Reviews are written for a website, a magazine or a
newspaper.
You always have to do two
things describe and discuss something, for example, a film,
a book, a restaurant, an experience or whatever the task
might require you to talk about. Also, you have to make
a recommendation at the end of your text.
Unlike an essay a review should be written in an informal or
neutral register, this means:
you CAN use phrasal verbs,
you CAN use idioms
you CAN use contractions
you CAN be creative!
Title
Use the name of the film, book or restaurant.
Introduction
Identify what you are reviewing (actors, director etc..).
Try to catch the reader´s attention (ask a narrative question).
1st body paragraph
Describe the book, film, restaurant
2nd body paragraph
Comment on the questions you have been asked
Conclusion
Summarize your review with a recommendation
B2 First (FCE) Review: Writing Guide
We will use the example FCE review topic below:
You see this announcement in your college English-language
magazine.
Book reviews wanted
Have you read a book in which the main character behaved
in a surprising way?(to describe)
Write us a review of the book, explaining what the main
character did and why it was surprising. (to comment)
The best reviews will be published in the magazine.
Now we have all three elements we need to write a great
review:
You need to describe:
Book in which the main character behaved in a surprising
way
You need to answer/discuss:
1. What did the main character do?
2. Why it was surprising?
Who is the target reader: college English-language
magazine.
We know now that the target readers are students,
teachers and probably parents so the writing style should
be neutral or informal.
We don’t need to be too formal because after all some of
the readers are students, but we also don’t want to be too
informal as some of the readers are teachers and parents.
Step 2: Title
The review should start with the title, and there are few
simple ways to write it:
imagine you’re reviewing a book you can
write: [Title] by [Author]
if you were reviewing a restaurant you could
write: [name of the restaurant] – a review
Title (book): Dark Souls by Stephen King (by)
Title (restaurant): Taco Bell in London – a review (a review)
We will use this title in our guide:
TITLE: Time Machine by Adam Smith
Tip: Nothing prevents you from writing
something more unique but it has to point to what you are
going to review.
Step 3: Introduction
Use the introduction to identify the
thing you are going to be reviewing and provide
details like the genre (i.e. a science fiction novel, a horror
movie) or location (if it’s a restaurant).
The other function of your introduction is to engage the
reader. You can do it by asking a question.
Make your introduction at least 2 sentences long.
INTRODUCTION: What would you do if you could travel back
in time? Most people would probably meet their great-great-
grandparents or watch how the amazing pyramids in Giza
were built, but Tom Lee, the main character of the novel Time
Machine by Adam Smith finds himself in a completely
unexpected situation and he has to make a very difficult
decision that will change history as we know it.
– question
– details about the book and main character
Step 4: The body paragraphs (main content)
The body paragraphs are the main parts of your review so
they should be the longest and carry most of the
information. Also, here you describe the points you’ve
found in (Step 1)
You need to answer/discuss:
1. What did the main character do?
2. Why it was surprising?
You can use idioms, and phrasal verbs – neutral/informal
language is appropriate for your target reader – students and
teachers.
See the example below, in which we dedicated one
paragraph to one point.
[Who is the main character and what did he do? – describe]
Tom, a teacher in a little town in Rotherham, finds
a mysterious time portal in the back of a ragged diner
which takes him back to the year 1935. He soon realises that
every time he goes through the portal he gets to the exact
same point in the past. Eventually, he makes the unexpected
decision to stop Michael James Newton from brutally
killing President John F. Kennedy on 22.11.1963.
[Why it was surprising? – comment]
It seems to me that Tom could choose many other and more
personal things to do, but he decides to try and change
history to a degree that he cannot predict. In my opinion, that
came definitely unexpected and if I were in his position I
probably wouldn’t even consider a task this far-reaching.
– own opinion
– descriptive/interesting vocabulary
– relevant details about the main character and
book
Step 5: Conclusion / Recommendations
Finally, we need to make a recommendation because after
all, that’s the only reason why anyone would read a review
they want to know what the reviewer thinks about the book,
film or restaurant.
A good final paragraph of a review does exactly two things
it includes a recommendation
and a final sentence to round off the review
CONCLUSION: I definitely recommend “Time Machine” to
everyone who has already read some of Adam Smith’s novels
as well as to those who like stories with twists and turns
around every corner plus you get some modern history on
top of that. For me, it was absolutely worth reading and I’m
sure you won’t be disappointed.
Time Machine by Adam Smith
What would you do if you could travel back in time? Most
people would probably meet their great-great-grandparents
or watch how the amazing pyramids in Giza were built,
but Tom Lee, the main character of the novel Time Machine
by Adam Smith finds himself in a completely unexpected
situation and he has to make a very difficult decision that will
change history as we know it.
Tom, a teacher in a little town in Rotherham, finds
a mysterious time portal in the back of a ragged diner
which takes him back to the year 1935. He soon realises that
every time he goes through the portal he gets to the exact
same point in the past. Eventually, he makes the unexpected
decision to stop Michael James Newton from brutally
killing President John F. Kennedy on 22.11.1963.
It seems to me that Tom could choose many other and more
personal things to do, but he decides to try and change
history to a degree that he cannot predict. In my opinion, that
came definitely unexpected and if I were in his position I
probably wouldn’t even consider a task this far-reaching.
I definitely recommend “Time Machine” to everyone who has
already read some of Adam Smith’s novels as well as to those
who like stories with twists and turns around every corner
plus you get some modern history on top of that. For me, it
was absolutely worth reading and I’m sure you won’t be
disappointed.