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How to write a review essay

what is essay review

When assigned a review essay, many students feel overwhelmed. How do you summarize and critique work in only a few paragraphs? This guide will walk you through the basics of writing a review essay, including what to include and how to structure your essay. With practice, you’ll be able to write concise, insightful reviews that provide valuable insights for your readers.

What is a review essay?

A review essay is a type of essay that summarizes and evaluates a text, usually a book or piece of writing. Review essays are usually written for academic purposes, but they can also be written for non-academic audiences. Review essays typically provide a critical perspective on the text. They may identify strengths and weaknesses, argue for or against the text’s thesis, or offer other perspectives on the text. To write a review essay, you will need to read and understand the text you are reviewing. You will also need to have a clear purpose for writing the essay. This might be to argue for or against the text, to summarize and evaluate its contents, or to provide another perspective on the text. Once you have a purpose in mind, you can start to develop your essay. Start by outlining the main points you want to make, and then flesh out your argument with evidence from the text. Be sure to address counterarguments, and end with a conclusion that sums up your argument

What is the purpose of a review essay?

A review essay serves several purposes.

First, it allows the writer to synthesize and make sense of the information they have gathered from multiple sources.

Second, it provides a forum for the writer to express their opinion and offer a critical analysis of the subject matter.

Third, a review essay can be used to persuasively argue in favor of or against a particular point of view.

Fourth, it can be used to generate new ideas or perspectives on a topic. Fifth, a review essay can help to raise awareness of an issue or problem.

Finally, a review essay can be used as a tool for learning, providing an opportunity for the writer to engage in deep reflection on the information they have gathered.

How long should a review essay be?

A review essay should be long enough to cover all the important aspects of the text being reviewed, but not so long that it becomes cumbersome to read. As a general rule, a review essay should be between 1,000 and 1,500 words. This length allows for a thorough analysis of the text without becoming bogged down in details. Of course, the specific length will vary depending on the nature of the text being reviewed and the desired focus of the essay.

For example, if the goal is to provide an overview of a lengthy novel, a longer essay may be necessary. Conversely, if the goal is to provide a detailed analysis of a short poem, a shorter essay may suffice. Ultimately, it is up to the writer to determine the appropriate length for their review essay.

Structure and Format

A review essay format can vary depending on the publication you are submitting to. However, most review essays follow a similar structure, including an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

By following this structure, review essays can effectively communicate their evaluation of a text to readers.

A review essay examines a piece of writing, a film, or some other form of art, and offers a critical evaluation of it. The first step in writing a review essay is to read the work you are going to be evaluating and take notes. As you read, pay attention to the overall structure of the piece, as well as the author’s use of literary devices such as imagery and figurative language. Once you have finished reading, brainstorm your impressions of the work and decide what elements you want to focus on in your essay. When you begin drafting your paper, start with a brief overview of the work you are evaluating and then move on to discuss specific aspects in more depth. Be sure to support your claims with evidence from the text. In conclusion, provide a general assessment of the merits of the work and explain why you think it is either successful or unsuccessful.

Read more about these steps below:

1. Choose a suitable title.

Choosing an essay title is the first step in writing a review essay. The title of your paper will depend on the focus of your review. For example, if you are writing a review of a book, you may want to include the title of the book in your paper’s title. If you are writing a review of an article, you may want to include the title of the article in your paper’s title. Once you have selected a focus for your paper, you can begin brainstorming potential titles. Remember to be creative-a good title can make your paper stand out from the rest! If you are having trouble coming up with a title, try asking a friend or family member for help. Brainstorming with someone else can often help to generate new and creative ideas.

2. Find reliable sources.

The second step in writing a review essay is to find credible sources. This will help to support your claims and show that you have read and understood the material. You should always aim to include at least three citations in your review, and they should be from different sources. Try to find a mix of primary and secondary sources, as well as academic and non-academic sources. When adding citations, make sure to include the author’s name, the title of the work, the publication date, and the page number. Always check with your instructor for specific citation requirements.

