written essay appraisal method

What is the Essay Method for Performance Appraisals?

While some would label it as the “grandfather” of performance appraisal methods, the essay method is still a commonly used appraisal method in a variety of business models. The essay method, sometimes known as the “free-form method,” is a performance review system where a superior creates a written review of the employee’s performance.

These essays are meant to describe and record an employee’s strengths and weaknesses in job performance, identifying problem areas and creating a plan of action to remedy them. Whether the essay is written by the appraiser alone, or in collaboration with the appraisee, essays provide supervisors the opportunity to assess behaviors and performance with greater complexity and attention to detail.

There are many reasons that the essay method--which was one of the first methods used to evaluate performance--is still effective today.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of essay appraisals is their free-form approach to performance reviews. Whereas some employers can feel limited by rigid performance appraisal criteria, the essay method takes a far less structured stance than typical rating scale methods. In so doing, the appraiser is able to examine any relevant issue or attribute of performance that is pertinent to an employee’s job description or overall company growth.

The essay method assumes that not all employee traits and behaviors can be neatly analyzed, dissected, and rated--instead, it allows appraisers to place varied degrees of emphasis on certain qualities, issues, or attributes that are appropriate. Rather than being locked into a fixed system, this open-ended method gives supervisors the freedom of expression and critical thought. For appraisers, there exist special services such as StudyCrumb , which help in writing accurate essays.

When preparing an essay, a supervisor may consider any of the following factors of an employee as they relate to the company and employee relationship: potential and job knowledge, understanding of the company’s policies, relationships with peers and supervisors, planning and organization, and general attitudes and perceptions. This thorough, non-quantitative assessment provides a good deal more information about an employee than most other performance appraisal techniques.

However, as with all performance appraisal methods, there are a few limitations that the essay method suffers from that are worth examining.

One of the major drawbacks of the essay method is its highly subjective nature--they are often subject to bias, and it can be difficult to separate the assessment of the employee from the bias of the evaluator. While the essay can provide a good deal of information about the employee, it tends to tell more about the evaluator than the one being evaluated.

Another element that essays leave out (that other appraisal methods rely heavily on) is comparative results. Instead of utilizing standardized, numeric questions, these appraisals rely only on open-ended questions. While the essay method gives managers the ability to provide detailed and circumstantial information on a specific employee’s performance, it removes the component of comparing performance with other employees. This often makes it difficult for HR to distinguish top performers.

Overall, the appraisal method’s greatest advantage--the freedom of expression for the evaluator--can also serve as its greatest handicap. Even the actual writing of the reviews can upset or distort the process of employee appraisals, as the introduction of inconsistent, unorganized, or poor writing styles can distort and upset the review process. An employee may be unfairly helped or harmed by an evaluator’s writing ability. An evaluator can also find themselves lacking sufficient time to prepare the essay, and can write an essay hurriedly without accurately assessing an employee’s performance.

What is the essay method best used for?

Appraisal by essay is generally most effective in performance reviews for employees with atypical job descriptions or non-numerical goals. While other appraisals work well in analyzing performance for jobs that are subject to goals based on numbers, essays offer a more subjective analysis of performance for employees with managerial or customer service positions.

When analyzing production, the essay method is most effective in combination with another appraisal method. Using a graphic rating scale along with essay appraisals allows one method to focus solely on numbers, while the essay portion can be used to analyze other performance goals.

Doing essay appraisals right

Here are 3 things to strive for in order to set your company up for success in essay performance appraisals:

• Consistency.

Keeping a standard for style and length of essay appraisals can make the biggest difference in ensuring that your reviews are effective. Essays that are unstructured and unnecessarily complex can be detrimental to an employee’s rating, as well as using unspecific, flowery language that is not relevant to the employee’s performance. In order to remain efficient and effective, today’s evaluators should focus on making appraisal essays short and specific, ensuring that the entire review reflects the performance of the employee.

The appraiser should also ensure that they are making sufficient time in their schedule to prepare the essay. A busy evaluator may compromise an employee’s performance rating by writing a hurried essay, or running out of time to thoroughly assess employee performance. It’s important for all participants of essay appraisals to take enough time to write a consistent, accurate, and succinct review in order to set employees up for success.

2. Proficiency.

If you’ve chosen to use essay appraisals in your organization, it’s important to ensure that your appraisers possess the ability to write well. Even if an essay contains detailed, circumstantial information, it becomes difficult to extract valuable data from a poorly written essay. To ensure that nothing stands between an HR professional’s ability to assess an employee’s performance, evaluators should be trained as well-equipped writers.

Giving writing assistant tools or tips to supervisors can make all the difference in the accuracy and efficiency of an employee’s performance review.

2. Objectivity.

Subjectivity is both a strength and a weakness in essay appraisals. Not only are essays themselves often biased, but the misinterpretation of essays can even further distance the main evaluator from an accurate portrayal of an employee’s performance. Including objective standards in a performance review results in a more balanced and productive review process, and helps to eliminate the forming of incorrect conclusions about an employee’s behavior and performance.

Organizations often implement this goal by pairing essay appraisals with another appraisal method, such as graphic scale ratings, to draw more accurate conclusions and performance data. In so doing, evaluators can utilize all of the free expression and open-ended characteristics of an essay appraisal, while still maintaining accurate, easily translated results that are effective for the overall organization.

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11.2 Appraisal Methods

Learning objective.

• Be able to describe the various appraisal methods.

It probably goes without saying that different industries and jobs need different kinds of appraisal methods. For our purposes, we will discuss some of the main ways to assess performance in a performance evaluation form. Of course, these will change based upon the job specifications for each position within the company. In addition to industry-specific and job-specific methods, many organizations will use these methods in combination, as opposed to just one method. There are three main methods of determining performance. The first is the trait method , in which managers look at an employee’s specific traits in relation to the job, such as friendliness to the customer. The behavioral method looks at individual actions within a specific job. Comparative methods compare one employee with other employees. Results methods are focused on employee accomplishments, such as whether or not employees met a quota.

Within the categories of performance appraisals, there are two main aspects to appraisal methods. First, the criteria are the aspects the employee is actually being evaluated on, which should be tied directly to the employee᾿s job description. Second, the rating is the type of scale that will be used to rate each criterion in a performance evaluation: for example, scales of 1–5, essay ratings, or yes/no ratings. Tied to the rating and criteria is the weighting each item will be given. For example, if “communication” and “interaction with client” are two criteria, the interaction with the client may be weighted more than communication, depending on the job type. We will discuss the types of criteria and rating methods next.

Graphic Rating Scale

The graphic rating scale , a behavioral method, is perhaps the most popular choice for performance evaluations. This type of evaluation lists traits required for the job and asks the source to rate the individual on each attribute. A discrete scale is one that shows a number of different points. The ratings can include a scale of 1–10; excellent, average, or poor; or meets, exceeds, or doesn’t meet expectations, for example. A continuous scale shows a scale and the manager puts a mark on the continuum scale that best represents the employee’s performance. For example:

The disadvantage of this type of scale is the subjectivity that can occur. This type of scale focuses on behavioral traits and is not specific enough to some jobs. Development of specific criteria can save an organization in legal costs. For example, in Thomas v. IBM , IBM was able to successfully defend accusations of age discrimination because of the objective criteria the employee (Thomas) had been rated on.

Many organizations use a graphic rating scale in conjunction with other appraisal methods to further solidify the tool’s validity. For example, some organizations use a mixed standard scale , which is similar to a graphic rating scale. This scale includes a series of mixed statements representing excellent, average, and poor performance, and the manager is asked to rate a “+” (performance is better than stated), “0” (performance is at stated level), or “−” (performance is below stated level). Mixed standard statements might include the following:

• The employee gets along with most coworkers and has had only a few interpersonal issues.
• This employee takes initiative.
• The employee consistently turns in below-average work.
• The employee always meets established deadlines.

An example of a graphic rating scale is shown in Figure 11.1 “Example of Graphic Rating Scale” .

Essay Appraisal

In an essay appraisal , the source answers a series of questions about the employee’s performance in essay form. This can be a trait method and/or a behavioral method, depending on how the manager writes the essay. These statements may include strengths and weaknesses about the employee or statements about past performance. They can also include specific examples of past performance. The disadvantage of this type of method (when not combined with other rating systems) is that the manager’s writing ability can contribute to the effectiveness of the evaluation. Also, managers may write less or more, which means less consistency between performance appraisals by various managers.

Checklist Scale

A checklist method for performance evaluations lessens the subjectivity, although subjectivity will still be present in this type of rating system. With a checklist scale , a series of questions is asked and the manager simply responds yes or no to the questions, which can fall into either the behavioral or the trait method, or both. Another variation to this scale is a check mark in the criteria the employee meets, and a blank in the areas the employee does not meet. The challenge with this format is that it doesn’t allow more detailed answers and analysis of the performance criteria, unless combined with another method, such as essay ratings. A sample of a checklist scale is provided in Figure 11.3 “Example of Checklist Scale” .

Figure 11.1 Example of Graphic Rating Scale

Figure 11.2 Example of Essay Rating

Figure 11.3 Example of Checklist Scale

Critical Incident Appraisals

This method of appraisal, while more time-consuming for the manager, can be effective at providing specific examples of behavior. With a critical incident appraisal , the manager records examples of the employee’s effective and ineffective behavior during the time period between evaluations, which is in the behavioral category. When it is time for the employee to be reviewed, the manager will pull out this file and formally record the incidents that occurred over the time period. The disadvantage of this method is the tendency to record only negative incidents instead of postive ones. However, this method can work well if the manager has the proper training to record incidents (perhaps by keeping a weekly diary) in a fair manner. This approach can also work well when specific jobs vary greatly from week to week, unlike, for example, a factory worker who routinely performs the same weekly tasks.

Work Standards Approach

For certain jobs in which productivity is most important, a work standards approach could be the more effective way of evaluating employees. With this results-focused approach, a minimum level is set and the employee’s performance evaluation is based on this level. For example, if a sales person does not meet a quota of $1 million, this would be recorded as nonperforming. The downside is that this method does not allow for reasonable deviations. For example, if the quota isn’t made, perhaps the employee just had a bad month but normally performs well. This approach works best in long-term situations, in which a reasonable measure of performance can be over a certain period of time. This method is also used in manufacuring situations where production is extremely important. For example, in an automotive assembly line, the focus is on how many cars are built in a specified period, and therefore, employee performance is measured this way, too. Since this approach is centered on production, it doesn’t allow for rating of other factors, such as ability to work on a team or communication skills, which can be an important part of the job, too.

Ranking Methods

In a ranking method system (also called stack ranking), employees in a particular department are ranked based on their value to the manager or supervisor. This system is a comparative method for performance evaluations.The manager will have a list of all employees and will first choose the most valuable employee and put that name at the top. Then he or she will choose the least valuable employee and put that name at the bottom of the list. With the remaining employees, this process would be repeated. Obviously, there is room for bias with this method, and it may not work well in a larger organization, where managers may not interact with each employee on a day-to-day basis.

To make this type of evaluation most valuable (and legal), each supervisor should use the same criteria to rank each individual. Otherwise, if criteria are not clearly developed, validity and halo effects could be present. The Roper v. Exxon Corp case illustrates the need for clear guidelines when using a ranking system. At Exxon, the legal department attorneys were annually evaluated and then ranked based on input from attorneys, supervisors, and clients. Based on the feedback, each attorney for Exxon was ranked based on their relative contribution and performance. Each attorney was given a group percentile rank (i.e., 99 percent was the best-performing attorney). When Roper was in the bottom 10 percent for three years and was informed of his separation with the company, he filed an age discrimination lawsuit. The courts found no correlation between age and the lowest-ranking individuals, and because Exxon had a set of established ranking criteria, they won the case (Grote, 2005).

Another consideration is the effect on employee morale should the rankings be made public. If they are not made public, morale issues may still exist, as the perception might be that management has “secret” documents.

Fortune 500 Focus

Critics have long said that a forced ranking system can be detrimental to morale; it focuses too much on individual performance as opposed to team performance. Some say a forced ranking system promotes too much competition in the workplace. However, many Fortune 500 companies use this system and have found it works for their culture. General Electric (GE) used perhaps one of the most well-known forced ranking systems. In this system, every year managers placed their employees into one of three categories: “A” employees are the top 20 percent, “B” employees are the middle 70 percent, and “C” performers are the bottom 10 percent. In GE’s system, the bottom 10 percent are usually either let go or put on a performance plan. The top 20 percent are given more responsibility and perhaps even promoted. However, even GE has reinvented this stringent forced ranking system. In 2006, it changed the system to remove references to the 20/70/10 split, and GE now presents the curve as a guideline. This gives more freedom for managers to distribute employees in a less stringent manner 1 .

The advantages of a forced ranking system include that it creates a high-performance work culture and establishes well-defined consequences for not meeting performance standards. In recent research, a forced ranking system seems to correlate well with return on investment to shareholders. For example, the study (Sprenkel, 2011) shows that companies who use individual criteria (as opposed to overall performance) to measure performance outperform those who measure performance based on overall company success. To make a ranking system work, it is key to ensure managers have a firm grasp on the criteria on which employees will be ranked. Companies using forced rankings without set criteria open themselves to lawsuits, because it would appear the rankings happen based on favoritism rather than quantifiable performance data. For example, Ford in the past used forced ranking systems but eliminated the system after settling class action lawsuits that claimed discrimination (Lowery, 2011). Conoco also has settled lawsuits over its forced ranking systems, as domestic employees claimed the system favored foreign workers (Lowery, 2011). To avoid these issues, the best way to develop and maintain a forced ranking system is to provide each employee with specific and measurable objectives, and also provide management training so the system is executed in a fair, quantifiable manner.

In a forced distribution system, like the one used by GE, employees are ranked in groups based on high performers, average performers, and nonperformers. The trouble with this system is that it does not consider that all employees could be in the top two categories, high or average performers, and requires that some employees be put in the nonperforming category.

In a paired comparison system, the manager must compare every employee with every other employee within the department or work group. Each employee is compared with another, and out of the two, the higher performer is given a score of 1. Once all the pairs are compared, the scores are added. This method takes a lot of time and, again, must have specific criteria attached to it when comparing employees.

Human Resource Recall

How can you make sure the performance appraisal ties into a specific job description?

Management by Objectives (MBO)

Management by objectives (MBOs) is a concept developed by Peter Drucker in his 1954 book The Practice of Management (Drucker, 2006). This method is results oriented and similar to the work standards approach, with a few differences. First, the manager and employee sit down together and develop objectives for the time period. Then when it is time for the performance evaluation, the manager and employee sit down to review the goals that were set and determine whether they were met. The advantage of this is the open communication between the manager and the employee. The employee also has “buy-in” since he or she helped set the goals, and the evaluation can be used as a method for further skill development. This method is best applied for positions that are not routine and require a higher level of thinking to perform the job. To be efficient at MBOs, the managers and employee should be able to write strong objectives. To write objectives, they should be SMART (Doran, 1981):

• Specific. There should be one key result for each MBO. What is the result that should be achieved?
• Measurable. At the end of the time period, it should be clear if the goal was met or not. Usually a number can be attached to an objective to make it measurable, for example “sell $1,000,000 of new business in the third quarter.”
• Attainable. The objective should not be impossible to attain. It should be challenging, but not impossible.
• Result oriented. The objective should be tied to the company’s mission and values. Once the objective is made, it should make a difference in the organization as a whole.
• Time limited. The objective should have a reasonable time to be accomplished, but not too much time.

Setting MBOs with Employees

(click to see video)

An example of how to work with an employee to set MBOs.

To make MBOs an effective performance evaluation tool, it is a good idea to train managers and determine which job positions could benefit most from this type of method. You may find that for some more routine positions, such as administrative assistants, another method could work better.

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)

A BARS method first determines the main performance dimensions of the job, for example, interpersonal relationships. Then the tool utilizes narrative information, such as from a critical incidents file, and assigns quantified ranks to each expected behavior. In this system, there is a specific narrative outlining what exemplifies a “good” and “poor” behavior for each category. The advantage of this type of system is that it focuses on the desired behaviors that are important to complete a task or perform a specific job. This method combines a graphic rating scale with a critical incidents system. The US Army Research Institute (Phillips, et. al., 2006) developed a BARS scale to measure the abilities of tactical thinking skills for combat leaders. Figure 11.4 “Example of BARS” provides an example of how the Army measures these skills.

Figure 11.4 Example of BARS

Figure 11.5 More Examples of Performance Appraisal Types

How Would You Handle This?

Playing Favorites

You were just promoted to manager of a high-end retail store. As you are sorting through your responsibilities, you receive an e-mail from HR outlining the process for performance evaluations. You are also notified that you must give two performance evaluations within the next two weeks. This concerns you, because you don’t know any of the employees and their abilities yet. You aren’t sure if you should base their performance on what you see in a short time period or if you should ask other employees for their thoughts on their peers’ performance. As you go through the files on the computer, you find a critical incident file left from the previous manager, and you think this might help. As you look through it, it is obvious the past manager had “favorite” employees and you aren’t sure if you should base the evaluations on this information. How would you handle this?

Table 11.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Performance Appraisal Method

Key Takeaways

• When developing performance appraisal criteria, it is important to remember the criteria should be job specific and industry specific.
• The performance appraisal criteria should be based on the job specifications of each specific job. General performance criteria are not an effective way to evaluate an employee.
• The rating is the scale that will be used to evaluate each criteria item. There are a number of different rating methods, including scales of 1–5, yes or no questions, and essay.
• In a graphic rating performance evaluation, employees are rated on certain desirable attributes. A variety of rating scales can be used with this method. The disadvantage is possible subjectivity.
• An essay performance evaluation will ask the manager to provide commentary on specific aspects of the employee’s job performance.
• A checklist utilizes a yes or no rating selection, and the criteria are focused on components of the employee’s job.
• Some managers keep a critical incidents file . These incidents serve as specific examples to be written about in a performance appraisal. The downside is the tendency to record only negative incidents and the time it can take to record this.
• The work standards performance appraisal approach looks at minimum standards of productivity and rates the employee performance based on minimum expectations. This method is often used for sales forces or manufacturing settings where productivity is an important aspect.
• In a ranking performance evaluation system, the manager ranks each employee from most valuable to least valuable. This can create morale issues within the workplace.
• An MBO or management by objectives system is where the manager and employee sit down together, determine objectives, then after a period of time, the manager assesses whether those objectives have been met. This can create great development opportunities for the employee and a good working relationship between the employee and manager.
• An MBO’s objectives should be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, results oriented, and time limited.
• A BARS approach uses a rating scale but provides specific narratives on what constitutes good or poor performance.

Review each of the appraisal methods and discuss which one you might use for the following types of jobs, and discuss your choices.

• Administrative Assistant
• Chief Executive Officer
• Human Resource Manager
• Retail Store Assistant Manager

1 “The Struggle to Measure Performance,” BusinessWeek , January 9, 2006, accessed August 15, 2011, http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_02/b3966060.htm .

Doran, G. T., “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives,” Management Review 70, no. 11 (1981): 35.

Drucker, P., The Practice of Management (New York: Harper, 2006).

Grote, R., Forced Ranking: Making Performance Management Work (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2005).

Lowery, M., “Forcing the Issue,” Human Resource Executive Online , n.d., accessed August 15, 2011, http://www.hrexecutive.com/HRE/story.jsp?storyId=4222111&query=ranks .

Phillips, J., Jennifer Shafter, Karol Ross, Donald Cox, and Scott Shadrick, Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales for the Assessment of Tactical Thinking Mental Models (Research Report 1854), June 2006, US Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, accessed August 15, 2011, http://www.hqda.army.mil/ari/pdf/RR1854.pdf .

Sprenkel, L., “Forced Ranking: A Good Thing for Business?” Workforce Management, n.d., accessed August 15, 2011, http://homepages.uwp.edu/crooker/790-iep-pm/Articles/meth-fd-workforce.pdf .

Human Resource Management Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

7 Steps for How to Write an Evaluation Essay (Example & Template)

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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In this ultimate guide, I will explain to you exactly how to write an evaluation essay.

1. What is an Evaluation Essay?

An evaluation essay should provide a critical analysis of something.

You’re literally ‘evaluating’ the thing you’re looking up.

Here’s a couple of quick definitions of what we mean by ‘evaluate’:

• Merriam-Webster defines evaluation as: “to determine the significance, worth, or condition of usually by careful appraisal and study”
• Collins Dictionary says: “If you evaluate something or someone, you consider them in order to make a judgment about them, for example about how good or bad they are.”

Here’s some synonyms for ‘evaluate’:

So, we could say that an evaluation essay should carefully examine the ‘thing’ and provide an overall judgement of it.

