Writing a review

Review: This is to describe and give a personal opinion of a book, a film, a restaurant, a holiday, a website Use your own experience and conclude with your recommendation. There are examples of book, film & restaurant reviews on this blog which I suggest you have a look at. Keep the register formal or semi formal. Look at this task. You have been asked to write a short film review for a school /college magazine. Choose any film which you think might be of interest to your fellow students. The film can be in any language and it can be of any type: comedy, thriller, science fiction, romance, historical drama etc. Your brief is to include a clear description of the story/contents, to comment on what you think the most successful and least successful features are, and to give an overall recommendation. Write about 250 words. First, choose a film to review. It doesnt have to be a new film, though it is helpful if you have seen it recently, and you dont have to have enjoyed it. Sometimes its easier to pinpoint what you dont like about something than what you like! Think about what you liked or didnt like about the film. The purpose of a review is firstly to give factual information about the subject, and secondly to give an opinion about it which will help the reader to decide whether to buy the book, see the play or film or visit the exhibition. Reviews normally contain three main ingredients: overview, pros and cons, and verdict, which are described more fully below. A review may not always fall into three neat sections, however. The writer may decide to describe an aspect of the subject and comment immediately on strengths and weaknesses, for example, before going on to describe another aspect of the subject. Overview a description of the subject Book non-fiction: What is it about? Who is it for? How technical is it? How is it organised? What topics are covered? What special features are there? How much does it cost? etc. Book fiction What kind of book is it? (thriller, historical novel, science fiction etc)? Is it different in any way from other books of this type? Whats the story? etc (You can give an outline but dont give the ending away!) Play / film / TV programme What is it about? Is there anything special / unusual about the production? Play / film: Where is it on? Are there any well-known actors? Who is the director? TV programme: Which channel? Is it part of a series? Who is the producer? Pros and cons detailed comments on the successful and unsuccessful features of the subject. Your comments will probably include both objective views (the photographs in a book were poor quality or the costumes didnt fit the actors properly, for example) and subjective views (based on personal feelings) the story wasnt interesting or the film was too violent. Make sure, however, that you give reasons for your comments. You may have strong positive or negative feelings about the subject of the review and this is no bad thing. A strong opinion, clearly argued, is often more interesting to read than a carefully balanced assessment. Even so, try not to be completely one-sided. Verdict summing-up and recommendation

The last paragraph should sum up your feelings and make it clear to the reader whether you recommend the subject without any reservations, recommend it with one or two reservations, or dont recommend it at all. In real life, readers often look at the last paragraph of a review first to see what the general verdict is. Make sure your review gives a clear verdict. Example of a film review. Crazy Plumber Plaza Cinema If you have seen the advance publicity, you might imagine that this was a funny film. Wrong. Its a film which tries very hard to be funny and fails consistently. The story concerns a plumber who isnt very good at his job. When his customers desert, and he cant pay his bills, he decides to turn to crime. He tries a little shoplifting (he isnt very good at it, of course) but then he gets involved in bigger things. Wayne Gibson, who plays the hero, has one or two good lines but most of the time hes struggling with a terrible script. There are a few good moments the car chase sequence is memorable but the storyline is very slight and the director seems to have run out of ideas very quickly. As the film progresses, the level of violence increases. Despite the publicity, this is not a film for young children. A great deal of money went into the making of Crazy Plumber but in the end spectacular effects are no substitute for real humour. Useful language Overview The book / film / programme concerns deals with shows describes tells the story of It contains It includes a chapter on a section on a study of a survey of a history of

Pros and cons really extraordinary quite interesting really boring / fascinating / amusing / unimaginative absolutely amazing fairly entertaining completely humourless / beautiful / exciting hopeless stunning / informative / amateurish / superb / attractive / over the top brilliant / successful / predictable Verdict All in all On balance In the last analysis In conclusion To sum up

Hints: Remember who your target reader is. Do not forget to give the title of the film/book of which you write this review. Summarize the plot of the film/book. Remember to use the Present Simple tense. No spoilers ;-) This means that you should reveal only the basic plot of a novel or movie, without giving away the entire story. Try to incorporate humor into your review... Focus on evaluation and recommendation. If you include both positive and negative points try to keep proper balance between them. A review should - use interesting vocabulary. - try to catch the readers interest. - be clearly organised. - use a neutral style, but you have to check who you are writing the review for. What should you do before you start review writing - be sure about what you are reviewing and its purpose - check who will read it. - decide what style you will use for your review. - be careful not to follow a report style. Useful language 1. introduction: say what you are reviewing. - The (film, booketc) I would like to review is.. - The last Film I saw / book I read was. 2. explain: give details of what you reviewing. - Its set in. - The story is based on (a book..) .. - Its about.. - There are many memorable characters including . - The main theme of the film is.. - What the film is saying is.. 3. opinion: give your own opinion of what you are reviewing. - I would recommend this film to anyone. - Although I enjoyed it, I would not recommend it for. - Its one of the best (shows) Ive ever seen. - Although I am not normally keen on (musicals), I am glad that I decided to go. - The (film) lifts you out of your everyday life. DO`s - DO say what it is about, but not in too much detail. - DO remember to mention important or memorable characters, but DON`T spend too much time just describing them. - DO try to use a range of interesting vocabulary to bring the film to life for the reader. - DO remember to link ideas clearly, and to link paragraphs together. - DO remember to give your opinion clearly, as this is the purpose of a review, but not until the end.

