Evaluative Language
Evaluative language is used to express judgements, opinions, and attitudes about people, objects, events, and ideas. Understanding how writers use evaluative language helps us identify bias and the author's perspective.
What You Need to Know
Key Concept Diagram
Evaluative language expresses value judgements: positive, negative, or neutral
Attitude vocabulary includes words of affect (emotion), judgement (behaviour), and appreciation (aesthetics)
Intensifiers strengthen evaluations (very, extremely, absolutely)
Evaluative language can be explicit (stated directly) or implicit (implied through word choice)
Recognising evaluative language helps identify a writer's purpose and potential bias
Key Vocabulary
Evaluative Language
Words and phrases that express judgements, opinions, or attitudes toward a subject
Affect
Evaluative language that expresses emotional responses (joy, fear, desire, satisfaction)
Judgement
Evaluative language that assesses people's behaviour or character (brave, foolish, generous)
Appreciation
Evaluative language that evaluates objects, phenomena, and texts (beautiful, flawed, captivating)
Knowledge Check
Select the correct answer for each question. Click "Check Answer" to see if you are right.
Question 1
Which of the following is an example of evaluative language?
Question 2
In the sentence "The government's reckless decision devastated the community", the evaluative words are:
Question 3
What is the main difference between evaluative language and factual language?
Key Concepts Summary
- ●Evaluative language expresses value judgements: positive, negative, or neutral
- ●Attitude vocabulary includes words of affect (emotion), judgement (behaviour), and appreciation (aesthetics)
- ●Intensifiers strengthen evaluations (very, extremely, absolutely)
- ●Evaluative language can be explicit (stated directly) or implicit (implied through word choice)
- ●Recognising evaluative language helps identify a writer's purpose and potential bias