Academic language for evaluating
In academic writing we have to show that we do not accept without questioning the ideas or concepts in the texts we read, but that we evaluate points or ideas in these texts.
Evaluation in academic writing requires us to analyse the points, ideas or topics in academic texts and to discuss their relevance, effectiveness or application to the topic/s we are writing about. Evaluation is key to critical writing because it allows us to show that we question, understand and analyse what we read.
We can evaluate an issue or idea by interpreting it and commenting on its relevance, effectiveness, significance, limitations, implications, etc.
On this page you will find;
Types of evaluative language
We can evaluate the effectiveness of an argument or intervention using phrases such as:
- the approach has been successful in...
- the intervention has proven effective in...
- the results demonstrate the efficacy of the intervention
- the approach has potential to improve...
Examples
“Truth is demoted to current understandings of the world, based on the available evidence and resources we possess. This view, which problematises uncritical acceptance of truths and current understandings, is helpful when we consider the impact of changes to social life.”
“Also relevant to changing student populations is Harris and Brampton’s (2003) suggestion that postmodern paradigms are important for an understanding of the debates about language, ethnicity and race because they highlight tensions in the way different people experience the world.”
We can show how strongly our views are aligned with or against an idea using phrases such as:
- strong evidence suggests that...
- there is substantial evidence to support...
- the evidence is convincing
- the data is consistent with...
- the results are statistically significant
Examples
“In his analysis of students in French HE institutions, Bourdieu (1997) convincingly argued that working-class students were less successful (Thomas 2002) not because they were of inferior intelligence or not gifted, but because the curriculum was `biased in favour of those things with which middle-class students were already familiar’ (Robbins 1993, p. 153).”
“One of the most serious effects of deficit thinking is that it strengthens stereotypes in the minds and thought of educators, policy makers and students themselves.”
“In essence, deficit thinking allows generalisations about student ability to be made, and supports a laziness to grapple with the complex issues around student difficulties. In the process, people who are already disenfranchised are labelled and further stigmatised.”
“In highlighting the political meaning and historical relevance of absences or silences, Cooper offers an astute revision of historical memory and an insightful analysis of France’s fundamental political and philosophical paradoxes.”
We can evaluate limitations or weaknesses in the evidence or arguments using phrases such as:
- one limitation of this study is...
- this argument is weakened by...
- the evidence presented is limited by...
- there are inconsistencies in the data
- the methodology used in this study has limitations
Examples
“Media coverage of this phenomenon, readers’ heated responses to media coverage, and existing research literature around Chinese students’ experiences tend to centre around challenges students face in the USA without adequate exploration of how external sociocultural contexts and histories shaped students’ experiences (Abelmann and Kang 2014). This creates an incomplete understanding of Chinese students’ experiences in the USA and inadvertently perpetuates a stereotype that the students are incompetent and deficient.”
“One problem with this binary view of good-bad language or good-bad writing is that a variety of ‘problems’ within an educational setting are sometimes misdiagnosed as language problems, whereas I found issues affecting the practice of writing to be more complex.”
“This deficit position tends to view literacy practices as neutral and objective, and one further consequence of this perspective is that there has been a focus on what is referred to as "strong text" conceptions of literacy characteristics (Meacham 2000, p.181) which rarely acknowledge a reliance on culture or diversity in terms of sociolinguistic, historical or political context.”
We can evaluate the significance of the evidence or argument by using phrases such as:
- this is a significant finding because...
- this study contributes to the field by...
- this evidence has important implications for...
- this result is consistent with previous research on the topic
Examples
“In seeking to use crisis as a term of analysis, Hay (1999, p.318) argued for the concept to be re-defined, indeed more closely defined, in order to differentiate between ‘a punctuated or step-wise periodisation’ in accounting for socio-political change and the ‘more incremental and evolutionary understandings of the process’ (ibid.). This understanding is critical; for in setting the conceptual parameters for the periodisation of crisis it thus becomes possible to define the opening and closing of the crisis period, and to contain the analysis of federal dynamics within a time frame."
“E. H. Carr profoundly adds to the debate on the immanence of crisis in International Relations theory at the world analysis level, and also reflects his knowledge and understanding of the Marxist approach to International Political Economy in his analysis of the sources of crisis and conflict.”
“In the seminal ‘Twenty years’ Crisis’, Carr challenges the utopian direction of International Relations in the interwar years from a realist perspective, grounded in critical thought.”
“Of more direct salience to the thesis’s conceptualising of crisis is their link of the ‘scope and nature of the crisis’ (ibid.p.18) and their focus on ‘accountability and learning processes’ (ibid.).”
We can evaluate and compare different arguments or pieces of evidence using phrases such as:
- in comparison to...
- on the other hand...
- when compared to...
- in contrast...
- conversely...
- there is a significant difference between...
Examples
“Our conceptualisation of racial macroaggressions is different from many other scholars who define racial macroaggressions as the overt, ‘large scale’ (i.e. state) acts of racism experienced by People of Color (Gildersleeve, Croom, and Vasquez 2011; Smith et al., 2007a).”
“We argue that the terms ‘micro’ and ‘macro’ should not define acts of racism as subtle or blatant. In fact, Pierce (1974) makes a similar argument about the limitations of terminology when he stated, ‘[t]hese problems are only micro in name, since their very number requires a total effort that is incalculable’.”
“We concur with Pierce that we are limited by the terms we use to describe the complexities of racism and the harm they can cause. We certainly do not intend to depreciate everyday racism by using the term micro. To the contrary, we would agree with scholars like Dumas (2014) who argue that microaggressions are in fact a form of ‘everyday suffering’ that have become socially and systemically normalised and effectively minimised.”
“National cultural labels are sometimes applied less critically by some from the field of intercultural communication and management (see Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars 1993; Hofstede 1980). Indeed, for this reason, Norton (2000) prefers to avoid definitions of cultural identity framed by a sense of a shared group or language because of the tendency for this to become fixed and the potential for it to become essentialist. This is an important point and Norton concedes the term can and ought to be understood in a more flexible way.”
Bringing our own voice
We can show our position towards ideas discussed in our writing by replacing the over-used ‘according to’ in our writing with a range of evaluative adjectives and adverbs that indicate what we think of other writers’ views.
Example 1:
“Atkinson is misguided when he inaccurately claims that students need . . .”
We can show our position with regard to the points of view or evidence that we have presented by using a combination of precise verbs, hedging and other evaluative language.
Example 2:
“Furthermore, it appears that Friedman may have overlooked some key data when he raises the possibility that . . .”
We can show how confident – or not – we are with regard to our position through the use of hedging / cautious language, such as may, might or could
Example 3:
“The investigations to date may indicate a fundamental flaw in this approach."
You can be more confident through the use of intensifying language as certainly, definitely or must.
Example 4:
“The findings certainly show a need for more research on this topic . . .”
Evaluation in academic writing allows us to show our voice (our view on the topic). Voice can be expressed through:
- Presenting a position
- Presenting a position and developing/defending/supporting it.
- Presenting counter evidence and making an argument against it.
- Identifying a gap.
- Hedging/more assertive language (show your contribution by commenting on the strength or weakness of a point).
- Avoiding overuse of according to, strengthening your argument with an adjective/adverb that indicates your position.
- Using active verbs.
- Giving your opinion/evaluation of what other writers claim - showing confidence in your own position.
- Relating one text to another.
- Critically commenting/concluding.
