Tyler Perry’s Acrimony Film
Essay #2: Justifying an Evaluation
The Writing Assignment
Write an essay evaluating a specific subject. Examine your subject closely, and make a judgment about it. Give reasons for your judgment that are based on widely recognized criteria or standards for evaluating a subject like yours. Support your reasons with examples and other details primarily from your subject.
Write a 1000-1350-word (4-6 typed pages) evaluation of a particular film, television show, album, or video game. State your judgment clearly and back it up with a convincing argument based on standards of value that are appropriate for judging this kind of subject. When evaluating your subject, argue for why the subject is good or bad. Generally, you will need to fit your subject into a particular class that has particular criteria or standards by which members of that class are measured. For example, you might argue whether or not The Avengers (your subject) is a good film (the class or group the subject fits into). You would determine what standards/criteria are appropriate for a good film (i.e., good acting, intriguing plot, compelling characters, etc.) and show how well the particular film meets your criteria. Use the following guidelines to help develop your essay:
- At the start of your essay, present your subject clearly: state your subject explicitly (name the TV show, film or whatever), and also give the reader enough information about your subject to understand your judgment.
- Also, make a clear, BALANCED judgment. Assert whether your subject is “good” or “bad.” Even though you want to make a judgment, also acknowledge both the good and bad points about the subject–try to be impartial. For example, if you’re evaluating a film you might argue that the characters are very intriguing but the plot is very thin and unbelievable. Of course, you must make sure that your good points outweigh your bad points if you’re ultimately judging the film as good and vice versa. Weighting of your criteria (explaining which criteria are most and least important) also helps clarify your judgment.
- However, you must go beyond simply stating that your subject is good or bad. You must argue for your judgment: present appropriate reasons and argue with evidence and explanation to show why your subject is good or bad. If your criteria or standards for evaluation aren’t clear, you might also need to explain them. For example, if you are arguing that Olive Garden is a good restaurant because it has good food, excellent service, and a pleasant atmosphere, then you obviously don’t need to devote much time to justifying your standards. However, if one of your main criteria is that it has a place for children to play, you would definitely need to explain why this is an important criterion for a good restaurant.
- As part of your argument, you MIGHT also need to anticipate objections or alternative judgments. For example, if you want to argue that Apollo 13 is a good family film, you might discuss how the movie appears to be good for the entire family: the language is clean, the movie promotes responsible behavior, and the movie has a fairly simple story to follow. These elements suggest that the movie is a good family-film. However, someone might argue that Apollo 13 is not appropriate for small children because some of the situations are “too intense, frightening, or mature” for many youngsters. You need to address this concern and show that despite these frightening scenes, the film is still appropriate for kids. Anticipating readers’ concerns definitely enhances your credibility.
- Another feature that can help your evaluation essays is a pointed comparison. Compare your subject to other subjects in the same category. For example, if you’re evaluating a Black Eyed Peas album, compare it to other albums that are in the same class (i.e., hip-hop, rap, dance, etc.). Make sure your comparisons are pointed in that you focus on a particular criterion or standard and show how the Black Eyed Peas album has more variety in the tracks or has more intellectually stimulating lyrics.
- In your conclusion, sum up your argument and make a final judgment. In this type of essay, the delayed thesis can be very effective. However, the judgment you make should gradually become clear by the time you get to the end of the essay–it shouldn’t be a surprise.
Essay Criteria:
- 1000 words pages typed in Times New Roman or Cambria font.
- MLA formatted.
- You must research at last two reviews of your subject. These can be from Amazon, magazines (online and print), or blogs. You must be able to cite these reviews. Use these reviews to either support your judgment or to argue against the opposition.
- Your essay should contain a works cited page with at least two reviews as well as the work you are evaluating.
Answer preview
Tyler Perry’s Acrimony Film
The movie Acrimony was written, produced and directed by Tyler Perry. The movie stars Taraji Henson, Lyriq Bent, Jazmyn Simon, and Crystle Stewart. The plot involves the story of a once loyal wife revenging on her lover after they parted ways after the man gets caught cheating. The story begins as they meet in college and go ahead to fall in love as they grow attached. Melinda Moore is a supportive wife that puts it all on the line to support the husband’s dream of a battery. The pure love turns into venomous hate when the man is framed for cheating which leads to the separation of the two. The two moves on with life whatsoever. Robert Gayle, the husband, moves on with his lover and manages to…
(1200 words)