3. Write the Introduction

A review essay introduction should provide the reader with a brief overview of the text under review and might include the author’s thesis statement . The introduction should also introduce the main points to be covered in the body of the essay. To write a successful review essay, it is important to keep your focus narrow and avoid summarizing the text or including too much personal opinion. Instead, stick to providing a clear, objective evaluation of the work. Once you have introduced the text in your review essay introduction, you can move on to developing your argument and supporting it with evidence from the text.

4. Write the Body Paragraphs

The essay body paragraphs of your review should be where you get to dive into the meat of your argument. This is where you’ll talk about the work itself, and how it fits into the larger conversation surrounding it. You’ll want to start each section with a clear topic sentence, followed by several concrete examples to support your claims. Be sure to use specific quotes and page numbers so that your reader can follow along with your analysis. And don’t forget to weave in your reaction to the work – after all, this is YOUR review! If you’re struggling to think of enough material, try looking for criticism online or in other reviews of the work. You can also go back and take another look at the work itself, paying close attention to areas that you found particularly interesting or confusing.

5. Write the Conclusion.

Firstly, an essay conclusion should sum up your main points and give a brief overview of the work you’ve been discussing. Secondly, it should offer your evaluation of the work. This is your chance to say whether you think it’s successful or not, and why. And finally, the conclusion should leave your reader with something to think about – a question, an issue to mull over, or a new perspective on the work in question. Writing a strong conclusion to your review essay is important because it gives your readers a final chance to appreciate all that they’ve learned from reading your paper.

Tips on writing a good review essay

A review essay examines a piece of writing, a film, or some other form of art, and offers a critical evaluation. The key to writing a good review essay is to maintain a consistent and accurate tone throughout the piece. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

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How to Write Critical Reviews

When you are asked to write a critical review of a book or article, you will need to identify, summarize, and evaluate the ideas and information the author has presented. In other words, you will be examining another person’s thoughts on a topic from your point of view.

Your stand must go beyond your “gut reaction” to the work and be based on your knowledge (readings, lecture, experience) of the topic as well as on factors such as criteria stated in your assignment or discussed by you and your instructor.

Make your stand clear at the beginning of your review, in your evaluations of specific parts, and in your concluding commentary.

Remember that your goal should be to make a few key points about the book or article, not to discuss everything the author writes.

Understanding the Assignment

To write a good critical review, you will have to engage in the mental processes of analyzing (taking apart) the work–deciding what its major components are and determining how these parts (i.e., paragraphs, sections, or chapters) contribute to the work as a whole.

Analyzing the work will help you focus on how and why the author makes certain points and prevent you from merely summarizing what the author says. Assuming the role of an analytical reader will also help you to determine whether or not the author fulfills the stated purpose of the book or article and enhances your understanding or knowledge of a particular topic.

Be sure to read your assignment thoroughly before you read the article or book. Your instructor may have included specific guidelines for you to follow. Keeping these guidelines in mind as you read the article or book can really help you write your paper!

Also, note where the work connects with what you’ve studied in the course. You can make the most efficient use of your reading and notetaking time if you are an active reader; that is, keep relevant questions in mind and jot down page numbers as well as your responses to ideas that appear to be significant as you read.

Please note: The length of your introduction and overview, the number of points you choose to review, and the length of your conclusion should be proportionate to the page limit stated in your assignment and should reflect the complexity of the material being reviewed as well as the expectations of your reader.

Write the introduction

Below are a few guidelines to help you write the introduction to your critical review.

Introduce your review appropriately

Begin your review with an introduction appropriate to your assignment.

If your assignment asks you to review only one book and not to use outside sources, your introduction will focus on identifying the author, the title, the main topic or issue presented in the book, and the author’s purpose in writing the book.

If your assignment asks you to review the book as it relates to issues or themes discussed in the course, or to review two or more books on the same topic, your introduction must also encompass those expectations.