Sample answer: Q: A group of young people editing a school newspaper asked you to write a short review of one of the awarded films that were shown during the Summer Film Festival. They want to choose one film to be presented in their school. From the four awarded films I would like to recommend 'The Bugs' Life'. It is a very interesting animation with vivid action and funny dialogues. It is a story about love and friendship in the world of insects. The action begins with the conflict between ants and grasshoppers. The ants are terrorised and have to collect food for the aggressors. Unfortunately, this year the food is not ready when the band arrives. Their boss, Hopper, is furious and threatens to destroy the anthill if the seeds are not collected till the end of the summer. But one of the ants thinks that this time Hopper went too far and wants to teach him and his band a lesson. So he leaves in search for bugs brave enough to face the band... The story is extremely funny - the bugs are talkative, lively and their adventures are incredible. You will sit on the edge of your seat till the very end of the story. And do not forget to stay a bit longer as there are some bonus scenes from the film included at the end surprising and unexpected... Have fun. [190 words] Hi all, I'm preparing for FCE in March and I've just written that review. I hope someone could bring up some time to have a look at it an give me some advice if possible. Is that what's required in the FCE? Thanks a lot. Review House season five House season five has just been broadcast in the U.S. and now it has started in Switzerland too. I would like to review the first episode of the fifth season and give my opinion to the start of the season. House is a sarcastic and misanthrope doctor who believes that everyone lies. Hugh Laurie suits the character of a House very well. Season five starts as every episode does with a person who's got an unusual illness which has to be diagnosed. Houses' new team tries to figure out what its causes are and in between House doesn't really care about that. Although the patient would die if he wouldn't help, his friendship to Wilson is more important to him. Will his good friend stay at the hospital or leave House alone? That is the question which is going to be answered in the recommendable, new, exciting and amusing fifth season of House. I think your writing reads well and has a relatively smooth flow, which is good news. Grammar is okay - just one or two ill-used prepositions. Thanks for your feedback. I just see one mistake that shouldn't have happened. It's of course not "a house" it should be only "house".

A review is an article in a newspaper or magazine in which someone gives their views on a book, play, film, TV programme, etc. The purpose of a review is firstly to give factual information about the subject, and secondly to give an opinion about it which will help the reader to decide whether to buy the book, see the play or film, etc. FORMAT: it is a good idea to try and follow this basic plan: I) Introduction: a description of the subject. Book: What kind of book is it (thriller/ historical novel/ science fiction, etc.)? Is it different in any way from other books of this type? Play/ Film/ TV programme: What is it about? Is there anything special/ unusual about the production? Where/ Which channel is it on? Are there any well-known actors? Who is the director/ producer? Is it part of a series? II) Plot: What happens? Remember to use the present tenses. Give an outline but dont give the ending away! III) A general consideration of the subject: Comment on the successful and unsuccessful features giving reasons for your comments. Play/ film/ TV programme: Who starred in the (film)? Was the acting convincing? Was it well directed? Book: How good is the characterisation? Comment on as many aspects as you can. IV) A recommendation: Do you feel the (film) will appeal to most people? Why/ why not? Your conclusion should contain a judgement/ recommendation, backed up by good reasons for your comments. USEFUL LANGUAGE: The (film) is directed/ produced by... / It stars ... The role of X is played by ... X gives a superb/ thrilling/ disappointing performance ... It is extremely readable/ rather heavy ... It is set in ... It is a beautifully written novel It is published/ illustrated by... It portrays/ shows/ describes/ tells the story of/ deals with ... The plot centres on ... I found the plot rather weak/ unconvincing I can thoroughly recommend ... USEFUL VOCABULARY: Instead of repeating simple adjectives like good, bad, funny, interesting, boring try to use a wider range of adjectives. Which of the adjectives above are the following words similar in meaning to? amusing appalling awful brilliant dramatic dreadful dreary dull witty excellent superb fascinating fast-paced gripping hilarious humorous outstanding tedious thrilling Use the links on the right to choose the book or film you can write your review about http://poster.4teachers.org/worksheet/view.php?id=113492&page=1 http://oicaestudents.blogspot.com.ar/