What Does 'Evaluate' Mean?

One of the most common problems that students have with the exam questions relates to questions that require an element of ‘evaluation’. These questions begin with words such as 'assess', 'discuss', 'examine', and 'evaluate'. In such questions, beyond the ability to provide a valid point, students are also expected to point out limitations with their argument, or support the argument further by providing deeper analysis.

Many students are able to come up with some good points in their answers. Below is an example:

Question : Discuss one likely consequence for the environment of continued Chinese economic growth of ‘8 percent for the next 20 years’.

John Brown’s Answer

One consequence of this rapid growth is the depletion of non-renewable resources. China has become the world’s biggest consumer of almost every raw material and given its large population and rising income, this demand is going to increase dramatically in years to come. As prices of raw materials rise, producers will extract these resources faster, depleting natural resources at a faster rate.

Sounds pretty good, right? Unfortunately, John is missing the second part of his answer, namely the evaluation…

There are fewer students who can actually provide critical evaluations for the points they have given.

Here is an example of a better answer:

Jane Keener’s Answer

Point: One consequence of this rapid growth is the depletion of non-renewable resources. China has become the world’s biggest consumer of almost every raw material and given its large population and rising income, this demand is going to increase dramatically in years to come. As prices of raw materials rise, producers will extract these resources faster, depleting natural resources at a faster rate.

Evaluation: However, in the longer term, high commodity prices will encourage producers to conduct more exploration to obtain new mines, oilfields, etc, thus increasing the global supply of such resources.

Full marks for Jane! But please note that the ‘correct’ evaluation is never set in stone; there are usually many different possibilities that are acceptable.

In the more advanced units, (e.g. Unit 5 & 6), evaluation marks can account for as much as 40% of the total. This implies that without the ability to provide strong evaluations, it is not possible to excel in the A-Levels examination.

For further information, please see 'How Do I Evaluate?'