Explain relationships

For example, before you can review two books on a topic, you must explain to your reader in your introduction how they are related to one another.

Within this shared context (or under this “umbrella”) you can then review comparable aspects of both books, pointing out where the authors agree and differ.

In other words, the more complicated your assignment is, the more your introduction must accomplish.

Finally, the introduction to a book review is always the place for you to establish your position as the reviewer (your thesis about the author’s thesis).

As you write, consider the following questions:

Provide an overview

In your introduction, you will also want to provide an overview. An overview supplies your reader with certain general information not appropriate for including in the introduction but necessary to understanding the body of the review.

Generally, an overview describes your book’s division into chapters, sections, or points of discussion. An overview may also include background information about the topic, about your stand, or about the criteria you will use for evaluation.

The overview and the introduction work together to provide a comprehensive beginning for (a “springboard” into) your review.

Write the body

The body is the center of your paper, where you draw out your main arguments. Below are some guidelines to help you write it.

Organize using a logical plan

Organize the body of your review according to a logical plan. Here are two options:

Questions to keep in mind as you write

With either organizational pattern, consider the following questions:

Keep your opinions distinct and cite your sources

Remember, as you discuss the author’s major points, be sure to distinguish consistently between the author’s opinions and your own.

Keep the summary portions of your discussion concise, remembering that your task as a reviewer is to re-see the author’s work, not to re-tell it.

And, importantly, if you refer to ideas from other books and articles or from lecture and course materials, always document your sources, or else you might wander into the realm of plagiarism.

Include only that material which has relevance for your review and use direct quotations sparingly. The Writing Center has other handouts to help you paraphrase text and introduce quotations.

Write the conclusion

You will want to use the conclusion to state your overall critical evaluation.

You have already discussed the major points the author makes, examined how the author supports arguments, and evaluated the quality or effectiveness of specific aspects of the book or article.

Now you must make an evaluation of the work as a whole, determining such things as whether or not the author achieves the stated or implied purpose and if the work makes a significant contribution to an existing body of knowledge.

Consider the following questions:

what is essay review

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How to Write a Review

Max Ramirez

Opinions: as half of the old saying goes, everyone’s got ‘em. Whether it’s on Twitter, on Yelp, or in Facebook posts from your great-aunt’s best friend, we’re constantly subjected to other people’s opinions—so if you want to share your take with a wider audience, it’s worthwhile to think about how to make it stand out. And if you zoom in on an opinion, build it out, and give it structure, you’ve got yourself a review.

You can review basically anything if you find the right outlet for it, but the best way to present your thoughts depends on what you’re writing about and who your audience is. But with most types of reviews, there’s a simple structure you can stick to in order to help you get started:

Before you write, make sure you know the general message you want to convey. A simple thesis will help keep your review from straying off-topic. This could be as straightforward as “I really liked this meal!” or as complex as “These shoes took a while to wear in.” Think to yourself: If I were telling a friend about this, what would I want their main takeaway to be?

2 Likes and dislikes

In the most glowing review, you may not include any dislikes. If the review is critical, try to find at least one positive to include, just to provide a break in between your incredible zings.

3 Your recommendation

A star rating may be the first thing most people see, but when folks skim your review, they’ll probably check the bottom for an idea of whether or not you’d recommend the meal, album, hike, or movie to others. You could also include a short explanation, like “I knocked it down one star because my utensils were dirty,” or “I’d recommend this play, but only if you’re as big of a musical theater buff as I am.”

If you need more direction, Grammarly has a few great places to start.

Writing a book review ? Grammarly has tips and tricks for how to keep your review informative, enlightening, and kind.

Remember that you’re reviewing a book that another human poured their heart and soul into to write. Express your honest opinion, but don’t be nasty about it. Imagine if it were your book being reviewed, how would you want a reader to express their critique?

