The Review
Plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts, organising and expanding ideas, and selecting text structures, language features, literary devices and visual features for purposes and audiences.
A review is a judgement backed by evidence. Summarising the plot is the trap — a review that only retells is not a review.
Method
Judgement, not summary
No more than a quarter of a review should describe what happens. The rest is evaluation.
No spoilers
Never give away the ending. A review helps someone decide whether to go.
Every opinion needs an example
‘The acting was excellent’ earns nothing. Name the actor and the scene.
Worked example
e.g. Write a review of a film, book or performance for the school magazine.
- A headline that carries an opinion, not just a title.A small film that earns its big ending
- A by-line — your name.by Aisha Nkomo
- Opening — name the work, the maker and the type, and hint at your verdict.The Long Way Round, directed by Kim Lee, is a quiet road film that takes its time.
- A short outline. Enough to follow, and no ending.Two estranged brothers drive from Cairns to Perth to sell their late father's car.
- What worked — with a specific example.The scene at the roadhouse is played almost without dialogue, and is the strongest in the film.
- What did not work — with a specific example. A review with no criticism is an advertisement.The middle hour repeats itself, and the soundtrack often tells you what to feel.
- The verdict, and who it is for.Worth seeing if you like slow, character-led stories. Impatient viewers should skip it.
Practice
Turn each empty judgement into one that could score.
1
‘The acting was really good.’ Rewrite it so it earns a mark.
AnswerPriya Raman plays the older brother almost entirely through silence; in the roadhouse scene she conveys forty years of resentment without speaking a line.
2
A learner's review spends two-thirds of the word count retelling the plot. What has gone wrong?
AnswerThey have written a summary. A review is judged on evaluation, so most of those words earn nothing. Cut the plot to two or three sentences.
3
Why must a review include something negative?
AnswerBecause a judgement with no weighing is not a judgement. Naming a weakness shows you have measured the work rather than simply enjoyed it.
4
Who is a review written for, and how does that change the ending?
AnswerFor someone deciding whether to read, watch or attend. So the last line should say who would like it — not just whether you did.