Evaluating written communications

When you are asked to evaluate a written communication, you are being asked to decide how well the writer wrote it and to what extent s/he achieved the purpose of the writing. You should say what the strengths and weaknesses of the communication are. To do these things, you should ask yourself the following questions.

• What was the writer’s purpose?
  
• Was the communication biased?
  
• Were the sources quoted relevant?
  
• Were the examples used clear and relevant?
  
• Did the writer stick to the point?
  
• Was the communication well structured?
  
• How effective were the graphics?
  
• How effective were the headlines/titles?
  
• Was the layout effective?
  
• Were the language and tone appropriate?

This is a long list of questions, and usually you’ll be asked to evaluate the communication in 100 words. This means that there is no way you can cover all of the points listed here! The purpose of providing you with such a detailed list it to allow you to consider all of the points that you can use when you evaluate a communication.

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