Evaluative Statement

• An evaluative statement is a statement that you can make to

reflect your judgment and generalization about a text that you have
read.
• You may use evidence from the text in formulating evaluative
statements. One way of formulating evaluative statements is by
formulating assertions or positive statements about the content of
a text and properties of a text that you have read. Another way of
formulating evaluative statements is by formulating counterclaims.
In this lesson, we will focus on formulating assertions.
 Evaluative Statement

• For you to be able to formulate assertions about the properties

and content of a text read, you must identify the claim or claims
made in the text. A claim suggests an idea to the reader who may
or may not agree with it. It is an arguable statement that reflects
the writer’s position about a topic. It is usually supported by
reasons by the writer.
• The content of a text includes the information in the text and the
claim/s of the writer. It is important to know about the properties
of a well-written text so that you would know what to look for in a
text in evaluating it.
Below are properties of a well-written text:
• organization (clear and logical pattern)
• coherence and cohesion (connection of ideas)
• language use (choice of words)
• mechanics (capitalization, punctuation, spelling,
grammar, etc.)
In formulating evaluative statements, you must
express your judgment of the text. State if you
liked the text and what you liked about how it
was written. Always quote parts of the text to
support your assertions about it. When quoting,
do not forget to use quotation marks and cite the
page if it is from a book or article
 An Excerpt of Emma Watson's Speech on Gender
Equality at the UN
"I was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women 6 months ago.
The more I spoke about feminism, the more I realized that fighting for women’s
rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing
I know for certain is that this has to stop. For the record, feminism by definition
is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.
It is the theory of political, economic and social equality of the sexes.
When I was 8, I was called bossy because I wanted to direct a play we would
put on for our parents. When at 14, I started to be sexualized by certain
elements of the media. At 15, my girlfriends started dropping out of sports
teams because they didn’t want to appear masculine. At 18, my male friends
were unable to express their feelings.
 An Excerpt of Emma Watson's Speech on Gender
Equality at the UN
I decided that I was a feminist. This seemed uncomplicated to me. But my recent
research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word. Women are
choosing not to identify as feminists. Apparently, [women’s expression is] seen as
too strong, too aggressive, isolating, and anti-men, unattractive even…
Men, I would like to give this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. Gender
equality is your issue, too. Because to date, I’ve seen my father’s role as a parent
being valued less by society. I’ve seen young men suffering from mental illness,
unable to ask for help for fear it would make them less of a man. In fact, in the UK,
suicide is the biggest killer of men between 20 to 49, eclipsing road accidents,
cancer, and heart disease. I’ve seen men fragile and insecure by what constitutes
male success. Men don’t have the benefits of equality, either...
If you believe in equality, you might be one of the inadvertent feminists I spoke of
earlier and for this I applaud you. We must strive for a united world but the good
news is we have a platform. It is called HeForShe. I invite you to step forward, to be
seen and I ask yourself: if not me, who? If not now, when? Thank you."
Evaluative statements about An Excerpt of Emma
Watson's Speech on Gender Equality at the UN:
I agree with the content of the text because it is not just focusing on
the rights of girls and women but also on the rights of boys and men.

In this evaluative statement, it is explained why the reader agrees with

the content of the text about equal rights for females and males and
not just for females. By adding “it is not just focusing on the rights of
girls and women but also on the rights of boys and men” in the
statement above, it is emphasized that there are also issues on the
rights of men.
 Evaluative statements about An Excerpt of Emma
Watson's Speech on Gender Equality at the UN:
The writer claims that feminism is not man-hating and to support
this claim, she defines feminism as “by definition is the belief that
men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.”

In the evaluative statement above, the reader emphasizes the

writer’s decision to clarify the definition of the word ‘feminism,’
on what it is not and what is really means. The reader highlights the
claim in the text that feminism is not man-hating by quoting “by
definition is the belief that men and women should have equal
rights and opportunities.”
 Evaluative statements about An Excerpt of Emma
Watson's Speech on Gender Equality at the UN:
I like how the writer used simple words in the text, so that
it would easily be understood not only by adults but also by
young people like the speaker herself – who are also part of
the target audience or the people that the text is intended
for.
This evaluative statement evaluates the choice of words of
the writer, how effective it is in being easily understood by
the target audience.
Evaluative Statement - a statement that you can
make to reflect your judgment and generalization
about a text that you have read
Assertions - positive statements about the text
Claim - suggests an idea to the reader who may or
may not agree with it. It is an arguable statement
that reflects the writer’s position about a topic.
Identify the ff.
__________________1.What kind of statement
contains a judgment or generalization about the
text you have read?
__________________2.What do you call a
positive statement that you can formulate about
the content and properties of a text that you have
read?
Write an evaluative statement for the text below.
My parents insisted on guiding me in filling out the
college application forms that I was submitting to two
universities. I wanted to take up fine arts but my
parents intervened. They told me to take up an
engineering course instead. They assured me that
painting and sketching can always be my hobby and a
stable job will be my safety net. I chose to heed the
advice of my parents and now I am a civil engineer who
also paints portraits for art exhibits.
Write an evaluative statement for the text below.

I was a scholar of the country for four and a half years

in the university. The taxpayer's’ tax took care of a huge
percentage of my education. It just seems right that I
give back to the country by working here immediately
after graduation. In this way, not only am I able to
support myself and my family, I am also able to
contribute to the society, one day at a time.
 Passage
An excerpt of Steve Jobs’ Commencement Address at Stanford
University in 2005
I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been
fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient
needed it. Sometime life -- Sometimes life's going to hit you in the head with
a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going
was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love.
And that is as true for work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going
to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do
what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love
what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking -- and don't settle. As
with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And like any great
relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep
looking -- don't settle.