Writing a Review

A review can be used to promote a book, movie, special event or even a product on the market. In class, we went over some of the characteristics of writing a review. Regardless of what you are trying to convince your public to try (or to avoid as the case may be), there are a few ways you can make the review more effective.

You do not need to necessarily use all of these, just the ones you feel will be effective or that will apply to your piece. In this list, I am focusing on the book review but many of these characteristics can equally be applied to other types of reviews. Here are some of the features we came up with during our brainstorming session.

1. Be sure to include the title and author. You may choose to include the year of publication if it is relevant to your review.

2. Talk about the characters if they are the reason the book is worth promoting. Can you relate to them? What makes them special or memorable?

3. Is there something special about the way the book is written? Does the author have a special style or a voice that makes the story come alive?

4. Ask questions. Try to involve your reader to give him or her an idea of what they might think about in this book. Try to help them imagine the circumstances they will encounter in the story. Second person narrative works well with this. Talk directly to your reader.

5. Identify the target audience. Who is the book written for? Who would it appeal to?

6. Give the book a rating. What grade does it deserve? It is not necessary to do this, but it is an option.

7. Talk about the themes from the book. Are there certain themes that may appeal to the reader? Will it appeal to teenagers because of the constant battle they face with finding their identity? Or does it delve into the mysteries of the past, teaching you about history through a fictional story?

8. Your review should be two to three paragraphs. It certainly can be longer, but this is a guideline for your first attempt at a review. The first might talk about the book and the second might focus on your response to what you have read. Be sure to break your ideas into paragraphs and to have at least two of them.

If you feel I should add more ideas to this list, feel free to leave them in the comments and I will be sure to consider them. Thanks for reading. I am looking forward to seeing what you review and which new books I will add to my "Books I Want to Read" list.