Cambridge IGCSE™

Cambridge IGCSE / IGCSE (9–1) English as a Second

Language 0510/0511 \ 0993/0991 (for examination from 2024)

Writing a review
Overview
The main purpose of a review is to give your opinion about something (e.g. a film, website, video game, product,
restaurant, concert, etc.) and to say whether you would recommend it to the readers and why. The review needs to
engage the audience from the beginning to the end and there should be a conclusion. Unlike in a report, candidates can
be subjective and give their own opinions in the answer to the exam question – this can include both positive and
negative opinions. The review should include all relevant details. The review will include examples and evidence to
support the opinions expressed, e.g. give an example of good (or bad) acting.

Content
Content covers:
• Task fulfilment (i.e. whether the piece fulfills the task, how relevant the content is and an awareness of style,
register, purpose and audience).
• Development of ideas (i.e. the detail/explanation provided).

Language
Language covers:
• Range (i.e. complexity of grammatical and lexical structures).
• Accuracy (i.e. the level of grammatical and lexical accuracy, the type of errors and whether these impede
communication).
• Organisation (i.e. whether ideas are organised and sequenced effectively, the range of linking words/phrases
and other cohesive devices).

Tips for writing a review

Language
• think about the audience that the review is for
• the tone of the review can be personal and informal
• if writing for adults, the style may be more formal than if writing for teenagers
• your review should be informative, persuasive, and engaging
• a review should include functional language to express the following:
° to inform (give details about, e.g. the location, the author, what something looks like, etc.)
° to analyse (give opinions about the positive and/or negative points)
° to advise (make a final judgement and provide recommendations to the reader).
• the review should also include topic related vocabulary (e.g. films, restaurants, concerts, etc.)
• avoid writing very simple sentences with simple repetitive vocabulary (e.g. nice).
Organisation
A review should be divided into paragraphs. Link the ideas in each paragraph using a range of linking
words/phrases appropriate for this style (e.g. what’s more, that’s why, as well as, etc.).
One way to structure your review is to:
• provide information about what is being reviewed (e.g. a course, something you’ve bought, a
museum, an event you went to, etc.)
• give your opinions and/or highlight interesting points about some aspects (e.g. the facilities of a
museum, the special effects in a film, the quality of food/service in a restaurant, etc.)
• give your final opinion and recommendations.

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Example task
This is an example of a Paper 1 Exercise 6 task. We have annotated the question below with some guidance
for candidates to help them prepare their answer and encourage them to focus on what the question is asking for. This
information is not given to candidates in the examination.

The purpose of this review is

to write about a new shopping
Once you have read through the task and all the instructions, you centre. The reader should be
should also read the comments. Before you start writing, plan how informed about what you think
many paragraphs you will need and what ideas you want to include in the positive and negative points
each paragraph. are and whether you would
recommend the shopping
centre.

You recently visited a new shopping centre in your town. You have decided to
write a review of the centre for your school magazine.
Other students
from your school
Here are some comments about the new shopping centre from other young people:
are the intended
audience for this
the review.
Everything seems
It’s easy to get to. quite expensive.
You can use some of the
ideas from the comments
in your review, but you
We couldn’t find a should expand on them
It’s a good place to
good sports shop. and/or include other ideas
meet friends.
of your own.

Now write a review of the new shopping centre for your school magazine, The response to this
giving your views. question needs to be in
the form of a review for
The comments above may give you some ideas, and you should also use some a school magazine, so
ideas of your own. the register should be
informal to semi-
Write about 120 to 160 words. formal but should avoid
language that is too
You will receive up to 6 marks for the content of your review, and up to 9 marks idiomatic and colloquial.
for the language used.

The number of words is for guidance: write about 120 to 160

words. Paying attention to the guidance for word limits will help
you to plan your time in the examination more effectively.

