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How to Write a Review (in General)

There are reviews, and then there are reviews… all kinds… movie reviews… grant proposal reviews… book proposal reviews… opinion piece reviews… technical documentation reviews… you name it.

But there are certain things that are common to all these reviews. You need to pay attention to these points in order to do justice to the work at hand.

Remember, the piece or the proposal that you might feel like turning down right away or criticizing without enough constructive feedback might influence someone’s career one way or the other. So you have a great responsibility as a review. Make sure you discharge that responsibility properly.

Don’t forget – tomorrow you might be at the receiving end of the same process. Thus be fair, just, and helpful while praying that the other person would behave the same towards you.

As a rule, do not feel that you are obligated to bring out only the NEGATIVE in your review. If you see anything POSITIVE, make sure to mention that too. After all if someone deserves to be criticized, the same person deserves to be praised too.

Also, don’t forget to explain the WHY every time you mention a WHAT.

For example:

“I believe a clear picture of the factory would have benefitted this article greatly since you are making visual references to the factory’s roof in three places in the article (on pages 2, 4, and 11). That would help the reader visualize your references easily and help communicate your point faster.”

Here are some of the important questions you should ask when writing as review:

Does the proposal, or the article, have a major flaw? If so point that out right away BUT also make sure to mention the ways in which such a flaw can be remedied or corrected.

Did the writer manage to formulate a clear idea or thesis? If not, what can he or she do to bring the main thesis into sharp focus?

Did the writer present any evidence to support the main thesis? What the evidence relevant and enough? Is any more evidence needed?

Is the tone of the work appropriate for the audience? Is there any sarcasm in the piece (never justified, unless it’s a humor article)? Did the author use words to complex or simple for the audience? If so, which words are they and what would you propose the writer change them with?

If any experimental results are reported, were the experiments justified? Was the technique or methodology appropriate? How about the assumptions made? What was the “framework” of the experiment? What are the weak and strong aspects of the experiment(s)?

Which additional elements, ideas, arguments, or facts should have been covered? And WHY they should’ve been covered? How their inclusion would have benefitted the work in question?

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