8evlews

ueflnlLlon
A !"#$"% ls an arLlcle ln a newspaper or
magazlne ln whlch someone glves Lhelr vlews
on a book, play, fllm, 1v programme, eLc.
urpose
!
lacLual lnformaLlon abouL Lhe sub[ecL.


!
Cplnlon Lo help Lhe reader.
SLrucLure
8ead Lhe LexLs and guess Lhe sLrucLure
SLrucLure
!
Cvervlew.
!
ros and Cons.
!
verdlcL.
SLrucLure: Cvervlew
! uescrlpLlon of Lhe sub[ecL.
BOOK PLAY / FILM / PROGRAMME
Non-fiction Fiction
" What is it about?
" Is there anything special or unusual about the
production?
" What is it about?
" Who is it for?
" How technical is it?
" How is it organised?
" What topics are
covered?
" What special features
are there?
" How much does it cost?
" What kind of book is it
(thriller, historical novel,
science fiction)?
" Is it different in any way
from other books of this
type?
" What is the story (just an
outline, dont give the
ending away!)?
Play / Film TV Programme
" Where is it on?
" Are there well-known
actors?
" Who is the director?
" Which channel?
" Is it part of a series?
" Who is the producer?
SLrucLure: Cvervlew
Some oLher facLual deLalls LhaL could be lncluded:

! 1he LlLle of Lhe book, fllm, Cu, concerL.
! 1he Lype of book, fllm, Cu, eLc.: love sLory, Lhrlller, 8ock 'n'
8oll.
! 1he lnLended audlence: adulLs, Leenagers.
! 1he auLhor, dlrecLor, maln acLors, slnger, group.
! 1he publlsher, Lhe clnema, channel, label, venue.
! 1he prlce.
SLrucLure: Cvervlew
Some oLher oplnlon deLalls LhaL could be lncluded:

! A raLlng based on Lhe sLar sysLem.
SLrucLure: ros and Cons
!
ueLalled commenLs on Lhe (un)successful
feaLures of Lhe sub[ecL: sLrengLhs and
weaknesses.
!
Cb[ecLlve vlews (based on facLs).
!
Sub[ecLlve vlews (based on personal feellngs).
!
Clve clear reasons for your commenLs.
!
1ry Lo be balanced and noL compleLely one-
slded.
SLrucLure: verdlcL
!
Summlng-up and recommendaLlons.
!
Make lL clear wheLher you:
- 8ecommend Lhe sub[ecL wlLhouL any reservaLlons.
- 8ecommend Lhe sub[ecL wlLh 1 or 2 reservaLlons.
- uon'L recommend Lhe sub[ecL aL all.
!
8eaders ofLen look aL Lhe lasL paragraph.
WrlLlng SLraLegy
Planning your writing in advance will help
you organise your ideas in the most logical
way and save you time in the exam:

A. Brainstorming of ideas.

B. Paragraph structure.

C. Useful language.
8ralnsLormlng Language
! Spooky ghosL sLory.
! See lL! - besL fllm of Lhe year.
! CreaL acLlng.
! Slmple ploL - well-sLrucLured.
! nk plays Crace - husband away aL Lhe war.
! C's 2 chlldren have mysLerlous lllness - are hypersenslLlve Lo
llghL eerle aLmosphere.
! Slow movlng - keeps you ln suspense.
! 1hree servanLs - arrlve from nowhere ! sLrange evenLs.
! now released on uvu.
! nk's 24Lh fllm.
!
"
#
%
&
"
#
'
(
b
y
A
. A
m
e
n

b
a
r
ueclde on Lhe besL order
!
Recommendation

!
Plot summary

!
Opinion in detail: positive and negative
points

!
Title or type of film / overall impression

aragraph lannlng

1. A brlef lnLroducLlon and background, lncludlng
Lhe genre (Lype) and reasons you chose Lo revlew
Lhls parLlcular LlLle.
2. A descrlpLlon of Lhe maln characLers and Lhelr
relaLlonshlps Lo one anoLher.
3. A summary of Lhe ploL, lncludlng sLrengLhs and
weaknesses.
4. A personal oplnlon and summary of who else
mlghL llke Lo read, see or play lL.
aragraph lannlng: comparlng
lan A
1. lnLroducLlon
2. Compare and conLrasL
(e.g. conLenL / sLyle /
lnLended audlence)
3. Compare and conLrasL
(e.g. quallLy)
4. Summary and
recommendaLlon
Plan B
1. Introduction
2. Discuss first item
3. Discuss second item
4. Summary and
recommendation
useful Language
!
SLrucLure.
Cvervlew.
ros and Cons.
verdlcL.
!
ConLenL.
Comparlng and conLrasLlng.
8alanclng an oplnlon.
Lxpresslng preferences.
Summarlslng.
useful Language: SLrucLure
!
Cvervlew (1):
useful Language: SLrucLure
!
Cvervlew (2):

lL ls publlshed by.
lL ls lllusLraLed by.
lL Lells Lhe sLory of.
1he ploL cenLres on.
1hls ls a love sLory / a Lhrlller / a classlc.
1he sLory ls seL ln.
1he book ls abouL.
useful Language: SLrucLure
!
ros and Cons (1):
useful Language: SLrucLure
! ros and Cons (2):

