Evaluation Argument: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Spring 2019
An evaluation argument critiques a subject or topic, based on certain criteria or reasons to determine that the topic is good, bad, the best, or the worst. It’s important that the criteria you choose to evaluate your topic sounds reasonable to your audience. If they don’t accept your criteria about what makes your topic good or bad, then it’s doubtful they’ll be persuaded by your argument. Another way to add to your credibility is to acknowledge that there’s something good (or bad) about your subject, even if overall you find your subject bad (or good).
Examples of this type of argument might look something like this:
Is this the right college or academic degree for me?
Was the movie suspenseful, entertaining, worthwhile?
Should I wear these clothes?
Writers bring focus to their evaluations by revealing the criteria they are using to judge the topic being evaluated. They often present their argument up front, providing readers with a good roadmap of their argument and reasoning.
In your essay, you should:
Summarize the details
Present well-developed support for your criteria
Include at least one paragraph representing/reconciling the opposition
Discuss the significance of your review
After reading the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, write a brief evaluation essay that both establishes a set of criteria and illustrates them. Essays should be titled, typed, and double-spaced, and they should be a minimum of 2 pages long. If you use any research, please cite it!