How to write a Review for FCE (Brugklas)

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 1

How to write a review: Lesson one

What do people write reviews for?

A REVIEW is usually written for ...

an English-language magazine, newspaper, website or even Youtube or Instagram.  

The main purpose is to describe and express a personal opinion about something which the writer has experienced (e.g. a film, a holiday, a product, a website etc.) and to give the reader a clear impression of what the item discussed is like. Description and explanation are key functions for this task, and a review will normally include a recommendation to the reader.

Who's going to read this? What does that mean about the tone? It means I can be on the informal side of neutral. You know, serious but friendly.

140 - 190 words

Planning Time

Okay, the first thing to do is to think of a book where the main character surprised me. This is quite an important step, because everything that follows is linked to this decision. Do you think I should spend five seconds on it, or thirty seconds?

[Thirty seconds later] 

I am going to choose one of my favourite books, The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguru. It's great! They made a movie of it with Anthony Hopkins.

So what do I have to include? 

1.  write a review of the book

2. explain what the character did 

3.  and why it was surprising

4. would I recommend it

It doesn't make much sense to have points 2 and 3 separate, so for this review I will keep them together in one paragraph.

So my outline looks like this:

Title

Introduction

Review

Main Character's Surprising Moment

Recommendation

Let's think of vocabulary and grammar I can use.

 I'm just going to brainstorm by writing words and phrases I know that might be useful in the different paragraphs.

• genre; historical drama; romance; 
  

set in the 1930s; duty;

• uniform; reserved; butler;
• gentleman; conflict; 
• a difficult choice; 
• there's no doubt that; 
• not only but also; 

Now I want to think of a title.

I want something that is interesting and that helps me to write the review. What do I mean by that? For example, I could write 'Review of The Remains of the Day'. But that's boring and doesn't help me to write it. If I have a title like 'The Surprising Truth about The Remains of the Day' - well, I can already think of a way to write the last paragraph.

The Surprising Truth about The Remains of the Day

The Remains of the Day seems to be a very simple story. An elderly English butler borrows a car and drives to the coast to meet an old colleague. But is that all there is to it?

In fact, the story is as complicated as its main character. Mr Stevens is the perfect butler - obedient, skillful, and reserved. He is also secretly in love with the housekeeper, Miss Kenton. However, he is so bound by duty that he never tells her - never even gives her the slightest hint.

The key moment in the book comes when their employer becomes fascinated by the Nazi ideology and tells Mr Stevens to fire two young Jewish servants. Miss Kenton cries, while Mr Stevens carries out his task with no emotion. The writing at this point in the book is sublime - when you know that Stevens is in love with Kenton, his behaviour is mystifying. Why doesn't he at least tell her that he agrees with her?

Working out the answer to that question is one of the most rewarding quests in literature, and that's why I strongly recommend you read this book as soon as possible.

(202 words)

I don't know about you, but I think that's a pretty good review!

It's not perfect though - I forgot to link the ending to the beginning. That's why I gave myself 5 minutes to check and change it!

All I have to do is re-word the ending:

Finding out the truth about Mr Stevens is one of the most rewarding quests in literature, and that's why I strongly recommend you read this book as soon as possible.

That gives a 'thread' through the review, from start to finish.

So what do I have to remember?

More useful language

What I liked 

What I liked most was ….. The thing I liked most was ….

I was pleasantly surprised by..

….. would appeal to ….. If you get a chance to ….

What I disliked

What I disliked most was ….. I was disappointed by/with ……

Reviews of books

main character.... is set in

Fiction: science fiction / thriller / fantasy / mystery / historical / romance ...

atmosphere / plot

written by .....  chapter.... unbelievable...  bestseller.... ending

Reviews of films

lead role .... star role .... star .... star actor/actress....  starring

secondary role.... He plays a ……. written by ….

is set in ….. based on a true story ….. believable.... true to life

......not very believable..... far-fetched

(As for fiction books +): animation / adaptation / comedy

Costumes / design / photography / script / special effects / soundtrack

ending

Reviews of TV programmes

Chat shows / current affairs programme / debate / documentary / series / soap opera/ sitcom (situation comedy)

Host / presenter

Recommendations

Judging from this CD / show ...

Overall, if you like ..., you'll love / you should ...

Although some of ... he/she/it's still a great...

You really must/should buy/see/read/visit ...

I would definitely recommend seeing/visiting/reading/having a look at ...

In a few minutes, write a plan for everything you have to do in this assignment. 

Tips and tricks

1. It is a good idea to give your review an interesting title.

2. In the first paragraph, say what you are reviewing and try to get the reader's interest.

3. Give your opinion of what you are reviewing linked to the question in the second paragraph. Remember a review is not just a list of facts - it's largely your opinion.

4. Give more details of what your are reviewing linked to the questions in the input in one or two more paragraphs, but only focus on those you've been asked to develop.

5. Summarise your view, using different words from the introduction, and include a recommendation.

Write a first draft for this prompt. You have about 20 minutes to do so, if you are done early: find someone who is also done already and see if you can help each other make your review better. 

Using the assignment