Here’s some common things you may be asked to write an evaluation essay on:

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Really, you can evaluate just about anything!

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2. How to write an Evaluation Essay

There are two secrets to writing a strong evaluation essay. The first is to aim for objective analysis before forming an opinion. The second is to use an evaluation criteria.

Aim to Appear Objective before giving an Evaluation Argument

Your evaluation will eventually need an argument.

The evaluation argument will show your reader what you have decided is the final value of the ‘thing’ you’re evaluating.

But in order to convince your reader that your evaluative argument is sound, you need to do some leg work.

The aim will be to show that you have provided a balanced and fair assessment before coming to your conclusion.

In order to appear balanced you should:

• Discuss both the pros and cons of the thing
• Discuss both the strengths and weaknesses of the thing
• Look at the thing from multiple different perspectives
• Be both positive and critical. Don’t make it look like you’re biased towards one perspective.

In other words, give every perspective a fair hearing.

You don’t want to sound like a propagandist. You want to be seen as a fair and balanced adjudicator.

Use an Evaluation Criteria

One way to appear balanced is to use an evaluation criteria.

An evaluation criteria helps to show that you have assessed the ‘thing’ based on an objective measure.

Here’s some examples of evaluation criteria:

• Strength under pressure
• Longevity (ability to survive for a long time)
• Ease of use
• Ability to get the job done
• Friendliness
• Punctuality
• Ability to predict my needs
• Calmness under pressure
• Attentiveness

A Bed and Breakfast

• Breakfast options
• Taste of food
• Comfort of bed
• Local attractions
• Service from owner
• Cleanliness

We can use evaluation criteria to frame out ability to conduct the analysis fairly.

This is especially true for if you have to evaluate multiple different ‘things’. For example, if you’re evaluating three novels, you want to be able to show that you applied the same ‘test’ on all three books!

This will show that you gave each ‘thing’ a fair chance and looked at the same elements for each.

3. How to come up with an Evaluation Argument

After you have:

• Looked at both good and bad elements of the ‘thing’, and
• Used an evaluation criteria

You’ll then need to develop an evaluative argument. This argument shows your own overall perspective on the ‘thing’.

Remember, you will need to show your final evaluative argument is backed by objective analysis. You need to do it in order!

Analyze first. Evaluate second.

Here’s an example.

Let’s say you’re evaluating the quality of a meal.

You might say:

• A strength of the meal was its presentation. It was well presented and looked enticing to eat.
• A weakness of the meal was that it was overcooked. This decreased its flavor.
• The meal was given a low rating on ‘cost’ because it was more expensive than the other comparative meals on the menu.
• The meal was given a high rating on ‘creativity’. It was a meal that involved a thoughtful and inventive mix of ingredients.

Now that you’ve looked at some pros and cons and measured the meal based on a few criteria points (like cost and creativity), you’ll be able to come up with a final argument:

• Overall, the meal was good enough for a middle-tier restaurant but would not be considered a high-class meal. There is a lot of room for improvement if the chef wants to win any local cooking awards.

Evaluative terms that you might want to use for this final evaluation argument might include:

• All things considered
• With all key points in mind

4. Evaluation Essay Outline (with Examples)

Okay, so now you know what to do, let’s have a go at creating an outline for your evaluation essay!

Here’s what I recommend:

4.1 How to Write your Introduction

In the introduction, feel free to use my 5-Step INTRO method . It’ll be an introduction just like any other essay introduction .

And yes, feel free to explain what the final evaluation will be.

So, here it is laid out nice and simple.

Write one sentence for each point to make a 5-sentence introduction:

• Interest: Make a statement about the ‘thing’ you’re evaluating that you think will be of interest to the reader. Make it a catchy, engaging point that draws the reader in!
• Notify: Notify the reader of any background info on the thing you’re evaluating. This is your chance to show your depth of knowledge. What is a historical fact about the ‘thing’?
• Translate: Re-state the essay question. For an evaluative essay, you can re-state it something like: “This essay evaluates the book/ product/ article/ etc. by looking at its strengths and weaknesses and compares it against a marking criteria”.
• Report: Say what your final evaluation will be. For example you can say “While there are some weaknesses in this book, overall this evaluative essay will show that it helps progress knowledge about Dinosaurs.”
• Outline: Simply give a clear overview of what will be discussed. For example, you can say: “Firstly, the essay will evaluate the product based on an objective criteria. This criteria will include its value for money, fit for purpose and ease of use. Next, the essay will show the main strengths and weaknesses of the product. Lastly, the essay will provide a final evaluative statement about the product’s overall value and worth.”

If you want more depth on how to use the INTRO method, you’ll need to go and check out our blog post on writing quality introductions.

4.2 Example Introduction

This example introduction is for the essay question: Write an Evaluation Essay on Facebook’s Impact on Society.

“Facebook is the third most visited website in the world. It was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg in his college dorm. This essay evaluates the impact of Facebook on society and makes an objective judgement on its value. The essay will argue that Facebook has changed the world both for the better and worse. Firstly, it will give an overview of what Facebook is and its history. Then, it will examine Facebook on the criteria of: impact on social interactions, impact on the media landscape, and impact on politics.”

You’ll notice that each sentence in this introduction follows my 5-Step INTRO formula to create a clear, coherent 5-Step introduction.

4.3 How to Write your Body Paragraphs

The first body paragraph should give an overview of the ‘thing’ being evaluated.

Then, you should evaluate the pros and cons of the ‘thing’ being evaluated based upon the criteria you have developed for evaluating it.

Let’s take a look below.

4.4 First Body Paragraph: Overview of your Subject

This first paragraph should provide objective overview of your subject’s properties and history. You should not be doing any evaluating just yet.

The goal for this first paragraph is to ensure your reader knows what it is you’re evaluating. Secondarily, it should show your marker that you have developed some good knowledge about it.

If you need to use more than one paragraph to give an overview of the subject, that’s fine.

Similarly, if your essay word length needs to be quite long, feel free to spend several paragraphs exploring the subject’s background and objective details to show off your depth of knowledge for the marker.

4.5 First Body Paragraph Example

Sticking with the essay question: Write an Evaluation Essay on Facebook’s Impact on Society , this might be your paragraph:

“Facebook has been one of the most successful websites of all time. It is the website that dominated the ‘Web 2.0’ revolution, which was characterized by user two-way interaction with the web. Facebook allowed users to create their own personal profiles and invite their friends to follow along. Since 2004, Facebook has attracted more than one billion people to create profiles in order to share their opinions and keep in touch with their friends.”

Notice here that I haven’t yet made any evaluations of Facebook’s merits?

This first paragraph (or, if need be, several of them) should be all about showing the reader exactly what your subject is – no more, no less.

4.6 Evaluation Paragraphs: Second, Third, Forth and Fifth Body Paragraphs

Once you’re confident your reader will know what the subject that you’re evaluating is, you’ll need to move on to the actual evaluation.

For this step, you’ll need to dig up that evaluation criteria we talked about in Point 2.

For example, let’s say you’re evaluating a President of the United States.

Your evaluation criteria might be:

• Impact on world history
• Ability to pass legislation
• Popularity with voters
• Morals and ethics
• Ability to change lives for the better

Really, you could make up any evaluation criteria you want!

Once you’ve made up the evaluation criteria, you’ve got your evaluation paragraph ideas!

Simply turn each point in your evaluation criteria into a full paragraph.

How do you do this?

Well, start with a topic sentence.

For the criteria point ‘Impact on world history’ you can say something like: “Barack Obama’s impact on world history is mixed.”

This topic sentence will show that you’ll evaluate both pros and cons of Obama’s impact on world history in the paragraph.

Then, follow it up with explanations.

“While Obama campaigned to withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, he was unable to completely achieve this objective. This is an obvious negative for his impact on the world. However, as the first black man to lead the most powerful nation on earth, he will forever be remembered as a living milestone for civil rights and progress.”

Keep going, turning each evaluation criteria into a full paragraph.

4.7 Evaluation Paragraph Example

Let’s go back to our essay question: Write an Evaluation Essay on Facebook’s Impact on Society .

I’ve decided to use the evaluation criteria below:

• impact on social interactions;
• impact on the media landscape;
• impact on politics

Naturally, I’m going to write one paragraph for each point.

If you’re expected to write a longer piece, you could write two paragraphs on each point (one for pros and one for cons).

Here’s what my first evaluation paragraph might look like:

“Facebook has had a profound impact on social interactions. It has helped people to stay in touch with one another from long distances and after they have left school and college. This is obviously a great positive. However, it can also be seen as having a negative impact. For example, people may be less likely to interact face-to-face because they are ‘hanging out’ online instead. This can have negative impact on genuine one-to-one relationships.”

You might notice that this paragraph has a topic sentence, explanations and examples. It follows my perfect paragraph formula which you’re more than welcome to check out!

4.8 How to write your Conclusion

To conclude, you’ll need to come up with one final evaluative argument.

This evaluation argument provides an overall assessment. You can start with “Overall, Facebook has been…” and continue by saying that (all things considered) he was a good or bad president!

Remember, you can only come up with an overall evaluation after you’ve looked at the subject’s pros and cons based upon your evaluation criteria.

In the example below, I’m going to use my 5 C’s conclusion paragraph method . This will make sure my conclusion covers all the things a good conclusion should cover!

Like the INTRO method, the 5 C’s conclusion method should have one sentence for each point to create a 5 sentence conclusion paragraph.

The 5 C’s conclusion method is:

• Close the loop: Return to a statement you made in the introduction.
• Conclude: Show what your final position is.
• Clarify: Clarify how your final position is relevant to the Essay Question.
• Concern: Explain who should be concerned by your findings.
• Consequences: End by noting in one final, engaging sentence why this topic is of such importance. The ‘concern’ and ‘consequences’ sentences can be combined

4.9 Concluding Argument Example Paragraph

Here’s a possible concluding argument for our essay question: Write an Evaluation Essay on Facebook’s Impact on Society .

“The introduction of this essay highlighted that Facebook has had a profound impact on society. This evaluation essay has shown that this impact has been both positive and negative. Thus, it is too soon to say whether Facebook has been an overall positive or negative for society. However, people should pay close attention to this issue because it is possible that Facebook is contributing to the undermining of truth in media and positive interpersonal relationships.”

Note here that I’ve followed the 5 C’s conclusion method for my concluding evaluative argument paragraph.

5. Evaluation Essay Example Template

Below is a template you can use for your evaluation essay , based upon the advice I gave in Section 4:

6. 23+ Good Evaluation Essay Topics

Okay now that you know how to write an evaluation essay, let’s look at a few examples.

For each example I’m going to give you an evaluation essay title idea, plus a list of criteria you might want to use in your evaluation essay.

6.1 Evaluation of Impact

• Evaluate the impact of global warming on the great barrier reef. Recommended evaluation criteria: Level of bleaching; Impact on tourism; Economic impact; Impact on lifestyles; Impact on sealife
• Evaluate the impact of the Global Financial Crisis on poverty. Recommended evaluation criteria: Impact on jobs; Impact on childhood poverty; Impact on mental health rates; Impact on economic growth; Impact on the wealthy; Global impact
• Evaluate the impact of having children on your lifestyle. Recommended evaluation criteria: Impact on spare time; Impact on finances; Impact on happiness; Impact on sense of wellbeing
• Evaluate the impact of the internet on the world. Recommended evaluation criteria: Impact on connectedness; Impact on dating; Impact on business integration; Impact on globalization; Impact on media
• Evaluate the impact of public transportation on cities. Recommended evaluation criteria: Impact on cost of living; Impact on congestion; Impact on quality of life; Impact on health; Impact on economy
• Evaluate the impact of universal healthcare on quality of life. Recommended evaluation criteria: Impact on reducing disease rates; Impact on the poorest in society; Impact on life expectancy; Impact on happiness
• Evaluate the impact of getting a college degree on a person’s life. Recommended evaluation criteria: Impact on debt levels; Impact on career prospects; Impact on life perspectives; Impact on relationships

6.2 Evaluation of a Scholarly Text or Theory

• Evaluate a Textbook. Recommended evaluation criteria: clarity of explanations; relevance to a course; value for money; practical advice; depth and detail; breadth of information
• Evaluate a Lecture Series, Podcast or Guest Lecture. Recommended evaluation criteria: clarity of speaker; engagement of attendees; appropriateness of content; value for monet
• Evaluate a journal article. Recommended evaluation criteria: length; clarity; quality of methodology; quality of literature review ; relevance of findings for real life
• Evaluate a Famous Scientists. Recommended evaluation criteria: contribution to scientific knowledge; impact on health and prosperity of humankind; controversies and disagreements with other scientists.
• Evaluate a Theory. Recommended evaluation criteria: contribution to knowledge; reliability or accuracy; impact on the lives of ordinary people; controversies and contradictions with other theories.

6.3 Evaluation of Art and Literature

• Evaluate a Novel. Recommended evaluation criteria: plot complexity; moral or social value of the message; character development; relevance to modern life
• Evaluate a Play. Recommended evaluation criteria: plot complexity; quality of acting; moral or social value of the message; character development; relevance to modern life
• Evaluate a Film. Recommended evaluation criteria: plot complexity; quality of acting; moral or social value of the message; character development; relevance to modern life
• Evaluate an Artwork. Recommended evaluation criteria: impact on art theory; moral or social message; complexity or quality of composition

6.4 Evaluation of a Product or Service

• Evaluate a Hotel or Bed and Breakfast. Recommended evaluation criteria: quality of service; flexibility of check-in and check-out times; cleanliness; location; value for money; wi-fi strength; noise levels at night; quality of meals; value for money
• Evaluate a Restaurant. Recommended evaluation criteria: quality of service; menu choices; cleanliness; atmosphere; taste; value for money.
• Evaluate a Car. Recommended evaluation criteria: fuel efficiency; value for money; build quality; likelihood to break down; comfort.
• Evaluate a House. Recommended evaluation criteria: value for money; build quality; roominess; location; access to public transport; quality of neighbourhood
• Evaluate a Doctor. Recommended evaluation criteria: Quality of service; knowledge; quality of equipment; reputation; value for money.
• Evaluate a Course. Recommended evaluation criteria: value for money; practical advice; quality of teaching; quality of resources provided.

7. Concluding Advice

Evaluation essays are common in high school, college and university.

The trick for getting good marks in an evaluation essay is to show you have looked at both the pros and cons before making a final evaluation analysis statement.

You don’t want to look biased.

That’s why it’s a good idea to use an objective evaluation criteria, and to be generous in looking at both positives and negatives of your subject.

Read Also: 39 Better Ways to Write ‘In Conclusion’ in an Essay

I recommend you use the evaluation template provided in this post to write your evaluation essay. However, if your teacher has given you a template, of course use theirs instead! You always want to follow your teacher’s advice because they’re the person who will be marking your work.

Good luck with your evaluation essay!

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 25 Number Games for Kids (Free and Easy)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 25 Word Games for Kids (Free and Easy)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 25 Outdoor Games for Kids
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 50 Incentives to Give to Students

2 thoughts on “7 Steps for How to Write an Evaluation Essay (Example & Template)”

What an amazing article. I am returning to studying after several years and was struggling with how to present an evaluative essay. This article has simplified the process and provided me with the confidence to tackle my subject (theoretical approaches to development and management of teams).

I just wanted to ask whether the evaluation criteria has to be supported by evidence or can it just be a list of criteria that you think of yourself to objectively measure?

Many many thanks for writing this!

Usually we would want to see evidence, but ask your teacher for what they’re looking for as they may allow you, depending on the situation.

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The Essay Method of Performance Appraisal

Unleashing the Power of Narrative: A Comprehensive Guide to the Essay Method of Performance Appraisal

In today's dynamic work environment, performance appraisals play a crucial role in driving employee engagement, development, and overall organizational success.  choosing the right appraisal method is essential to ensure insightful feedback, clear goal setting, and a productive dialogue between managers and employees..

This guide delves into the Essay Method of Performance Appraisal, a narrative-based approach that offers a flexible and in-depth way to evaluate employee performance. We'll explore its core principles, advantages and disadvantages, best practices for implementation, and how it compares to other popular appraisal techniques.

Understanding the Essay Method of Performance Appraisal

Definition and core principles.

The Essay Method, also known as the Free-Form Method, is a qualitative performance appraisal approach where the manager writes a narrative description of the employee's performance during the review period. This description typically focuses on the employee's strengths, weaknesses, achievements, contributions, and areas for improvement. Unlike structured methods with predetermined rating scales, the Essay Method allows for a more nuanced and comprehensive analysis of an employee's performance.

Here are the core principles of the Essay Method:

• Focus on narrative: The appraisal is written as a story that details the employee's performance journey.
• Emphasis on specific examples: Concrete examples of behaviors, actions, and results support the evaluation of strengths and weaknesses.
• Holistic perspective: The essay considers not just job duties but also the employee's overall contribution to the team and organization.
• Development-oriented: The appraisal should identify areas for improvement and provide actionable plans for growth.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Essay Method

The Essay Method offers several advantages:

• Flexibility: It adapts to any role and allows for a tailored evaluation based on specific job requirements.
• Richness of detail: Managers can delve deeper into specific achievements, challenges, and areas for development.
• Open communication: The narrative format encourages a more open and conversational dialogue between managers and employees.
• Focus on potential: The essay can explore the employee's developmental potential and future aspirations.

However, the Essay Method also has some disadvantages:

• Subjectivity: Evaluations can be subjective and prone to bias if not conducted carefully.
• Time-consuming: Writing a well-crafted essay appraisal can be time-consuming for both managers and employees.
• Lack of standardization: Without clear guidelines, essays might lack consistency across the organization.
• Potential for bias: Unconscious biases can influence the way managers write the essay, impacting its fairness.

When to Use the Essay Method

The Essay Method is well-suited for situations where:

• A holistic evaluation is needed: The appraisal needs to consider not just job duties but also the employee's broader contribution to the team and organization.
• Development is a key focus: The emphasis is on identifying areas for growth and providing a clear roadmap for improvement.
• Roles are complex and multifaceted: The job description is nuanced and requires a more detailed evaluation than a simple rating scale can provide.
• Open communication is desired: The organization prioritizes fostering an environment of open communication and feedback.

Crafting Effective Essay Appraisals

Setting clear expectations and goals.

The foundation of a successful essay appraisal lies in establishing clear expectations and goals at the beginning of the review period. This can be achieved through:

• Performance agreements: Develop a formal document outlining key performance indicators (KPIs), objectives, and expected behaviors for the employee throughout the review period. This agreement serves as a reference point for the essay appraisal, ensuring alignment between expectations and performance evaluation.
• Regular check-ins: Schedule regular one-on-one meetings throughout the review period to discuss progress, address challenges, and provide ongoing feedback. These check-ins provide valuable insights and specific examples that can be woven into the essay appraisal later.

Structuring the Essay Narrative

‍ The structure of your essay appraisal should be clear and easy to follow. Here's a recommended approach:

‍ Introduction:

Briefly introduce the employee and the review period.

‍ Strengths and Achievements:

• Highlight the employee's key strengths and achievements during the review period.
• Use specific examples to showcase how their skills and actions contributed to positive outcomes.
• Quantify achievements whenever possible (e.g., "increased sales by 15%").

Areas for Development:

• Identify areas where the employee can improve.
• Focus on specific behaviors, not personality traits.
• Offer constructive feedback and suggestions for development, outlining potential training opportunities or resources.

Contributions and Teamwork:

• Discuss the employee's contributions to the team and overall organizational goals.
• Describe how they collaborated effectively with colleagues and fostered a positive work environment.
• If applicable, highlight instances where the employee demonstrated leadership or initiative.

Overall Performance:

• Provide a concise summary of the employee's overall performance based on the previous sections.
• Tie back to the established performance agreements or goals set at the beginning of the review period.

Development Plan:

• In collaboration with the employee, outline a clear and actionable development plan for the next review period.
• Specify concrete goals, learning objectives, and resources (e.g., attending workshops, mentoring programs) to support professional growth.

Conclusion:

• Briefly summarize the key takeaways from the appraisal.
• Reiterate the employee's value to the team and organization.
• Express positive support for their continued development and future success.

Focusing on Specifics and Behaviors

‍ The strength of your essay appraisal lies in its ability to move beyond generalities and focus on specific details.  Here's how:

• Example-driven evaluation: Support your evaluation of strengths and weaknesses with concrete examples of the employee's behaviors, actions, and results.
• Quantify whenever possible: When describing achievements, use quantifiable data to illustrate the impact of the employee's work.
• Focus on observable behaviors: Describe the employee's actions and how they played out in specific situations, rather than subjective interpretations of their personality.

