This lesson is being recorded

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This lesson is
being recorded

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What is a Review?
What is a review?
What is the purpose of a review?
Who is the audience of a review?
What can be reviewed?
Draw a spider diagram or write a list in the Poll.

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Writing Critically
Week 6 Explore 1

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Learning objectives
To understand critical writing and consider the importance of
audience.

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Writing Critically
When you write critically - that is, a review or critical essay, you should:
• evaluate
• make judgments
• offer recommendations.
An awareness of audience is essential in good critical writing.
Making recommendations is one of the key elements of a review, and that of course
requires an understanding of the audience. But more than this, a reviewer needs a clear
awareness of and an appropriate address to the audience. This should also be reflected
in the position the writer takes in the text.

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Key Elements of Review Writing
The following are typical features of review writing, from movie reviews to plays, books
and art shows, video games and music albums. Even reviews of purchases, such as power
tools and electrical goods via online stores, will have some of these features:
Opinion
Comparisons to other works in the field
Field-specific lexis
Evaluative comments
Summary and selected details
Awareness of audience
Recommendations ('if you like...','recommended for fans of. ..')
Rating/score (not always included, depends on context).

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Film Review
This is not a straightforward review,
but it is a good example of critical
writing.
1. Which features of review
writing can you see in
the text?
2. In what ways is it different?
3. What makes it fulfil the purpose of
critical writing?
Opinion
Comparisons to other
works in the field
Field-specific lexis
Evaluative comments
Summary and
selected details
Awareness of
audience
Recommendations
Rating/score

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Film Review
Heading
Field-specific lexis
Evaluative
language:
Asks questions
Comparisons to
other works in the
field
Opinion
Some selected
details
Awareness of
audience
Recommendations

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Album Review
Read the album review.
Look carefully at the language choices.
1. Who could be the intended
audience?
2. What make you think this?
3. If you were reviewing an
album/playlist what features would help
you to address an audience of your
peers effectively?
You should assume that your target
audience is people from your area, of
roughly the same age as you, who like
the same sort of music, read similar
magazines and use the same social
media accounts/websites as you.

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Album Review
Read the album review.
Look carefully at the language choices.
1. An older audience with musical
knowledge.
2.
Semi formal register
• "sure to please"
• "will have many tapping their feet"
• "not strayed in style or sound"
• "overly-sentimental"
• "question of taste"
• "well-suited"
Lexis from the semantic field of music
• "acoustic pop"
• "vocals"
• "folky"
• "mellow vocal tones"
• "radio hits"

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Writing Activity
Write a short review of a film or album you know well. Imagine your audience are people
your own age who have similar film/music tastes to you.
Follow the structure below:
Paragraph 1: brief overview (single sentence)
Paragraph 2: compare to a similar or previous film/album, referring to specifics.
Paragraph 3: pick out some highlights, aiming to show the film/album's range and then
focus on a more technical detail, such as characterisation or vocals.
Paragraph 4: sum up and make recommendations. What kind of film/album is this? Who is
it for?

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Lesson complete!
See you next lesson

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This lesson is
being recorded

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1.
Audience
Match the
review extract
to the
intended
audience.
A.
2.
B.
C.
3.
4.
D.

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1.
Audience
Match the
review extract
to the
intended
audience.
C.
2.
A.
3.
D.
4.
B.

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Restaurant Reviews and Structure
Week 6 Explore 2

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Learning objectives
To understand the structure of review writing.
To demonstrate the features of review writing in a restaurant
review.

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Structure
The structure you choose to follow will depend largely on the context and the product or
experience you are reviewing, but it is possible to describe a broad structure as follows:
overview ~ summary ~ details ~ recommendations
Begin with a very brief overview, followed by an expanded summary to contextualise the
product more clearly by comparing it to others. Details belong in the middle of the
review, and this is where most of your evaluative detail should appear. Conclude with
your recommendations about who the product would suit.
This broad structure allows for variation according to the specific context, while offering
flexibility depending on what you are reviewing and where (and for whom) you are
reviewing it.

