Non-Fiction Writing Lesson 7

Reviews
 Learning Objective
To write engaging and effective reviews.

Success Criteria
• To understand the importance of explanations and analysis.
• To apply some apt language techniques.
• To practise our proofreading and editing skills.
 All the World’s a Critic
From Rate My Plate to TripAdvisor, the Internet invites us all to be reviewers.

Pause for Thought

Is this a good thing?
Shouldn’t reviews be
left to the experts?

List five things that you either

have reviewed or could review.
 Which?
Audiences rely on both professional critics and user reviews to guide their own
decision-making.

Which of these is the most useful or influential review (and why)?

Horribly anti-climactic.
The unwieldy structure and
inability to deliver on what
Brilliant was promised early on leaves
paying customers feeling
cheated. And then there’s
the cost!
 Anatomy of a Review

Review noun/verb
Provide your definition.

review = opinion + analysis

This is highly recommended because

If either element is missing then it’s not a review.

Bitesize Reviews
Social media has made ‘word of mouth’
more powerful.
Twitter is limited to 280 characters, which
doesn’t allow for detail but does help
focus the mind on what matters most.

Write a bitesize review

(maximum 50 words) of
an item of your choice.
Hint: Newspaper review sections typically
include TV, film, books, music and dining.
 Professional TV Watcher
Prior to writing and producing his own
TV shows, Charlie Brooker was paid to
watch and review a lot of other people’s. Phoebe and Joey leave the building,
How does he make his
review engaging?
Use your notes from Headline
Writing and Opinions to help.
My Friends shame
As Chandler, Rachel, Ross, Monica,
Charlie Brooker reveals how he tried -
really tried - to loathe them
"I'll be there for you..." Not any more
you won't. Wave goodbye to your
Friends (Fri, 9pm, C4) because they're
about to vanish forever. Apart from
Joey, who's poised to enter the spin-off
dimension, presumably in a show that
consists entirely of him crying alone in
an empty room.
In case you're a rabid fan who's spent
the past fortnight trying to avoid
finding out what happens in this final
episode, don't worry - I won't blow any
"surprises" here, so relax. Breathe out.
Unbutton yourself. Not that much.
The Guardian, May 2004
 It’s always nice to have

Supersize Reviews help clearing up.

Swap work with a partner and
provide editorial feedback.
Enlarge and add relish to your
bitesize reviews by applying some
of these techniques:

• Alliteration
• Emotive language
• Wordplay
• Exclamation
• Hyperbole
• Rhetorical questions
• Direct address
• Personalisation
• Expert opinion
• Humour

Remember, proofreading is
like cleaning up after yourself.
 Takeaways
What is your main takeaway from this lesson?
Write it on your Tracking Sheet and grade your level of
knowledge and understanding.
Then share your takeaway with the person on either side of you.
Are they the same? Explain your reasoning to each other.