If you’re writing a movie review , Grammarly can help keep you from getting too stressed about how to rate the film you just watched:

Rather than grasp for an arbitrary value, state plainly what a movie called to mind, or how it didn’t quite land with you, and explain why.

Writing a review of your new favorite restaurant ? You may need to paint a bigger picture of your experience than for the review of the tub of cheese puffs you ordered on Amazon.

Avoid vague words and phrases like “The service was bad” or “The pie was great.” Instead, provide specific details like, “The server was friendly but inexperienced and botched our drink order” or “The lemon meringue pie had a wonderfully flaky crust, a tart and tangy filling, and dreamy melt-in-your-mouth meringue.”

No matter what kind of review you’re writing, here are a few more quick tips:

More from #HowToWrite:

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How To Write a Book Review

How To Write a Complaint

what is essay review

How to Write an Article Review: Tips and Examples

what is essay review

An article review format allows scholars or students to analyze and evaluate the work of other experts in a given field. Outside of the education system, experts often review the work of their peers for clarity, originality, and contribution to the discipline of study.

When answering the questions of what is an article review and how to write one, you must understand the depth of analysis and evaluation that your instructor is seeking.

What Is an Article Review

That is a type of professional paper writing which demands a high level of in-depth analysis and a well-structured presentation of arguments. It is a critical, constructive evaluation of literature in a particular field through summary, classification, analysis, and comparison.

If you write a scientific review, you have to use database searches to portray the research. Your primary goal is to summarize everything and present a clear understanding of the topic you’ve been working on.

Writing Involves:

Types of Review

There are few types of article reviews.

Journal Article Review

Much like all other reviews, a journal article review evaluates strengths and weaknesses of a publication. A qualified paper writer must provide the reader with an analysis and interpretation that demonstrates the article’s value.

Research Article Review

It differs from a journal article review by the way that it evaluates the research method used and holds that information in retrospect to analysis and critique.

Science Article Review

Scientific article review involves anything in the realm of science. Often, scientific publications include more information on the background that you can use to analyze the publication more comprehensively.

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Formatting an Article Review

The format of the article should always adhere to the citation style required by your professor. If you’re not sure, seek clarification on the preferred format and ask him to clarify several other pointers to complete the formatting of an article review adequately.

How Many Publications Should You Review?

When you know the answers to these questions, you may start writing your assignment. Below are examples of MLA and APA formats, as those are the two most common citation styles.

article-review

Using the APA Format

Articles appear most commonly in academic journals, newspapers, and websites. If you write an article review in the APA format, you will need to write bibliographical entries for the sources you use:

Using MLA Format

The Pre-Writing Process

Facing this task for the first time can really get confusing and can leave you being unsure where to begin. To create a top-notch article review, start with a few preparatory steps. Here are the two main stages to get you started:

Step 1: Define the right organization for your review. Knowing the future setup of your paper will help you define how you should read the article. Here are the steps to follow:

Step 2: Move on and review the article. Here is a small and simple guide to help you do it right:

These three steps make up most of the prewriting process. After you are done with them, you can move on to writing your own review—and we are going to guide you through the writing process as well.

Organization in an assignment like this is of utmost importance. Before embarking on your writing process, you could outline your assignment or use an article review template to organize your thoughts more coherently.

Outline and Template

As you progress with reading your article, organize your thoughts into coherent sections in an outline. As you read, jot down important facts, contributions, or contradictions. Identify the shortcomings and strengths of your publication. Begin to map your outline accordingly.

If your professor does not want a summary section or a personal critique section, then you must alleviate those parts from your writing. Much like other assignments, an article review must contain an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Thus you might consider dividing your outline according to these sections as well as subheadings within the body. If you find yourself troubled with the prewriting and the brainstorming process for this assignment, seek out a sample outline.

Your custom essay must contain these constituent parts:

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Steps for Writing an Article Review

Here is a guide with critique paper format from our research paper writing service on how to write a review paper:

steps-for-writing-artcle-review

Step 1: Write the Title.

