GUIDE TO THE PREPARATION OF EVALUATIONS

Dr. Powers

Description, Purposes, Goals

An evaluation, for purposes of this class, is a judgment of your own concerning a topic which is the subject of historiographical dispute.

The purpose of an evaluation is to review some of the major historiographical perspectives on a topic at issue, to draw from that material a perspective/argument of your own, and to present that perspective in clear, coherent, and persuasive written fashion.

The goals of an evaluation assignment are

1) to give you an opportunity to exercise your skills at critical reading, identifying major points in an argument, and writing clearly and concisely;

2) to test whether you have understood the arguments of articles you have read;

3) to help you learn material in articles more effectively;

4) to give you an opportunity to exercise your ability at analyzing arguments and drawing conclusions; and,

5) to provide you with a tool to make your study for tests and exams easier.

There is no set form for an evaluation, but a good evaluation MUST include the following elements:

1) A title, stating clearly the topic under discussion.

2) A clear statement of the point or issue which the authors in question are addressing. (What are they arguing about?)

3) A set of SUMMARIES of the articles involved. Summaries need not be more than a paragraph long, if that, but each must express the thesis of the author, with particular emphasis on the way it relates to the point at issue. It is not necessary to write separate paragraphs, one on each article, and have them follow one another in sequence, though that's a perfectly good way to do it. It is possible to summarize one article, then review it; or to include summaries of all in a general analysis. What is important is that I have clear evidence that you understand what the argument is about and what position each author takes in the argument.

4) The EVALUATION proper. This is the heart of your paper. The essential thing is that it contain your own thesis on the issue, and that it include your assessment of the work of the authors. You should have a clear thesis, explain it so that the reader knows what you mean, and support it with material from the articles. What do you think of the two interpretations you read? What is your own interpretation?

A good evaluation shows that you understand the articles you read AND the issue they're discussing. It shows that you are capable of forming, framing, and supporting your own conclusions on the issue and on the articles. The summaries convey a good sense of what the authors are arguing, and your own conclusion is clearly stated and well supported.

In drawing your conclusion, you may develop a thesis of your own, relatively unrelated to those of the authors you read. If you do, be sure you have good evidence to support your conclusion.

It is also acceptable to adopt one of the interpretations as your own. If you feel that one author is absolutely right on the subject, say so; but in this case, do not use evidence to prove the author's point. By adopting his argument so completely, you've already made a strong argument that his or her evidence does indeed prove the point. Your own conclusion in this case should not be a reiteration of the author's. Instead, you should give evidence WHY you adopted this particular interpretation instead of devising one of your own.

It is also acceptable for you to synthesize the interpretations, taking part from one and part from another. Again, show why you think this is appropriate, rather than simply copying evidence which the authors have already presented.

You may use quotes from the articles, but use them sparingly and appropriately, and be sure that, when you quote, you use quotation marks.

There is no set length to an evaluation, especially given the difficulty of counting individual words and the differences in spacing, writing size, ability to write concisely, etc.; but as a rough guide, your paper should run about 3-5 handwritten pages, or the typed or computer-generated equivalent. The evaluation may be done by hand, typed, computer printed, or submitted on appropriate computer disk or electronic mail medium.

Criteria

Here's what I'll be looking for as I grade your evaluations:

1) Is it clear from the beginning what topic is being considered?

2) Is there an introduction which sets forth the point at issue?

3) Are there summaries which show that you have read each article, understood each thesis, and recognized the relationship of each to the topic and to the other interpretations?

4) Are the individual interpretations reviewed and assessed?

5) Is there a clear, coherent, adequately explained, and properly supported argument of your own about the topic?

6) Do the items offered in support actually support the argument? Are they clearly related to the point they are supposed to be supporting?

7) Is the paper well-organized, clearly written, and free of egregious errors in spelling, grammar, and structure?

8) Is the paper written in your own words, free of excessive reliance on quotations or close paraphrases? (Please note that "excessive reliance" can vary from article to article, depending upon how clearly, concisely, and appropriately the author writes and organizes her/his own work.)

9) Does the paper convey a sense that you have read and understood the articles and that you understand the issue being discussed?

10) Is the paper of an appropriate length? Do you give yourself enough room to present the summaries and arguments effectively without running on so long as to lose focus and/or belabor the point?

Keep these criteria in mind as you read, as your write, and as you check your work. Keep this sheet handy: in grading, I'll sometimes refer to the numbers of these criteria rather than writing the standard on the paper. (For example, I might mark a "5" next to some of the examples you cite, indicating that I don't see a clear and coherent evaluation of your own; I might mark a "10" at the end of a 15-page paper.) Keeping this list with you as you read your graded paper will let you know what the grade notations mean.

If you have any questions, please let me know.