23 Review
A review will need to:
- Make claims about the particular subject under review.
- Cite specific evidence to support your claims.
- Define criteria for evaluating the media under review.
- Target a specific audience.
What is this genre about? Reviews summarize and evaluate relevant information about a particular subject for a specific audience. The purpose of a review is to share relevant information to help readers make a decision based on the writer’s evaluation of a subject under review, which could be almost any object, event, person, place, or process. Reviews are often the first point of contact between an audience and the subject of the review, so writers need to include a detailed description of the topic in order to adequately inform readers before offering an evaluation. Similar to reports, review writers need to determine what their readers want from their review, whether a suggestion, explanation, or both. Writers can persuade their audiences to accept their evaluation by offering an authoritative tone on the topic.
What are the expectations? Readers expect reviews to inform and persuade them about the value of a particular subject . For example, if a reader wants to know which movie to watch for the evening, they might read some reviews of different movies to help make their decision. Writers need to provide criteria for evaluating subjects like movies for readers to know its value (or lack thereof)
To create criteria, writers need to define how they are measuring and evaluating the subject. If the writer is reviewing a restaurant, they might define their criteria as restaurant cleanliness, waitstaff friendliness, and the quality of food preparation. The writer then needs to support their evaluation of these criteria with evidence drawn from their topic. This evidence can include primary and secondary research but needs to be relevant to the audience’s needs and expectations.
Finally, readers expect that a writer won’t give away all the information about a topic in a review because the reader might want to experience the topic firsthand. For example, rather than providing “spoilers” about a film that give away crucial details of a plot, a writer needs to entice the reader with key details so that the reader still has something to learn when they watch the film. In short, a review needs to inform the reader just enough to help them make a decision.
Why does this genre matter? More than other genres, reviews are probably the writing genre you interact with most. Think of the daily decisions you make about where to shop, eat, take your car for repair, get a haircut, or seek medical treatment: you can read reviews of all of these services online. Reviews help readers know what’s good and what’s bad, so this genre helps people make strategic decisions that impact their daily lives.
What are a few examples of this genre?