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Book Review
A Good Book Review
 The first part follows the title and author.
 In the 1st part, you will need to include the genre, and what type of people the book is
geared towards
 In the 2nd part you want to include your personal opinions about the book and how
parts relate to your personal life.
 This part is strictly about you and your thoughts, and enjoyments
The last required paragraph talk about the following;
 Author
 Author’s purpose
 Awards Book Has Received
 Additional Info About The Book
 Closing
Film review
The essentials of a good movie review should comprise of the following.
 The first essential and obvious step is to watch the movie.
 Sometimes some movies have to be watched a number of times in order to fully

understand them.
 While watching a movie one should take down notes of the important scenes,
conversations from the movie.
 This is an essential step as there is a chance that one might forget about an
important scene from the movie
 Secondly, give the name, the director, the lead actors and the genre details of the
movie.
 The skill of the director in handling the movie, the acting skills displayed by the
lead actors in the movie and their prior works and achievements has to be
mentioned
 Secondly, give the name, the director, the lead actors and the genre details of the
movie.
 The skill of the director in handling the movie, the acting skills displayed by the
lead actors in the movie and their prior works and achievements has to be
mentioned
 Mention some details about the plot of the movie.
 Briefly describe about how the movie begins, how the movie takes off, how the
pace of the movie is and how it ends.
 Just be brief and do not try getting into too many details. Just two paragraphs
will suffice.
 In order that a good review should come out try giving your personal opinion
about the movie as well.
 This will make your essay unique.
 Giving personal opinions about movies or books is always welcome, but do not
forget that if personal opinions are to be avoided, avoid them.
 Mention about the technical aspects of the movie like the visual design, special
effects, the screenplay, the camera work, the lighting, etc.
 If the movie is based on real story then mention how accurate the movie is
chronologically regarding the events.
 Try and compare the movie with similar movies.
 There will be a greater chance of critical evaluation once the movie is compared
with similar movies.
 The last step is editing and proof reading what you have written.
 Editing and proof reading is important as there is always a scope for

improvement.
Writing Theatre Reviews
Theatre reviews are written to convey your insights into the artistic merits of a
play or production. Before attending a dramatic performance, there are a number of
questions you might consider. Please remember to provide specific examples to back
up your claims. In order to write a good review, it is important to stay focused.
SUMMARIZING THE PLAY
Readers want to be able to “visualize” the play that you are reviewing, so you need to
provide a brief summary based on the focus of your review. That is, you need to
include the details that are pertinent to YOUR review, not every detail. If you want to
comment on how an actor represented a character, for example, then make sure you tell
us about that character and his or her role in the play. But we don’t need to know about
every character. The length of this summary will depend on your assignment (if you
have one), but a good rule of thumb is that the summary should represent no more than
1/4 to 1/3 of the text of your review.
For a general summary, here are some questions to get your started. You will not need
to answer all of them. What is the play called? Who is the director? Where is it
playing? For how long? Who wrote it? Who are the main actors, the supporting actors?
Who are the main characters of the play? Most of this technical and biographical
information is included in the playbill, so make sure you keep it if you’re planning on
writing a review. What is the play about? What are the main ideas it presents, the
issues it confronts? Is the play typical of one particular genre? Is it a comedy? A
tragedy? A combination of both? Does it fall under the category of “theatre of the
absurd” or “postmodern” or “First Nations’ Theatre”? Does it make a mockery of the
genre or deconstruct it? In answering these questions, you are also asking whether the
play undermines the viewer’s assumptions, what the viewer might be expecting from
the play, and how that is fulfilled or challenged.
ANALYZING THE PLAY
To write a good review of anything, you must be able to take a critical position. This
can be positive, negative, “apparently indifferent,” or some combination of these, but
where you stand on certain issues should be clear to your reader. You might consider
what’s missing, what’s worth seeing, what it is you value the most. There are a few
different approaches to critically evaluating a theatrical performance. The following
will give you some ideas of where to start:
What effect does the play/performance have on the viewer?
Is it compelling? Difficult? Overwhelming? Dry? Humourous? Cryptic? Stale? Dark?

Invigorating? Gossipy? Mechanical? Predictable? Sophisticated? Devastating? Too
civilized? Too abrasive? Too subtle? Does it “throw a lot at you”? “Violate your
senses?” “Invoke a furious response”?
If the play was based on a novel or film, how does it compare?
Was the script written by the author of the original text? Is the script faithful to the
original text? Has the play been made into a film. How does the screenplay compare to
the stage production? If you have read the script before you attend the performance, it
might be a good idea to analyze the performance in light of the written text. Does the
performance realize its potential? Do the actors fit the description of the characters you
had in mind?
How does the play fit into the overall portfolio of an actor, director or producer?
How does this performance compare to other work you’ve seen by this person? Is it
similar or different from the kind of work they do in general?
How does the form of the play contribute to its success/failure?
If you’ve got the necessary background, you might want ask yourself how the
blocking, lighting, stage design, and costumes influence the outcome of the play. You
might also analyze an actor’s use of gesture and voice. Or you might consider whether
the script is complicated or complemented through the use of special effects,
flashbacks, recurring image motifs, lights, staging, or other visual schema? If you
choose to analyze the formal qualities of a production, you must take your audience
into account. Will they be familiar with the terminology you are using? If not, it will be
important to provide some definitions or use more general language.

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Book Review

A Good Book Review

 The first part follows the title and author.

The last required paragraph talk about the following;

 Awards Book Has Received

 Additional Info About The Book

The essentials of a good movie review should comprise of the following.

 The first essential and obvious step is to watch the movie.

 Sometimes some movies have to be watched a number of times in order to fully

 Mention some details about the plot of the movie.

 This will make your essay unique.

 Try and compare the movie with similar movies.

 Editing and proof reading is important as there is always a scope for

Writing Theatre Reviews

SUMMARIZING THE PLAY

ANALYZING THE PLAY

What effect does the play/performance have on the viewer?

Is it compelling? Difficult? Overwhelming? Dry? Humourous? Cryptic? Stale? Dark?

If the play was based on a novel or film, how does it compare?

How does the form of the play contribute to its success/failure?

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