My own personal take on how to give a good riview |
This is what I personally find to be a good review. Step 1. Write your overall opinion of the piece. That you liked, or disliked it and why. If you did not like the piece stay constructive. Possibly say you were disappointed rather than you hated it. Your description at the beginning should be short, about how you liked the idea or writing style or found it hard to understand. Step 2. Describe in detail various portions of the story. Explain what you liked and what you feel detracts. Here you can even suggest things that could add to the story, though don't expect these to be used, it is just good to get the author thinking of new possibilities. Step 3. Editing. State any obvious spelling and grammar errors. If there are a lot tell the author kindly that it might be useful to put the piece through spellcheck. Step 4. Wrapping up. End with something similar to the beginning, though this should be on a positive note whatever your opinion. Maybe go into how it needs work but could be something great if you dislike it. Short Guide to Reading: If you read a piece that by the description you thought might be good, but the first few paragraphs are not that great. Just keep going. I got to read/review some really great pieces that way. A lot of writers have slow beginnings to good stories, and in reviewing you can help them with that. |