Part II: Writing A Review

Today's Scripture

• Titus 2:7-8 "Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us."

Review (Ch. 9 Part I)

• Groups present your movie evaluation assignment

Stasis Theory

• Is a logical way of categorizing arguments
• Includes the ?s of who, what, when, where, why, and how of a topic or issue
• An invention process
• Places the criteria into thorough, relevant questions one asks about the product in question to help the reviewer come to a judgment about it

Prewriting/Invention Strategy

• How can the website or document be better understood by asking thorough, relevant questions about it?

1. Who wrote the website? Is there an obvious author or organization responsible for the content?
2. What is on the page? Is the information reliable?
3. When was it published or updated? Is the information current and in line with other up-to-date sources on the topic?
4. Where does the information fit in terms of bias? Is it balanced or are conservative or liberal opinions expressed?
5. Why does the website exist? What purpose does it fulfill, and is it successful in fulfilling that purpose?
6. How thoroughly does the website cover the information? Are there gaps in the knowledge given?

Choosing a Website

• How does one select a website for the evaluation process?

The Website...

• should be an actual website
• does not have to be perfect for it to be appropriate for evaluation
• might have a little quirk or imperfection, but that does not mean it is not suitable for review
• may even be more appropriate for the evaluation process because of the imperfections

It should not be...

• on the required topic
• an article from a journal, magazine, or newspaper
• a personal blog of an individual

You can learn as much from a poor review rating as from a positive one—sometimes even more

Example
I tried this new foundation the other day. It did not look any different than my regular skin once I had blended it in—good for color matching, but not so great for covering sun spots. I felt like it gave no more coverage than a moisturizer, which is to say, none. Perhaps I didn't use enough. Then, by that evening, I had three breakout spots. I haven't broken out in forever. I love looking at this brand’s products, but I'm kind of concerned that I'm allergic to this. My usual foundation has better coverage and has never caused blemishes. I returned the new foundation, which made me sad. Back to the old one.

A review might cause someone in the market for this particular foundation to hesitate before purchasing the product

Academic Review

• poor review of a website or document may cause students to choose a different resource for their essays, thus saving them both time and effort

Criteria Selection

• Select the most important criteria for the website chosen for the essay
• Select minimum of three criteria
• Do not include too many criteria
• Each criterion must be supported with examples from the website to show how that criterion is either fulfilled or not fulfilled

Analyzing the Website

• Come to a conclusion about the website before the essay is written
• Is the product a valuable one or a poor one?
• The criteria helps you decide if the value is greater than the mediocrity it may contain or the harm it might cause the audience

What Makes A Website Valuable?

• What are some common criteria that a website should have that show it is a valuable product?
• Do the 5 criteria: accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, & coverage supply all that's needed to evaluate a website?
• Are there additional criteria that could be added or could replace 1 of the 5 provided?

Group Activity

• Define the 5 criteria
• Select/vote on which 3 are the most important to your group.
• Then, use the following website to evaluate whether it met your 3 criteria or not: https://www.ign.com/
• How does this website hold up? Why does it meet or not meet the criteria? Provide examples for support.

References

• Writing with Purpose Chapter 9