My Reviewing Philosophy

My Reviewing Philosophy

As I wrote the last word of a piece, I was left with an unsettling feeling. Something was missing, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. A deadline loomed over me, so I turned in the piece to my teacher. Then I put it on WDC. I also mentioned my dissatisfaction at the end of the piece and asked for reviewers’ help. The next day, my inbox was flooded with reviews from fellow members. A couple of them outlined each flaw, but left me discouraged. Others kept meandering, but didn’t offer enough explanation. Then there were some that mentioned what they liked about the piece. My spirits lifted. Then they went on to tell me what didn’t work for them and how I could possibly fix the problem. I was overjoyed and resolved to work on the piece again till I thought I couldn’t edit anymore. That is what a good review does. It spurs you on to edit and re-edit the piece, knowing you’ve done well and can do even better.

Writing can be a strenuous process, though in a good piece the effort doesn’t show. It’s always nice to notice the small yet effective touches the author has put and let them know about it.

Reviewing provides the author something that he can’t always give himself: a reader’s perspective. If that perspective is detailed, it shows that you care enough about the writing to take pains to discuss it with the author in such detail. Thus, I believe in reviewing pieces which really had an impact on me. The reviews that I’ve done before this course provided vague observations with no real motivation. As a writer, I know how tedious it is to deal with such a review. Henceforth, I want to give reviews that really help the writer improve along with knowing my point-of-view. Sometimes a good review takes as much time to write as a good piece. That is the kind of review I strive to give.

Doing too many reviews is not important, but it's important to make each review worth the author's time and effort.