo to your final draft. This memo
is required.

How have the other writing assignments we’ve done for this class helped you to complete
this assignment? (if at all)

Comparing your first paper (the analysis) with this paper (the evaluation), how have you
seen your writing change and develop? What specific changes have you noticed? If you
see no changes, what might account for that?

Which writing assignment that you completed this quarter seemed to help you learn the
most? Why?

Anything else you’d like to let JC know about this paper, this class, or this quarter?
Evaluation: Your review will be graded on the criteria identified on the attached rubric.
Due Dates:

OPTIONAL conferences with JC on Monday, December 5 – come prepared with a very
good outline or a rough draft

Revised Draft due on Tuesday, December for peer review session – bring 3 copies

Final Draft due on Thursday, December 8 (don’t forget your memo)
In-Class brainstorming space:
2