H O W T O W R I T E A
R E V I E W ?
ER 1 - EX ERC ISE 6
PAP
EXERCISE 6: WRITING A REVIEW
Exercise 6 of the Reading and Writing paper of the IGCSE
English as a Second Language (ESL) exam
(0510/0511/0991/0993) is always a formal or a semi-formal
writing. It can be an article, an essay, a report, or a review.
So, what’s a review?
A review is a piece of writing someone writes expressing their opinion about
something such as a new product or service that is usually published in a
newspaper or a magazine.
Review writing could be for:
• Books, Movies, or TV shows
• Places such as hotels, restaurants, cafés, cinemas, parks, shopping centres, etc.
• Events such as concerts, festivals, exhibitions, trips, etc.
• Digital or physical products or services such as apps, games (video games, board
games, etc.), websites, courses, products (such as electronics or appliances)
The main purpose of a review is to give your opinion about
something. The review needs to engage the audience from the
beginning to the end. As a side note, it’s better to be positive
and write about whatever you are reviewing in an overall
positive way since it will generally be easier to write; however,
a negative review is also totally acceptable.
The tone and register of a review
The tone of the review can be personal and informal. If writing for
adults the style may be more formal than if writing for teenagers. But
in both cases, you should sound professional as if you know about
the subject.
If the review is for the school magazine (and it mostly is), then the
main audience is the students at your school. Therefore, the register
should be informal to semi-formal but should avoid language that
is too idiomatic and colloquial.
The ideal format of a review
Introduction: Provide general information about what is being reviewed
Body (2-3 paragraphs): Give your opinions and/or highlight interesting
points about some aspects (e.g. the facilities of a museum, the special effects
in a film, the quality of food/service in a restaurant, etc.)
Conclusion: Give your overall opinion and recommendation
Title
The title should include the name of what is being reviewed. Here are
some examples:
Discover Your Talent — A Course Review
Samsung Galaxy S24 Review
Fitness Time: The Best Gym in Riyadh?
Don’t stress too much on the title as you can simply write the name of
what you’re reviewing without any other details. For example: “VOX
cinema”.
Introduction
The purpose of the introduction is to inform the reader about what is being
reviewed and engage the reader to make them interested and continue
reading.
The main components of an effective introduction are:
• Something to engage the reader from the beginning right away such as a
rhetorical question or an attractive statement highlighting a unique aspect
of what you’re reviewing.
• General information about what is being reviewed. This will depend on
what you’re reviewing. For example, if you are writing a film review, you
should mention its name, genre and the director’s name.
You could also add details of when and with whom you
watched/visited/attended this movie/cinema/course, etc., and a quick
overall opinion, which hints to the reader whether the rest of your
review is overall positive or negative.
Here is an example of an effective introduction:
“Do you love superfast rollercoasters and other exhilarating rides that
make your hair stand on end? If so, then Sky Zone Amusement Park is a
must-visit. My friends and I visited it recently, and we were blown
away!”
Body
In the body,
• Mention more relevant details of what’s being reviewed
• Mention your personal opinion (what you liked and/or
disliked), while providing evidence, reasons or
examples. You can write entirely positively, entirely negatively
or have a balanced approach
• The details to include depend on what you’re reviewing.
Conclusion
The purpose of the conclusion is to give your overall opinion
and recommendation.
In the conclusion, make sure to say whether you recommend this
movie/book/product/service, etc. and to whom, stating why.
Here are some examples of useful concluding phrases:
• In a nutshell, you should definitely read/watch/use …
• All in all, I strongly/highly recommend …
• On the whole, I wouldn’t recommend it (in view of the fact that .. / because..)
• Overall, it’s worth seeing/reading/using …
• I strongly advise you (not) to …
• It’s more suited for … / It will change the way you see… / Don’t miss it! / It’s
absolutely worth a visit! / If you like …, then (the name of the
movie/restaurant/course, etc.) is definitely for you! / If you’re looking for a …,
don’t give it a second thought! / Or any other similar phrase.
Here is an example of an effective conclusion:
“I strongly recommend Sky Zone Park to anyone who wants to
have an unforgettable experience whether alone, with friends or
family. It’s absolutely worth a visit!”