The thing to remember though is not to do it too much, as it’s easy to end up writing more about other products than the one you’re meant to be reviewing. This is something beginners tend to do a lot – many of my early music reviews read like a who’s who of the genre (probably in an attempt to show off my knowledge!), so watch out for it.
8. Strong quotable sentences are great, but let them come naturally.
One of the best ways to learn to write good reviews is to read professional ones, and try to imitate them. What bits of their style do you like? What ideas can you borrow? One of the dangers of this though is that you can easily write reviews full of the sort of phrases that appear on movie posters – “a rip-roaring thrill ride for all the family!”.
Needless to say, clichés like that should be avoided at all costs. And even if they’re not clichés, such sentences can often be superficial. So don’t go looking for them. If they genuinely serve a purpose and help you say what you want to say, then great. But if you’re just writing something because it sounds like a movie poster quote, then really it’s just a platitude.
Having said that, if you do come up with a killer quote, you may want to consider using it as your review's headline; Freelance Switch outlines the importance of "writing headlines that kill" in order to attract readers.
9. Be specific!
Used in conjunction with the tips on comparison (above) and stating the obvious (below), this can be one of the things that really makes your review a resource that people are going to return to months, or even years, after you’ve written it.
Much of this applies to reviews of events: touring bands, theatre shows etc. It’s easy to write a cookie-cutter review of a gig that does a good job of describing the music and the songs that were played. But be specific: what happened on the night you saw the show that will differentiate your review from that of anyone who saw the show on a different night? For example, in live music reviews, try and include a notable quote from the stage. Mention the atmosphere. What about context: has the artist been in the news recently? If you're reviewing a pop star's first show after a big court case, this could even form part of your unique selling point, as described above.
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.