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Example candidate response and examiner comments

Example Candidate Response – middle Examiner comments

A new shopping centre

The candidate begins their
review with an introduction
A shopping centre is a place where people visit to buy clothes, highlighting the role that
supermarkets play for local residents
food as well as furnitures. It is not only used to purchase things, in general.

others can go there to meet friends as well as to get fresh air.

The candidate attempts some
more complex structures with a
The new shopping centre in our town that was recently opened varied level of success.

overcame many problems that we had at the beginning. We do The candidate shows a good
sense of purpose in this paragraph.
not need to travel to other towns to purchase things as a result
The candidate also tries to engage
this saves time and money. Moreover it is a good place to meet the reader by introducing the idea of
overcoming problems, which are
friends as we will have a variety of shops that we can buy food to later listed in the same paragraph.
However, the candidate merely lifts
eat as well as to do window shopping. the ideas from the prompts and there
is little expansion here.
However everything that is sold there seems quite expensive
There are some attempts at less
therefore people don’t usually go there as the spending takes them common vocabulary (e.g. ‘window
shopping.’, ‘In a nutshell’ etc.)
out of budget. Moreover many shops that we also need they are
The candidate introduces the
not yet there, as a result people are forced to change their plans
negative points in this paragraph by
of purchasing. using ‘however’. The ideas are again
mostly lifted from the prompts with
little development.
In a nutshell the shopping centre really helped us, although
The candidate uses a range of
there are some loopholes, which we belive they will be fixed as time linking words to link their ideas within
paragraphs (e.g. ‘as well as’,
goes on. ‘therefore’), but also to introduce a
new idea at the start of the
paragraphs (e.g. ‘However’). Some
of these linking words are rather
formal for this style however (e.g.
‘Moreover’) and this may also have a
negative effect on the reader.

The review is clearly structured

and ends with a concise conclusion.
However, it is not very persuasive
and lacks a clear recommendation
from the candidate.

Mark for Content = 4 out of 6

Mark for Language = 6 out of 9
Total mark awarded = 10 out of 15

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How the candidate could have improved their answer
The example task shows a reasonable attempt at a review. The response is clearly organised into paragraphs and
generally fulfills the task. The introduction could have been more closely linked to the shopping centre being reviewed
and included more factual information (e.g. the location, when it was opened). The conclusion is engaging because of
the candidate’s choice of vocabulary but lacks a clear persuasive recommendation. Instead, the reader is left to make
their own decision about whether it is a good idea, or not, to visit the shopping centre.
The candidate makes a good attempt at the appropriate style and register. However, some of the choice of linking words
and other vocabulary makes the review sound a bit too formal at times (e.g. ‘moreover’, ‘purchasing’) and this may have
a negative effect on the target audience (i.e. other students). Also, the candidate does not introduce any ideas of their
own and relies heavily on the ideas from the prompts, with little expansion.
The candidate tends to list the positive and negative points, but the whole review could be more persuasive and does not
always engage the reader. The candidate could have included a personal experience that happened while they were
visiting the centre, focused on fewer aspects (e.g. the suitability of opening hours, the quality of other facilities, the
attraction for young shoppers, etc.), and expanded on those. The use of rhetorical questions and the inclusion of
emphasis would have achieved the desired effect (e.g. But do shoppers really want to…, The last thing anyone needs is
to…, But it was the outstanding service that made us…).
The candidate attempts some more complex vocabulary suitable for this style (e.g. ‘In a nutshell’, ‘as time goes on.’) and
includes some topic related vocabulary (e.g. ‘window shopping.’, ‘budget.’), but, on the whole, the vocabulary used tends
to be rather common (e.g. ‘buy’, ‘food to eat’, ‘shops’). The structures also lack complexity. There is a good level of
accuracy and the meaning remains clear throughout despite the occasional awkwardness in expression (e.g. ‘the
spending takes them out of budget.’, ‘which we belive they will be fixed’).
Common mistakes
When writing a review, candidates sometimes forget that they should go beyond just saying that something is ‘good’ or
‘boring’.
Candidates will often decide to write a review which is a mere description rather than an evaluation and they, therefore,
don’t always consider the reasons why they like(d) or dislike(d) something.
Candidates should attempt to select a specific aspect that they liked or disliked and make sure that they provide a
justification for this.
Similarly, candidates will sometimes forget that a review is about providing a recommendation and is also designed to be
read by people who aren’t familiar with the place, product, or film that is being reviewed.
Examination preparation
In class learners should practise writing reviews.
After brainstorming for ideas, planning and drafting is completed, learners compose their own work. Final drafts can be
shared with each other for help with proof-reading and peer evaluation. Learners can read some good examples aloud to
the class for discussion and peer feedback.
Classroom activities

