Feb 05 2009
Writing 101: Positive Reviews - A Few Tips
All right. Recently we covered how to write about products or services we don’t like; let’s discuss the equally important topic of reviewing things we do like.
Though this might sound strange, it’s sometimes harder to write a good review about, say, a favorite movie or book objectively. Two things can happen: a reviewer (especially one who is just starting out) gets writer’s block trying to figure out how to write a positive review about something he or she really likes. Or, conversely, he or she can end up getting carried away with the lavish praise. Either of these is bad; writer’s block will affect productivity, and reviewers who can’t pull back and look at a product with some sangfroid will lose credibility.
Though there is no “set in stone” formula for writing reviews, especially in the various online reviewers’ communities, here are a few helpful hints on how to write positive yet credible reviews on just about any product.
•1. Approach the topic as though you have never used/seen/read/listened to it before. Sometimes it’s best to take an “internal” step back from, say, a movie one likes and look at it with fresh eyes, as it were. Gazing upon something with a more detached, more critical attitude doesn’t mean one has to dissect a film along the lines of The Dark Knight or the original Star Wars and tear it to shreds by finding every flaw in it. However, acknowledging that a sentimental favorite movie or book may not be as “perfect” as one fondly remembers it lends a review a certain level of credibility.
•2. Avoid hyperbole. Some reviewers tend to identify way too much with a product (usually a movie, book or musical act) and feel obliged to act as PR agents rather than objective critics. They’ll write “This is the greatest (fill in the blank) of all time!” While some readers aren’t bothered by this, many of them find this rather off-putting. After all, most people have not seen every movie ever made or read every book yet written, so how can it be “the greatest of all time”?
•3. Strike a balance between “detail” and opinion. While it is important to give a reader enough information about a product, remember not to overdo the product description to the exclusion of your opinion of it. It’s important to focus on key points and most-used features; it’s also very crucial that a review does not give away too much of a movie or describes every possible color scheme available of a DVD player’s casing. What is important, though, is that the review has a writer’s honest views on why it’s good, hopefully with well-thought out points on why it is good.
