REVIEW

• Purpose of a review
The purpose of any review is to talk about a topic in detail, this could be anything from a
book or a film to a product or a hotel. Reviews should entertain the reader while also being
informative.

• Language
The language can be neutral or even a little informal. You should address the reader
directly, in the second person, and you can use humour if you think it’s appropriate.

• Structure
Every review needs a title. This should be as catchy as possible, to grab the reader’s
attention from the beginning. In the introduction, you should introduce what you are talking
about in a leisurely way, trying to entertain the reader. Each paragraph between the
introduction and the conclusion should deal with a different aspect. And you should wait
until the conclusion to make a recommendation.

• Giving your opinion

In a review you are expected to give your opinion throughout the whole writing, although
the recommendation is expected to happen at the end. A review is very personal, so you
can use first-person sentences freely.

• Common topics
Review tasks usually ask you to write about restaurants, books, films, series, musical
events, plays, hotels etc.

• Things to include

GRAMMAR CONNECTORS
- Phrasal verbs (Don’t be put off by…) Firstly/Secondly/Last but by no means least
- Inversion (Not only is/does/will/has/can
it …. But also…) Additionally/Besides/On top of that
- Double comparative (the more….the
more…) As for/Apart from/Regarding
- 2nd/3rd conditional (if + past simple +
would/if + past perfect + would have + All in all/ In a nutshell/To sum up/On the whole
past participle)
- Idioms (It’s the best thing since sliced
bread)
 REVIEW TEMPLATE
Making a review template is a lot tougher than the other types of writing as we don’t know what thing we
will have to review. Make sure you make a note of some good phrases and expressions that you can
memorise to repeat in the exam.
Here’s an example:

I (verb in past simple) ________ for the first time last week and found that it
was simply the (superlative) ______ I have ever (past participle).

Firstly, _______

Secondly, the most incredible thing about this _____ is ________.

In a nutshell, I would have no hesitation in recommending this ____ to

anyone who ____. So what are you waiting for? Go out and try this
______, it’s the best thing since sliced bread.

It is important that you don’t just copy and paste the above structure. You MUST make your own. Try it
here:
One of the most outstanding books I’ve ever read was
"Marty in the future" by Jack Stauber. It is a science-fiction
novel which tells the tale of Marty and Doc, a young boy and
a crazy scientist. This novel provides a fascinating insight
into the future as Doc creates a car to travel in time and both
characters have mesmerizing adventures travelling from
1985 to 2015.

When I first read this book, I couldn’t put it down because I

was pleasantly surprised by the intriguing plot. You’ll never
be able to guess what is going to happen in the next
chapter, and that’s why I was hooked. Not only does this
novel make you laugh, it also makes you fall in love with
Marty, who has to solve a few problems when he arrives in
2015.

In conclusion, without a shadow of a doubt, I would highly

recommend reading this novel for anyone who is into
science-fiction. Don’t be put off by the number of pages
because it has an innovative plot that will have you in
stitches, so I strongly advise you to go out and buy it!