What makes for a good review? Opinion of course! (Writing a Good dooyoo Review)

Member Name: rosebud2001

Product:	Writing a Good dooyoo Review
Date:	20/06/09 (188 review reads)
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How to write a good review is the title here - however I have to say that what I am about to write is my opinion on what makes for a good review and I don't expect everyone to agree with me.

I would stress, however, that in the time I have been here I have spent a lot of time reading members' work (I have read nearly twice as many reviews as I have had member reads on my own reviews) and I can now tell fairly quickly if a review is going to grip the reader or not, and if the author understands the difference between writing a descriptive article on a product or service and actually writing a review telling the reader what they think of it.

The most important thing for me is that a review contains lots of opinion. It's very easy to write a plot synopsis, write a track listing for an album, describe a hotel lobby and restaurant or describe every function on a website. However, that isn't a review - it's only a list of facts the user can find anywhere.

A review has to be, first and foremost, a piece of writing with opinion explaining what you thought of the film, album, hotel or website - or whatever else it is you are reviewing.

By all means briefly describe what you are reviewing but in my opinion the brevity of this part is crucial - learn that 4000 words of description is not the same as 4000 words of consumer opinion. And even better, learn that 4000 words is almost always too much!

Now some reviewers can get away with more description than others because they write so well and can bring places or products to life, but it doesn't matter to me how good a writer is - if the review is lacking in opinion it isn't something I think deserves a Very Useful rate.

So bear this in mind - you should be describing and reviewing hand in hand - not describing and adding your opinions as an afterthought. You have to balance between opinion and the facts otherwise your review will just be a rehash of the product's website or user manual and won't actually be a piece of writing that can be defined as a review, just like a list of specifications isn't a review.

Also consider the length of your work. I have read some very well written reviews that have been two or three times the length necessary. I am invariably decried for saying I found it too long when I comment and rate as I see fit, but if a piece of writing containing 4000 words could be just as effective in half that or less, then it's not as helpful as it could be.

Choose carefully what the author may find helpful - a minute description of packaging for instance isn't helpful. What is helpful is telling the reader if the packaging is difficult to open or reseal. I really don't care what colour the font is proclaiming a product's name but I do need to know if I am going to need tools to open it or if someone with a disability might struggle with it.

Most people have a fairly short attention span and while there are a handful of writers who can captivate the reader on long reviews, sadly the majority (and I include myself here) cannot - and I struggle to read reviews that contain information that is, quite frankly, surplus to requirements as I find this kind of work turgid. And if I find a review turgid, it isn't Very Useful to me.

I get very depressed when I take the time to read a long review only to find there is hardly any opinion in there.

Dooyoo ask for 150 words of consumer opinion minimum and while anyone who writes less than that in a short review tends to be rated accordingly, I find if people post lengthy reviews where one struggles to find that much opinion, the reviews are invariably rated VU by people who I believe have quite simply thought "it's a long one" and felt a VU rating was a safe option without actually reading all of it.

The other thing I really enjoy in a review is a little bit of personality. This can come across in your title (I really am a sucker for a good review title) or within the review itself. I don't mean you need to include your life story but a little bit of background always works for me - even if it's a joke at your husband's expense or mention of your pets if you are reviewing something relevant to them.

I would stress the point that I feel a little bit of personality is a good thing - in this instance however remember less can very often be more. Let your personality shine in the words you write - not in huge swathes of prose that are only tenuously linked to the product you are reviewing.

I have said this before and will repeat it again - proof reading is essential when posting a review so far as I am concerned. Even if you do not have a word processing program on your computer, you can proof read or run it through Google Chrome before hitting submit.

I have received snarky comments in the past for saying work must be checked but I firmly believe if you expect dooyoo to pay you money for your written work, the very least you can do is check your work before submission. If you were to submit work full of basic grammatical and spelling errors to a publication expecting payment they would rightly reject it - so do dooyoo a courtesy and submit a premium review that is of premium quality.

A review also has to be balanced. So if you had a terrible experience in a store and decide to write a review based solely on this experience, it isn't going to be balanced and might even fall into the category of "rant" which might make you feel better, but isn't helpful to a consumer at all.

You have to counterpoint good with bad and there are very few products or services that have no good points at all - for example I am no fan of Ryanair for a variety of reasons, but even I have to admit that whilst I find their customer service appalling and their add on charges to be an almost legalised form of daylight robbery, they provide a service that many people find useful and are happy with.

Finally, accept some people may well disagree with something you have written or find it to be less useful than others. Just because the majority find it very useful doesn't mean everyone has to and so long as the member in question has read the review in full they are entitled to rate however they see fit without fear of ridicule or threat.

So in conclusion I would always say to people asking the question "what makes a good review" - ensure it is balanced, contains lots of opinion, has personality and says what it has to say as pithily as possible!

Summary: My opinion on what makes for a good review on dooyoo