Writing a review for the Cambridge exam requires that you employ a variety of

language functions. Cambridge specifically refer to describing, narrating and

evaluating. You should be sure to consider these functions when preparing.

Question The Review CPE Part 2 Writing

Write your answer to the following question in 280 320 words in an appropriate style.
A literary magazine is running a series of reviews of books that people enjoyed reading as a child
and would recommend for children today. You decide to send in a review in which you describe
a book you enjoyed and the attractions it had for you as a child. You should also describe why
you feel it remains relevant for children today.

Sample Answer
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Few books since have captivated me the way Oscar Wildes Happy Prince and Other Stories
did when I was a child. One of my fondest childhood memories is my mother reading aloud to me
from a beautifully illustrated copy at bedtime and trying her hardest to patiently answer my
questions about the stories meanings. The book was full of moral messages which Wilde
managed to deliver in a way that was infinitely more subtle than anything else I had read or
been read until that point.
My favourite story was entitled The Nightingale and the Rose. It tells of a student who was in
love with a girl from high society. The girl promises the student that she will accompany him to a
dance the following day if he brings her a red rose. A nightingale overhears the student
declaring his deep love for the girl while lamenting the absence in his garden of the red rose that
would win her heart. Moved by the boys love for the girl, the nightingale asks all the rosebushes
to produce a red rose for him, finally sacrificing his own life to produce one coloured by his own
blood. The student picks the rose and presents it to his love, only for her to reject him having
been offered jewels by another suitor.
Wildes commentary on materialism and the nature of love are complex themes for young minds.
Nevertheless, it was through discussing these ideas with my mother that I was able to truly
engage with the morality of the story. Until then, most fiction I had been exposed to presented its
moral messages in far more obvious terms. I believe that the level of critical thought required to
understand Wildes work makes books such as The Happy Prince so much richer than most
other childrens literature and this need is as pressing today as it was when I was a child.
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