Writing arts
and entertainment reviews
If you
like reading books, watching movies or listening to a great cd,
then the entertainment beat is for you.! |
|
But in order to write a review that will
make an impact on the reader, you need to include a bit more
than your thoughts and opinions.
What is a
review?
The
review follows a basic structure, which can be used to critique
any kind of artistic activity whether it's a book or writing
of any kind, live performance (dance, music or theatre), recorded
music (cds), or visual art.
Opening Paragraph.
In the opening paragraph,
the reviewer offers a description of the book, cd, play, movie
or concert and explains whether it was a positive or negative
experience to watch, read or listen to it. This is the reviewer's
thesis or the main argument they would like to make about this
work.
Body.
In the next few paragraphs of the essay, the
reviewer sets out to prove that thesis. If the book or movie
was excellent, the reviewer will focus on the elements that make
it work so well, including characters, scenes, dialogue, description,
pace, plot line, and theme. If it was flawed in some way, the
reviewer will try to establish that by offering evidence of those
flaws. The same is true for music -- if the reviewer says this
is a group's best album in years, then he or she needs to offer
some reasons and some examples of why this is true.
The End.
At the end, the writer
leaves the reader with an overall opinion of the work in question
and a recommendation on whether or not the book, movie or cd
is worth their time and money. The reviewer may discuss some
of the thoughts and feelings he or she was left with after this
work.
Here are
some tips on writing a great review:
- Don't re-tell the entire story when reviewing a play, novel
or movie. You can usually give the reader a sense of what the
plot is in a few sentences. Then, you can move on and explore
the way the writer handled the story and what the writer did
to make the characters and story come alive.
- Don't tell the reader that the play was great, the concert
was boring or the book was exciting. Show them why you think
that way by giving examples from the work itself and offering
reasons for your opinion.
- Compare and contrast the book (or cd or play) in question
to others in its genre to give your reader a sense of how it
stacks up. If you are reviewing a cd by a new singer/songwriter,
you may want to compare their music to an artist that your readers
will be familiar with.
- Do a little research about the artist to give yourself a
better sense of who they are and why they write, paint or sing.
Those details may add to your review and give your readers a
full appreciation of the work and the artist.
- Once you have written a review, you can share it with a wider
audience through your school newspaper.