Assessment objectives
Learning objectives Suggested teaching activities
(AOs)

AO2 Writing Writing strategies: Starter: Write the title of the film you want learners to review
on the board.
W1 communicate Writing a review
information, ideas and For time constraints, it might be advisable to show a trailer of
Learners are able to plan
opinions the film rather than the whole film.
and draft writing.
Learners mind-map ideas about:
Learners are able to • what they think the film might be about and why
understand the purpose,

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Assessment objectives
Learning objectives Suggested teaching activities
(AOs)

W2 organise ideas into audience and form of • what genre this might be
coherent text using a texts and use this in their • what characters they might expect to find in the film.
range of linking devices own writing.
Play the trailer and ask learners to check their predictions in
W3 use a range of Learners are able to use pairs before checking with the whole class.
appropriate grammatical specific vocabulary to give
structures and vocabulary opinions about the film.
Extension activity: Learners can watch the whole film for
W4 use appropriate Learners are able to homework and check if their opinion of the film has changed,
register and style for the organise their writing into or not.
given purpose and a coherent structure that
audience matches the appropriate
style and format of writing Development: Matching activity. Learners match the correct
a review. words to the correct definition. Learners can use this
vocabulary in their reviews to develop the complexity of their
language.

Main task: Play the trailer again and remind learners that
they will be writing a review of the film for a school magazine
where they will give their views.
Learners summarise the plot in 25 words. Remind them that
they should not give away the ending or too much detail.
Learners then choose two things that they liked or disliked,
e.g. the soundtrack/music, the camera angles, the
cinematography, the plot and give a reason for each. They
could focus on one moment from the story that they really
liked/disliked and give a reason for this judgement.
Learners draft their piece, ensuring that they structure this
using linking devices such as ‘Firstly’, ‘In my opinion’,
‘Similarly’, ‘In conclusion’, ‘Overall’. Ensure that learners
understand the target audience and the formality that this
requires.
Encourage learners to stay within the 120 to 160 word count.

Extension (optional): Play two different trailers/music video

clips and ask learners to evaluate which one they prefer,
providing reasons for their opinions.

Plenary: Learners read each other’s writing to help with

proof-reading and suggestions for improvement. They could
specifically focus on improving vocabulary and other
structures.

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Useful resources
The School Support Hub at www.cambridgeinternational/support provides teachers with a wide range of practical
resources, detailed guidance and innovative training and professional development so that you can give your learners
the best possible preparation for Cambridge IGCSE.
Teaching and learning resources (for examination from 2024)
• Scheme of Work
• Writing a report
• Writing a review
• Writing an article
• Writing skills lesson plans
• Specimen Paper Answers
• Example Candidate Responses (January 2025)

Please note: The website links listed provide direct access to internet resources. Cambridge Assessment International
Education is not responsible for the accuracy or content of information contained in these sites. The inclusion of a link to
an external website should not be understood to be an endorsement of that website or the site's owners (or their
products/services). The website pages were selected when this document was produced. Other aspects of the sites were
not checked.
B2 First is a handbook for teachers preparing candidates for Cambridge English Qualifications: B2 First. Pdf and digital
versions are available.

Writing a review This BBC Bitesize website provides revision and exam preparation for students to help develop their
skills and build their confidence in writing different forms of non-fiction writing.

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