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Worksheet/
Analyzing Context for Evaluations
To begin analyzing context for your evaluation, you need to think about the readers you hope to
reach, the circumstances in which they will encounter your evaluation, and the purposes you hope
to accomplish in writing for them. To develop a good sense of your context in writing an evaluation,
you should write out answers to the questions that follow. For an example of a student context
analysis of an evaluation see pp. 306 - 308.
Audience knowledge, values, and needs
- What sorts of experiences (personal or secondhand) have my readers had with my topic?
- How does my topic relate to things my readers know, value, or care about?
- Do my readers have any biases or preconceptions concerning my topic? If so, what are they, and do I have any information that will correct (or reinforce) those attitudes?
Audience expectations for content
- What kinds of questions are my readers most likely to want to have answered?
- What kinds of criteria are they likely to find important?
- What kinds of information will they see as credible?
Audience expectations for layout or format
- Which reading in this chapter comes closest to looking the way my readers will expect my evaluation to look?
- Are there any visual features (for example, photographs, charts, or bulleted lists) that my readers are likely to expect or appreciate?
- Are there ways in which my evaluation will need to look different from the readings in this chapter?
Circumstances
- Are there any recent events that might motivate my audience to read my evaluation? If so, what are they?
- If not, what sort of background information should I provide at the beginning of my evaluation?
Purposes
- What purposes am I trying to accomplish in writing my evaluation?
- What sort of voice do I want readers to hear when they read my evaluation?
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