Integrating Strengths and Weaknesses

‍ An effective essay appraisal seamlessly integrates the employee's strengths and weaknesses.

• Leveraging strengths: Highlight how the employee's strengths can be applied to address their areas for development.
• Development through strengths: Frame development plans around building on existing strengths to overcome weaknesses.
• Holistic view: Presenting a balanced picture of strengths and weaknesses allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the employee's performance.

Providing Actionable Development Plans

‍ The essay appraisal should not simply identify areas for improvement; it should also provide a clear roadmap for the employee's development.

• SMART goals: Set Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals for improvement.
• Collaborative planning: Work with the employee to develop the development plan, ensuring their buy-in and commitment to achieving the goals.
• Resource identification: Identify specific resources like training programs, mentoring opportunities, or online courses that can support the employee's development journey.

Remember, a well-crafted development plan fosters a sense of ownership and empowers the employee to take charge of their professional growth.

The Essay Method of Performance Appraisal

by Danielle Smyth

Published on 9 Aug 2019

The question of how to effectively gauge an employee’s performance on the job has been answered many times in many different ways, but there’s certainly no one agreed-upon method recommended by the human resources industry. Most experts agree that performance management is a critical part of having a successful business in today’s world and that effectively managing, developing and evaluating employees leads to a more efficient workforce and better company culture.

However, it’s deciding how to implement it within a certain company structure that can be challenging, and implementation is key to keeping the process effective rather than disruptive. The essay method of performance appraisal can be a great choice due to its thorough, thoughtful and unobtrusive nature.

Secrets to Effective Performance Appraisals

The truth is that effective performance appraisals take time. They take up the manager’s time, the employee’s time and the time of human resources, and they can potentially take up the time of teammates and co-workers who are asked about projects and collaboration.

For them to mean something, the process needs to be taken seriously, but that always must be balanced against the forward motion of the company and the day-to-day workloads of the employees in question.

Methods of Performance Appraisal

There are a number of methods used in today’s industries to evaluate employees. All of them require some sort of performance standard to be set at first and then an evaluation over a set period of time against that standard.

Some methods of review can be more effective than others, but some also require more dedicated time and thought from the manager or other evaluator. Some of the more common methods include the checklist method, the comparison or forced distribution method and the essay method.

Checklist Method of Performance Appraisal

With the checklist method, an employee is judged against a list of criteria. The criteria have been developed for the level or job of the employee, and usually all employees at similar levels are evaluated against it.

• Yes/no checklists simply ask the evaluator to determine whether the employee exhibits the behavior defined in each criterion: for example, “comes to work on time,” “frequently contributes to group discussions” or “meets daily safety requirements.” It’s important to make sure that all criteria are phrased so that a "yes" is the desired answer because it can be very easy to confuse an evaluation when this isn’t the case. This provides a very simple and straightforward way of judging performance but won’t get into much nuance of individual strengths and weaknesses and may not do much to differentiate one employee from another.
• Leveled checklists ask the evaluator to rate the employee on some sort of scale for each criterion. This could be a scale from one to five where five is optimal, or it could be a verbal scale with levels like “needs improvement,” “meets expectations” and “exceeds expectations.” Criteria might be “completes work within the timeline,” “collaborates with other departments” or “shows technical expertise.” These scaled ratings provide more nuance into each individual employee and should help highlight strengths as well as areas for improvement, but they require the manager to take more time to understand the performance within the department.

Comparison or Forced Distribution Methods

Comparison or forced distribution methods rate employees comparatively and against each other. This can be done in cases where an organization is rather flat, and it makes sense to compare a collection of employees together. The downside is that it can create a false sense of competition within employee groups or can result in bad attitudes.

• Paired evaluations give the evaluator a set of employee comparisons and asks him to choose who is the better employee. This is normally done within a department. For example, a department of four employees would end up with six pairs for comparison, and the evaluator (or team) would then select the best employee within each pair. For larger departments, this can be time consuming for the evaluators.
• Rankings simply ask the evaluator to rank employees from best to worst. This method is fully based on the perception of the evaluator and is not entirely popular because it is not systematic and can be easily affected by undiscovered bias on the part of the evaluator. It is, however, relatively easy to do for any manager who knows the team well.
• Forced distribution methods focus on the fact that most evaluators tend to rate their employees well. It requires the evaluators to meet a set distribution within their evaluations such that each evaluation finds poor performers as well as excellent ones. While this can be a way to identify areas for improvement, it can also be read as having to meet a quota with ratings, which can lead to dissent.

Essay Evaluation Method

The essay method is a fairly straightforward approach in which the manager or evaluator writes a descriptive essay about each employee. The essay would cover the employees' achievements throughout the evaluation period as well as their strengths and weaknesses. The essay format gives the evaluators the flexibility to focus on whatever they personally find important about the individual’s performance.

However, the essay method can be time consuming for the manager, and it requires a certain level of writing skill for the evaluation to be meaningful. It also is unlikely to be systematic, which can make it difficult to compare evaluations from person to person.

Performance Appraisal Essays

The performance evaluation essay is maybe the most interesting of the methods, as it allows a manager to genuinely express thoughts about the employee in question rather than having to work with a template or list of criteria or comparisons.

There are advantages to this, mainly in allowing the appraisers to focus on what they feel is important for each individual whom they are evaluating. The downside of this apparent freedom is because the entire essay is subjective based on the evaluator’s approach, it becomes difficult to obtain any big-picture conclusions about the department, and it can be difficult to compare employees within a certain group.

The key to a successful performance appraisal essay is the writing skills of the person assembling it . Her attention to basic essay structure and her descriptions of the behaviors on which she focuses will determine whether the right message will get across during the evaluation, both to the employee and to the team of other managers and human resources employees who may be involved with ratings, promotions and improvement plans. Some attention to basic essay-writing principles should help the evaluator construct an essay that will be meaningful to all parties involved.

" id="basic-essay-writing " class="title"> Basic Essay Writing

The following are essential to the writing of an effective performance appraisal essay:

• Preparation: For any essay, the first step is to gather information about the topic at hand. In this case, the manager should take the time to review past performance, current expectations and future needs for each employee whom he intends to evaluate. Review the employee’s achievements this year and examine reports and project records to get a full picture of performance.
• Evaluation: Once the information is at hand, it’s important to spend time connecting the dots to figure out what story the essay needs to tell about the employee’s performance. Identify any changes in the employee’s performance over the evaluation period and establish a list containing the behaviors that have been commendable and in which areas the employee could use improvement.
• Creation: Construct the essay in a manner that suits the manager’s writing style. Be sure to use professional, fair language and describe in words the successes and challenges of the employee’s work over this time period. 

Writing the Essay

The essay should open with an introduction summarizing the work completed by the employee during the evaluation period. Be sure to note key projects and pay attention to ongoing work as well as completed jobs. This is the time to discuss what the employee has done and recognize his overall contribution to the business. For example:

Jon successfully supported the infrastructure team, the McAce project and the office renovations project with technical drawings and materials lists as requested. He personally was able to complete the ventilation upgrade project, which ran over schedule but came in under budget. He submitted all monthly reports on time and took a training course this year to improve his skills at AutoCAD.

Highlight Employee Successes

The next portion of the essay should highlight some real successes for the employee. Mention his strengths and any areas where he has shown visible improvement over past performance. In this portion, focus less on what was done and more on how it was done. To continue the example:

Jon’s skill at estimation has improved greatly over the past year, with only one of his personal projects running over budget (as compared to at least 50 percent the previous year). This makes it much easier for the department to manage our overall budget appropriately and is greatly appreciated. Jon has been described as “friendly” and “personable” by his teammates, who have no problem approaching him when they need a drawing or have a question. He also had huge success with his contributions to the McAce project, which would have fallen behind schedule without his work.

Outline Areas for Improvement

After calling out successes, take some time to consider areas in which the employee needs improvement. For employees currently meeting all expectations, consider their future career path: Are there areas they need to develop in order to move into a new position? For employees whose performance may not be up to par, try to address it fairly and be straightforward and logical.

A number of Jon’s projects ran over schedule this year. It appears that Jon’s technical understanding of the work at hand could perhaps use some development. One such corrective action might be making sure to check with operators and maintenance personnel before launching a new project concept to make sure the problem at hand is actually being solved. Also, while Jon’s open personality makes him approachable, it can also lead to Jon taking extra-long breaks for conversation throughout the day, which can disturb some employees from their work.

Note that the criticisms are couched calmly in specific language that isn’t accusatory or angry and that the behaviors described correlate to an undesirable outcome. In some cases, a corrective action should be suggested. In other cases, it’s best to wait until the final step and develop a path forward with the employee in question.

" id="create-a-forward-plan " class="title"> Create a Forward Plan

The essay should end with a forward plan for the employee, involving any additional training or development she may need to meet current expectations as well as some sort of idea of the next step in her career.

The final step in the performance assessment essay is, of course, reviewing the essay with each employee. It’s best to give the employee a chance to read the evaluation and then open the floor to any questions the employee might have about what’s been written.

If an employee wants to challenge an assertion, she can be encouraged to write a short essay in return discussing why she might disagree with the essay. It’s important to discuss the successes and give recognition where it’s due as well as the challenges in order to ensure the employee understands.

8 performance appraisal methods you should be aware of

Performance Reviews

Performance appraisals form an essential part of the HR department as they provide important and useful information for the assessment of employee’s performance, skill, knowledge, and overall ability. These appraisals are not only used to eliminate behavior and productivity issues, but also to motivate employees to contribute more. There are many modern performance appraisal methods that organisations can implement depending on their preference: most have their specific advantages as well as limitations. Let us have a look at some of them in more detail.

What are the different performance appraisal methods?

Graphic Rating scale:

A graphic rating scale lists the traits each employee should have and rates workers on a numbered scale for each trait. The scores are meant to separate employees into tiers of performers, which can play a role in determining promotions and salary adjustments.  The method is easy to understand and quite user friendly. It allows behaviors to be quantified making appraisal systems much easier.

What are the methods of performance evaluation in Graphic rating scale?

However, the scale has disadvantages that make it difficult to use as an effective management tool. Even with intense training, some modern performance appraisal methods will be too strict. Some will be too lenient, and others may find it hard to screen out their personal agendas. Although it is good at identifying the best and poorest of employees, it does not help while differentiating between the average employees.

Analyse performance of employees working on Project A from April to June 2017

Essay Performance Appraisal method:

Essay Appraisal is a traditional form of Appraisal also known as “Free Form method.” It involves a description of the employee’s performance by his superior which needs to be based on facts and often includes examples to support the information. Under this method, the rater is asked to express the strengths and weaknesses of the employee’s performance.

What are the techniques of performance appraisal in the Essay Performance Appraisal method?

This technique is normally used with a combination of the graphic rating scale in one of the modern methods variants, because the rater or feedback giver can present the scale in more detail by also giving an explanation for his rating. While preparing the essay on the employee, the rater also needs to consider specific job knowledge, understanding of the company’s policies and objectives, relations with peers, ability to plan and organize, attitude and perception of employees in general.

The Essay performance appraisal methods are non-quantitative and highly subjective. While it provides a good deal of information about the employee, it takes a lot of time of the appraiser which is not always feasible.

Checklist Scale performance appraisal method:

Under this method, a checklist of statements of traits of the employee in the form of Yes or No based questions is prepared. If the person giving the feedback believes strongly that the employee possesses a particular listed trait, he checks the item; otherwise, he leaves the item blank. Here the rater only does the reporting or checking and the HR department does the actual evaluation after observing details over a period of time – and it does not allow detailed analysis of the overall performance.

Critical Incidents method:

In this method, managers prepare lists of statements of very effective and ineffective behavior of an employee. These critical incidents or events represent the outstanding or poor behavior of employees on the job. The manager maintains logs on each employee, whereby he periodically records critical incidents of the workers behavior.

What is a performance appraisal in Critical Incidents method

At the end of the rating period, these recorded critical incidents are used in the evaluation of the workers’ performance. It provides an objective basis for feedback and conducts a thorough discussion of an employee’s performance appraisal process – hence also known as cost accounting method.

Although this method avoids recency bias , there is a tendency for manager and employee both to focus more on the negative incidents than otherwise.

Work Standards performance appraisal method:

In this technique, management establishes the goals openly and sets targets against realistic output standards. These standards are incorporated into the organizational performance appraisal system . Thus each employee has a clear understanding of their duties and knows well what is expected of them. Performance appraisal and interview comments are related to these duties. This makes the appraisal process objective and more accurate. It works best in long-term situations for human resources teams, as it considers performances during that duration and eliminates time consuming processes.

However, it is difficult to compare individual ratings because standards for work may differ from job to job and from employee to employee. It does not allow for reasonable deviations.

Ranking Appraisal:

Here the manager compares an employee to other similar employees, rather than to a standard measurement predefined for employee productivity. The employees are ranked from the highest to the lowest or from the best to the worst. The problem here is that it does not tell how much better or worse one is than another. Also it cannot be used for a large number of employees, or feedback.

Attention to detail

Management by objectives (MBO) methods of performance review are results-oriented. That is, they seek to measure employee performance by examining the extent to which predetermined work objectives have been met. Usually the objectives are established jointly by the supervisor and subordinate. Once an objective is agreed, the employee is usually expected to self-audit; that is, to identify the skills needed to achieve the objective. Typically they do not rely on others to locate and specify their strengths and weaknesses. They are expected to monitor their own development and progress, and drive their future performance. The MBO method of performance review concentrates on actual outcomes.

What makes MBOs efficient is the ability to set SMART Goals i.e. set goals that are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant and Time-bound.

The problem of judgmental performance evaluation inherent in the traditional methods of employee performance appraisal process led to some organisations to go for objective evaluation by developing a technique known as “Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)” around the 1960s. This performance appraisal method is considered better than the traditional ones because it provides advantages like a more accurate gauge, clearer standards, 360 degree feedback, and consistency in evaluation.

The BARS method is designed to bring the benefits of both qualitative and quantitative data to the employee appraisal process. It compares an individual employee’s performance against specific examples of behaviour that are anchored to numerical ratings.

Although even this method has its limitations as it is often accused of being subject to unreliability and leniency error.

Performance appraisal process is already being considered a necessary evil . Thus companies need to be careful while selecting out of these appraisal methods and accept feedback on improving the process. The method should be able to provide value to the company starting from the review period as well as the employees and managers.

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BUS603: Managing People

Employee Assessment

Appraisal methods, essay appraisal.

In an   essay appraisal , the source answers a series of questions about the employee's performance in essay form. This can be a trait method and/or a behavioral method, depending on how the manager writes the essay. These statements may include strengths and weaknesses about the employee or statements about past performance. They can also include specific examples of past performance. The disadvantage of this type of method (when not combined with other rating systems) is that the manager's writing ability can contribute to the effectiveness of the evaluation. Also, managers may write less or more, which means less consistency between performance appraisals by various managers.

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Essay Evaluation Method in Performance Appraisal

Essay evaluation method in performance appraisal

1. Definition of essay evaluation

• This method asked managers / supervisors to describe strengths and weaknesses of an employee’s behavior. Essay evaluation is a non-quantitative technique • This method usually use with the graphic rating scale method.

2. Input of information sources

• Job knowledge and potential of the employee; • Employee’s understanding of the company’s programs, policies, objectives, etc.; • The employee’s relations with co-workers and superiors; • The employee’s general planning, organizing and controlling ability; • The attitudes and perceptions of the employee, in general.

3. Disadvantages of essay evaluation

• Manager / supervisor may write a biased essay. • A busy rater may write the essay hurriedly without properly assessing the actual performance of the worker. • Apart from that, rater takes a long time, this becomes uneconomical from the view point of the firm, because the time of rater is costly. • Some evaluators may be poor in writing essays on employee performance. Others may be superficial in explanation and use flowery language which may not reflect the actual performance of the employee.

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Evaluation Essay: Writing Guide, Outline & Free Samples

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Are you wondering how to write an evaluation essay? We are here to inspire and let you know all the essential steps to get started. This blog post will describe what is an evaluative essay, including its purpose and elements. In addition, you will be enlightened on how to actually write evaluations - all the necessary factors and steps will be elaborated on. These steps are: deciding what to appraise, what criteria to apply, and how to develop arguments and outlines. Toward the end, you will be provided with evaluation essay samples that will enable you to put theoretical guidelines into practice. Strictly follow this blog post from our essay writer services to the end.

What Is an Evaluation Essay: Definition

The starting point of being well-versed in this from of writing is understanding its definition and purpose, as it will lay a good foundation for further work. Evaluation essay is a paper that offers evidence that helps to justify writer's opinion on different subjects by providing enough facts to convince readers. Such type of writing requires critical thinking skills when analyzing, synthesizing, and assessing given topics to avoid misleading your audience. The main purpose of this type of paper is to provide objective criticism oт various subjects and make conclusions about them. As a result, the latter helps readers to take a stance about a topic. In addition, there is an exhaustive review of fundamental characteristics, styles, and quality of subjects under discussion. The value of a particular topic is obtained through supportive and factual evidence provided. Finally, this paper helps present well-reasoned and informed judgment on particular standards, hence clearing concerning issues about a given subject.

Things You Can Write an Evaluation About

Preparing evaluative essay is a broad topic, and you need to be well-organized, or else the text will quickly lose meaning and purpose. There are various abstract categories and exact things that you can assess in writing. When you write evaluations, ensure you deeply understand your topic of discussion. Reading through an evaluation example will help you know what to do. Some evaluation essay topics and objects suitable for assessment include:

• Experience: gaming, traveling, and shopping.
• Music: its content, the impact, instruments played, and comparison to other works by artists.
• Furniture: chair, desk, stool, table, etc.
• Fruits: guava, mangoes, oranges, pineapples.
• Trees: oak, teak, pine.
• Sports: volleyball, table tennis, golf.
• Clothes: casual wear, sportswear, formalwear.
• Class: methods of teaching , challenges, type of assessments, etc.
• Social trend: origin, overall influence, and objectives.
• Courses: journalism, mathematics, business, and history.

Elements of an Evaluation Essay

Understanding all components of evaluation papers - three in total - is important during writing. They include:

• Criteria In order to determine aspects you will assess about certain brands, services, or products, a proper set of standards is required. Standard helps in demonstrating expectations. During evaluative writing, it is essential to think about some good samples of similar brands, services, or products. Also, contemplate on related significant features. For instance, a house can be well-ventilated, secure, and clean, which are quite helpful benchmarks.
• Judgment A second element in essay evaluation is judgment. This aspect helps to establish if stated standards were met. Considering the previous example of a house discussed under this criteria, you may first assess if the house is secure or not. Find out if the house meets, exceeds, or falls short of your anticipated security standards, then move on to other criteria.
• Evidence This component focuses on providing facts supporting the judgment. For instance, in the house example, if you conclude that security level does not meet the expected standards, provide evidence to prove this judgment. When you structure an evaluation essay, ensure each paragraph discusses a different criterion. It helps you to make judgments and provide evidence under each paragraph.

What to Consider Before Writing an Evaluation

There are two factors to put into consideration before writing evaluations. One of them is ensuring that evaluation argument remains objective. Objectivity is achieved by not including personal opinions in disputes. Besides, one remains objective by supporting claims with relevant facts. Also, included references need to fully support your stand. You should know that a discourse must be balanced and fair. Secondly, deciding on evaluative standards is another important factor to consider. You need to have a deeper understanding of subjects before deciding on measures to use during this analysis. Chosen standards must adequately and appropriately represent particular subjects' features, qualities, and values. Besides, when deciding on evaluation essay criteria, ensure that you focus on defending your stated thesis. In addition, have enough evidence and details to support the chosen criterion. Finally, appropriately organize your facts and make sure you have imperative and unbiased information concerning your subjects of discussion.

Evaluation Essay Outline

A clear outline provides a map of organizing ideas when you write evaluation essay. An evaluation essay outline covers at least five structured paragraphs. The first is an introductory paragraph followed by three or more body paragraphs, and finally, an essay conclusion . Below is an evaluation paper outline example under the topic of practicing vaping.

Introduction

• An introduction presents subjects, hooks readers, and elaborates on topic of evaluation.
• The last part of your introduction is a thesis statement, which asserts arguments, determines focus, and helps understand essays’ gist.
• The body must contain a minimum three paragraphs.
• Each body paragraph needs to have a criterion followed by judgment.
• Support judgments with relevant evidence.
• When concluding, summarize main points.
• Give some food for thought.

Here’s how your evaluation essay outline look:

Introductory paragraph  

• Do you know that vaping is a better alternative to smoking? How is it rated?
• Some notable issues with vaping include its safety, cost, and utility.
• This essay discusses vaping while focusing on safety issues, incurred costs, and utility to prove how it is preferred compared to traditional smoking.

