Help with writting evaluations

When you first begin to evaluate your own work it can be very difficult. Some of us will find fault in our own work, even if it is very good. Others may see no faults in their own work, even if it is not so good. It is important to understand that no piece of work is perfect – it can always be improved upon.

There are two types of evaluation:

• Ongoing evaluation – this is when you evaluate your product and make ‘modifications’ whilst you are working on it and before it is complete
• Final Evaluation – This is when you produce a written summary of what you think of your own work, reflecting on the process undertaken to produce the work and summarising your feelings about the outcome i.e. the final product

Ongoing Evaluation

Whilst working on our products we all make adjustments as we go along. To achieve a level 4 in the evaluation strand you need to show evidence of ‘ongoing evaluation’. This can be done by producing an early , or 'draft' version, of your work and annotating it to show where you could make changes to improve it. You could also discuss your work with your teacher or fellow pupils to get ideas.

Click here to see an example of annotated work.

Final Evaluation
A ‘final evaluation’ is usually a written piece of work completed at the end of a task. The starting point for any evaluation is the brief for the task. When writing a final evaluation you should consider the following points:

• Start by asking yourself ‘What was I asked to do for this task?’ Does you final product meet all the task requirements?
• To begin your written evaluation, explain what you were asked to do
• In your writing reflect on the process - try and explain each of the stages you went through to produce the product. Which areas of your work were successful? Why? Which were not so successful? Why?
• Did you choose the right piece of software to complete the task? If so, why was it the right software to use? If not, which software may have been more suitable?
• Try and think about each feature you have used, such as fonts / font styles / font sizes; graphics; Shapes etc. Where the choices you made suitable for your intended audience or for the type of document you have produced? If not, how could you have improved upon them?
• You also need to consider the sources and resources you have used to produce your product such as graphics and images from ClipArt or the web. Where they a good choice? Could you have chosen better sources?
• Finally reflect on the outcome. What are the most effective features of your final product? Which features are the least  effective?
• If you were to approach the task again, how would you do it differently?

Remember, when you write an evaluation you are hoping to explain to someone else your feelings about your own work. The more you think about your work as you are doing it, and the more clearly you explain the choices you have made, the better it will be! This will also help you when you come to write your evaluation.

Look at each of the levels tabs. These will help explain how to achieve them.

Click here for a writing frame that will help you write your final evaluations.

To achieve a level 4 you will be able to;

• Use appropriate ICT tools and features to improve work (4a)

Evidence

To provide evidence for this level you should include printouts of the early version you have produced. On these early versoins you should annotate, in pencil, the changes you would like to make. These could include:

• Showing were you might like to reposition assets on the page
• Showing were you think a font may be changed to improve your work e.g. made bigger / smaller or changed to another font type
• showing changes to the written text including spelling mistakes or senteces you would like to rewrite.

Click here to see an example of annotated work.

 

To achieve a level 5 you will be able to;

• Use appropriate ICT tools and features to carry out ongoing improvements and reflect on process and outcome (5a)

Evidence

To provide evidence for this level you must complete be able to show that you have produced early versions and annotated them (see level 4) and to write a final evaluation. Remember to disucss the following:

• Start by asking yourself ‘What was I asked to do for this task?’ Does you final product meet all the task requirements?
• To begin your written evaluation, explain what you were asked to do
• In your writing reflect on the process - try and explain each of the stages you went through to produce the product. Which areas of your work were successful? Why? Which were not so successful? Why?
• Did you choose the right piece of software to complete the task? If so, why was it the right software to use? If not, which software may have been more suitable?
• Try and think about each feature you have used, such as fonts / font styles / font sizes; graphics; Shapes etc. Where the choices you made suitable for your intended audience or for the type of document you have produced? If not, how could you have improved upon them?
• You also need to consider the sources and resources you have used to produce your product such as graphics and images from ClipArt or the web. Where they a good choice? Could you have chosen better sources?
• Finally reflect on the outcome. What are the most effective features of your final product? Which features are the least  effective?
• If you were to approach the task again, how would you do it differently?

Click here to see an example of annotated work.

Click here to see a writing frame that will help you write you final evaluations.

To achieve a level 6 you will be able to;

• Review your use of ICT, routinely evaluating and justifying the  process and outcome (6a)

Evidence

To provide evidence for this level you should make sure that you always include early version for all tasks as a matter of routine as well as completing a detailed written evaluation (see level 5)

 

To achieve a level 7 you will be able to;

• Review your use of ICT, testing and adjusting work as necessary, collecting and responding to the views of end users and to client needs (7a)

Evidence

To achieve a level 7 in the evaluation strand you would firstly make sure you have provided the evidence needed for levels 4 to 6. In addition you could provide the following evidence:

• Depending on the task you could provide evidence that you have tested your product and made adjustments accordingly e.g. if you produced a website you could test it to make sure that all your hyperlinks worked, If not then you would 'fix' those items that were not working and provide evidence to show you have done this.
• You could produce a questionnaire for the audience of your product to get their views. You would provide evidence that you have adjusted your work to take these views into account e.g. if you produced a button driven PowerPoint you could ask your audience how easy it was to use the product, what changes they would like to make etc.