I had to hand in my first piece of work for marking last week

These are (part of) the guidelines:

Students will study representative reviews of literary works, theatrical productions or film in publications such as the Guardian, Times Literary Supplement, London Review of Books, New York Review of Books and write their own. The assessed review will consist of a short (2000 words) written review of a literary work, theatrical production or film, showing an understanding of the trajectory of the writer involved

About Reviews

A review is rarely, if ever, an academic piece of writing. It is typically motivated by taste, enthusiasm for the reviewed medium, a desire to communicate whether the reviewed object is a successful example of its kind, how it fits into its medium or genre, what makes the book/film/game/etc. unusual, typical etc

The reviewer is a ‘critic’ perhaps mainly in that s/he is making a claim about having some expertise in the medium (novels, films, poetry, art etc.) and can assess this particular example in terms of its quality or success

Reviews also seek, perhaps, to entertain. They are features in a publication which wants to be read

How To Do It

Pick a thing to review. Something you have an enthusiasm for – whether positive or negative. Read reviews in that medium, looking for what those reviews concern themselves with. To some extent, use your understanding of what ‘makers’ (writers, artists etc.) do and how they go about creating these things; to some extent, see yourself as a bit of a fan, a bit of an expert. Use your writerly abilities to make a text which brings your truth, taste, opinion to the reader

So, this is what I handed in. It hasn’t been marked yet

TGOTT

Happy to receive constructive criticism!