R*wiews

rilri! A review is a short description of a book, film, play, website, magazine, concert, game, TV programme.
shop
etc. lt is written to inform readers and to give them our opinion/recommendation. :ulll Reviews can be formal or
informal, depending on the target audience and the publication. e.g. lf we write for a lighthearted magazine
such as a school magazine, we use informal style. They can appear as articles in magazines/newspapers or as
rrrltrlr

part of a letter/email. r¡)l The introduction should contain some background information about the book, film,
play, book etc (i.e the name of the author/director, type, setting, name of main characters etc). The main ,rrtu,

body normally consists of two paragraphs: one about the main points of the plot of the film, book etc we are
reviewing in chronological order; the other contains general comments on the plot, main characters, acting,
dire«ing etc. We should never reveal the end of the story to the reader. rulrl The conclusion contains our personal
opinion and whether we recommend the film, book etc or not to the readers. We should justify our opinion
with reasons. .:L,l,ll Present tenses are mainly used to describe the plot. ;i,,:il We can use a variety of adjectives to
make our review more interesting to the reader.

Outline for reviews

ARTICLE: background main points of plot general ARTICLE:

information (book, film, play comments personal opinion with
game), regular reasons; recommendation
LETTER/EMAIL:
features (magazine),
opening remarks; LETTER/EMAIL:
tracks (album)
reason from writing; your opinion with reasons;
background recommendation; closing
information remarks

a) Read the rubric and

underline the key words.

You have read the following notice on

your English language school notice
board.
1.1),!-

ttlm Revtews wanted
English language magazine
We would like students to send in
reviews of a film they have recently
watched. Your reviews should
include information about the type
of film, the plot and your
recom me n dation.
ü,V;$r'Hugo is a drama adventure film based on the Para 1
best-selling novel Ihe lnvention of Hugo Cabref. lt is
set in a Parisian railway station in the 1930s and stars
Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley and Chloe Maretz. The
film is directed by the famous director Martin Scorsese.
frI,Ét Hugo (Asa Butterfield) secretly lives and
maintains the clocks in a Parisian train station. The
only thing Hugo has from his dead father is a robot that
Para 2

Write your review (140-190 words). they were both trying to repair before his fathe/s
death. Hugo continues the repairs on the robot and at
the same time searches for a key that will enable the
b) Read the film review. What robot to work. Little does he know that the key will
is each paragraph about? uncover an even greater mystery.
Para 3
Complete the paragraph plan. §ttb'Hugo is a tale full of imagination and adventure.
The plot has unexpected twists with both touching and
funny moments. The cast is excellent and the directing
c) Which adjectives does the
is superb.
writer use to describe: the
plot? the cost? the directing? §,j*'fn¡r film is well worth seeing. The story is clever Para 4
and will keep you entenained right to the end. lt's a
must-see!

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