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Structure
Add ideas to the table below following the review structure.

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Restaurant Review
Read the following restaurant review.
Does it follow the review structure we have been looking at?

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Restaurant Review

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Writing Activity
You are going to be a restaurant critic and write a brief review of your last restaurant
meal.
Overview
Write 2-5 sentences to set the scene, including describing the ambience of the place
where you ate. You could include references to the décor or staff.
Summary
Describe the food, in course if possible.
Details
If you ate with others, describe what your companions ate and how they felt about it.
Remember to include comments on texture and presentation, as well as taste.
Recommendations
End with an overall evaluative comment. Would you eat there again? Would you advise
others to? What kind of person might want to?

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Lesson complete!
See you next lesson

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This lesson is
being recorded

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Online Reviews
How useful are these
reviews?

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Online Reviews
Week 6 Explore 3

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Learning objectives
To comment on and produce a vlog review.

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Online Reviews
Reviewing has become more accessible thanks to the internet.
lt is no longer only professional critics who write reviews; many people routinely review
their purchases and experiences on websites such as Amazon and Trip Advisor in order to
help other people.
There is also a growing trend in reviewing things such as trades and services. Such reviews
demonstrate variable standards of writing, and often contain errors, because they are
informal and the writers do not plan or edit their reviews. However, they still include many
standard features of review writing.
• They contain evaluative language.
They make comparisons to similar products/experiences.
• They include a summary.
They discuss specific details using appropriate lexis.
They offer recommendations.
Where there are differences, therefore, these are usually related to the mode, audience
and form.

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Vlogs
Watch the vlog and answer the following questions as you watch.
1. How does this spoken review compare to written reviews?
2. What is the overall structure?
3. What type of language is used? How is it the same as and/or
different to written reviews?
4. Note how language is used because of being spoken. Does the
vlogger repeat ideas to help the audience take them in?
5. What kind of lexis and grammar does the vlogger use? Are there
any other linguistic features worth noting?
6. Note how language is used because of the vlog format.
7. How does the vlogger relate to their audience?
You can download
the questions in the
Files Pod.
https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=QpbGctuHoM
Y

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Online Reviews
Write a brief (150- 200 words) transcript of a vlog review of the last media product you
purchased, for example the last movie you watched, book you read, video game you
played or album you listened to.
Make sure that your writing is helpful to others considering buying the same product.

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Lesson complete!
See you next lesson

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This lesson is
being recorded

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Mini Review
Review one of the products below.
Write no more than three sentences.

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Positive and Negative Reviews
Week 6 Explore 4

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Learning objectives
To consolidate our knowledge of tone and apply our writing
skills.

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POSITIVE
A Positive Review
Read the following
positive review of a TV
show.
As we read:
• Circle any review
conventions you
notice.
• Underline any lexis
with positive
connotations.

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POSITIVE
A Positive Review
Read the following
positive review of a TV
show.
As we read:
• Circle any review
conventions you
notice.
• Underline any lexis
with positive
connotations.

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neg
A Negative Review
Now read the
following negative
review of a TV
show.
As we read:
• Circle any
review
conventions you
notice.
• Underline any
lexis with
negative connot
ations.

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neg
A Negative Review
Now read the following negative review of
a TV show.
As we read:
• Circle any review conventions you
notice.
• Underline any lexis with
negative connotations.

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Tone and Opinion
Think about the tone used in each review.
How does the tone used strengthen the writer's opinion of the TV show?

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In Breakout Rooms...
Watch the following trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Nl_TCQXuw
As a group, plan your review.
Decide if you wish to write a positive or negative review of this trailer.
Think about the tone you intend to use.
• Overview
• Summary
• Details
• Recommendations

46.

Y12 AS English Language Apply Week 6
Practice Paper 2 Question 2
You recently went to a music festival in your country. Write a review
of the festival, which will be published in your school magazine.
You should write between 600-900 words.
25 marks available
Advanced information:
Cycle Test Week 7
Please read through the student
information on the Learning
Platform under Weeks 5 and 6.

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Lesson complete!
See you next lesson