Using a Table to Generate Material for the Support and Development of an Evaluation Essay

Sometimes, teachers ask students to evaluate one or more persons, places, or things. When such a task is assigned, a handy way to gather the material that is needed to support and develop one's evaluation is a table or a series of tables that specify details concerning the various criteria or standards that are to be used to evaluate the persons (or persons), place (or places), or thing (or things).

For example, if you were evaluating either Buffy Summers or Kendra Young (or, for that matter, both characters) to assess how effective she (or they) is (or are) in performing her (or their) role (or roles) as a vampire slayer (or slayers), based upon their actions in the second season's episodes "What's My Line?, Part I, "What's My Line?, Part II," "Becoming, Part I," and "Becoming, Part II," you might create tables like those below. (If you were evaluating only one of these characters, you would have to create only the tables that correspond to your choice.) These tables allow you to compare and contrast the slayers in order to determine which is more effective in the performance of her duties than the other, if your assignment requires you to compare and contrast two characters rather than to assess the effectiveness of only one or the other of the characters. Then, you need only add specific examples, from the episodes themselves, to support your observations and claims and any additional explanations that might be needed for clarification or to create a context for your evaluation. By labeling the tables with the names of the episodes, you can more easily find such examples by watching the episodes again or referring to other sources (if the use of other sources is allowed.)

These tables also help you to develop a thesis. For example, you might write something like--

Buffy's attitude hinders her performance as a vampire slayer, but her fighting ability and her social support system compensate for this deficiency, making her a fairly effective vampire slayer whose performance could, nevertheless, benefit from improvement.

Here, then, are the sample tables:

The following two tables are based on “What's My Line, Part I”

SLAYER	ATTITUDE	FIGHTING ABILITY	KNOWLEDGE
Buffy Summers	Buffy is annoyed by Angel's mention of “grave danger.” She does not follow up on why Dalton was stealing from the mausoleum. She is insolent to Giles and challenges his authority. She shirks her studies to go ice skating with Angel. By her own admission, Buffy is “immature.” Buffy jokes while Rupert Giles investigates Dalton's theft of a dangerous artifact (the cross of du Lac). Buffy jokes about the Order of Taraka assassin's ring. Buffy is a modern, liberated young woman who challenges masculine authority. Buffy wants to live a “normal life.”	Buffy is able to defeat several foes at the same time. Buffy is an innovative fighter: she uses her ice skate blade as a knife against the Order of Taraka's first assassin. Buffy fights Kendra to a standstill. Buffy is able to compromise when doing so seems to be in her best interest (she accepts Kendra's truce and agrees to let Giles sort out the problem of the existence of two slayers.) Buffy is aware that her emotions give her “power,” helping her to fight more effectively.	Buffy's knowledge is mediated through others, who gather facts for her. Buffy is largely dependent on others for recorded knowledge. Much of Buffy's knowledge is based on her personal experience (she is an empiricist). Buffy's knowledge is flexible and situation-based. Buffy's knowledge is group-based. Buffy is supported by an entire library of books on the supernatural and the paranormal as well as ordinary subjects.

Observations

Buffy's attitude is often flippant (frivolously disrespectful and lacking in seriousness), which suggests that she does not value learning or study, an attitude that is reinforced by her avoidance of research in favor of keeping a date with her boyfriend Angel—a vampire.


Buffy is a superb fighter. She is skilled, employing a mixed martial arts style that includes gymnastics; she is innovative and resourceful; and she is able to defeat several enemies at the same time. She believes that her feelings empower her, or give her “fire.”


Mediated knowledge is only as reliable as its mediators. Giles is an expert in the occult, but Buffy's friends are not.

SLAYER	ATTITUDE	FIGHTING ABILITY	KNOWLEDGE
Kendra Young	Kendra considers her role as a vampire slayer to be a sacred “calling,” and her culture takes her calling seriously. Kendra refuses to go home, as Buffy suggests, saying that she was sent to stop a “dark power” from “rising” in Sunnydale. Kendra is respectful of both her own Watcher, Mr. Zabuto, and Buffy's Watcher, Rupert Giles. Kendra puts duty above everything else, including friends and family. Kendra accepts her role and does her best to fulfill it as completely and faithfully as possible. Kendra is a traditional young woman who defers to masculine authority.	Kendra fights Buffy to a standstill. Kendra is able to propose a compromise when doing so seems to be in her best interest and to accept compromise (she proposes a truce with Buffy and suggests that they let Giles sort out the problem of the existence of two slayers.) Kendra is unaware that her emotions give her “power,” helping her to fight more effectively.	Kendra learns much of her knowledge directly, through her own study; she is diligent about studying. Kendra is somewhat dependent on others for knowledge. Kendra's knowledge is obtained almost entirely from books and other external sources, rather than from personal experience. Kendra's knowledge is inflexible and theoretical. Kendra's knowledge is largely individual, rather than communal (group) in nature. Kendra knows that sunlight will kill a vampire. Kendra has books as resources.