First of all, you need to write a title that reflects the main focus of your work. Respectively, the title can be either interrogative, descriptive, or declarative.

Step 2: Cite the Article.

Next, create a proper citation for the reviewed article and input it following the title. At this step, the most important thing to keep in mind is the style of citation specified by your instructor in the requirements for the paper. For example, an article citation in the MLA style should look as follows:

Author’s last and first name. “The title of the article.” Journal’s title and issue(publication date): page(s). Print

Example: Abraham John. “The World of Dreams.” Virginia Quarterly 60.2(1991): 125-67. Print.

Step 3: Article Identification.

After your citation, you need to include the identification of your reviewed article:

All of this information should be included in the first paragraph of your paper.

Example: The report, “Poverty increases school drop-outs,” was written by Brian Faith – a Health officer – in 2000.

Step 4: Introduction.

Your organization in an assignment like this is of the utmost importance. Before embarking on your writing process, you should outline your assignment or use an article review template to organize your thoughts coherently.

Step 5: Summarize the Article.

Make a summary of the article by revisiting what the author has written about. Note any relevant facts and findings from the article. Include the author's conclusions in this section.

Step 6: Critique It.

Present the strengths and weaknesses you have found in the publication. Highlight the knowledge that the author has contributed to the field. Also, write about any gaps and/or contradictions you have found in the article. Take a standpoint of either supporting or not supporting the author's assertions, but back up your arguments with facts and relevant theories that are pertinent to that area of knowledge. Rubrics and templates can also be used to evaluate and grade the person who wrote the article.

Step 7: Craft a Conclusion.

In this section, revisit the critical points of your piece, your findings in the article, and your critique. Also, write about the accuracy, validity, and relevance of the results of the article review. Present a way forward for future research in the field of study. Before submitting your article, keep these pointers in mind:

what is essay review

The Post-Writing Process: Proofread Your Work

Finally, when all of the parts of your article review are set and ready, you have one last thing to take care of — proofreading. Although students often neglect this step, proofreading is a vital part of the writing process and will help you polish your paper to ensure that there are no mistakes or inconsistencies.

To proofread your paper properly, start with reading it fully and by checking the following points:

Next, identify whether or not there is any unnecessary data in the paper and remove it. Lastly, check the points you discussed in your work; make sure you discuss at least 3-4 key points. In case you need to proofread, rewrite an essay or buy essay , our dissertation services are always here for you.

Example of an Article Review

Why have we devoted an entire section of this article to talk about an article review sample, you may wonder? Not all of you may recognize it, but in fact, looking through several solid examples of review articles is actually an essential step for your writing process, and we will tell you why.

Looking through relevant article review examples can be beneficial for you in the following ways:

As you can see, reading through a few samples can be extremely beneficial for you. Therefore, the best way to learn how to write this kind of paper is to look for an article review example online that matches your grade level.

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COMMENTS

  1. How to Write a Review Essay

    A review essay is a type of essay that summarizes and evaluates a text, usually a book or piece of writing. Review essays are usually written for academic purposes, but they can also be written for non-academic audiences. Review essays typically provide a critical perspective on the text.

  2. How to Write Critical Reviews

    First, summarize, in a series of paragraphs, those major points from the book that you plan to discuss; incorporating each major point into a topic sentence for a paragraph is an effective organizational strategy. Second, discuss and evaluate these points in a following group of paragraphs.

  3. How To Write a Review

    You can review basically anything if you find the right outlet for it, but the best way to present your thoughts depends on what you’re writing about and who your audience is. But with most types of reviews, there’s a simple structure you can stick to in order to help you get started: Your writing, at its best Be the best writer in the office.

  4. How to Write an Article Review: Tips and Examples

    What Is an Article Review. That is a type of professional paper writing which demands a high level of in-depth analysis and a well-structured presentation of arguments. It is a critical, constructive evaluation of literature in a particular field through summary, classification, analysis, and comparison.