Reviews help audiences decide how to think about or engage with a work, service, performance, or product. This lesson introduces the review genre, its common features, and the vocabulary writers use to discuss reviews.
A review is a genre that evaluates performances, exhibitions, works of art, services, and products. Reviews differ in style and content depending on the subject, writer, audience, and medium, but effective reviews commonly share several features.
All flashcards
What is a review?
A genre that evaluates a work, performance, exhibition, service, or product and gives reasons for the reviewer’s judgment.
What is the difference between a primary and secondary source in reviewing?
The primary source is the original item being reviewed. A secondary source is someone else’s analysis or synthesis of that item.
How do denotation and connotation differ?
Denotation is a word’s literal or dictionary meaning; connotation is the feeling or idea associated with the word beyond that literal meaning.
What is the difference between medium and mode?
Medium is how a work is created or delivered, such as streaming video. Mode is the sensory way a person interacts with it, such as watching.
What are genre and subgenre?
A genre is a broad category of works sharing characteristics; a subgenre is a more specific category within that genre.
Quiz questions
What distinguishes an evaluative review from a simple expression of preference?Answer: It connects a judgment to reasons and specific evidence.
A reviewer assesses a slow-building horror film. Which approach best reflects genre-sensitive criteria?Answer: Judge whether gradual pacing builds suspense for this kind of horror.
Why might a film reviewer watch a film more than once, focusing on different criteria each time?Answer: Repeated viewing can reveal relevant details that a quick viewing might miss.
What should guide a reviewer’s choice of evaluation criteria?Answer: The subject, the review’s purpose, and the audience’s needs.
What does using video or audio as a review medium change?Answer: How the audience encounters information, not the need for evidence and reasoning.
Based on Writing Guide with Handbook by Michelle Bachelor Robinson, Maria Jerskey, featuring Toby Fulwiler (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.