You might want to argue, for example, that Leonardo DiCaprio is a good actor, but would any reasonable person disagree? Probably not. The man has an Oscar! Tom Cruise, on the other hand? Now that’s debatable. Whatever your subject, you must assert yourself by making a strong claim about its value or success. This claim will drive your thesis sentence. Your next step will be to come up with valid criteria for your evaluation. These are fair and appropriate standards for judging your subject, and they should go beyond the obvious. When people think about what makes a good breakfast, for example, usually they think of nutrition. That’s one good criterion, but don’t we also judge breakfasts on taste, convenience, and price? If so, then those are all necessary criteria. These criteria should give you a good outline for your argument. You must now prove that your subject does (or does not) adequately fulfill the criteria. That means using strong rhetorical techniques to support your ideas. The best arguments will use a variety of techniques from all three appeals to support each criterion: • Provide good evidence through data, facts, examples, and reasoning (logos). • Show you’re trustworthy through personal expertise, quotes from experts, research, and respect for the opposition (ethos). • Make it interesting with stories, vivid imagery, or humor (pathos). You should imagine your argument is an opinion column in the The Daily Barometer. While you will need to remain professional, you might also consider the content and style that would appeal to your audience: other students at OSU. Use your knowledge of this audience’s values and interests to craft the most convincing argument you can. Please see the next page for guidance on choosing a topic. Evaluation Topics Fruitful Places to Check • Controversies in the news: Issues of evaluation are often embedded in them • Your area of study: Most disciplines are always pushing their boundaries into new areas that evoke evaluative disagreements • Other areas that interest you: You might already know the evaluative controversies within them Other Potential Areas for Topic Ideas The point is not to evaluate an entire area but to search the area for a specific subject to evaluate—i.e., Tom Cruise as an actor, not entertainment as a whole. 1. Campus Life 2. Education & Career 3. Entertainment & Music 4. Art & Literature 5. Food & Health 6. Sports & Games 7. Politicians & Laws 8. Science & Conservation 9. Products & Technology 10. Whatever won or didn’t win your favorite award • Bob Dylan got the Nobel Prize in Literature? What a joke! Don’t Do This: Common Problems Don’t choose a subject that’s overly broad. It will be hard to argue that action stars are good or bad actors, or that breakfast is a good or bad meal. There are too many action stars and breakfasts to adequately cover them all. Instead, choose one action star (i.e., Tom Cruise) or one breakfast (i.e., plain oatmeal) to evaluate. Don’t write a proposal. That is, don’t argue what readers should do about it, such as eating more oatmeal or watching more art house cinema. If you advocate for action, you’ll write a different kind of argument that won’t meet the standards for this essay. (This applies to the topic only, not the conclusion or other parts of the essay.) Don’t use criteria that are unfair, such as “winning Academy Awards.” Can’t an actor be good even if they haven’t won this award? Better to figure out why actors win Academy Awards and use that as your criteria. In fact, that’s exactly what the Academy does to distribute its awards! (Awards, however, might support the idea that your subject meets a criterion, such as being respected by colleagues.)