How to write a REVIEW

© A presentation by Dulce Rosales.

•Reviews are short descriptions of books, films, musicals, plays, concerts, songs, TV programmes, etc, which are written to inform readers or viewers about the event, giving also an opinion and/or recommendation about it.

• As students, we are not supposed to be expert expert reviewersreviewers, but at this level of our learning process we should know how to write about those issues, performances or events …

(a book/ film, a song/ album, a TV series or programme, a show, a play, etc) that we liked or disliked for one or another reason…

Main body: Two paragraphs

A conclusion: Opinion +

recommendations

A Review

An introduction

A review should consist of:

• An introduction which summarises what the issue is about ( the name of the event, its author, director, type-of, setting, dates,background info, etc).

• A main body consisting of two paragraphs where you develop, first, the plot or story or events in chronological order, and then, the general comments on the plot, event or characters, actors, singers, etc.

• And a conclusion, giving your personal opinion and recommendations.

NOTE: When reviewing a filmfilm or a book book you should never reveal the end of the story…

• For books, films or TV programmes we use the the present tense.present tense.

• For musicals, albums or songs we generally use the past tenses…past tenses…

Whenever possible, we must use the grammar learnt in unit 6unit 6:

The passive voice: It was written…/ it was directed…/

It has been considered…/ it is based on…/ it was set/filmed… It will probably be…

Reported speech…

….and then she told him that… he asked her why ….but then the police officer accused them of … he promised he would never …

…or direct speech …in the first verse of the song/ in that scene he says, ‘I’ll never forget…’

Relative clauses to add extra details about the plot of the film/book, or about the musical:

…which really means…., whose parents were… in 1989, when it all started, …who were there because…

Also make good use of the

vocabularyvocabulary studied in this unit:

Cinema and Films Icons

and MUSIC!

© Dulce Rosales