lL ls exLremely readable/raLher heavy
lL ls a beauLlfully wrlLLen novel
lL ls exLremely well-wrlLLen / l dldn'L llke Lhe way lL was wrlLLen.
lL ls really lmaglnaLlve / full of suspense / LhoughL-provoklng.
arLs of Lhe book are very funny / sad / exclLlng..
1he characLers are very llfe-llke / noL very convlnclng.
1he endlng ls really unexpecLed / surprlslng / splne-chllllng / funny.
l found Lhe endlng a blL borlng / predlcLable / dlsappolnLlng.
useful Language: SLrucLure
!
verdlcL:
ln Lhe end
ln Lhe lasL analysls,
Cn balance,
ln concluslon
1o sum up
l really recommend lL.
lL ls well-worLh readlng!
useful Language: ConLenL
!
Comparlng and conLrasLlng:
x ls a blL / conslderably more orlglnal Lhan.
x lsn'L qulLe as good as.
Whlle / Whereas x ls., ? ls.
nelLher. / 8oLh.
useful Language: ConLenL
! 8alanclng an oplnlon:
l found (Lhe lyrlcs lncomprehenslble aL Llmes / Lhe hosL
lnfurlaLlng), buL. / Powever, .
AlLhough (Lhe lead slnger has a greaL volce / Lhe show ls a
blg hlL wlLh Lhe publlc), .
Lven so, (her performance wlll sLay ln Lhe memory for a
long Llme / Lhe show makes greaL famlly vlewlng).
uesplLe Lhls / ln splLe of Lhls / And yeL (l en[oyed nearly
every Lrack on lL / lL doesn'L really spoll Lhe programme).
Cn Lhe oLher hand, (l wouldn'L go ouL of my way Lo buy lL /
Lhe concepL doesn'L really work).
useful Language: ConLenL
!
Lxpresslng preferences:
lf l had Lo choose one.
l'd raLher. Lhan.
l much prefer.
Clve me. any day!
useful Language: ConLenL
!
Summarlslng:
So, (Lwo dlfferenL arLlsLs buL).
All ln all, lf you're golng Lo buy one dlsc / waLch
one programme Lhls week).
CulLe slmply, (Lhls ls Lhe besL.)
useful Language: lllm 8evlews
! 1he fllm ls dlrecLed / produced by.
! lL ls seL ln.
! lL sLars.
! 1he role of x ls played by.
! lL porLrays / shows.
! lL conveys a sense of.
! x glves a superb / Lhrllllng / dlsappolnLlng
performance.
! l can Lhoroughly recommend.
! l found Lhe ploL raLher weak / unconvlnclng
8emember
! Audlence:
Who wlll read your revlew?
Who ls llkely Lo read lL?

! SLyle:
WhaL sLyle ls approprlaLe for your readers?
ls Lhe language mosLly formal or lnformal?

! lacLual lnformaLlon:
1he LlLle of Lhe book, fllm, Cu, concerL.
1he Lype of book, fllm, Cu, eLc.: love sLory, Lhrlller, 8ock 'n' 8oll.
1he lnLended audlence: adulLs, Leenagers.
1he auLhor, dlrecLor, maln acLors, slnger group.
1he publlsher, Lhe clnema, channel, label, venue.
1he prlce.
Lxerclse #1 - 8aslc vocabulary:
8ook, lay or lllm?
LxLras characLers a classlc a scene
1he auLhor a sLar a performance
A Lhrlller Lhe ploL a flop a chapLer
A role a scrlpL a masLerplece an acL
A box-offlce hlL Lhe sLage
Lxerclse #1 - 8aslc vocabulary: 8ook, lay or
lllm?
Book Play Film











Lxerclse #1 - 8aslc vocabulary: 8ook, lay or
lllm?
Book Play Film
Characters
A classic
A best-seller
The author
A thriller
The plot
A chapter
A masterpiece
A classic
A scene
The cast
The author
A star
A performance
The plot
A script
A masterpiece
A box-office hit
The stage
An act
Extras
A scene
The cast
A star
A thriller
The plot
A flop
A script
A masterpiece
A box-office hit
Lxerclse #2 - LvaluaLlon:
oslLlve or negaLlve phrases?
(parLlcularly) memorable (enLlrely) predlcLable (Lruly) orlglnal
(really) llvely (excruclaLlngly) borlng (LoLally) unconvlnclng
over Lhe Lop (exLremely) popular rlveLlng (vlewlng)
(almosL) lnaudlble (lncredlbly) sLyllsh (vasLly) overraLed
enLerLalnlng (profoundly) movlng (qulLe) sophlsLlcaLed (absoluLely)
hllarlous (refreshlngly) dlfferenL
(a blL) flaL (beauLlfully) recorded
Lxerclse #2 - LvaluaLlon:
oslLlve or negaLlve phrases?
Positive Negative
Lxerclse #2 - LvaluaLlon:
oslLlve or negaLlve phrases?
Positive Negative
(particularly) memorable
(truly) original
(really) lively
(extremely) popular
riveting (viewing)
(incredibly) stylish
entertaining
(profoundly) moving
(quite) sophisticated
(absolutely) hilarious
(refreshingly) different
(beautifully) recorded
(entirely) predictable
(excruciatingly) boring
(totally) unconvincing
over the top
(almost) inaudible
(vastly) overrated
(a bit) flat
Lxerclse #3 - Analysls:
1hree 8evlews
1. Which review contains the most factual
information?
2. Which expresses strong personal
opinions?
3. Which do you think is the most balanced?
4. Which review is the most formal?
5. How could you describe the style of
review A?
Lxerclse #4 - use of Ad[ecLlves:
1wo 8evlews
1. Which writer uses adjectives to describe
plot and characters?

2. Which writer does not repeat any
adjectives?
Lxerclse #3 - lnLenslfylng meanlng:
A fllm revlew
1. Divide the paragraphs and label them.
2. Answer the following questions:
" What does the writer compare the story to?
" What does the writer compare some scenes to?
" Which words are used to describe:
! The visual imagery?
! The atmosphere?
! The acting?
! The plot and the ending?
" What tense does the writer use to describe the story?
Lxerclse #6 - WrlLlng a revlew
8evlews