Hey, Tulip here to give you some words about what can be put into a review to make it mean a lot more to the authors of the piece you are reviewing.
1. I always start a review off with something that may seem like rambling, but I feel like it makes the person who reads the review smile and it is also how I get my thoughts together before I start the real review. I don't always do this, but I recommend doing this for it helps the mood of the writer and it shows that you care enough about them to just take sometime to just talk instead of diving straight into the review.
2. Start off with what you liked or didn't like about the style of the piece. If it is a poem- did you not like the fact that is wasn't in stanza's? Did you like how the lines flowed from one to the other naturally? In a story/novel- did you not like how hte paragraphs seemed to long? Did you like how they developed their characters/setting? This is will inform the writer about how the can change their style. But remember, a rude review isn't one that is the best. Always remember to stay positive.
3. I go from style to nitpicking. When I nitpick it is usually with the fact of misspellings, incorrect grammar, or a sentence didn't really make sense to me. I then go through and explain why I have pulled out that specific part and try to help the writer know- "Hey, I know you are proud of your work, but nothing is perfect even published works." I avoid negative feedback, and say the even though it's not perfect, it doesn't mean it's not good. Nothing in the world will ever be perfect- for the world itself is blemished.
4. I then go into the favorites. This can mean what you liked about a character, what you liked about a paragraph, a line, or a piece of dialogue. To me, I imagine it makes the writer smile when they see the different things that each person like. If you think there is something that can be tweaked, list it as an option for the writer to do. I always tell them that this is only my advice and you don't have to do it.
5. End with something positive. Remember, we are all young writers so nothing we will write will be perfect. We do the best we can, but though it isn't perfect, it is still good.
~Note:~
Feel free to add to this forum is you have other advice for people who are just starting to review or want to change how they review.
What should be in a review?
3 posts in this topic.
-
-
I usually structure like:
1) Introducing myself.
2) Saying what really stuck out as a good thing and a few other good ones.
3) Get to the improvements, not to nitty gritty and I try and slide them in with other comments.
4) End it with a overall statement. -
Hello~
I think instead of adding or erasing to a structure, or telling you my own, I'll say what I find I like about reviews the best.
One of the important things that I've notice differs from reviewer to reviewer that is important to me is the structure. I don't mean what words come first second or third, but the actual look of the review.
Here are some examples of what I mean:
If a review has a lot of space, I feel like they're just trying to make it look like a long review, but not getting anywhere.
If it has a lot of rambling at the top, but not a lot of content about why they liked or didn't like sections, then I feel like they're trying to stuff the review for word count.
If a work has a lot of quotes of what's wrong, or a lot of nitpicks, but not much to say how to improve things, then it can feel like the piece is just riddled with errors.
Basically, moderation seems to be key with reviewing. Adding too much on nitpicks, greetings, or the top bun of the sandwich can imbalance the load. Of course, going light on the summary doesn't work either.
Sign in to reply to this topic.
Delete this post?
Are you sure you want to delete this post? This cannot be undone.