Writing a Review

Writing a Review

TASK: Think about a film you have watched recently or a book you have read. Brainstorm your ideas about why you want to write a review of it - was it really excellent or utterly awful? The power of extremes is good in review writing. Using the following guidance, write a review of 250-300 words. 

Here are some pointers, from the BBC Bitesize website, about how to write a review:

Purpose and Audience:

• To inform. The review needs to tell people who is in the film, who it is by and where or when people can see it.
• To describe. The review should describe the story, characters and some of the action - without spoiling the plot or giving too much away!
• To analyse. A good review gives an opinion on whether the film is good or not and why.
• To advise. Finally, the review should tell the reader whether or not to go and see the film

How to structure your review:

1. Introduction: this gives an overview of who is in the film and what it's about. It also sums up the reviewer's conclusion about the film (so readers can form an opinion without reading the whole of the review). Start your review in an interesting way, you could use a rhetorical question or a triple emphasis for effect. 
2. Paragraph 2: start to describe the plot and the action, while informing the reader which actor plays which role. 
3. Paragraph 3:  then analyse the film in more detail, talking about the director and then the actors´ performances, looking at good things as well as bad things.
4. Finally: sum up your ideas, advise the reader if they should watch this film or not.

Useful Language

It´s important to use the right language for discussing films. Make sure you comment on some of the following:

• Performance: how the film is acted.
• Direction: how the story is told.
• Editing: how the parts of the film or action are put together.
• Cinematography: how the film looks (how it is photographed).
• Music and sound effects: how the music works with or against the pictures.
• Special effects: how the film uses unusual techniques such as computer-generated imagery (CGI).
• Camera angles: how the film creates mood by manipulating the camera, eg:
• Close-up and extreme close up
• Mid-shot
• Long-shot
• Panning shot: the camera is fixed but the lens moves across a scene, eg a landscape

Sentence Starters and Devices:

Remember that style is important when writing a review. You need to think about who will be reading it and tailor your writing style for them. As a review is based on your personal opinion, it is useful to use rhetorical devices (P.E.R.F.E.C.T) to engage your reader.

P          Personal Language     

(I, You, Me, We, Our...you are talking to your reader about what you think and giving them advice)

E          Exaggeration              

(Use of exclamation marks ! to emphasise points and exaggerate your opinion)

R         Rhetorical Questions  

(How would you feel if...? Have you ever thought about...? Ever wondered what would happen if...? Rhetorical questions make your reader think about what you are saying and feel that you are talking directly to them)

F          Facts and Figures       

(Numbers, dates, statistics: in 2015 100% of students wrote excellent reviews. They get 5 stars!)

E          Emotive Language      

(A heart-breaking story of love and loss... If you want to be crying with laughing all day, make sure you watch this film!... The only film to make you think about your life and question your own mortality... Wow! I never felt so scared in my whole life!)

C         Commands                  

(Go and watch this film right now!... You need this book in your life. Read it!... If you only buy one thing this year, make sure it´s an iPhone!)

          

T          Triple Emphasis        

(Thrilling, gripping and utterly terrifying... Shocking, stunning, superb!)

Helpful Websites:

http://www.theguardian.com/film

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews