Writing a Review (Exercise 6)

British & IGCSE › Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language (0510)

A review tells readers what something is like – a film, a book, a café, a concert, an app – and whether they should spend their time and money on it. It is the only Exercise 6 text type where your personal opinion is the whole point. But an opinion alone is not enough: the examiner wants description + evaluation + a clear recommendation, written in a lively but controlled semi-formal style.

As in the classroom writing book, this page gives you the step-by-step structure, then the commonly used phrases for each step, then samples with comments. The five types of review are explained in section 5.

1. What the task is and where it sits in the paper

What is a review? A review is written for a general audience. It describes something the writer has experienced and gives opinions about it, supported by examples – for instance, an example of excellent acting, or of slow service. It normally ends by telling the reader whether to try it and who would enjoy it.

2. Marks: what each band needs

Both writing exercises use the same tables. The examiner finds the band that fits your review best, then gives a mark inside it.

3. How to get full marks: checklist

1. A catchy title that names what you are reviewing (e.g. ‘Splash Kingdom: Thrills, Spills and High Bills’).
2. An introduction that says what it is, where/when, and who made it or runs it – plus a hook or first impression.
3. A short description (a plot summary without the ending, the menu, the rides, the features).
4. What you liked – two points, each with a specific example.
5. What you did not like – at least one point, explained fairly. A balanced review is more believable.
6. A recommendation: a rating or verdict + who it suits (families, teenagers, fans of science fiction…).
7. Some comments from the task and some ideas of your own (a personal moment, a price, a detail).
8. Evaluative adjectives instead of ‘good’ and ‘bad’: gripping, breathtaking, overpriced, disappointing.
9. Ways to engage the reader: a rhetorical question, direct address (‘If you love…, you will…’), emphasis (‘What really impressed me was…’).
10. Semi-formal style: ‘I’ is fine, no slang, no text-speak, very few exclamation marks.
11. About 120–160 words.

4. Step-by-step structure

5. The types of review and what each one needs

The structure above never changes. What changes is what you cover in the description and evaluation, and the topic vocabulary you show off.

Film or TV programme

• Introduction: title, type of film, where you watched it, a hook (‘Can a film about a lighthouse really keep you on the edge of your seat?’).
• Description: setting + main character + the situation in one or two sentences. Never tell the ending.
• Liked: acting (name a scene), photography, soundtrack, humour.
• Disliked: slow middle, predictable ending, too long, weak special effects.
• Recommend: age group and type of viewer. Optional rating out of five.

Book

• Introduction: title, author, genre. Why you chose it.
• Description: who the main character is and what problem they face.
• Liked: characters you believe in, exciting chapters, vivid descriptions, an important message.
• Disliked: slow start, too many characters, an ending that felt rushed.
• Recommend: who would enjoy it (readers who like mysteries, students aged 12+).

Place: restaurant, café, museum, theme park, shop or market

• Introduction: name, location, when it opened, when you visited and with whom.
• Description: what it offers (menu, exhibits, rides, shops), opening hours, prices.
• Liked: the best dish or exhibit, friendly staff, design, location.
• Disliked: queues, noise, prices, cleanliness, lack of seating or parking.
• Recommend: who should go, and a practical tip (‘book a table’, ‘go on a weekday morning’).

Event: concert, festival, exhibition

• Introduction: what, where, when. Who performed or organised it.
• Description: the programme or line-up. The atmosphere when you arrived.
• Liked: the highlight moment, the organisation, the variety.
• Disliked: sound problems, long waits, high ticket prices, too short.
• Recommend: whether to go next year and who would enjoy it most.

Product, app, website or coursebook

• Introduction: name, what it is for, why you bought or used it, price.
• Description: main features, design, how you use it.
• Liked: easy to use, useful features, saves time or money (give a real example).
• Disliked: glitches, adverts, battery life, missing features, boring topics.
• Recommend: worth buying/using or not. Who would benefit most. If the reader is a teacher, say clearly whether it should be used again.

6. How to start: openings

7. Commonly used phrases and clauses

8. How to end: closings

• All in all, Splash Kingdom is a fantastic day out for families, as long as you take your own lunch.
• If you are a fan of adventure stories, this is a book you will not want to put down. Five stars from me.
• Is it perfect? No. Is it worth the price of a ticket? Absolutely.
• On balance, I would recommend the app to any student who wants to practise vocabulary for ten minutes a day.
• Unless you have plenty of patience and money to spare, you might want to wait until the crowds have died down.

9. Common mistakes and what to watch for

10. Timing

Paper 1 lasts 2 hours. We suggest (as advice, not a rule) about 25 minutes for Exercise 6: 1 minute reading and underlining, 2–3 minutes planning the five steps, about 18 minutes writing and 3–4 minutes checking adjectives, tenses, spelling and the recommendation.

11. Model answer 1 – Review of a café (place)

12. Model answer 2 – Film review

13. Plans for the other types

14. Practice tasks

1. Task 1: Your school recently held a music concert to raise money for a local charity. Write a review of the concert for your school magazine. Comments: ‘The school band was brilliant.’ / ‘We couldn’t hear the singers at the back.’ / ‘Tickets sold out in two days.’ / ‘It finished too late for younger students.’ Write about 120 to 160 words. Make a five-step plan.

   Show answer

   Title: ‘A Night to Remember – Almost’. Introduction: charity concert in the school hall last Friday. Tickets sold out in two days, so expectations were high. Description: school band, choir, two solo performers. Money raised for the local charity. Liked: the band’s energy, especially the drum solo that had everyone clapping. A teacher–student duet (own idea). Did not like: poor sound at the back – the singers could not be heard. Finished at 10 p.m., too late for younger students. Recommendation: well worth going next year. Organisers should hire better speakers and start earlier. Rating: 4/5.

2. Task 2: Improve this weak review sentence by sentence. ‘The film was good. The actors were good. The end was bad. You should watch it.’

   Show answer

   Possible answer: ‘This gripping science-fiction film kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The two main actors give convincing performances, particularly in the scene where the spaceship loses power. My only criticism is that the ending felt rushed and rather predictable. Even so, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fast-paced adventure.’ (Evaluative adjectives, a specific example, a fair criticism and a recommendation with a target audience.)

3. Task 3: Your English teacher wants to know whether to keep using a revision website with next year’s class. Write a review of the website for your teacher. What should change in your style compared with a review for the school magazine?

   Show answer

   The reader is a teacher making a decision, so the style is more formal: fewer rhetorical questions and no informal phrases such as ‘give it a miss’. More formal linkers (however, in addition, therefore). The content must focus on usefulness for learning – clarity of explanations, quality and number of exercises, ease of use – and the final paragraph must clearly answer the question: should it be used again, and with which students?

4. Task 4: Match each adjective to the most suitable thing to review: (1) user-friendly (2) mouth-watering (3) gripping (4) interactive (5) electric. Options: a museum display, a crime novel, a concert atmosphere, a restaurant dish, an app.

   Show answer

   (1) user-friendly – an app. (2) mouth-watering – a restaurant dish. (3) gripping – a crime novel. (4) interactive – a museum display. (5) electric – a concert atmosphere.

5. Task 5: Write two different final sentences for a review of a museum – one positive recommendation and one negative.

   Show answer

   Positive: ‘If you have ever wondered how the pyramids were built, this museum is a must-see, and children will love the interactive displays.’ Negative: ‘Unless you are a real history enthusiast, I would wait until the café and the lifts are working before you visit.’

Written by Mohamed Abdelkriem for Abdelkriem Academy. Compare this page with the report page: a report is impersonal and written for someone in charge. A review is personal, persuasive and written for the general public.