Body part  

• Safety: According to the British government, vaping is 95% safer when compared to cigarette smoking. Vaping is less harmful. No second-hand smoke is produced during vaping, hence the best smoking alternative.
• Cost: Vaping is cheaper when compared to smoking. The price for a vape pen is almost $20. Coils and E-juice are inexpensive, unlike a cigarette carton, and can last twice longer.
• Utility: From environmental health, vaping has high utility. Many places have banned cigarette smoking; thus, vaping is the best alternative. Indoors and outdoor vaping is allowed, unlike cigarette smoking, which is banned indoors.

Concluding paragraph

• Vaping offers the best smoking alternative. It is of high quality, and people need to embrace it. Also, it is less costly, practical, and safer.

How to Start an Evaluation Essay

There are various steps that one can follow when writing an evaluation essay. These steps include:

• Choosing a topic A topic provides credibility for opinions and gives room for a thorough analysis of essential issues. Always start an evaluation essay by choosing an appropriate subject. You must be familiar with and have in-depth knowledge of a chosen theme to avoid misleading and losing readers. Ensure it is well-engaging for both the readers and you.
• Thesis statement development Coming up with a thesis statement is the second step, actual writing starts here. Thesis statements define main purposes of evaluative essays. Besides, they offer directions for distinguishing criteria from the examples provided. Use only relevant information when writing thesis statements.
• Criteria determination A third step to consider when preparing evaluation is thinking about criteria. Assess if evaluating a chosen topic is difficult or easy. In case of problematic topics, subdivide them into various points to make it easier.
• Conduct research and obtain supportive evidence You need to support your opinion with logical and physical facts, or else it will remain invalid. Your readers must make sense of your proof and have opportunities to use those facts to make their assumptions. After this step, you can start composing your essay.

How to Write an Evaluation Essay

Several steps exist that one can follow during evaluative writing. The first step in how to write an evaluation is to decide on a particular subject you wish to assess, followed by coming up with criteria you will use. Besides, develop solid arguments backed up with evidence. Also, create an outline, and start writing. Once you complete your writing, proofread your work. The steps below describe the chronological order of writing your essay.

1. Decide on What You Want to Evaluate

The first step when writing this essay is deciding on a topic you will assess. During writing to evaluate, choose a subject you understand better so that you have enough facts to support or oppose it. The chosen issue needs to be engaging to your readers, otherwise yo may lose your audience. Besides, when selecting a theme, ensure it is interesting in general to avoid boredom. Also, a chosen subject needs to be relevant to keep the readers informed about current trends and new developments. The majority of your audience must be aware of the concept. Always ensure that chosen topics are specific and not generic.

2. Find Criteria for Evaluation Essay

Once you discuss a subject, you must come up with criteria for essay evaluation. At this point, turn your opinions into assessments to help you define a chosen subject. You may use different ways to find criteria on how to do an evaluation paper. For instance, you can focus on a chosen characteristics of a topic to help you develop standards. Besides, you might assess the relevance of that topic and decide whether it is good or bad for your readers. Also, focusing on the impacts of subjects helps find standards when evaluating. Researching positive or negative impacts of the topic helps in mastering what and how to evaluate in an essay. Also, you may find criteria by focusing on the effectiveness of that subject, whether it is successful or not. Apart from that, one may focus on the morals or aesthetic standards of a particular subject to develop measures to discuss.

3. Come Up With an Evaluation Argument

Reader understands your decision by following the argument. Evaluative arguments refer to claims concerning the quality of particular subjects being assessed. This argument will always rate subjects as either negative or positive. With this rating, one can think of subjects as harmful or helpful, bad or good. An argument in evaluation essay defines and supports criteria. A judgment always elaborates and explains reasons for choosing particular standards despite controversy. Evaluation argument essay assesses subjects depending on chosen measures. Considered factors include practicability, aesthetics, and ethics. Make sure to determine which standards will convince your audience. Effective development of arguments starts by creating an evaluative thesis statement: take position, develop criteria, and find out if topic meets standards. For instance, when evaluating meal’s quality, you may say:

Meal’s strength depended on its presentation, it was enticing, and its outlook was appropriate.

Another example could be: 

Meal’s weakness was in overcooking, as its flavor became less pronounced.

Additionally, another example of a subject could be practicing vaping. In such case, an evaluation argument example will be: 

Vaping is safe, inexpensive, and highly practical when compared to cigarette smoking, and due to these reasons, it is a recommendable practice for traditional smokers who wish to break old habits.

4. Create an Evaluative Essay Outline

After choosing a discussion topic, one can create an outline for essay . Outlines start with the development of thesis statements, followed by a list of main ideas and a conclusion. For this essay type, outlines require a minimum of five paragraphs. The first paragraph of the evaluation in writing is introduction that ends with a thesis statement. An introduction is followed by at least three body paragraphs and a conclusion. Outlines are important as they form a basis for thoughtfully constructing ideas. Also, they help in organizing your points sequentially for them to remain orderly. In addition, they are useful in picking relevant information, providing steady foundation when starting to write. Thus, it is worth noting that outlines form a crucial part of these essays, and they give a sketch of writing.

5. Write an Evaluation Paper

When you write evaluative papers, ensure you follow everything stated in your outline. The sections discussed below will help you understand how to write evaluation:

• Introduction When writing your introductory paragraph, ensure it engages you and your readers. Introduce subjects by capturing the reader’s attention. Elaborate on selected subjects, their influence, and reasons for assessing those topics. Be clear with chosen criteria you will be discussing. Generally, when writing your introductory paragraph, provide your entire subject overview.
• Thesis statement The last sentence of an introduction is a thesis statement. It tells your readers what they should expect from evaluation essay and its purpose. Include evaluative arguments that rate subjects either positive or negative with supportive facts. A good evaluation thesis example must include all the stated parts.
• Body A body is commonly the lengthiest part in this type of writing. You must develop a minimum of three body paragraphs in your evaluation paper. When writing body paragraphs, always use transition words while moving from a thesis statement to the first reason and other successive reasons. During evaluate writing, all body paragraphs must start with topic sentences, which inform your reader about your opinion. After stating topic sentences, write your criteria. A criterion will elaborate on the standards of a topic you are discussing. When you are done with it, provide judgments. Judgments must elaborate whether the standards of subjects were met or not. Thereafter, provide evidence supporting your argument. Following that, mention any objections about your judgment, then finalize by refuting those claims. Repeat all these steps for each body paragraph. Ensure you remain relevant in all the paragraphs to avoid losing your readers.
• Conclusion A conclusion is the final evaluation paragraph. When concluding, start by restating your thesis statement and follow by summarizing and reflecting on major points.

6. Proofread Your Evaluation Essay

When you complete your evaluation writing, the last step is proofreading and revising your work. Reading through your work helps improve your paper's quality and remove mistakes. Besides, it enables you to locate and correct inconsistencies in your text. Also, when you edit your work, you ensure that the ideas of your paper are well-defined. Revising your work helps in assessing if the content was appropriately conveyed. Also, it guarantees that sentences are grammatically appropriate by correcting typing and spelling errors to avoid readers’ confusion. Finally, you should read through your work critically and develop better ways of improving clarity, good structure of sentences, and entire effectiveness.

Evaluative Essay Structure

There are various examples of evaluation essays format. These formats include:

• Chronological structure It is used when describing events based on how they happened in an orderly manner, starting from the earliest to the last, like when evaluating current or historical events. Chronological essay structures are more descriptive because they are detailed.
• Spatial structure In contrast to previous type, this one is used when presenting details of particular subjects depending on their location in space. A spatial essay form is used when describing an item like architecture or art depending on how they appear when observed. Something else that people need to understand is that it is easy to remember a spatial essay structure because physical location is used when describing subjects.
• Compare and contrast structure Compare structure is used when exploring existing similarities between subjects, while contrast structure exists for discussing differences between items. Mostly, subjects discussed in compare and contrast papers fall under the same category; however, there may exist exceptions to this rule.
• Point-by-point format structure This is a subtype of compare and contrast essay that provides a general view of individual items being analyzed. This essay type compares a set of subjects because paragraph arrangement depends on main points and not by topic. Each paragraph discusses the main point and include subjects as they relate to each main point.

Evaluation Essay Example

There are millions of evaluative essays samples posted online. These examples offer impressive descriptions of evaluative essays with all the key steps to follow and will help you polish your skills when writing this paper. However, not all of the examples posted online are reliable. Therefore, the only preferred evaluation essay sample that students can use must come from peer-reviewed sources. Essay types from scholarly sites are written by reputable authors who meet all required standards; moreover, you can easily find an excellent book on this subject with appropriate examples. Attached are evaluation essays samples from credible writers. 

Tips on How to Write Evaluation Essay

For one to write perfect essays, there are some helpful tips you may follow. Following these points will help you produce impressive evaluation and your readers will enjoy.  Some of those tips when writing an evaluation essay include:

• Carefully read certain materials while making notes and analyzing content.
• Read through each paragraph before transitioning to another section.
• Avoid leaving out negative aspects, but try to discuss both pros and cons of your subjects.
• When reading other’s evaluative essay, analyze each paragraph and notice the authors’ mistakes: is information helpful? what can you do better?
• Avoid adding minor details with insufficient supportive evidence, as they will mislead you and your readers.
• Express your thoughts concisely and clearly as you peruse the written evaluation examples.
• Ensure that your evaluation essay thesis is anchored to your judgment.
• Write your paper with precision and attention to details while avoiding wordiness and providing enough useful information as you keenly follow the guide.
• Enable your readers to feel and agree with your assessment.

Bottom Line on Writing Evaluation Essays

Understanding the text’s definition and purpose is your first step toward knowing how to write a good evaluation. Thereafter, list categories and respective things you will assess during your writing. Master the three elements of an evaluative essay and use them effectively. Your argument must be objective and help clearly decide on what criteria to use. Besides, you need to understand all sections of an outline, how to start evaluative essay, and then, follow essential steps. In addition, get acquainted with the four types of essay structure. Remember that you always can increase your experience by reading some good evaluative writing examples. Keep all these tips in mind to ensure you write a proper essay.

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FAQ About Evaluation Papers

1. what are the four components of an evaluation essay.

• Introduction is the first component of evaluation essay that hooks readers, introduces the subject, and contains thesis statement.
• Background information is the second component; it clarifies to readers your evaluation topic.
• Criteria is the third component, which entails standards for evaluating subjects.
• Conclusion is the fourth component; it restates your thesis statements and summarizes main points.

2. What to write in an evaluation essay?

There are numerous things that one can consider during essay evaluations. Evaluation writing examples and their respective criteria include:

• Movies: A plot, relationship among actors, and scenes.
• Restaurants: Quality of food, price, and cleanliness.
• Websites: Type of content, its design, and ease of navigating.
• House: Overall quality, accessibility, and cost.
• Business: Market share, its strengths and weaknesses.
• Social trend: Origin, overall influence, and objectives.
• Leader: Overall achievements, style of leadership, integrity.
• University: Offered programs, number of graduates per year, online or in-person, reputation.
• Class: Methods of teaching, challenges, type of assessments.
• Job: Nature of work, working hours, bosses, salary, demand.
• Advertisement: Media used when advertising, effectiveness, level of convincing, level of engagement.
• Speech: Type of audience, main purpose, compelling.

3. What is the difference between an evaluation and review?

Despite similarities existing between an evaluation essay and a review, the two differ. An evaluative essay focuses on deeper research and analysis of certain subjects, while a review provides a general outlook of particular subjects. Evaluative essays must have criteria that judge specific subjects, and reviews do not need criteria. In addition, under certain conditions, it is mandatory to cite sources used in writing evaluative essays, while reviews do not require references.

4. What is a good evaluative thesis example?

A good evaluative thesis must inform readers what to expect and its impact and determine an essay’s focus. Also, a strong thesis must state evaluative arguments. Here is a proper evaluation essay thesis example: Vaping is highly practical, inexpensive, and safe compared to cigarette smoking, and following these reasons, it is a recommendable practice for traditional smokers wishing to leave old habits.

Daniel Howard is an Essay Writing guru. He helps students create essays that will strike a chord with the readers.

