Yes, no, maybe? (Writing a Good dooyoo Review)

Member Name: paulhanton

Product:	Writing a Good dooyoo Review
Date:	30/03/09 (520 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A subjective guide to review writing.

Disadvantages: A subjective guide to review writing.

I have been on this site for around a year, and before that was on Ciao for nearly five years. Since being here I have managed to get a fair few crowns and written lots of reviews, not always top notch, so these things, I hope, give me some insight into a decent review. That being said, a good review is quite subjective and it would be easier to write what does not make a good review, however, as a pretty optimistic and positive guy, I'll write what I think makes a good review:


~~Quality~~

This means, think about your writing. Think about how you would feel reading this review if you were unsure of whether to buy/use this product. Also think about the practical things like; spelling (use a spell check if you are not a great speller), spacing (it needs to 'read' well, be decently spaced with paragraphs), get your facts and figures right (there are plenty of external sources), make it your own (do not plagarise or make it robotic). A plea to people, try not to use phrases like 'Get this, it's awesome', headlines are for the titles, not the text.


~~Word Length~~

The 150 word minimum should be taken literally, ie. 'minimum'. There are some terrific reviews that come in at just over the 150 words, but they are in the minority, in truth, there are few reviews of that length that warrant a very useful. Those that do, in my opinion, tend to be for food and drink items....I do not feel it is possible to write a decent film, book or music review for instance in 151 words.


~~Make it interesting~~

Tell the reader; what you like about the product, what you don't like, why, if it is music film or book, how it makes you feel, if it is an electrical product, how easy it was to set up and use. Use comparisons that people can relate to, so if it is an own brand tomato soup, compare it to Heinz for instance. Use humour if appropriate. Use some personal anecdotes but not too much, you are not reviewing you.


~~Be balanced~~

A review is an opinion, so cannot be objective, but it can be balanced. If you think the product is fantastic, great, look for any negatives, and likewise, if the product is useless, fair enough, look for any positives at all. If you are reveiwing something that is a bad product, is it bad because it does not work, or just because you do not like it? be honest and say why, opinion is fine, only do not mix it with pseudo facts.


~~Specific categories~~

This is probably the most subjective are of all. Personally I write a fair few music reviews. I like to write about each track and when reading reviews I like to read about each track, not in great detail, but a short paragraph is fine. Some people do not like to read about every track, that's fine too. Whatever you do, tell us why...are you reviewing each track because they are so different, because they invoke feelings, because you want to comment on that particular track?

Film and TV reviews are tricky in my opinion, they should contain; main characters/stars (a complete cast list is not needed), basic plot (not the whole story, and not the ending please), how the film 'looked' (style, CGI, location, directing even), what you liked, what you did not like, any comparisons to similar films is sometimes useful, as is some analysis (please not a dissertation), and finally, what did this film/show do for you...did it make you laugh, cry etc.

Book reviews, similar to above, though I personally like to know whether this was a fast read, or hard to get into, I also like to know a bit about the writing style; first or third person, descriptive or punchy, cerebral etc.

Food reviews should not contain a whole list of ingredients, or if it does, put it at the end so people can choose to read them or not. That being said, if the product contains nut, E numbers etc., it is useful to mention that, as well as if it contains 'only natural ingredients'. I want to know about; looks, taste, smells, textures, thst is what food is about.


~~~Finally~~~

I do not believe, unless you do this full time, that anyone can write 10 good reviews per day, and I only tend to read the first review any meber posts per day. If you take your time and craft a good piece of writing, it will get well read. You will also get a 'reputation' for being a decent writer, which means people will look out for your reviews, play the long game folks.

Do remember, we all write the odd bad review, if we get some constructive comments, take them on board, try and improve, but do not 'bow down' to people that tell you that you MUST' write like X or Y, develop your own style.

I have a philosphy in life about doing things, it is simple do what you would like to have. I try to be the dad I would like to have, I try and be the therapist I would like to see, I try and write the review that I would like to read.


Good luck.

Summary: Reviews on Dooyoo.