As evidenced by Blogcritics itself, reviews make great blog posts. We mustn't forget though, that for bloggers, reviews aren't only a novel answer to the perpetual conundrum of “what shall I write about today?” but also a cool way to attract readers. Lots of people want to know if the new U2 record (for example) is any good, so why not write to cater for an audience that’s already there?
Furthermore, if you write an interesting and comprehensive article, it's just the sort of thing that readers will bookmark for later reference, e-mail to friends or link to from their own blogs. This is especially true for high-investment purchases like technology or household electronics. A detailed review can even mean you or your blog become recognised as an authority on the subject.
But how to write those great reviews? I’ve been reviewing music for ages, and apart from trying to read as much of my fellow reviewers' work, both at Blogcritics and elsewhere, I always try to stick to these 10 rules. Although they’re from a music journalism point of view, they’ll work for most subjects.
1. Ask yourself “what does the reader want to know?”
This is the most important thing to remember when writing a review. You can craft the wittiest prose with the cleverest metaphors, but unless the reader finds out what they want to know, you’ve not done your job as a reviewer.
Think of the sort of questions they’re likely to be asking themselves – these will vary depending on what you’re writing about: “Is this book a light, enjoyable read for on the beach?”, “Why should I upgrade to Windows Vista?”, or even “Does Justin Timberlake’s new CD have anything on it as good as 'Cry Me A River'?”
Find that one question, and make the sole aim of your article to answer it.
2. Decide on the overall point you want to get across to the reader.
If you know your subject matter well (which, as a reviewer, you should do), you’ll no doubt have a whole ream of opinions, both good and bad, that you can knock back and forth like a review-writing game of tennis. All those viewpoints can get confusing, so simplify it.
Decide on an overall basic opinion of the product, such as “A hilarious, if overlong movie – just don’t expect anything groundbreaking”, and use that as a framework for your review. Hang everything else off this one idea. How does the movie’s acting influence this opinion? Why isn’t the plot that groundbreaking?
Article comments
1 - Heather Ames
Lots of good advice, Jonathan. I'd better take one last look at my latest review to see if I stepped into any of the pitfalls you listed.
2 - Matt Paprocki
"A good rule of thumb is to try not to say “I” at all."
Yes, thank you. Nothing irritates me more than when I see "In my opinion" or "I felt" when reading a review. Do we not know that these are your personal thoughts from the word "review" in the title?
3 - Ray Ellis
Agreed, Matt. I've said this before, but you should strike "in my opinion" from your vocabulary--and not just in reviews. The phrase is either apologetic, showing your own insecurities--or condescending, as if you're talking down to your audience. They already know it's your opinion!
On the other hand, I see nothing wrong with peppering a piece with personal experience when appropriate. It makes the review more personable, and makes the reader feel like the reviewer is an okay guy, rather than an elitist foaming at the mouth.
4 - Pico
so says Ray Ellis:
"On the other hand, I see nothing wrong with peppering a piece with personal experience when appropriate. It makes the review more personable, and makes the reader feel like the reviewer is an okay guy, rather than an elitist foaming at the mouth."
I agree with this statement. Go read Mark Saleski's reviews, he does this all the time. They make his articles more like reading a story, and judging from the comments he gets, readers respond positively to that.
His latest article, published yesterday, barely mentions the Rush record he reviewed but the conversation he instigated is lively and very much on topic.
In my opinion (I know, I know), #4 should be "don't write about yourself, *unless* you can effectively relate your personal experience to the subject matter."
Aside from that, I think the tips were quite useful. I'll keep these in mind for my own writings. Thanks.
5 - Mark Saleski
Don’t write about yourself; it’s about the band, book, movie or whatever you’re reviewing.
BLASPHEMY!!!
;-)
seriously though (and gees pico, thanks for the kind words), look at somebody like Lester Bangs. i mean, not only did he sometimes write about himself, he wrote about...well, at times i didn't know what the hell he was getting at!
this isn't to say that i write the way i do because of Bangs, it just feels natural to me. i'm sure there are people out there who don't like it. so be it. i can't please everybody.
6 - Miss Cordy
I like this a lot, Jonathan. I think you hit on all of the major aspects of writing a review. I know I have a problem with being a bit too flowery when writing reviews (I used to write movie and TV reviews for my local newspaper), so I'm trying really hard to get better. Your piece will help me with that, so thanks!
Of course, if you want to add a bunch of extra stuff, you'd probably prefer writing recaps rather than strict reviews, which is what I'm trying.