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A job description should include the following: date written, job status, job title, supervision received, supervision exercised, job summary, detailed list of job responsibilities, principal contacts, competency or position requirements, required education or experience, and career mobility. 5. . Job analysis is a formal process of determining and reporting information related to the nature of a specific job. 6. . • The graphic rating scale method requires the manager to assess an individual on factors such as quantity of work, dependability, job knowledge, attendance, accuracy of work, and cooperativeness. • The essay appraisal method requires the manager to describe an employee’s performance in written narrative form. • The checklist method requires the manager to answer yes or no to a series of questions concerning the employee’s behavior. • The forced-choice rating method requires the manager to rank a set of statements describing how an employee carries out the duties and responsibilities of the job. • The critical-incident appraisal method requires the manager to keep a written record of incidents, as they occur, involving job behaviors that illustrate both satisfactory and unsatisfactory performance by the employee being rated. • The works standards approach involves setting a standard or expected level of output and then comparing each employee’s performance to the standard. • Ranking methods (alternation, paired comparison, and forced distribution) require the manager to compare the performance of an employee to the performance of other employees. • Management by objectives involves using the objectives set in the management-by-objectives process as a basis for performance appraisal. • Multi-Rater Assessment requires that managers, peers, customers, suppliers, or colleagues are asked to complete questionnaires on the performance of the employee being evaluated. 7. . Leniency is the grouping of ratings at the positive end of the performance scale instead of spreading them throughout the scale. Central tendency occurs when performance appraisal statistics indicate that most employees are evaluated similarly as doing average or above-average work. Recency occurs when performance evaluations are based on work performed most recently. The halo effect occurs when managers allow a single prominent characteristic of an employee to influence their judgment on each separate item in the performance appraisal. 8. . Some suggestions include deriving the content of the appraisal system from job analyses; emphasizing work behaviors rather than personal traits; ensuring that the results of the appraisals are communicated to employees; ensuring that employees are allowed to give feedback during the appraisal interview; training managers in conducting proper evaluations; ensuring that appraisals are written, documented, and retained; and ensuring that personnel decisions are consistent with performance appraisals. 9. . Compensation consists of the extrinsic rewards offered by the organization and includes the base wage or salary, any incentives or bonuses, and any benefits employees receive in exchange for their work. To learn more about the book this website supports, please visit its . and . is one of the many fine businesses of . You must be a registered user to view the in this website. If you already have a username and password, enter it below. If your textbook came with a card and this is your first visit to this site, you can to register. Username: Password: '); document.write(''); } // --> ( ) .'); } else{ document.write('This form changes settings for this website only.'); } //--> Send mail as: '); } else { document.write(' '); } } else { document.write(' '); } // --> '); } else { document.write(' '); } } else { document.write(' '); } document.write(' TA email: '); } else { document.write(' '); } } else { document.write(' '); } // --> Other email: '); } else { document.write(' '); } } else { document.write(' '); } // --> "Floating" navigation? '); } else if (floatNav == 2) { document.write(' '); } else { document.write(' '); } // --> Drawer speed: '; theseOptions += (glideSpeed == 1) ? ' ' : ' ' ; theseOptions += (glideSpeed == 2) ? ' ' : ' ' ; theseOptions += (glideSpeed == 3) ? ' ' : ' ' ; theseOptions += (glideSpeed == 4) ? ' ' : ' ' ; theseOptions += (glideSpeed == 5) ? ' ' : ' ' ; theseOptions += (glideSpeed == 6) ? ' ' : ' ' ; document.write(theseOptions); // --> 1. (optional) Enter a note here: 2. (optional) Select some text on the page (or do this before you open the "Notes" drawer). 3. Highlighter Color: 4. Search for: Search in: Course-wide Content Quizzes More Resources Instructor Resources Course-wide Content Definition and Examples of Evaluation Essays An Introduction to Punctuation Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester B.A., English, State University of New York An evaluation essay is a  composition that offers value judgments about a particular subject according to a set of criteria. Also called  evaluative writing , evaluative essay or report , and critical evaluation essay . An evaluation essay or report is a type of argument that provides evidence to justify a writer's opinions about a subject. "Any kind of review is essentially a piece of evaluative writing," says Allen S. Goose. "This type of writing calls for the critical thinking skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation" ( 8 Kinds of Writing , 2001).  Observations "Without good reasons for liking or disliking certain things, students can never get beyond being passive receivers of marketing, fickle consumers without a basis for their opinions. Writing evaluation papers asks them to question why they feel the way they do." (Allison D. Smith, et al., Teaching in the Pop Culture Zone: Using Popular Culture in the Composition Classroom . Wadsworth, 2009) How to Evaluate "If you are evaluating a piece of writing, then you are going to need to thoroughly read the work. While you read the work, keep in mind the criteria you are using to evaluate. The evaluative aspects may be: grammar, sentence structure, spelling, content, usage of sources, style, or many other things. Other things to consider when evaluating a piece of writing is whether the writing appealed to its target audience . Was there an emotional appeal? Did the author engage the audience, or was the piece lacking something? ..."If you are evaluating anything else, use your head. You need to try, use, or test whatever thing you are evaluating. That means you should not evaluate a 2005 Chevrolet Corvette unless you have the $45,000 (or more) to buy one, or the money to rent one. You also need the know-how of driving a car of that power and a base of knowledge of other cars that you have tested to compare it to." (Joe Torres, Rhetoric and Composition Study Guide . Global Media, 2007) Identifying Criteria for an Evaluation " Make a list of prominent, widely recognized standards for judging your subject. If you do not know the standards usually used to evaluate your subject, you could do some research . For example, if you are reviewing a film, you could read a few recent film reviews online or in the library, noting the standards that reviewers typically use and the reasons that they assert for liking or disliking a film. If you are evaluating a soccer team or one winning (or losing) game, you could read a book on coaching soccer or talk to an experienced soccer coach to learn about what makes an excellent soccer team or winning game." (Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Cooper, Axelrod & Cooper's Concise Guide to Writing , 4th ed. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006) Ways of Organizing an Evaluation Essay "One way to organize an  evaluation essay is point-by-point: describe one element of the subject and then evaluate it; present the next element and evaluate it; and so on. Comparison/contrast could be an organizing structure as well, in which you evaluate something by comparing (or contrasting) it to a known item. Culinary and music reviews often use this strategy.  Chronological organization can be used for evaluating an event (either current or historical). Sequential organization can be used when describing how something works and evaluating the effectiveness of the process, procedure, or mechanism. Spatial organization can be used for evaluating art or architecture in which you describe and evaluate one element of the artifact and then move spatially to the next major element to be described and evaluated." (David S. Hogsette,  Writing That Makes Sense: Critical Thinking in College Composition . Wipf and Stock, 2009) Backing (argument) Learn How to Use Extended Definitions in Essays and Speeches Periodical Essay Definition and Examples Critical Analysis in Composition Critical Thinking in Reading and Composition Research in Essays and Reports What Is an Annotated Bibliography? Letter of Recommendation What Is a Critique in Composition? What Are Forensic Linguistics? Syncrisis (Rhetoric) Definition and Examples Informal Logic Definition and Examples of Humorous Essays Definition Examples of Collage Essays How to Write a Critical Essay Data Definition and Examples in Argument 29 Performance Appraisal Methods Explained Performance Appraisal is a systematic approach to evaluating the performance of employees to understand the capability of the employees’ and ascertain the training and development needs. Performance Appraisals helps in improving employer-employee relations in the workplace. It initiates a continuous flow of communication between employer and employees. In this article, we give an overview of 29 different methods of performance appraisal , where are they applicable, the advantages and disadvantages. There is no best method since each one of them has advantages and disadvantages. Make sure you pick well for your organization based on its culture, and strategy. Trait-Focused Performance Appraisal What it is. Employees are assessed on key personality/work traits such as Discipline, Reliability, Ownership etc by their Supervisors. The evaluation is based on a simple rating scale, ranging from Outstanding to Needs Improvement. Typically, all employees are evaluated on the same set of attributes. Example of assessment “Does John reply to a customer complaint within time with the right tone and actionable response?” Where is this applicable? This type of performance appraisal is effective in teams/departments where employees are required to do a similar set of tasks with high efficiency like a BPO or a Customer Support department. This is also an effective tool in organizations where employees are expected to align to a set of values or work traits. It’s a simple evaluation format and helps communicate to employees on what are the key attributes they need to possess to do well in their work. It also helps in putting forth a spirit of competitiveness amongst employees, as they strive to belong and deliver better results. Disadvantages The evaluation is completely based on a qualitative assessment by the Supervisor and thus exposed to risks of all bias related to subjectivity, recency and personal relationships. Behavior-Focused Performance Appraisal This type of performance appraisal assesses employee actions to evaluate key behavior. Various rating scale options are available – (a) sliding rating (ranging from poor to excellent), (b) forced choice (With options like poor, average, good, etc), (c) forced choice with comments allowing for Supervisor descriptive inputs, and (d) behaviorally anchored where supervisors rate Pass or Fail on specific employee actions. This appraisal type is applicable where job descriptions are typically well defined and employees are required to deliver as per expected service levels. This may not be very effective where job responsibilities are dynamic and employees are expected to play multiple roles across functions and teams. With descriptions of various behavior properly defined for a specific performance aspect, supervisors can be more accurate in terms of their assessment rather than in a completely subjective and generic rating system approach. Further, with the opportunity to add narratives, Supervisors are required to articulate the assessment and thus provides more clarity in the performance appraisal. Research has shown that this rating system is not devoid of the disadvantages of the common appraisal types. Unstructured Method This type of performance appraisal is completely based on narratives, without any specific attributes to be assessed or objective rating scales. Questions are asked in an open-ended format and the Supervisor is required to respond as per his/her subjective assessment. “How is John as an employee?” This appraisal type can be applicable in organization setups that either do not or cannot have any appraisal process in place. In such organizations, this appraisal type can be introduced as a soft option. It is the simplest to design and implement and can also be useful to evaluate the assessment capabilities of the Supervisor. Since the assessment is completely subjective, the method may not be reliable as it’s exposed to risks of all bias related to subjectivity, recency and personal relationships. Straight Ranking This type of performance appraisal compares employees and ranks them from top to bottom. “Rank employees on a resolution of customer complaints” This appraisal type can be applicable in departments/functions where all employees are performing a specific task for which the key performance indicators are standard across the board. It is a quick and simple method to find the best and worst performers in a team. It is difficult to rank employees that are in the middle. This is again a subjective assessment type open to the risks of bias of the Supervisor/Manager. Paired Comparison This type of performance appraisal compares employees on a one on one basis on a specific trait. The number of times an employee is chosen better decides the final ranking. “Between John and Jane, who is more reliable?” This appraisal type can be applicable in deciding on which employees to promote amongst a set of potential candidates. It is a systematic approach to evaluation and helps rank employees uniformly. If the number of employees to compare is high, then this method may become too exhausting for the assessor and thus evaluation may be prone to human errors. Grading  Method This type of performance appraisal has specific grades defined with characteristics that need to be demonstrated for an employee to be allocated that grade. “Grade employees across Outstanding, Satisfactory and Needs Improvement wherein the employee may be graded Outstanding if he/she has demonstrated the following characteristics ….” This appraisal type can be applied in government/semi-government organizations where performance is assessed based on a holistic perspective. With clear definitions for each grade, the Supervisor is provided enough guidance to be able to grade an employee judiciously. The evaluator may rate most employees high. Checklist Method This type of performance appraisal has Yes/No questions for appraisers with questions pertaining to the employee’s work and behavior.  Each question has weightage based on the priority of the aspect being assessed. There are no rating scales to be used by the Supervisor. On completion of the assessment, the responses are collated by HR and an overall performance score is calculated for each employee. To ensure appraiser consistency, similar but worded differently questions are sometimes asked twice as part of the assessment. “Is John interested in his job role?” This appraisal type can be applicable in organizations that have a simple structure with few job roles and well defined job-competency maps. It definitely eases the burden on the appraiser to rate or grade based on a scale. The appraiser can rather focus on the question and the related attribute to be evaluated for the employee. Thus, appraiser bias or human errors may be reduced. If there are a large number of job roles in an organization, creating questionnaires specific to each role, defining the scoring rules, maintaining consistency in scoring to ensure comparable scores across job roles, etc become quite a tedious planning and operational overhead. Management By Objective This type of performance appraisal was formulated by Peter Drucker. In this process, the first step is a collaborative Goal Setting exercise between employee & Supervisor with clear definitions of responsibilities and expected results. There is a periodic review to track progress , identify performance gaps, training needs, and course corrections. “Hire 25 graduate engineers for the Production department by July 2018” This appraisal type can be applicable in organizations where employees perform varied job roles and require a collaborative approach with Supervisors to attain their work objectives. If followed in the right spirit, MBO can be quite effective in employee engagement as it helps the employees know what is expected of them and how their contribution leads to overall success for the organization. With the periodic review, the Manager also gets an opportunity to communicate regularly with the employee in a constructive setup that eliminates expectation mismatch and promotes organizational alignment. There are several disadvantages – MBO can be quite time-consuming. Moreover, there is the possibility of conflict with Managers setting exceedingly high goals while employees aiming for lower targets. Also, if objectives are not measurable, then the process fails as progress review and assessment will be extremely subjective. Psychological Appraisals This type of performance appraisal assesses the employee’s aptitude, emotional balance, analytical skills, and other psychological attributes. The appraisal is done in the form of detailed interviews, tests and supervisor discussions. This appraisal type is best applicable to identify employees for fast track or future leaders for the Management Cadre. These types of appraisal are useful to identify training & development needs of and suitable job roles for employees. Since the approach is in-depth, the process can be time-consuming and costly in terms of organizational resources. 360-Degree Appraisal This type of performance appraisal involves inputs from seniors, colleagues, juniors and also, customers and partners. It is used to assess an employee’s competencies, aptitude & behavior. This appraisal type is best applicable to identify development & training needs for employees. Since this type of appraisal collects inputs from all key work associates of an employee, the accuracy of the feedback is expectedly higher compared to other performance appraisal types. The method is still a subjective assessment and open to the risks of bias based on personal rapport, recency or competition. Numerical Rating Scale What is it. This type of performance appraisal assesses an employee’s performance by taking specific job-related behavior such as attendance, punctuality, discipline, readiness etc. into account. A numeric score is given for each of the criteria. If employees do not meet a minimum score, they are sent for training. This type of appraisal is best suited for new employees/freshers where the organization wants to find out the training needs for newcomers. This method is quite easy to use and can be implemented in any type of organization irrespective of size, job function etc. It requires very less effort to set up and requires no formal training. The rater can be biased with some of his favorite employees. Critical Incidents In this method, critical incidents that an employee was engaged with are listed, prioritized and then rated based on a checklist, indicating good or bad. This type of appraisal is best suited where employees are subject to responding to critical emergencies and crisis, like a Hospital or Fire Department. When things are normal, employees can be expected to operate quite similarly. But in a crisis or criticality, its how the employee responds to it and performs the expected duties is what determines the effectiveness of performance. This method is completely subjective and thus open to the risks of bias and prejudice. Also, it is extremely time taking as the evaluators have to write down the critical incidents regularly. Job Results In this method, the expected results of a job are compared with actual performance. Typically, there will be an expected target to achieve or maintain and this will be benchmarked against the actual numbers. This type of appraisal is useful in appraising measurable goals like say, No of Units sold, Volume of manufactured units etc. With clear-cut expected job results and simple comparison with actual performance, there is very little left to the subjectivity of the evaluator’s opinions. Not all work that an employee does can be determined to have job results that can be quantitatively measured, like say, improve interdepartmental communication or employee happiness. Essay Method In this method, the rater describes the performance of an employee by writing a descriptive essay where he describes the strengths, weakness, capability etc. of an employee. This type of appraisal is useful in appraising employees in the academic industry, where the research that a faculty does is being appraised by the evaluator. This method is free from complex structures and formats hence easy to implement. This method may be time-consuming since the rater has to write a description for each employee. It also lacks quantitative data and the length of the description may vary for each employee. General Performance Appraisal This type of performance appraisal is based on constant communication between employee and manager, right through the review period. In the end, the actual performance is tracked against the goals that were set, feedback is exchanged and goals for the next session are set. This type of appraisal is best suited where employee and manager work in close coordination, the Manager is responsible for a smaller team and possibilities of One-on-One between employee and manager is quite high. Since communication is at the basis of this appraisal, it results in very effective performance discussions between employee and manager right through the year without any chance for misunderstanding or expectations mismatch. This may be overwhelming for the Manager if he/she is responsible for a large team of people. Technological/Administrative Performance Appraisal This type of performance appraisal assesses the technical performance aspects of an employee. This is applicable to assess the performance of the technical department of an organization. The rater can focus on a specific skill set, rather than open-ended performance parameters This method is restrictive and cannot be applied uniformly across the organization. Manager Performance Appraisal In this method, the employees who are Managers are appraised of their managerial performance. This type of appraisal assesses job skills and well as people skills because the Manager not only is responsible for the overall work deliverables but also keep the employees motivated and happy. A Manager Appraisal is most applicable in a knowledge-based services industries where employees and Managers need to engage collaboratively and thus need to feed on each other’s feedback to improve and perform better. Managers getting feedback from those who actually work with them on a day to day basis helps tremendously. Reportees may not be completely honest in their feedback to the Managers for the fear of spoiling the relationship. Employee Self-Assessment In this method, the employees are given the opportunity to scrutinize their own performance and assess their own strengths and weaknesses. In this way, they can find out their areas of improvement and make a list of their accomplishments over the year. A Self Assessment is typically applicable in any organization as the employee’s voice must be heard as part of the evaluation process. When employees are given the opportunity to self-evaluate they feel empowered. They realize that their opinions do matter and are taken into consideration during performance review discussions. An employee may not be able to evaluate himself effectively. He/she may overemphasize their contributions or downplay their success. Project Evaluation Review In this method, job evaluation is done at the end of each project. After the assigned task is completed, employees are evaluated based on the performance of the latest task. This is relevant in project-based organizations where employees shift from one project to another and it makes sense to evaluate at the completion of the project, rather than at the end of the review period. This method helps to instill a regular feedback culture in the organization. Regular reviews allow to identify and address any deviation in work and deal with it before it gets out of control. Since there is no single Manager, feedback from one project manager does not always flow to the next project manager. Sales Performance Appraisal In this method, sales targets are compared with actual performance. Typically, there will be an expected set of goals to achieve or maintain and this will be benchmarked against the actual numbers. This type of appraisal is useful in a sales-based organization where the main activity is selling. With clear-cut goals set and simple comparison with actual performance, there is very little left to the subjectivity of the evaluator’s opinions. Not all work that a Sales representative does can be linked to sales or financial performance. Human Asset Accounting Method In this method, the individual employee’s performance is linked to the amount of revenue being generated, new deals won or average business size growth per customer. This type of appraisal is employed in startups where the imperative is to deliver or die. With a single point focus on financial performance, there is no room for misunderstanding between employee and management on what is expected. It helps to identify employees for promotion or exit. It may not be conducive to creating a good work environment, where employees are always on the pressure to deliver results or lose their job. In this method, an employee is expected to maintain a document trail of his achievements throughout the year. This document is used in annual reviews. This type of appraisal is useful in appraising employees in the academic industry, where the research that employee does requires detailed journaling to be assessed by the evaluator. Well documented accounts of employee performance are more useful than performance reports leading up to only a couple of months before the review. This method is becoming outdated since automated feedback tools are preferred over traditional documentation. Field review technique In this method, if a rater is suspected to be biased or higher than others, a review process is conducted to identify inter-rater differences, discuss and arrive at a common rating. This is not widely used by can be considered for evaluation of mission-critical positions or in decisions that are related to promotion or termination. The main advantage is the elimination of rating bias through human dialog. This method is extremely time taking & Managers can feel disturbed by other peers’ interventions. Confidential records In this method, the assessment is done by the Supervisor with the objective to recommend for transfer and promotion. A structured form that collects information on employee’s strengths, weaknesses, achievements etc form the basis of this evaluation. This is typically how performance evaluations happen in govt agencies. There is no specific advantage as there are possibilities for manipulation and deceit. This method is completely subjective and thus open to the risks of bias and prejudice. Cost accounting technique In this method, the individual employee’s performance is linked to the monetary value being generated. Here, the costs to maintain the employee and the value that the employee brings are compared. With a single point focus on monetary performance, there is no room for misunderstanding between employee and management on what is expected. It helps to identify employees for promotion or exit. Work Standards Approach In this method, a results-focused approach is employed to evaluate actual performance. Typically, a minimum is set that has to be achieved for an employee to be considered performing. This type of appraisal is useful in a sales or manufacturing based organization where evaluation targets can be set on quantities sold or produced. Not all work that an employee does can be linked to volumes sold or produced. Aspects like communication, team skills do not get covered here. Assessment Centers In this method, an offsite location brings together the employees to participate in simulations and games that will help assess managerial potential. Other than company senior executives, external consultants and psychologists are involved in this process. This type of appraisal is typically used to assess organizational leadership This method allows for accurate assessment, reduced bias and better approach towards identifying candidates for promotion and transfer. Other than being time taking and costly, it promotes an unhealthy atmosphere of competitiveness and insecurity. Forced choice method In this method, a group of statements is to be rated by evaluators to be most applicable for the employee. Statements include both positive and negative ones that provide the perspectives for the rater to evaluate both these opposite aspects. Each statement has a weightage that is not revealed to the evaluator. This type of appraisal can be applicable to work positions where clear definitions of expected positive and negative performance can be defined. This method allows for objective assessment of employee performance, as the evaluator is asked to choose the statement most reflecting the employee’s performance. The real issue is that constructing a sequence of statements to be used for the evaluation of each of the employee performance aspects is extremely time-consuming. Forced Distribution method In this method, Tiffin tried to eliminate the bias of managers to rate high on rating scales. This type of appraisal is useful wherever there has been past history of rating distortions. This method was brought about to take care of the bias of evaluators to mark employees on the higher end of the rating scale with the core objective of removing rater bias. Since rating statements have to be crafted that will let evaluators choose, that’s why there is the possibility of the statements being fundamentally wrongly constructed. So, are you ready with the best method for your organization? If not you can combine two or three methods from the above list to suit your organization. Have more methods in mind? Let us know Also, let us know in the comment section if you already have some combinations in mind. