Types of Questions: Evaluation (Scottish Highers English): Revision Notes
Types of Questions: Evaluation
What are evaluation questions?
Evaluation questions ask you to judge how well a writer has achieved a particular effect or conveyed an idea to readers. The wording may vary, but these questions all require you to assess the effectiveness of a specific section of text.
You need to give your personal opinion about how successfully the writer has used language, supported by evidence from the passage. This means showing confidence in your own judgment while backing up your views with careful analysis.
The writing you evaluate has usually been selected for its quality. However, if you wish to make a negative comment, you may do so. You must support any criticism with convincing evidence and a well-argued case. Avoid expressing unsupported personal opinions or prejudices.
The difference between analysis and evaluation
Analysis and evaluation are connected but distinct skills. You must analyse before you can evaluate.
Analysis involves:
- Identifying how the writer has used language
- Explaining the effect this language creates for readers
Evaluation goes further by:
- Adding your personal judgment about how well the language works
- Assessing whether the writer has successfully achieved their objective
Do not worry about repeating some comments from your analysis answer. Evaluation naturally builds on analysis. The key difference is that evaluation requires you to express an opinion about the success or effectiveness of the writer's choices.
The four-stage approach to evaluation questions
When answering evaluation questions, follow these four stages:
Stage 1: Locate Find specific words, phrases or features from the text. Sometimes the question will direct you to these; other times you must identify them yourself.
Stage 2: Identify Name the language technique the writer is using (unless the question has already done this). For example: word choice, imagery, sentence structure, tone.
Stage 3: Explain Describe in your own words the effect this technique creates for the reader. What does it make readers think or feel? How does it contribute to meaning?
Stage 4: Evaluate Give your personal assessment of how successful this technique is in achieving the writer's purpose. Back up your judgment with clear reference to the text.
Helpful Memory Aid: Remember LITE
- Locate the text
- Identify the technique
- Tell the effect
- Evaluate the success
Evaluating a language technique
You may be asked to evaluate the effectiveness of specific language techniques such as:
- Word choice
- Imagery (similes, metaphors, personification)
- Sentence structure
- Tone
Approaching technique evaluation questions
Start by completing stages 1-3 (locate, identify, explain). Then add your evaluative judgment.
Worked Example: Evaluating imagery describing Venice's Basin at night
Analysis stage: The word choice "luscious" creates a sense of rich texture, as this word is usually associated with ripe fruit rather than water. This suggests the water feels thick and smooth.
The simile "as a great lake of plum-juice" conveys the dark purplish colour and thick texture of the water. It also suggests an unexpected vast expanse of this liquid.
Evaluation stage: The writer's word choice of "luscious" and the simile "as a great lake of plum-juice" work effectively because they avoid conventional descriptions of water. By using terms associated with fruit and fruit drinks, the writer draws on our familiar sense of taste and texture to recreate the scene in our minds. These examples are highly successful in their originality, capturing a distinctive and persuasive image of the Basin at night.
Notice how the evaluation:
- States clearly whether the techniques work well
- Explains why they are effective
- Refers back to the writer's overall purpose
- Uses specific textual evidence
Evaluating an anecdote, illustration or example
Writers often include specific examples or anecdotes (short stories) to support their arguments. Evaluation questions may ask you to assess how effectively these work.
What makes an effective anecdote or example?
An effective anecdote or example should:
- Illustrate the writer's main point in a vivid, memorable way
- Provide concrete details that bring abstract ideas to life
- Support the overall argument of the passage
- Engage the reader's interest or emotions
Approaching anecdote evaluation questions
Consider how the specific details and circumstances of the example support the writer's broader point.
Worked Example: Evaluating an anecdote about an unusual edition of Vanity Fair
The fact that this edition was pink, box-sized and elaborately illustrated brings home vividly the extent of changes already happening in book production. That it was found in an art gallery rather than a traditional bookshop suggests that not only book appearance but also selling locations are changing. These changes, described through specific concrete details, effectively launch the article's examination of the changing world of publishing.
This evaluation works because it:
- Identifies the specific unusual details (pink, box-sized, in a gallery)
- Explains what these details demonstrate
- Connects the example to the article's main theme
- Judges how well the example serves the writer's purpose
Evaluating a conclusion
Questions about conclusions ask you to assess how successfully the final paragraph rounds off the passage. Sometimes you will be directed towards a particular aspect such as tone. Other times you must decide what makes a satisfactory conclusion in your own terms.
Key features of effective conclusions
Revisiting main points
Writers often remind readers of the various ideas explored throughout the passage. By summarising key points in the final lines, the writer clarifies and reinforces their arguments.
In evaluation: "In referring again to [point 1] and [point 2], the writer pulls together facts mentioned earlier, clarifying and intensifying their arguments. This provides an effective sense of completion to the passage."
Connecting with the opening
Writers may create a sense of structure by linking the conclusion to the introduction. This circularity is a popular technique.
Look for:
- A question posed at the start that is answered in the conclusion
- An image introduced at the beginning that reappears at the end
- A metaphor (such as a door opening) that is resolved (door closing)
In evaluation: "In the introduction, the writer uses the image of a door opening onto a new experience. In the conclusion, this door closes, bringing finality to the article's examination of [topic]. This provides an effective sense of completion."
Both techniques together
Writers often use both approaches. Check for both when evaluating conclusions, as questions about conclusions typically carry high marks.
Other concluding approaches
Writers may also end by:
Calling for action
The writer urges readers to respond to the topic. Consider whether sufficient evidence (facts, statistics, examples) has been provided to make action seem credible or necessary.
Issuing a warning
The writer ends with a concern or caution. Assess whether a sufficiently worrying case (through anecdotes, statistics, imagery) has been made for readers to take these concerns seriously.
Universalising personal experience
The writer suggests their individual experience applies more broadly. Judge whether the case has been made persuasively enough (through anecdotes, examples, imagery) for readers to accept this wider application.
Changing tone
The writer shifts tone in the final paragraph. Identify what the change is, why it might be used, and whether you find it effective in completing the piece.
Approaching conclusion evaluation questions
When evaluating a conclusion:
- Analyse carefully what is happening in the final paragraph
- Identify which technique(s) the writer uses to round off the passage
- Point to specific features the writer has included
- Evaluate in your own terms how successful you find the conclusion to be
Good writers will surprise you with their approaches. Be prepared to recognise techniques beyond the common ones listed here, and always support your evaluation with clear textual evidence.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
- Evaluation questions require your personal judgment about how well writing works, backed by textual evidence
- You must analyse first (locate, identify, explain) before you evaluate
- Always move beyond describing what the writer does to judging how well it works
- Support every evaluative statement with specific reference to the text
- For conclusions, check for multiple techniques (revisiting points, connecting with opening, etc.)
- Express your views with confidence, but always justify your opinion