ENGLISH VII PROF. SOL
COLMENARES UNIVERSIDAD
DEL VALLE
september 2012 LICENCIATURA EN LENGUAS
EXTRANJERAS
A review is a
critical evaluation of a text, event, object, or phenomenon. Reviews can
consider books, articles, entire genres or fields of literature, architecture,
art, fashion, restaurants, policies, exhibitions, performances, films,
documentaries and many other forms. Above all, a review makes an argument. The most important element of a review is that it is a commentary, not merely a summary. It allows you to enter into dialogue and discussion with the work's creator and with other audiences. You can offer agreement or disagreement and identify where you find the work exemplary or deficient in its knowledge, judgments, or organization. You should clearly state your opinion of the work in question, and that statement will probably resemble other types of academic writing, with a thesis statement, supporting body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
Typically, reviews are brief. In newspapers and academic journals, they rarely exceed 1000 words, although you may encounter lengthier assignments and extended commentaries. In either case, reviews need to be succinct. While they vary in tone, subject, and style, they share some common features:
·
First, a review gives the reader a concise summary of the content. This
includes a relevant description of the topic as well as its overall
perspective, argument, or purpose.
·
Second, and more importantly, a review offers a critical assessment of
the content. This involves your reactions to the work under review: what
strikes you as noteworthy, whether or not it was effective or persuasive, and
how it enhanced your understanding of the issues at hand.
·
Finally, in addition to analyzing the work, a review often suggests
whether or not the audience would appreciate it.
You may be
accustomed to thinking of academic writing in terms of the arguments that it
makes. But you might find it more difficult to consider the persuasive
qualities of concerts, works of art, or television shows. Nevertheless,
authors, composers, chefs, and artists want you to experience their creations
in a particular way. What made the biologist study chimpanzees instead of gibbons
in her study of primate behavior? Why did the actresses in the campus
production of Antigone dress in drag in lieu of togas? Why is the novel part of
a trilogy? Why did the chef Suely, at the new Brazilian restaurant use
rocquefort cheese for the pão de queijo? The answers to questions like these
comprise the threads that weave the fabric of your review.
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