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Very comprehensive and informative list. This will serve as a great ready reckoner. […] performance evaluation is expected to be binary based on whether targets were achieved or […] […] 29 Types of Performance Appraisal Method Explained October 2, 2018 […] […] of review. We have already compiled a list explaining 29 Types of Performance Appraisal Method. Click to view. Performance appraisal forms make the whole process of Performance Review less engaging and […] […] stated that performance appraisals are not effective at all. Its losing relevance to employees and […] […] many organizations, HR departments still rely on outdated employee evaluation techniques. They are mostly centered around year-end reviews and categorized under performance management. To […] […] are many pre-established performance appraisal methods available today, each with its own benefits. Take a look at some the options below to figure out […] […] the effectiveness of the Performance Management System, the first thing that comes to our mind is performance reviews or the annual […] […] performance appraisal is the ideal chance to address long term career aspirations of the employee that get lost in the […] 7 performance appraisal methods every manager should know Performance appraisal methods form the backbone of effective talent management. From the classic 360-degree feedback to the modern continuous feedback model, we explore an array of performance appraisal methods in this blog. With a range of time-tested traditional approaches and modern strategies utilizing real-time data, these appraisal methods provide various ways to gauge, inspire, and optimize employee performance. How do you motivate and measure your team's success? What approach aligns with your vision for growth? The answers lie within these methodologies, guiding your journey to cultivating talent and propelling your organization forward. What is performance appraisal? Performance appraisal is a formal evaluation process used by organizations to assess an employee's job performance. It involves a structured review of an individual's work, skills, and accomplishments, often conducted annually or periodically. The goal is to provide constructive feedback, set performance expectations, and identify areas for improvement. Importance of performance appraisal methods Feedback: Provides employees feedback on strengths and areas needing improvement. Recognition: Recognizes and celebrates employees' achievements and dedication. Goal Setting: Helps set clear goals and expectations for the future.  Development: Identifies training and development needs Motivation: Recognizing effort and room for growth motivates effectively. Decision-making: Appraisal outcomes guide crucial decisions like promotions, pay changes, or terminations. 7 types of performance appraisal methods 1. 360-degree feedback. 360-degree feedback is a way to evaluate an employee's performance by soliciting input from various individuals who form their "circle of influence." This circle typically includes supervisors, colleagues, customers, and direct reports. The process involves the following steps: ‍ Selecting raters, including supervisors, peers, subordinates, and even self-assessment. Collecting feedback; raters provide input on the employee's performance. Evaluating the collected feedback for insights. Sharing the feedback with the employee. Collaborating on a development plan. Benefits of 360-degree feedback: Collects insights from multiple perspectives. Encourages employee self-reflection. Identifies specific areas for improvement. Fosters open dialogues. Challenges with 360-degree feedback: Complexity: Requires careful planning and management. Time-intensive: Gathering and analyzing feedback can be time-consuming. Bias possibility: Raters may exhibit biases. Privacy concerns: Confidentiality can be a concern when handling feedback. 2. Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) Behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) method is a performance appraisal technique that combines narrative descriptions with numerical ratings. It involves: Identifying key job behaviors Gathering input from employees, managers or experts Creating specific descriptions for different performance levels. Evaluating employees based on these descriptions. Assigning numerical ratings. Benefits of using BARS: Embrace clarity in standards for better feedback. Boost precision in performance analysis . Cut out unrelated variations in ratings. Prioritize specific, observable behaviors. Safeguard against bias for a fair appraisal process. Challenges of using BARS: Developing BARS can be labor-intensive. Requires training and expertise. May not suit all job roles or organizations. 3. Psychological appraisals Psychological Appraisal Method, also known as Psychological Appraisals, involves assessing employees' mental and emotional attributes, including personality, motivation, and interpersonal skills. The process typically comprises: Administering psychological tests and assessments. Evaluating responses to gauge traits, preferences, and mental well-being. Comparing results against job requirements and performance expectations. Benefits of using psychological appraisals: Offers a deeper understanding of employee traits. Helps in team composition and conflict resolution. Tailors training and development plans. Addresses well-being and stress factors. Challenges with psychological appraisals: Privacy Concerns: Raises employee privacy issues. Complex Analysis: Requires skilled professionals to interpret results. Subjectivity: Interpreting psychological data can be subjective. Costly and Time-Consuming: Testing and analysis can be expensive and time-intensive. 4. Management by objectives (MBO) Management by Objectives (MBO) is a performance appraisal method where employees and managers collaboratively set specific, measurable goals. The process includes: Establishing clear objectives and key results (OKRs). Regular progress reviews between managers and employees. Assessing achievements against predetermined targets. Benefits of management by objectives method: Ensures everyone works toward common goals. Defines clear expectations and priorities. Boosts employee engagement and accountability. Focuses on continuous development. Challenges with management by objectives: Complex goal setting: May lead to unrealistic or unclear objectives. Time-consuming: Frequent reviews can be labor-intensive. Not suitable for all roles: Some jobs may not fit the MBO model. Overemphasis on results: Can neglect behavioral aspects of performance. 5. Assessment center method The Assessment centre method is a performance appraisal approach that assesses employees' competencies through various activities and simulations. The process involves: Conducting a range of exercises like group discussions, role plays, and presentations. Evaluating participants' performance against predetermined competencies. Providing detailed feedback and development recommendations. Benefits of using assessment center method: Resource-intensive: Requires significant time and effort. Costly: Can be expensive to organize. Anxiety inducing: Participants may feel stressed. Complex logistics: Coordination challenges for large groups. Challenges with assessment center method: 6. cost accounting method. The 720-Degree Performance Appraisal method is an advanced approach that gathers feedback from various sources, including peers, subordinates, and external stakeholders, providing a well-rounded evaluation. The process involves: Identify performance cost components: training, salary, benefits, and resources. Allocate these costs to individual employees or specific performance activities. Evaluate employee performance against predefined performance criteria and objectives. Compute total performance costs, encompassing direct and indirect expenses per employee. Examine the correlation between costs and individual employee performance. Determine if costs align with outcomes and identify cost-saving or performance improvement opportunities. Leverage cost accounting insights for HR decisions on compensation, training, and more. Benefits of cost-accounting method: Links performance to cost-saving or revenue. Provides quantifiable, concrete metrics. Ensures alignment with financial goals. Encourages cost-effective work practices. Challenges with cost accounting method includes: Narrow focus: Ignores non-financial aspects of performance. Complex data: Requires expertise in cost analysis. Potential for pressure: May lead to cost-cutting at the expense of quality. Inadequate for creative roles: Less applicable to roles with intangible outcomes. 7. 720-degree method The 720-Degree Performance Appraisal method is an advanced approach that gathers feedback from various sources, including peers, subordinates, and external stakeholders, providing a well-rounded evaluation.  It goes beyond the traditional 360-degree method by involving a wider range of feedback sources. The process involves: Self-assessment Evaluation by peers, subordinates, and supervisors Feedback from external stakeholders Performance data collection Analysis and report generation Benefits of 720- degree method: Offers a holistic assessment. Combines internal and external insights. Identifies areas for growth. Minimizes bias with diverse perspectives. Challenges with 720-degree feedback: Resource-intensive: Requires time and effort. Complex coordination: Gathering input from multiple sources can be challenging. Potential for conflicts: Conflicting feedback may arise. Privacy concerns: Raises confidentiality issues. What are the challenges in implementing performance appraisal methods? Biases in appraisers can result in inaccurate assessments and unfair employee treatment. Few of them are are listed below: Halo/horns effect: The halo/horns effect happens when a manager's evaluation of an employee is heavily influenced by a single positive or negative trait. This can lead to unfair and inaccurate reviews. Recency error: Recency error occurs when individuals give greater weight to recent events or experiences when making judgments or decisions. Managers often emphasize recent performance over the overall record, known as the "What have you done for me lately?" bias, due to the human tendency to remember recent events more easily. ‍ Leniency bias: Leniency error is a bias that results from emotional consideration, potentially leading to inflated ratings. For instance, if a worker faces personal issues, a manager might offer a more positive review, even if improvement is necessary.  ‍ Primary bias: Primacy bias is when your initial impression of an employee influences your overall evaluation. The appraisal decision hinges on early performance, whether it's been positive or negative. ‍ Central tendency bias: Central tendency bias is when people rate everyone as average, even if they're not. This often happens when you struggle to choose and opt for the safer choice. ‍ Affinity bias: Affinity bias creeps in when we gravitate towards people who resemble us in terms of gender, age, race, viewpoints, education, or experiences. ‍ Rater bias: Managers tend to rate others higher in areas they struggle with and lower in areas where they excel. This stems from their own biases. 2. Subjectivity Numerous appraisal techniques hinge on subjective judgment, susceptible to personal opinions and emotions. 3. Inadequate training Inadequate training for appraisers can result in inconsistent and unreliable evaluation outcomes. 4. Fear of confrontation Certain evaluators might sidestep addressing performance concerns due to a fear of confrontation, resulting in ineffective feedback. 1. How can biases be minimized in performance evaluations? To minimize biases in performance evaluations, consider these six strategies: Biases in performance evaluations can be minimized by using standardized criteria, incorporating multiple evaluators, and leveraging performance management software to ensure objective, data-driven assessments. 2. What is the best performance appraisal method? The most effective performance appraisal method depends on the organization's unique requirements and objectives. Options include 360-degree feedback, self-assessment, management by objectives (MBO), and narrative evaluations. The choice should be in harmony with the company's culture and goals, and often a blend of methods offers a more comprehensive assessment of employee performance. 3. What are the steps in performance appraisal? The steps in performance appraisal are setting performance standards, communicating expectations, measuring actual performance, comparing performance with standards, discussing results with the employee, and implementing improvement plans. 5. What is the purpose of performance appraisals? Performance appraisals serve as assessments of an employee's work performance during a specific timeframe. They aim to identify strengths and areas for improvement, with the goal of enhancing future performance. 6. How do I write a strong self-appraisal? In my self-appraisal, I emphasized my key achievements with specific examples, quantified the results to demonstrate my impact, and acknowledged challenges I overcame while highlighting my growth and future goals. I balanced strengths with areas for improvement, referenced positive feedback, and maintained a professional and positive tone throughout. 7. What are different aspects of 360-degree feedback? Self-assessment:  Peer assessment Managerial assessment Client assessment In a nutshell, knowing your way around various performance appraisal methods isn't just a corporate handbook thing; it's a vital element for achieving success in organizations. Understanding feedback methods leads to a happier, aligned workforce in organizations. This, in turn, leads to motivated employees, goals that harmonize with the company's rhythm. Ultimately, an informed approach to performance appraisal methods can tip the scales in favor of achieving organizational excellence and securing a brighter future. Related blogs and categories Explore the causes behind absenteeism, from burnout to disengagement, and learn strategies for prevention and fostering a supportive workplace culture. Uncover how employee benefits can profoundly enhance team happiness and loyalty, reshaping the dynamics of your workplace for enduring success! Looking to break free from financial constraints? These are 5 key financial wellness programs to support employees' financial health and well-being. See our award-winning HR Software in action HR insights delivered to your inbox. Sign up to our newsletter and get expert tips on the latest trends, tactics, and thought leadership on all things HR. Ready to try peopleHum? Schedule a Demo ! Jun 29, 2023 Evaluation Essay Examples: Master the Art of Critical Assessment with Examples and Techniques Want to turn good evaluation essays into great ones? We've got you covered with the guidance and insights you need. Join us as we delve into the art of critical assessment! An evaluation paper's main purpose is to assess entities like a book, movie, restaurant, or product and provide constructive criticism. This writing style can be approached with serious objectivity or with humor and sarcasm. Reviewing is a common form of academic writing that serves to assess something and is often used in various fields as a research method. For example, research papers might include literature reviews or case studies, using evaluation as an analytical tool. Evaluation reports can also take the form of analyses and critiques. A critique of a scientific study would look at its methodology and findings, while an analysis of a novel would focus on its themes, characters, and writing style. It's essential to consider your audience and your purpose before starting an evaluation document. Evaluation papers are a versatile and meaningful writing form that can both educate and entertain audiences. Regardless of whether the tone is serious or humorous, objective or subjective, a well-written review can engage and educate. To understand everything about evaluation essays, from their definition and purpose to potential topics and writing tips, read on. What are Evaluation Essays? An evaluation essay allows the author to make a claim and offer a verdict on a topic. This essay type can be used to identify the best option among several alternatives, or to analyze a specific method, product, or situation. It is a common academic task across all levels. Evaluation essays come in different forms, from online product reviews to business cases prepared by management professionals. In contrast to a descriptive essay, an evaluation essay aims to express the author's judgment. However, this essay type is defined by an objective tone. The author's judgment should be based on careful examination of the available evidence. This differs from a persuasive essay, which seeks to convince the reader to adopt the author's point of view. An evaluation essay starts with the facts and forms conclusions based on these facts. How to Write an Evaluation Essay? To write an effective evaluation essay, follow these essential writing tips: 1. Select a Topic The essay topic is crucial. It should be both educational and interesting, providing enough information to fill an entire essay. 2. Draft an Evaluation Essay Outline Professional writers always advise creating an evaluation essay outline before writing the essay itself. This aids in writing and ensures content coherence. An outline is also easier to modify than a complete essay. Think about what should be included and excluded when designing your essay's outline. However, skipping this step and diving straight into the essay writing can create extra work later, as it can mean editing and revising the entire piece. The general components of an evaluation essay outline include: a. Introduction The introduction is vital as it forms the readers' first impression. It should engage readers and arouse their interest in the topic. The aspects to consider when writing the introduction are as follows: Begin with a compelling hook statement to capture the reader's interest. Provide background information on the topic for better understanding. Formulate a clear and concise thesis statement, outlining the main objective of the evaluation. b. Body Section The body of the essay consists of three paragraphs. Each paragraph should deliver several related ideas and flow seamlessly from start to finish. The key ideas to cover in the body paragraphs include: Start with a sentence that presents your view on the topic. Provide arguments that support the topic sentence and your stance. Present a well-rounded argument to show impartiality. Compare the subject to a different topic to showcase its strengths and weaknesses. Present the evaluation from various angles, applying both approving and critical thinking. c. Conclusion This is your final chance to convince the reader of your viewpoint. The conclusion should summarize the essay and present the overall evaluation and final assessment. When composing an evaluation essay's conclusion, keep the following points in mind: Restate your main points and arguments from the essay body. Present evidence to support your thesis. Conclude your argument convincingly, ultimately persuading the reader of your assessment. 3. Review, Edit, and Proofread The final steps after writing the essay are editing and proofreading. Carefully reading your essay will help identify and correct any unintentional errors. If necessary, review your draft multiple times to ensure no mistakes are present. Structure of an Evaluation Essay An evaluation essay, like any good piece of writing, follows a basic structure: an introduction, body, and conclusion. But to make your evaluation essay standout, it's crucial to distinctly outline every segment and explain the process that led you to your final verdict. Here's how to do it: Introduction Start strong. Your introduction needs to captivate your readers and compel them to read further. To accomplish this, begin with a clear declaration of purpose. Provide a brief background of the work being evaluated to showcase your expertise on the topic. Next, rephrase the essay prompt, stating the purpose of your piece. For example, "This essay will critically assess X, utilizing Y standards, and analyzing its pros and cons." This presents your comprehension of the task at hand. Wrap up your introduction with a thesis statement that clearly outlines the topics to be discussed in the body. This way, you set the stage for the essay's content and direction, sparking curiosity for the main body of the work. Body of the Essay Dive deep, but not without preparation. Before delving into the assessment, offer an unbiased overview of the topic being evaluated. This reaffirms your understanding and familiarity with the subject. Each paragraph of the body should focus on one evaluation criterion, presenting either support or criticism for the point. This structured approach ensures clarity while presenting evidence to substantiate each point. For instance, discussing the benefits of a product, you can outline each advantage and back it up with supporting evidence like customer reviews or scientific studies. Ensure a smooth flow of thoughts by linking paragraphs with transitional phrases like "in addition," "moreover," and "furthermore." Each paragraph should have a clear topic sentence, explanation, and supporting evidence or examples for easy understanding. Your conclusion is where you make your final, compelling argument. It should focus on summarizing the points made according to your evaluation criteria. This isn't the place for new information but rather a concise summary of your work. To conclude effectively, revisit your thesis and check whether it holds up or falls short based on your analysis. This completes the narrative arc and provides a solid stance on the topic. A thoughtful conclusion should consider the potential impact and outcomes of your evaluation, illustrating that your findings are based on the available data and recognizing the potential need for further exploration. Evaluation Essay Examples Now that we've covered the structure, let's take a look at some examples. Remember, an evaluation essay is just one type of essay that can be generated using tools like Jenni.ai. This AI-powered software can produce high-quality essays on any topic at impressive speeds. Here are some ideas to kickstart your assessment essay writing journey. Evaluation Essay: Online Teaching vs. On-campus Teaching In the face of technological evolution, education has seen a shift in teaching styles, with online learning platforms providing an alternative to traditional on-campus teaching. This essay will evaluate and compare the effectiveness of these two teaching styles, delving into various factors that contribute to their strengths and weaknesses. The landscape of education has transformed significantly with the advent of online learning. This essay will scrutinize and juxtapose the effectiveness of online teaching against traditional on-campus teaching. The evaluation will take into account numerous factors that contribute to the success of each teaching style, focusing on their individual benefits and drawbacks. On-campus Teaching On-campus teaching, the time-tested method of education, has proven its effectiveness repeatedly. The physical classroom setting provides students direct access to their teachers, promoting immediate feedback and real-time interaction. Moreover, the hands-on learning, group discussions, and collaborative projects intrinsic to on-campus teaching cultivate crucial soft skills like communication and teamwork. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research reveals that students attending on-campus classes show higher academic performance and are more likely to complete their degrees compared to those in online classes (Bettinger & Loeb, 2017). However, on-campus teaching isn't without its challenges. It offers limited flexibility in scheduling and requires physical attendance, which can be inconvenient for students residing far from campus or those with mobility constraints. Online Teaching Online teaching, propelled by technological advancements and digital learning platforms, offers a compelling alternative. The most significant benefit of online teaching is its scheduling flexibility. Students can access classes and course materials from anywhere, at any time, providing a superior balance for work, family, and other commitments. Online teaching democratizes education by enabling access for students in remote areas or with mobility challenges. The use of innovative teaching methods like interactive multimedia and gamification enhances engagement and enjoyment in learning. Despite its numerous advantages, online teaching presents its own set of challenges. A major drawback is the lack of direct interaction with teachers and peers, potentially leading to delayed feedback and feelings of isolation. Furthermore, online classes demand a higher degree of self-motivation and discipline, which may be challenging for some students. Both online teaching and on-campus teaching present their unique benefits and drawbacks. While on-campus teaching fosters direct interaction and immediate feedback, online teaching provides unmatched flexibility and accessibility. The choice between the two often depends on factors such as the course content, learning objectives, and student preferences. A study by the University of Massachusetts reports that the academic performance of students in online classes is on par with those attending on-campus classes (Allen & Seaman, 2017). Furthermore, online classes are more cost-effective, eliminating the need for physical classrooms and related resources. In conclusion, while both teaching styles have their merits, the effectiveness of each is heavily dependent on the subject matter, learning objectives, and the individual needs and preferences of students. Citations: Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2017). Digital learning compass: Distance education enrollment report 2017. Babson Survey Research Group. Bettinger, E., & Loeb, S. (2017). Promises and pitfalls of online education. