How can we improve evaluation in essays?

The key to ensuring that you can achieve an A* is to evaluate well. For many students, evaluation is a difficult concept to understand. However, it simply means that students must decide which of the two sides of an argument that they write about is strongest.

In fact, I often tell students to indicate to the examiner that they are evaluating by using phrases such as, ‘the strongest argument is’ or ‘on balance’.

Remember that when writing you have given one side of an argument. You have then presented the opposing view. Do not presume that both sides of the argument are equally weighted. In the evaluation you need to make clear which side is the strongest.

The following is a paragraph that was written by a student answering the question, ‘Evaluate the view that US foreign policy is dominated as much by Congress as by the presidency’.

Congress has the ability to authorize treaties, although the president has the ability to negotiate treaties. The Senate needs to vote and authorize them in order for them to be passed. This was reflected in 2011 when the Senate voted 71 to 29 to approve the START treaty between the USA and Russia. This reflects how, although the presidency can dominate foreign policy by negotiating treaties, this power isn’t implemented if the Senate doesn’t approve. In 1999, President Clinton did not manage to get a majority on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and thus the. Overruled his foreign policy by making sure it didn’t pass. As a result. This reflects that US foreign policy is dominated as much by Congress as by the presidency, as Congress are able to control and influence the powers the president has over foreign policy. However, one may argue that the presidency completely dominates its foreign policy and that the Congress doesn’t dominate as much as the President due to the President’s power of direct authority. As the president has power of direct authority, they are able to sign executive agreements which don’t require congressional approval. President Obama signed the Paris Climate Change Agreement in 2015 and the Iran Deal in 2016 as executive agreements as he knew he wouldn’t get the support of the Senate due to the Republicans taking control of the Senate in the 2014 midterm elections. As a result, the presidency was able to dominate US foreign policy more than Congress due to direct authority, giving the president more power. Nonetheless, the CASE Act of 1972 limits the president’s domination of foreign policy by requiring Congress to be informed of executive agreements, and thus. Giving Congress influence over foreign policy in relation to the presidency.

The most important section of the paragraph is the final sector where the student has attempted to evaluate, using the words ‘nonetheless’ to show that they want to question the counter argument that they have made. This was the part of the essay that the exam board deemed the weakest.

The exam board said, ‘it presents both sides of the question effectively, but without clearly evaluating those positions to reach focussed and justified conclusions throughout the essay tied directly to the question. The AO3 requirement needs student to present and then evaluate arguments throughout and to show, based on the evidence they selected, a clear, justified judgement in relation to the question. For instance… reporting under the Case Act has been at best patchy and incomplete. The arguments around treaties, ratification and exec agreements are presented to show both sides of the argument, the president dominates, congress equally dominates without reaching a clear judgement on the effectiveness of those arguments’.

So, what the student needed to do was to explain that the counter argument, that Congress could use the Case Act to control the Presidents use of Executive Agreements was not a strong argument because the Case Act has always been ineffectual.

What is Evaluation?

• Explaining which of the two sides of the argument presented is strongest.
• Using evidence to back this up.