Observations

Because Kendra is respectful of masculine authority, she and male authority figures get along well, and she is able to benefit from her own and Buffy's Watchers' expertise and guidance, but she may also be, at times, too dependent on sources and experts. She tends to lack flexibility and the ability to think for herself or to think fast on her feet.


This episode does not show Kendra's fighting ability to the same degree and in the same variety as Buffy's is shown, but other episodes do. Therefore, both this episode and other episodes must be examined to get a true perspective of Kendra's fighting ability.

The following two tables are based on “What's My Line, Part II”

SLAYER	ATTITUDE	FIGHTING ABILITY	KNOWLEDGE
Buffy Summers	Buffy considers letting Kendra take over as the slayer while Buffy “retires.” Kendra tells Buffy that she (Kendra) learned that being a slayer is her (a slayer's) identity from Buffy, suggesting that, despite her flippancy and bravado, Buffy does, in fact, take her role as a slayer seriously. Buffy accepts Kendra as a friend rather than rejecting her as a rival. Buffy says she doesn't take orders, but does things her own way. Buffy neglects to make sure that Spike and Drusilla are no longer a threat.	Buffy benefits from Kendra's assistance, in fending off the policewoman assassin and again, later, in fighting Spike and other vampires and assassins in the church. Buffy and Kendra are so evenly matched that they can “switch” in fighting the same enemies. Buffy is again innovative in her use of an aspergillum (a container used to sprinkle holy water) as a weapon (bolo) in her attack on Spike.	Giles explains the cause of the existence of two slayers, and he warns that Spike intends to kill Angel to restore Drusilla. It is unlikely that Buffy would have learned this information by herself. Buffy does not have a slayer's handbook.

Observations

The fact that Buffy and Kendra need Giles' help with regard to the problem of the existence of two slayers shows that Buffy must depend on her Watcher's expertise and guidance even if she believes that she does not and would prefer not to do so.

Both Buffy and Kendra undergo changes in their characters: Buffy comes to regard Kendra as a friend and to respect her as a slayer, despite the clear differences between them.

SLAYER	ATTITUDE	FIGHTING ABILITY	KNOWLEDGE
Kendra Young	Kendra suggests that doing things one's own way, rather than following standing operating procedures and following orders could cause a slayer's death. Because of her scholarly demeanor, Giles finds it easy to bond with Kendra. Kendra neglects to make sure that Spike and Drusilla are no longer a threat. Kendra keeps the secret of Buffy's romance with Angel a secret from her Watcher, Mr. Zabuto.	Kendra is able to fight several foes at the same time. Kendra is able to back up another fighter, but she is also able to lead a fight. Kendra and Buffy are so evenly matched that they can “switch” in fighting the same enemies.	Kendra shows that, from her studies, she knows of Angel's history as a “monster.” She knows, from personal experience, that “when a vampire combusts, he leaves ashes.” Kendra's knowledge is detailed: she reads even difficult passages of books—and footnotes. Kendra has a slayer's handbook.

Observations

The fact that Buffy and Kendra need Giles' help with regard to the problem of the existence of two slayers shows that, despite her independence in conducting her studies and her devotion to them, Kendra must depend on Giles' expertise and guidance at times.

Kendra's attitude seems to be corrupted by Buffy's cavalier approach to her duties; Kendra is willing to deceive her mentor (not telling him about Angel), which could erode her relationship with Mr. Zabuto and his trust in her, if her deceit were discovered by him.

The following two tables are based on “What's My Line, Part I” and “What's My Line, Part II”

SLAYER	Social Support	Training	Weaponry
Buffy Summers	Buffy lives at home with her mother Joyce; has a Watcher, Rupert Giles; has a boyfriend Angel; and has several school friends: Xander Harris, Willow Rosenberg, Cordelia Chase, and “Oz” Osbourne. She also attends high school, where she was once a cheerleader.	Giles insists that Buffy train daily after school.	Buffy shows herself to be proficient at martial arts and the use of a wooden stake as a makeshift knife. As someone who is innovative, she is also able to use ordinary objects, such as an ice skate blade or an aspergillium, as a weapon.