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Spring 2017, 347-384. Evaluation essay: Analyze how the roles of females and males changed in recent romantic movies Romantic movies have long been a popular genre, offering a glimpse into the complex and varied world of relationships. Over the years, the portrayal of gender roles in romantic movies has evolved significantly. This essay aims to evaluate and analyze how the roles of females and males have changed in recent romantic movies. Historical Context of Gender Roles in Romantic Movies: Gender roles have played a significant role in shaping the portrayal of romantic relationships in movies. In the past, traditional gender roles were often reinforced, with women playing the role of the damsel in distress, and men playing the role of the protector and provider. However, over the years, the feminist movement and other social changes have led to a more nuanced portrayal of gender roles in romantic movies. Women are no longer just passive objects of desire, and men are not just dominant figures. Instead, both genders are portrayed as complex and multifaceted individuals with their desires, needs, and struggles. Analysis of Recent Romantic Movies: In recent years, romantic movies have become more diverse and inclusive, featuring a wider range of gender identities, sexual orientations, and cultural backgrounds. As a result, the portrayal of gender roles in these movies has also become more nuanced and complex. One significant trend in recent romantic movies is the portrayal of female characters as strong, independent, and empowered. Female characters are no longer just passive objects of desire, waiting for the male lead to sweep them off their feet. Instead, they are shown to be capable of taking charge of their own lives, pursuing their goals, and making their own decisions. For example, in the movie "Crazy Rich Asians," the female lead, Rachel, is portrayed as a strong and independent woman who stands up for herself and refuses to be intimidated by the wealthy and powerful people around her. Similarly, in the movie "The Shape of Water," the female lead, Elisa, is portrayed as a determined and resourceful woman who takes action to rescue the creature she has fallen in love with. Another trend in recent romantic movies is the portrayal of male characters as vulnerable and emotionally expressive. Male characters are no longer just stoic and unemotional but are shown to have their insecurities, fears, and vulnerabilities. For example, in the movie "Call Me By Your Name," the male lead, Elio, is shown to be sensitive and emotional, struggling with his feelings for another man. Similarly, in the movie "Moonlight," the male lead, Chiron, is shown to be vulnerable and emotionally expressive, struggling with his identity and his relationships with those around him. However, while there have been significant changes in the portrayal of gender roles in recent romantic movies, there are still some aspects that remain problematic. For example, female characters are still often portrayed as objects of desire, with their value determined by their physical appearance and sexual appeal. Male characters are still often portrayed as dominant and aggressive, with their masculinity tied to their ability to assert control over others. Conclusion: In conclusion, the portrayal of gender roles in recent romantic movies has evolved significantly, with female characters being portrayed as strong, independent, and empowered, and male characters being portrayed as vulnerable and emotionally expressive. These changes reflect the shifting social norms and values of our society and offer a more nuanced and complex portrayal of romantic relationships. However, there are still some problematic aspects of the portrayal of gender roles in romantic movies, such as the objectification of female characters and the perpetuation of toxic masculinity. Filmmakers and audiences need to continue to push for greater diversity, inclusivity, and nuance in the portrayal of gender roles in romantic movies so that everyone can see themselves reflected in these stories. "Crazy Rich Asians" Directed by Jon M. Chu, performances by Constance Wu, Henry Golding, and Michelle Final Thoughts The step-by-step guide and examples provided should have equipped you with the skills necessary to write a successful evaluation essay. However, crafting the perfect essay isn't a simple task; it demands practice, patience, and experience. Incorporate Jenni.ai into your academic journey to revolutionize your writing experience. This advanced AI writing tool is designed to assist with a range of academic writing projects. With Jenni.ai, you can confidently tackle essays on any topic, easing your writing tasks considerably. Don't hesitate to register with Jenni.ai today ! Discover a world of writing opportunities and take your essay writing skills to new heights! Start Writing With Jenni Today Sign up for a free Jenni AI account today. Unlock your research potential and experience the difference for yourself. Your journey to academic excellence starts here. Module 9: Performance Management and Appraisal Appraisal methods, learning outcomes. Evaluate absolute appraisal methods Evaluate relative appraisal methods Discuss management by objectives There are two primary methods for conducting performance appraisals: based on absolute or relative standards. Absolute Appraisal Methods Common methods of conducting an absolute appraisal are critical incident, BARS (Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale), and a graphic rating scale. Critical Incident A critical incident appraisal focuses on the essential behaviors that determine whether a task is done well or poorly. Documentation in this case involves briefly summarizing situations (incidents) that demonstrate either successful or unsuccessful behavior and outcomes. The critical incident appraisal method is more intensive for the appraiser since it involves more attention to detail. This is especially the case since incidents should be recorded as they occur and be representative of the appraisal period rather than based on memory and written when preparing for the appraisal. However, this level of details if more valuable to an employee and may better support development. A variation on this is asking or tasking employees with recording their critical incidents, similar to a self-assessment. Graphic Rating Scale One of the simplest and most common appraisal methods is the graphic rating scale. A graphic rating performance appraisal form lists job behaviors, competencies, skills and results and provides five (more or less) rating options ranging from unsatisfactory to exceeds expectations. The appraiser selects a performance rating for each criteria and totals the values. The positive is rating scales are relatively easy to develop and complete and yield quantitative data that can be used to compare performance relative to prior appraisals or other employees. The downside is the method doesn’t provide a level of detail that supports specific corrective action. Another drawback: performance factors tend to be vague and open to interpretation—for example, quantity of work, quality of work, initiative—and performance ratings can be subjective. The Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale or BARS appraisal method combines aspects of the critical incident and graphic rating methods. Like the critical incident method, BARS focused on behaviors that constitute significant performance dimensions of a job. It differs from the typical graphic rating scale in that it focuses on job specifics rather than vague work statements. For example, instead of a rating that might be open to interpretation—for example, “Answers phone promptly and courteously”—a BARS approach would break it down into two component actions: “Answers phone within 3 rings.” and “Greets caller with “Hello. This is [name]. How may I help you?” [1] Implementing BARS involves identifying the primary job behaviors and developing a 3–7 (or more) point rating scale that anchors the rating to specific descriptions of effective and ineffective behavior. The benefit of BARS is that it yields both qualitative and quantitative data. The quantitative data makes it possible to compare and rank relative employee performance. The level of detail in behavior descriptions also helps to avoid differences in interpretation across raters and employees. The downside of BARS is the complexity of development and maintenance, with each position requiring a set of evaluation criteria and rating descriptions. Table 1. BARS for Army Nurses 1 2 3 4 5 Sometimes fails to follow doctors’ orders Always follows doctors’ orders Always follows doctors’ orders Always follows doctors’ orders Always follows doctors’ orders; available to meet with doctors whenever needed; Often impatient with difficult patients Occasionally impatient with difficult patients Never impatient with difficult patients Never impatient with difficult patients; helps other nurses with difficult patients Never impatient with difficult patients; helps other nurses with difficult patients; ; eases patients’ fears Doesn’t always follow hospital procedures Rarely doesn’t follow hospital procedures Always follows hospital procedures Always follows hospital procedures Always follows hospital procedures Relative Appraisal Methods A second category of appraisal methods uses relative or comparative standards. Common methods in use include ranking and paired comparison and forced distribution. Ranking methods include individual ranking and group order ranking. These methods involve placing employees in relative performance (or perceived value) order from top to bottom or ranking them on a “curve” (bell curve). Group ranking—also referred to as stack ranking or forced distribution—involves placing employees in categories—for example, top 20% and bottom 10% that was championed by former General Electric CEO Jack Welch. Former CEO Welch imposed a 20/70/10 discipline where managers were forced to identify their top 20%, middle 70%, and bottom 10% of employees annually. GE focused rewards and retention efforts on the top 20% and fired the bottom 10%. According to Welch, “‘sprinkling’ financial rewards over a much larger group is a mistake.” Instead, the middle 70% should be coached and trained to move into the top. [2] This technique was and remains controversial. A survey of human resource professionals surveyed “reported that forced ranking resulted in lower productivity, inequity and skepticism, negative effects on employee engagement, reduced collaboration, and damage to morale and mistrust in leadership.” [3] Human resource management perceptions are supported by field research. Wharton School of Management Associate Professor of Management Iwan Barankay’s research demonstrated that when people are rated relative to others, performance declined. Further, rating accuracy was questionable, with ratings having “as much to do with who the rater was (people gave higher ratings to those who were like them) as they did with performance.” [4] Paired Comparison The paired comparison method bases evaluations on an employee’s performance relative to his or her peers in selected job skill categories. For example, if you have five employees, you would compare their performance in each category individually, assigning a plus or a minus to indicate relative strength or weakness, as illustrated in Table 2. An employee’s evaluation would be the sum of their pluses and would be the basis of a relative ranking. This method is unwieldy for large numbers of employees and suffers from the vagueness and subjectivity of a graphic ranking system. Table 2. Performance Appraisal Employees Rated Compared with Employee HC Employee SH Employee AL Employee DN Employee ET Employee HC N/A − + − − Employee SH + N/A + − + Employee AL − − N/A − − Employee DN + + + N/A + Employee ET + − + − N/A Practice questions Management by objectives. An additional appraisal technique that represents a significant departure from the manager-centric approaches discussed above is a hybrid appraisal/management technique referred to as management by objectives (MBO). The MBO concept was introduced in management consultant, educator, and author Peter Drucker’s 1954 book The Practice of Management . What’s particularly powerful about using MBO is the clear connection between individual goals and organizational goals. The development of MBO is a process in which objectives “cascade down through the organization.” That is, “the organization’s overall objectives are translated into specific objectives for each succeeding level in the organization-divisional, departmental and individual.” [5] A second key differentiating factor is the participative management aspect of MBO. Specifically, performance objectives (evaluation criteria) are discussed and agreed to by management and the employees. In theory, this approach results in employees who not only have a clearer understanding of expectations but greater buy-in. The greatest potential of MBO is developing goals and objectives that are aligned with not only the organization’s objectives but the employee’s personal goals and objectives. Although MBO is a complex and time-consuming method that must be undertaken as an organizational initiative, it has the potential to address some of the relevance and motivation issues of other appraisal methods. DeCenzo, et. al. report that “studies of actual MBO programs confirm that MBO effectively increases employee performance and organizational productivity.” [6] For more on MBO, see Communication Theory’s overview: Management By Objectives . Practice Question " What is BARS (Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale). " The Performance Management and Appraisal Resource Center. Accessed August 20, 2019. ↵ Murray, Alan. " Should I Rank My Employees? " The Wall Street Journal. Accessed August 20, 2019. ↵ Ibid. ↵ Cappelli, Peter and Anna Tavis. " The Performance Management Revolution ." Harvard Business Review. October 2016. Accessed August 20, 2019. ↵ DeCenzo, David A., Stephen P. Robbins, and Susan L Verhulst. Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2016. ↵ Appraisal Methods. Authored by : Nina Burokas. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution BARS for Army Nurses. Provided by : Open University of Hong Kong. Located at : http://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/32257# . Project : Human Resource Management. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike Authored by : rawpixel. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/photos/boss-brainstorming-business-3385070/ . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright . License Terms : Pixabay License Authored by : geralt. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/photos/finger-feedback-confirming-3530353/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved . License Terms : Pixabay License Evaluation Essay A Comprehensive Guide to Write an Evaluation Essay 17 min read Published on: Mar 24, 2023 Last updated on: Jul 24, 2024 People also read Extensive Guide on Appendix Writing For Graduating Students A Step-by-Step Guide to Write an Effective Opinion Essay How to Write a Poem Step by Step - Beginners Guide How to Conduct a Great Character Analysis - Tips and Examples Different Types of Plagiarism and How to Avoid Them 10 Essay Writing Mistakes That Are Holding You Back Tips by an Essay Writer to Avoid Plagiarism How to Write Poetry: A Beginner's Guide A Complete Writing Guide of Article Review for Beginners Complete Visual Analysis Essay Writing Guide by Experts Complete Guide on How to Write a Summary with Examples Share this article Writing an evaluation essay can be a daunting task. It's not easy to summarize your thoughts and feelings about a book, movie, or product into a cohesive, well-written paper.  Even if you're a great writer, the thought of writing an evaluation essay can be intimidating. You want to make sure that you say everything you want to say in a clear and concise way. We've written this detailed guide on how to write an evaluation essay. By following our tips and tricks, you'll be able to write a great paper that will show off your critical thinking skills. So continue reading to learn what an evaluation essay is and how you can master the art of of writing yourself! Tough Essay Due? Hire Tough Writers! On This Page On This Page --> What is an Evaluation Essay? Looking for evaluation essay meaning? Here is an easy meaning for you. An evaluation essay is a type of writing which involves providing an opinion on a particular subject. This can be done in different ways and differs from all other types of essays as it requires the writer to pass judgment on their topic rather than give a fact-based report or dissertation. The most common types of evaluation essays are critical analysis and interpretive essays. In both types, the writer evaluates a particular subject based on their own opinion or perspective and then explains why they feel that way.  The goal of an evaluation essay is to present both sides of an issue objectively and provide readers with enough information so that they can form their own opinions. Evaluations are meant to be unbiased and should not contain any opinionated statements.  They must instead only focus on facts because this will help ensure that they won't come off as personally biased, which would make them unreliable for the intended audience. Purpose of Evaluating Writing Why are evaluative essays assigned to the students?  The purpose of evaluating essays is to determine the quality and effectiveness of a student's writing. Evaluation helps instructors determine if students have achieved mastery level Understanding of the material in question Understood the main ideas or points being made,  Can effectively express their own thoughts and opinions.  Additionally, evaluation allows teachers to assess a student's ability to organize and present their thoughts in an effective and meaningful way. How can you write the best evaluation essay? To do this you must be aware of its characteristics.  Characteristics of Evaluative Essay  There are five characteristics of an evaluative essay: Present the subject in a descriptive and evaluative way Assert an overall judgment by providing the reason evaluation within the thesis statement  Support your reasons and points with evidence  Provide counterarguments by responding to the opposition's objections and claims  Establish credibility and authority by providing enough knowledge on the subject  Elements of an Evaluation Essay Before beginning to learn how to write an evaluation essay, it is must to get educated about its elements. So the four elements of evaluation essay are mentioned below along with a brief details... An evaluation essay should start by clearly establishing the subject that is being evaluated. This could be a product, service, person, experience, or even an event. It is also important to explain why you have chosen this particular subject and what purpose it serves.   Is the subject suitable  for the assignment?  Does it present an opportunity to explore a certain topic in greater detail?  Consider these questions and make sure to provide clear answers. The criteria you use in your evaluation will depend on what you are evaluating and for whom you are writing the evaluation. It is best to provide clear and specific criteria that you can use to judge the quality of the item or service being evaluated. This is usually based on certain factors such as quality, effectiveness, value, and/or suitability. It is important to provide a clear definition of these criteria so that readers are able to follow your analysis. Now it is the time to judge whether or not the standards have been achieved. Returning to our hotel example, you might start by assessing whether or not the establishment offers excellent accommodations. Is it sufficient? Or does it fall short of your high expectations? You may then move on to the other criteria. In order to effectively evaluate the subject, it is important to gather evidence in support of your evaluation. The evidence gathered should help to explain why the criteria are relevant and why the subject is being evaluated in a certain way. If you reach the conclusion that the quality of food does not meet expectations, be ready to provide proof for why this is so. It's common for each paragraph in an essay to address a different topic. In that paragraph, you should thoroughly explain the criterion, make relevant judgments, and provide supporting evidence. Evaluation vs. Review - What are the Differences? Some students have a misconception about how to write an evaluation paper. They think that it is the same as writing a review, but in reality, there are many differences between the two types of papers. Although these two types of papers do have some similarities, there are also a number of differences between them that set them apart. Below are the key differences between these two. The topic is thoroughly analyzed and in depth. The topic is discussed generally and without any depth. For the most part, it is unbiased. It could be based on the writer's personal opinion. The writer must use pre-defined criteria. The writer does not need any set criteria. The essay must have substantial evidence to back the claims. It is a personal view and does not need any evidence. Citing and referencing the sources are important. No references are generally required. Evaluation Essay Outline Understanding the evaluation essay format and creating an outline is important. The essay format is based on the 5-paragraph structure that contains one introduction paragraph, three body paragraphs, and one conclusion paragraph.  Here is how to make an outline of your evaluation essay. Introduction - Introduce the main theme or topic of the essay. Start the paragraph with a hook sentence and pique the readers' interest. Thesis Statement - Create a brief thesis statement and add it at the end of the introduction. Body Paragraphs - Add at least three paragraphs in this section. Each explains one idea and gives supporting evidence to back them. You can also add more paragraphs if there is scope for it. Each paragraph will follow the following structure. Supporting Evidence Opposing Views It is important that you add all these things into your essay so that your evaluation presents and explains a complete idea. Conclusion - Restate your thesis statement here and explain the main points. However, keep everything brief and to the point. This outline will be helpful for you when you write your evaluation essay. Follow it carefully, and you will have your essay done in no time. If you need more help, check out this outline template. Evaluation Essay Outline Template How to Start an Evaluation Essay? Here are the essential steps to start your evaluation essay. 1. Choose the Essay Topic Idea When you have to write an evaluation essay, the topic must be something that will give your opinion credibility and allow for a thorough analysis of what it is about.  When choosing topics for critical evaluation essays, one should be familiar with the subject matter. Also, the quality of writing skills necessary when composing evaluative essays about particular subjects. Therefore, choose a topic that is engaging for both you and your readers. 2. Develop the Thesis Statement The thesis statement is a crucial element of an evaluative essay and should make it easy to evaluate the paper's arguments. It must provide clear direction for where your evaluation stands on specific criteria so that you can distinguish between examples with differing levels of quality. You need to be careful in citing only relevant information while supporting your points.  3. Think about the Criteria for Your Essay Once you have chosen the topic of your evaluation essay, it is important to consider what criteria will be used to evaluate the subject.  How easy or difficult is it to explain your chosen topic or theme? If it is difficult, then you should divide it into multiple points that would help make this step easier. Criteria should be objective and relevant. They must also be measurable so that the right kind of evidence can be collected.  4. Research and Gather Supporting Evidence Your opinion on a topic is not valid unless you have the support of physical or logical evidence. You need to be able to back up your statements with facts that will allow people who read them to make their own assumptions about what they are reading and come to an independent conclusion. Research the strengths and weaknesses of the chosen idea or topic and give a clear idea about it to your readers. Otherwise, there's no point in arguing because nobody can agree if both sides don't provide any information. Once you have worked through these steps, you can move forward to writing the essay. How to Write an Evaluation Essay? Here are the steps to write an evaluation essay. 1. Create an Outline of the Essay After choosing the topic and researching it, make an outline for your essay. Follow the outline given above and create an outline for your evaluation essay. Make it detailed and add everything you want to discuss in your essay for a more helpful outline. 2. Write a Strong Introduction The first paragraph of an essay should be engaging not only to keep your readers engaged. However, also to establish what you're going to tell about and why they need this information. To do so requires a hook that captures their attention, like something important or less known statement, for them to continue reading the rest of it.  3. Add a Thesis Statement Evaluation essay thesis statement follows the introduction paragraph. It informs readers of what to expect from reading this essay and how it could affect your thinking about a certain matter. 4. Draft the Main Body of the Essay The main body of an essay is the lengthiest part of the essay. It contains three paragraphs, but you can add more paragraphs if you feel that three paragraphs are not enough. Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that tells the readers about one of the writer's opinions about the topic. However, make sure that you stay relevant and strong. If required, use compares and contrast techniques and make the reader agree with your point of view. Add criteria, judgment, evidence, and opposing point of view for each idea. Make sure that you explain everything properly. 5. Write a Good Conclusion The end of your evaluation essay is the conclusion part. It should be an opportunity to summarize what you have said or emphasize the most important points. You can also use this space as closure and reflection on everything discussed so far. Don't forget to restate your thesis statement and how you proved it right. 6. Edit, Revise, and Proofread Once you are done with the writing, proofread and revise it thoroughly. Do not submit anything without proper editing and proofreading.  This final step is important if you do not want to lose your score because you did not add a 'the' at the beginning of the sentence. All of these steps are important for writing a good evaluation essay. Follow them carefully and craft a winning essay. Here is an evaluation essay sample; "The Shining" is one of the most obscure works by Stanley Kubrick, a horror film that recounts the tale of a family who has moved into a hotel called the Overlook and becomes terrorized by ghosts. The Torrance family's story centers on Jack, Wendy, and Danny throughout the movie. The original book, which Kubrick based the film on, was written by Steven King. The literary basis is quite thrilling and intriguing, and the film may be considered in much the same way. Jack Torrance, a writer who has quit drinking, moves his family to a remote mountain resort in the film adaptation. The hotel is entirely isolated from the outside world due to the winter colder temperatures. All routes leading to it are buried under snow, therefore no cars can get through. The facility is currently shut. Jack needs isolation to write his next book, but he will also be the hotel's caretaker. The hotel was erected on a plot of property that had previously been used as an Indian burial ground. While Jack Torrance depicts the tale of a father trying to kill his family, the evil spirits influence him and he gradually becomes insane until he tries to kill his wife Wendy and son Danny but fails. The primary and most important consideration when assessing "The Shining" is the atmosphere that was created in the movie. Kubrick was able to evoke a sensation of loneliness and alienation, as well as an ever-increasing sense of dread throughout the film. Despite all the opulence, the Overlook hotel appears to be a graveyard. The atmosphere is also enhanced with ghost scenes and depictions of how Jack becomes crazier as the story progresses. When Wendy looks at the manuscript that Jack had been writing during their family's stay at the hotel, one of the film's most frightening moments occurs. She notices that all of the pages are covered with just one sentence: "All fun and no play makes Jack a dull boy," at which point she knows her husband is completely deranged. The sense of dread and desperation intended by Kubrick is effectively conveyed, thus defending the film's merit. Then again, with the exception of Jack Nicholson and Scatman Crothers, the acting is poorly executed. While Jack Nicholson was able to produce a depiction of a maniacal writer suffering from alcoholism, Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd's performances as the Torrance family members were unnatural and fake-looking. Danny Lloyd is a good example of someone who doesn't get the full credit he deserves because he's young and inexperienced, whereas Shelley Duvall in this film isn't at her finest. In most action sequences, her performance appears to be manufactured, and at times inappropriate. This makes for a significant difference when contrasted with Nicholson's character, who has performed at a top-level in the movie. The technical aspect is also crucial for film evaluation, and "The Shining" may be cited for its strong cinematography. The film provides a number of new ideas that had not previously been used or were seldom employed. The majority of Danny's stills were taken from the growth rate of a young boy. This method aids audiences in feeling more like a child and seeing ghosts and the frightening environment through his eyes. A Steadycam system was also used during filming. The device helps to keep the picture steady in dynamic settings. The moment Danny rides his bike throughout the hotel's corridors was captured with the use of this gadget. "The Shining" is a fantastic horror film, directed by an illustrious filmmaker based on a famous writer's work. It depicts a thick atmosphere of sorrow and loneliness, which is important when conveying the story. During filming, technical gimmicks added to the good evaluation of the movie. Jack Nicholson's acting ability in playing the image of a lunatic writer who is realistic and genuinely frightening was one of the most significant factors in favor of "The Shining." Other characters are lost, however, because Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd appear synthetic in their roles. Evaluation Essay Examples Here are some evaluation essay examples for students. These will help you in writing a good evaluation essay.  Evaluation Essay Example Evaluation Essay on a Movie Employee Self Evaluation Essay Example Evaluation Essay Example PDF Critical Evaluation Essay Example Source Evaluation Essay Example Evaluation Essay Topics Here are some interesting evaluation essay topics that will help you write a good essay in no time. Evaluate the role of smartphones in redefining long-distance communication. How does social media affect our personal relationships? What is the effect of the internet on the learning process of the students? Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning programs. How do peer mentoring and tutoring affect learning? How important is physical education in high schools? Evaluate the reasons behind global warming. Digital vs. Physical Textbooks: Which one is a better option for schools? Analyze a historical movie and discuss its main themes. Evaluate multiple works of the same writer and draw similarities between them. Grading Rubric Understanding the key grading considerations of a grading rubric is essential for evaluation essays.  Here are some important factors that instructors typically consider when grading evaluation essays. |- Read the essay thoroughly |  |- Is there a clear thesis statement? |  |  | - Yes ------ | |  |  | - Evaluate the clarity and focus of the thesis statement |  |      | - Is it specific and debatable? |  |      |  |  - Yes ------ | |  |      |  | - Assess the quality of the critical analysis |  |      |      | - Does it demonstrate logical reasoning and evidence-based judgments? |  |      |      |    | - Yes ------ | |  |      |      |    | - Evaluate the organization and structure of the essay |  |      |      |    |   | - Does it have a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion? |  |      |      |    |    |  | - Yes ------ | |  |      |      |    |    |  | - Assess the quality and relevance of evidence used |  |      |      |    |    |      | - Is there sufficient evidence to support the evaluations? |  |      |      |    |    |      |  |- Yes ------ | |  |      |      |     |      |  | - Evaluate the clarity of expression and writing style |  |      |      |     |      |      | - Are the ideas conveyed clearly and concisely? |  |      |      |     |      |      |   | -Yes------ | |  |      |      |     |      |  | - Assess the effectiveness of the conclusion |  |      |      |     |      |      |      | - Does it summarize the main points and leave a strong final impression? |  |      |      |     |      |      |      |  | - Yes ------ | |  |      |      |     |      |       |     |  | - End ------ | |  |      |      |     |      |       | |  |      |      |     |      |       | - Return to assess other essays Evaluation Essay Writing Tips Here are some helpful and easy-to-follow tips for writing a perfect evaluation essay. Read the given material carefully and make important notes while reading and analyzing it. Read each of the paragraphs carefully before transitioning to the next section. Do not discuss points that only you find interesting; instead, choose something that will interest your readers. Do not leave negative aspects but discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of the said topic Understand the pros and cons of the chosen topic.  Maintain a consistent tone throughout the essay. If evaluating a book or an article, notice the mistakes of the author and discuss them. For a better evaluation, it is important to discuss the emotions that you may have while reading the work. Do not add too many minor details and things that could not be backed with proper reasoning. Read other reviews but try to maintain your own and unique tone and voice in it. Express your thoughts clearly and concisely. We hope you now understand what an evaluation essay is and how to write a critical evaluation essay.  To sum up,  An evaluation essay is different from other essays. It requires you provide opinion on the subject instead of factual information or simply reporting findings.  By reading our helpful guide, we hope that you have gained an understanding of the basics of evaluation essays and how to create them. So get started with your writing! Although, if you're looking for someone who can help write an evaluative essay, visit out evaluation essay writing service now. We specialize in providing authentic and custom writing assistance to everyone. With us, your essay comes with an A+ guarantee. Every essay is written to meet the requirements of individual customers. Our custom essay service strives to offer our customers high-quality service at reasonable prices. For a quick fix to your essay writing worries, visit out AI essay writing tool now. Frequently Asked Questions What is the purpose of an evaluation. An evaluation is a systematic method that gives insight into the effectiveness of programs, practices, or initiatives. The information gathered can be used to make adjustments for these things to work better and achieve their goals. What are the four types of evaluation? Here are the four types of evaluation: Summative Evaluation Caleb S. (Literature, Marketing) Caleb S. has extensive experience in writing and holds a Masters from Oxford University. He takes great satisfaction in helping students exceed their academic goals. Caleb always puts the needs of his clients first and is dedicated to providing quality service. Paper Due? Why Suffer? That’s our Job! Keep reading Legal & Policies Privacy Policy Cookies Policy Terms of Use Refunds & Cancellations Our Writers Success Stories Our Guarantees Affiliate Program Referral Program AI Essay Writer Disclaimer: All client orders are completed by our team of highly qualified human writers. The essays and papers provided by us are not to be used for submission but rather as learning models only. 19 Evaluation Essays Evaluative arguments center around the question of quality. Is something good?  Bad?  Honest?  Dishonest?  Evaluative judgments are also about values—what the writer thinks is important. Sometimes the writer’s values are not the same as his/her readers’ values, so he/she has to bridge the gap by showing respect for the audience’s opinions and clarifying the points that they do and don’t agree upon. An important first step in writing an evaluation is to consider the appropriate standards/criteria for evaluating the subject. If a writer is evaluating a car, for example, the writer might consider standard criteria like fuel economy, price, crash ratings. But the writer also might consider style, warranty, color, special options, like sound systems. Even though all people might not base their choice of a car on these secondary criteria, they are still considered acceptable or standard criteria. To be taken seriously, a writer must have valid reasons for his evaluation. These reasons are based on criteria. Imagine choosing your attire for a job interview at a very prestigious law firm. You look at the jeans and t-shirts in your closet and immediately decide to go shopping. Why? Because the clothes in your closet don’t meet the criteria for the interview. The Purpose of Evaluative Writing Writers evaluate arguments in order to present an informed and well-reasoned judgment about a subject. While the evaluation will be based on their opinion, it should not seem opinionated. Instead, it should aim to be reasonable and unbiased. This is achieved through developing a solid judgment, selecting appropriate criteria to evaluate the subject, and providing clear evidence to support the criteria. Evaluation is a type of writing that has many real-world applications. Anything can be evaluated. For example, evaluations of movies, restaurants, books, and technology ourselves are all real-world evaluations. Five Characteristics of an Evaluative Essay by Dr. Karen Palmer   1. Presenting the subject.  Presenting the subject is an often misunderstood aspect of an evaluative essay. Either writers give too little information or too much. Presenting the subject occurs in two different places in the essay. First, the writer should give a brief introduction of the subject in the introduction of the evaluation. This introduction occurs in the second part of the introduction–the intro to the topic. At this point, the writer should simply name the subject and give a very brief description. For example, a restaurant review should include at a minimum the name and location of the restaurant. An evaluation of a vehicle might include the make, model, and year of the vehicle and any important features. Second, the writer should give a more detailed description of the subject following the introduction in the background section of the paper. Here the writer could give a more detailed overview of the restaurant (the type of decor, type of food, owners, history), describe the vehicle in detail, etc. Striking a balance between giving the reader the necessary information to understand the evaluation and telling readers everything is important. The amount of detail necessary depends on the topic. If you are reviewing a brand new technology or a machine, specific to your line of work, for example, you will need to give readers more information than if you are simply reviewing a restaurant or a doctor’s office. The language used in your description can be evaluative. For example, a writer can use descriptive adjectives and adverbs to convey a certain impression of the subject, even before the claim is made. 2. Asserting an overall judgment. The main point/thesis should be located at the end of the paper’s introduction. It should be definitive—certain, clear, and decisive. Asking a question does not pose a definitive claim. Giving several different perspectives also does not give a definitive claim. It is ok to balance your claim, though, acknowledging weaknesses (or strengths) even as you evaluate a subject positively: “While the Suburban is a gas guzzler, it is the perfect car for a large family….” Providing a map of your reasons/criteria within the thesis is a great technique for creating organization and focus for your essay. For example, “While the Suburban is a gas guzzler, it is the perfect car for a large family because it can seat up to 9, it has a high safety rating, and it has the best in class towing capacity.” Not only does this example give a clear, balanced claim, but it also lays out the writer’s reasons upfront, creating a map in the reader’s mind that will help him follow the reasoning in the essay. 3. Giving Reasons and Support After presenting the subject and providing readers with a clear claim, the writer must explain and justify his/her evaluation using reasons that are recognized by readers as appropriate. This occurs in the argument section of the paper and should be the most extensive part of the paper. Reasons should reflect values or standards typical for the subject. If a writer uses criteria that is not typical for the subject, he/she must be prepared to defend that decision in the essay. For example, “Buying local may not always be at the forefront of a buyer’s mind when shopping for eggs, but…” Each reason should be clearly stated as a topic sentence that both states the reason and refers back to the main claim. Going back to the suburban example, a body paragraph/section might begin with the following topic sentence: “One of the obvious reasons a suburban is great for large families is its capacity for holding that large family and all of their necessary traveling items.” Following the topic sentence, a writer must include relevant examples, quotes, facts, statistics, or personal anecdotes to support the reason. Depending on what the subject is, the support might be different. To support a claim about a book/film, for example, a writer might include a description of a pivotal scene or quotes from the book/film. In contrast, to support a claim about gas mileage, a writer would probably simply give the information from the vehicle specifications. Support can come from a writer’s own knowledge and experience, or from published sources. 4. Counterarguing:  Counterarguing means responding to readers’ objections and questions. In order to effectively counterargue, a writer must have a clear conception of his/her audience. What does the audience already know or believe about the subject? Effective counterarguing builds credibility in the eyes of the audience because it creates a sense that the writer is listening to the reader’s questions and concerns. Counterarguments can occur at the end of the essay, after the writer has made his/her point, or throughout the essay as the writer anticipates questions or objections. Writers can respond to readers’ objections in two ways. First, a writer can acknowledge an objection and immediately provide a counter-argument, explaining why the objection is not valid. Second, a writer can concede the point, and allow that, the subject does have a flaw. In either case, it is important to be respectful of opposing positions, while still remaining firm to the original claim. 5. Establishing credibility and authority:    A writer’s credibility and authority lead to readers’ confidence in your judgment and their willingness to recognize and acknowledge that credibility and authority. An author can gain credibility by showing that he/she knows a lot about the subject. In addition, the writer shows that his/her judgment is based on valid values and standards. The writer’s authority is in large part based upon the background of the author—education, etc. Is the author qualified to make a judgment? For some subjects, like a film review, simply watching the film might be enough. In other instances, like evaluating the quality of newly constructed cabinets or the engine of a new car, more experience might be necessary. The Structure of an Evaluation Essay Evaluation essays are structured as follows. First, the essay will present the  subject . What is being evaluated? Why? The essay begins with the writer giving any details needed about the subject. Next, the essay needs to provide a  judgment  about a subject. This is the thesis of the essay, and it states whether the subject is good or bad based on how it meets the stated criteria. The body of the essay will contain the  criteria  used to evaluate the subject. In an evaluation essay, the criteria must be appropriate for evaluating the subject under consideration. Appropriate criteria will help to keep the essay from seeming biased or unreasonable. If authors evaluated the quality of a movie based on the snacks sold at the snack bar, that would make them seem unreasonable, and their evaluation may be disregarded because of it. The  evidence  of an evaluation essay consists of the supporting details authors provide based on their judgment of the criteria. For example, if the subject of an evaluation is a restaurant, a judgment could be “Kay’s Bistro provides an unrivaled experience in fine dining.” Some authors evaluate fine dining restaurants by identifying appropriate criteria in order to rate the establishment’s food quality, service, and atmosphere. The examples are evidence. Another example of evaluation is literary analysis; judgments may be made about a character in the story based on the character’s actions, characteristics, and past history within the story. The scenes in the story are evidence for why readers have a certain opinion of the character. Job applications and interviews are more examples of evaluations. Based on certain criteria, management and hiring committees determine which applicants will be considered for an interview and which applicant will be hired. Example Outline Thesis: McAdoo’s is a fantastic family restaurant, offering young and old alike a great atmosphere, wonderful customer service, and a fantastic menu. Introduction Location–New Braunfels, TX History–old post office, restored Type of food Walking up to the restaurant–cool exterior Lobby–original post office doors, etc Tables–great decor–memorabilia from NB history prompt, courteous service refills, bread taking care of complaints–all you can eat lobster out–so price reduced land lovers Conclusion…If you’re ever in NB, I highly suggest stopping in at McAdoo’s and absorbing some of the great old world charm with some delicious food. Possible “Get Started” Idea Evaluate a restaurant. What do you expect in a good restaurant? What criteria determine whether a restaurant is good? List three criteria that you will use to evaluate a restaurant. Then dine there. Afterward, explain whether or not the restaurant meets each criterion, and include evidence (qualities from the restaurant) that backs your evaluation. Give the restaurant a star rating. (5 Stars: Excellent, 4 Stars: Very Good, 3 Stars: Good, 2 Stars: Fair, 1 Star: Poor). Explain why the restaurant earned this star rating. Time to Write In this essay, you will evaluate potential obstacles to learning.  Think about the health and wellness of a college student during an international pandemic.  What do you need to be successful?  Do you have access to resources?  Are the GCC resources adequate to support the community and its students during the pandemic? You will evaluate at least three campus resources.  Your recommendation should clearly state which of the resources should be maintained, which should be improved,  and which might be eliminated, if any. Purpose:  This assignment will demonstrate the understanding of how to do a thorough evaluation of an approved topic. Students will review the complex elements of the topic they have chosen. Evaluative essays call for the writer to assess a subject in light of specific and explicit criteria and to make a judgment based on the assessment. Task: This assignment evaluates a campus resource. Write an Evaluation Essay. For this essay, you will choose a clear topic, give a reason for the evaluation, use description and categorization, create evaluation criteria, use concrete evidence and demonstrate the “why” of your position. Possible Topics Some topics to consider are listed here: Center for Learning Writing Center Math Solutions High Tech 1 High Tech 2 GCC Counseling and Career Services Fitness Center Key Features of an Evaluation: Describe the particular phenomenon or work in a way that the rhetorical audience will understand and value. Present the criteria on which the phenomenon or work is to be evaluated clearly, persuasively, authoritatively, and often in an order indicating importance. Criteria can be categorized into three groups: necessary (crucial but not enough to meet your overall assessment), sufficient (meeting all of your minimum standards, including the necessary ones), and accidental (unnecessary but an added bonus to the necessary and sufficient criteria). Include concrete evidence and relevant examples from your personal experience and research illustrate the ways (usually in the form of assertions) the phenomenon does or does not meet each evaluative criterion. These fair and balanced assertions support the thesis statement. At least three (3) sources on the Works Cited; these could be from your personal experience, college web pages, public health information, or sources related to quality college resources. Articulate a clear argument (usually in the form of a thesis statement) about whether or not the object or phenomenon meets the criteria on which it is being evaluated. Demonstrate an ethical approach to the process. Key Grading Considerations A clear reason for the evaluation Use of description Categorizing Clear evaluation criteria Concrete evidence & Examples A clear argument presented (Thesis) The establishment of ethos  (balanced argument) Secure closure to the argument (conclusion) Three (3) sources minimum Key Features are included One inch margins Typed and double-spaced The heading is double-spaced on the left side of the page (includes name, my name, class, date) Upper right-hand corner has last name and page number (EX: Dewey 1) The font is Times New Roman, size 12 The title is original and is centered one line under the heading Works Cited page lists outside sources in MLA format Descriptive Language Correct, appropriate, and varied integration of textual examples, including in-text citations Limited errors in spelling, grammar, word order, word usage, sentence structure, and punctuation Good use of academic English Demonstrates cohesion and flow Works Cited page has hanging indents and is in alphabetical order by author’s last name Attribution Content Adapted from “Five Characteristics of an Evaluative Essay” from The Worry-Free Writer by Dr. Karen Palmer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License Content Adapted from Susan Wood, “Evaluation Essay,” Leeward CC ENG 100 OER,  licensed under the  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Original Content contributed by Christine Jones “Time to Write” licensed under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. English 101: Journey Into Open Copyright © 2021 by Christine Jones is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted. Share This Book Will OpenAI's new AI detection tool put an end to student cheating? According to a BestColleges survey, more than half of students use AI to cheat . Those numbers are in line with a Stanford University study that found 60 to 70 percent of students cheat . However, AI may soon cease to be the lazy student's answer to writing papers. A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) story reports that "OpenAI has a method to reliably  detect when someone uses ChatGPT to write an essay or research paper" -- with 99.9% accuracy.  Also: How AI lies, cheats, and grovels to succeed - and what we need to do about it As my colleague David Gewritz has pointed out, many programs already promise to detect AI-written text . However, he concluded, "I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable threatening a student's academic standing or accusing them of cheating based on the results of these tools." OpenAI hasn't revealed in any detail how its new method can be near-perfect in identifying AI-written text. It certainly isn't because it can spot AI hallucinations. It can't.  As OpenAI co-founder John Schulman said last year, "Our biggest concern was around factuality because the model likes to fabricate things. " That will never change. According to Mohamed Elgendy, co-founder and chief executive of Kolena , a machine learning testing service, "The  rate of hallucinations will decrease , but it is never going to disappear -- just as even highly educated people can give out false information." Instead of some magical deep way of spotting AI text, it appears OpenAI is using a much simpler way of identifying AI-written text: The service may be watermarking its results. In a newly revised blog post, Understanding the source of what we see and hear online , OpenAI reveals it's been researching using classifiers, watermarking, and metadata to spot AI-created products. We don't know yet how this watermarking works exactly. Also: The best free AI courses (and whether AI certificates are worth it) We do know that OpenAI reports it's "been highly accurate and even effective against localized tampering, such as paraphrasing." However, the watermarking is "less robust against globalized tampering."  That means the feature doesn't work well on translated text or something as mindlessly simple as inserting special characters into the text and then deleting them. And, of course, it can't spot works from another AI model. For instance, if you feed the ChatAPT AI-text spotter a document created by Google Gemini or Perplexity , it probably won't be able to identify it as an AI-created document.  In short, with a little more effort, students and writers will still be able to pass an AI chatbot's work off as their own. Well, they can try anyway. In my experience with AI, the results still tend to be second-rate at best. But if that's good enough to get you a passing grade, it may be all you need.  At least one self-professed professor on Reddit isn't impressed: "The problem is that you can just copy-paste the text into another program, translate it into another language, and then translate it back. But honestly, most students aren't going to do that, so it would catch pretty much everyone. " Also:  How Pearson's AI assistant can help teachers save time Of course, that might not bother OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who told The Harvard Gazette, " Cheating on homework is obviously bad . But what we mean by cheating and what the expected rules are does change over time." I don't know about that. Cheating is cheating, but this new tool in the OpenAI arsenal doesn't sound like it will help much to prevent it.  Oddly, while OpenAI is still wrestling with when -- or indeed if -- it should release this new service, the company will soon release a DALL·E 3 provenance classifier. This means that, eventually, almost every image you make with DALL-E  will be marked as a DALL-E AI creation. OpenAI relies on C2PA metadata, a digital content standard, to mark and identify images. If you're a graphic designer who's been relying on DALL-E to make "original" graphics, it may be time to return to Photoshop. Artificial Intelligence Openai launches searchgpt - here's what it can do and how to access it, beware of ai 'model collapse': how training on synthetic data pollutes the next generation, how pearson's ai assistant can help teachers save time. 111 IMAGES Methods of Performance Appraisals Employee Appraisal Form Essay Appraisal Essay Evaluation Method of Performance Appraisal How to Write an Evaluation PPT The Politics of Performance Appraisal Essay Example VIDEO How to Write an Evaluation Essay Pre Written Essays and Example Papers Opinion Essay/IELTS Writing Task 2/ IELTS Academic/ Essay Structure/ Essay Templates Critical Appraisal Processes for Quantitative Research office funny videos GM Mustard COMMENTS What is the Essay Method for Performance Appraisals? The essay method, sometimes known as the "free-form method," is a performance review system where a superior creates a written review of the employee's performance. These essays are meant to describe and record an employee's strengths and weaknesses in job performance, identifying problem areas and creating a plan of action to remedy them. 11.2 Appraisal Methods Within the categories of performance appraisals, there are two main aspects to appraisal methods. First, the criteria are the aspects the employee is actually being evaluated on, which should be tied directly to the employee᾿s job description. Second, the rating is the type of scale that will be used to rate each criterion in a performance evaluation: for example, scales of 1-5, essay ... The Essay Method of Performance Appraisal The Essay Method, also known as the Free-Form Method, empowers supervisors to create a written evaluation of an employee's performance. This evaluation takes the form of a narrative essay, detailing the employee's strengths, weaknesses, accomplishments, and areas for improvement. Unlike structured methods with predetermined ratings, the Essay ... 7 Steps for How to Write an Evaluation Essay (Example & Template) Go no further! Here's your ultimate guide to writing an evaluation, in just 7 simple steps. Prof. Chris will provide you with an essay template, outline and advice on how to write an evaluation criteria. The Essay Method of Performance Appraisal The Essay Method, also known as the Free-Form Method, is a qualitative performance appraisal approach where the manager writes a narrative description of the employee's performance during the review period. This description typically focuses on the employee's strengths, weaknesses, achievements, contributions, and areas for improvement. The Essay Method of Performance Appraisal There are a number of performance appraisal types, including the essay evaluation method. These help employers and managers to provide thorough, thoughtful and actionable reviews of employee work and outline a plan to move forward. Other methods include the checklist and comparison methods. Essay Method Performance Appraisal Employee Evaluation Essay Method. I n the essay method approach, the appraiser prepares a written statement about the employee being appraised. The statement usually concentrates on describing specific strengths and weaknesses in job performance. It also suggests courses of action to remedy the identified problem areas. The statement may be written and edited by ... 8 performance appraisal methods you should be aware of Essay Appraisal is a traditional form of Appraisal also known as "Free Form method." It involves a description of the employee's performance by his superior which needs to be based on facts and often includes examples to support the information. Employee Assessment: Essay Appraisal In an essay appraisal, the source answers a series of questions about the employee's performance in essay form. This can be a trait method and/or a behavioral method, depending on how the manager writes the essay. These statements may include strengths and weaknesses about the employee or statements about past performance. How to Write an Evaluation Paper With Sample Essays What Is an Evaluation Paper? Evaluation essays are just like reviews. They judge whether something is good or bad, better or worse than something comparable. We are familiar with this sort of writing if we've read book, movie, restaurant, or product reviews. Evaluation papers can be serious or funny, earnest or sarcastic. Essay Evaluation Method in Performance Appraisal Essay evaluation method in performance appraisal 1. Definition of essay evaluation • This method asked managers / supervisors to describe strengths and weaknesses of an employee's behavior. Essay evaluation is a non-quantitative technique • This method usually use with the graphic rating scale method. 2. Input of information sources • Job knowledge and potential of […] How to Write an Evaluation Essay: Easy Guide & Examples Are you given to write an evaluation essay? Check our guide to find writing tips, outline, and evaluation essay example for inspiration. Appraising and Rewarding Performance • The graphic rating scale method requires the manager to assess an individual on factors such as quantity of work, dependability, job knowledge, attendance, accuracy of work, and cooperativeness. • The essay appraisal method requires the manager to describe an employee's performance in written narrative form. Definition and Examples of Evaluation Essays An evaluation essay is a composition that offers value judgments about a particular subject according to a set of criteria. Also called evaluative writing, evaluative essay or report, and critical evaluation essay . How to Write an Evaluation Essay How to Write an Evaluation Essay The evaluation essay is one of the more common types of advanced academic writing. While a basic research paper or essay asks a student to gather and present information, the evaluation essay goes a step further by asking students to draw conclusions from the information they have researched and present an informed opinion on a subject. 11.9: Appraisal Methods One of the simplest and most common appraisal methods is the graphic rating scale. A graphic rating performance appraisal form lists job behaviors, competencies, skills and results and provides five (more or less) rating options ranging from unsatisfactory to exceeds expectations. The appraiser selects a performance rating for each criteria and ... 11.3: Appraisal Methods In an essay appraisal, the source answers a series of questions about the employee's performance in essay form. This can be a trait method and/or a behavioral method, depending on how the manager writes the essay. 29 Performance Appraisal Methods Explained 29 Performance Appraisal Methods Explained. Performance Appraisal is a systematic approach to evaluating the performance of employees to understand the capability of the employees' and ascertain the training and development needs. Performance Appraisals helps in improving employer-employee relations in the workplace. 7 performance appraisal methods every manager should know Performance appraisal methods form the backbone of effective talent management. From the classic 360-degree feedback to the modern continuous feedback model, we explore an array of performance appraisal methods in this blog. Evaluation Essay Examples: Master the Art of Critical Assessment with An evaluation essay, like any good piece of writing, follows a basic structure: an introduction, body, and conclusion. But to make your evaluation essay standout, it's crucial to distinctly outline every segment and explain the process that led you to your final verdict. Appraisal Methods One of the simplest and most common appraisal methods is the graphic rating scale. A graphic rating performance appraisal form lists job behaviors, competencies, skills and results and provides five (more or less) rating options ranging from unsatisfactory to exceeds expectations. The appraiser selects a performance rating for each criteria and ... Evaluation Essay Master the art of writing an evaluation essay with our helpful guide. Discover definition, tips, and instructions for creating a compelling essay. Evaluation Essays Write an Evaluation Essay. For this essay, you will choose a clear topic, give a reason for the evaluation, use description and categorization, create evaluation criteria, use concrete evidence and demonstrate the "why" of your position. Will OpenAI's new AI detection tool put an end to student cheating? OpenAI claims its new method can identify - with 99.9% accuracy - when someone uses ChatGPT to write an essay or research paper. Here's why I'm skeptical. A Synchronic and Diachronic Study of Students' Essays in Italian High High school curricula predict different writing strategies: essays written by students attending scientific and humanistic high schools are longer and less subject to incorrect citations. We argue that such text analysis enables the study of writing features in high school classes and supports the evaluation of curricula. assignment essay homework paper phd report resume review thesis