Observations

Although Buffy's friends often help her by studying, fighting, and providing emotional and other support, her friendship with them endangers their lives and sometimes hinders her performance of her duties as a slayer.

Her innovative use of ordinary objects as weapons—as well as her body itself—suggests that Buffy will probably seldom, if ever, be caught defenseless.

SLAYER	Social Support	Training	Weaponry
Kendra Young	When she was young, Kendra's family gave her to her Watcher, Mr. Zabuto, to raise; she remembers only pictures of her parents. She is forbidden to date or to have friends and must keep her identity as a slayer a secret from others.	Kendra claims to have expertise with regard to all weapons (but she admits that she is not knowledgable about a crossbow's firing mechanism, which she says is “new.”)	Kendra's weaponry suggests that she is normally equipped with a simple weapon, such as a wooden stake, although she seems to be aware of other weapons, such as the crossbow and revolvers.

Observations

Kendra's mishap with the crossbow suggests that she was exaggerating about the extent of her knowledge concerning weapons and that, in fact, her knowledge of them is limited.

The following two tables are based on “Becoming, Part I”

SLAYER	ATTITUDE	FIGHTING ABILITY	KNOWLEDGE
Buffy Summers	Kendra claims that Buffy's love for Angel “clouds' Buffy's judgment, an opinion that seems to be supported by Xander's contention that Buffy is willing to forgive Angel for killing Giles' girlfriend, teacher Jenny Calender, just so she can get her “boyfriend back. Because of her love for Angel, she is easily deceived by him when he lures her away from the high school library during Drusilla's attack on Kendra and the others.	Buffy is shown to be a consummate fighter, although her abilities are sometimes hindered by her emotions and by her unwise alliances with vampires such as Angel and Spike.	Buffy's reliance on Giles' expert knowledge of the demon Acathla, on Calender's spell, and on Kendra's knight's sword shows, again, how dependent she is on others for information.

Observations

Although hindered at times by her unwise alliances with Angel and Spike and by her emotions, Buffy puts her duty above everything else she values, including her family, her boyfriend, and her friends, all of whom she loses as a result of defeating Acathla.

SLAYER	ATTITUDE	FIGHTING ABILITY	KNOWLEDGE
Kendra Young	Kendra's attitude seems much the same as it was shown to be in the “What's My Line” episodes, except that she is more willing to allow her emotions to influence her thoughts and actions.	Kendra is prepared to leave Giles, Xander, Willow, and Cordelia unprotected in order to help Buffy fight Angel and the other vampires. Although Kendra is unable to defeat Drusilla and is, in fact, hypnotized and killed by Drusilla, Buffy also died in a similar manner at the end of the series' first season, when Buffy was hypnotized by the Master, a vampire, who drowned Buffy.	Although Kendra must depend on Giles' expert knowledge of the demon Acathla, it is she who provides both the sword of the knight that killed Acathla and the knowledge that the weapon exists. Therefore, she is not as dependent on others as Buffy is.

Observations

Kendra's affection for Buffy endangers Buffy's friends' lives, whom Kendra is willing to leave unprotected in order to back up Buffy during her fight with Angel and the other vampires.

The following two tables are based on “Becoming, Part II”

(Kendra does NOT appear in this episode.)

SLAYER	ATTITUDE	FIGHTING SKILLS	KNOWLEDGE
Buffy Summers	Buffy's attitude seems more serious than it has been in the past. She is willing to fulfill her duty, no matter the personal cost.	Buffy uses a sword to fight Angel and other vampires.	Buffy also receives instruction from Whistler concerning Acathla's purpose and how Buffy can stop the demon by sacrificing Angel.

Observations

Buffy's willingness to ally herself with a vampire (Spike) and a demon (Whistler) seem both to benefit and to hinder her in her fulfillment of her duties.

SLAYER	SOCIAL SUPPORT	TRAINING	WEAPONRY
Buffy Summers	Willow's spell restores Angel's soul, but too late to prevent Buffy from having to dispatch him to hell. Although Buffy enjoys abundant social support (family, mentor, boyfriend, friends, schoolmates), she sacrifices all this support to perform her duty.	Buffy has obviously practiced with a sword.	Buffy is adept with a sword.

Observations

The theme of this episode suggests that it is the person him- or herself who matters most. “In the end,” Whistler says, “all we have is ourselves,” and, when her friends and weapons are taken from her and Angel asks Buffy what she has left, she says, “Me.”