Writing a Book/Film Review: A Guide for English Students from Ies Bécquer

BIES BÉCQUER

Writing a Book/Film Review

Sometimes your English teacher may ask you to write a book or a film review. As any piece of writing or speech you should structure your review in three main parts. Here is some useful vocabulary to help you.

Useful Vocabulary for Reviews

• INTRODUCTION

• (Name of the book/film) is a romance/an action film/a cartoon/a biography .....
• The film/book tells the story of .....
• The story/film is set .. ...
• It's based on ....
• It stars ..
• It's written/directed by ..

The Main Body of a Review

• Summarize the plot in a few sentences.
• Mention the setting.
• Say something about the main characters.
• Say something about the content.
• Paragraph 1 (Main points of the plot)
• The story/film begins ... /is about ..
• The story focuses on ... (Start telling the story ....
• The story is set/ takes place in (place) in (time) ...
• The film reaches a dramatic climax.
• The story/film ends ....
• Paragraph 2 (Comments)
• It's rather/quite long/confusing/moving/sad ....
• It's a well-written book/ well-acted film ...
• The script/the story is beautifully written

The Conclusion of a Review

• In my opinion ....
• I would (not) recommend it because. ...
• I really enjoyed/hated it because ....
• It is definitely (not) worth seeing/reading .....
• Don't miss it.
• I highly/thoroughly recommend it.
• If you are looking for a ............ story/film you should definitely read/watch ...
• It is a highly entertaining film/book/play ....
• I was pleasantly surprised by .....
• Do you recommend the book/film?
• If you get a chance to ...
• Comment on the book/film.
• Let other know whether you liked it or not. Explain why.
• Is the author's style good or bad?
• Is the book/film interesting/boring ...?
• Give the title and author of the book. When reviewing a film mention the director or actors.

More Useful Vocabulary for Reviews

Adjectives for Reviews

Entertaining, exciting, funny, hilarious, dull, serious, moving, violent, predictable, entertaining, frightening, amusing, sad, Fantastic, romantic, fascinating, excellent, gripping, dramatic, Tragic, badly/well-written/-acted/-made, touching dreadful, spectacular, powerful

Adverbs for Reviews

a bit, a little, rather, fairly, really, absolutely, slightly, quite, very ,extremely

Nouns for Reviews

Acting, actor, actress, author, writer, director, novelist, Character, ending, story, plot, scene, series, sequel, Special effects, cast, star, soundtrack, episode

Verbs for Reviews

Act, star, play, write, direct

Types of Stories/Films

thriller, comedy, adventure, action, love story, detective story/mistery, science fiction, biography, romance, novel, tale

A Walk in the Clouds Example Review

A WALK in the CLOUDS Origiiul Masan "Tizzare Spankrock Manag Campowed and Conducted Su milan

Example Review: 'A Walk in the Clouds'

This story is about a touching romance which is set in 'The Clouds' the place where the Aragons live. The film is directed by Alfonso Arau. The cast includes Keanu Reeves as Victoria's husband, Aitana Sanchez-Gijón as Victoria Aragón a young student, Anthony Quinn as Victoria's wise grandfather and Giancarlo Giannini as Victoria's father. It tells the story of a soldier who comes back home to his wife. He has to earn a living so he goes to other places to sell chocolate. Then the soldier meets Victoria who has come back home too. She is pregnant and single. Victoria fears her father. The man proposes her to pretend to be her husband for a day and afterwards, he will carry on his life together with his wife. Victoria agrees with him but her father suspects of them. The film is filled of amusing and dramatic scenes. The actors give a brilliant performance. It also has beautiful and colourful pictures which go with a superb soundtrack. I highly recommend it. Don't miss it. If you like familiar values, it will be worth seeing.

BRITISH COUNCIL LearnEnglish Teens

Writing Skills Practice: An Opinion Essay

An opinion essay

Are video games a good way to keep fit?

Nowadays, many teenagers have got video consoles at home and they often like playing active video games. These are good for you for a number of reasons. First of all, I think that active video games are a good way to keep fit. There are lots of different types of exercise you can do such as basketball, water-skiing and dance and, what's more, you can play them in the comfort of your own home. In my opinion, these games are fun and interactive because you can play them with friends and, if you play online, you don't need to be in the same place as your friend to play. In addition, you can play them whenever you want. Some people think that it's better to do exercise outside in the fresh air. Although this is true, it's actually difficult to play outside when it's raining or very hot so video games are a good alternative. To sum up, I believe that video games are a fun and social way to keep fit. I think they are a good option when you can't play outside and they might encourage people to do more exercise.

Top Tips for Writing Essays

1. Write your essay in clear paragraphs. Use phrases like First of all, In addition and To sum up to start each paragraph.
2. Express your own opinion using I think, In my opinion or I believe. Mention other viewpoints with phrases like Some people think and say whether you agree or disagree with them.

www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishteens @ The British Council, 2012 The United Kingdom's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

25 Phrases for Expressing Opinions

• I think ....
• I feel ....
• I believe ....
• I suppose ....
• According to me ....
• I guess ....
• In my view ....
• In my opinion ....
• In my eyes ....
• It seems to me that ....
• From my point of view ....
• From my perspective ....
• From my view point ....
• As far as I'm concerned ..
• Personally, I think ....
• I'd like to point out that ....
• What I mean is ....
• Generally it is thought that ....
• Some people say that ....
• Well, it is considered that ....
• It is generally accepted that ....
• It goes without saying that ....
• My impression is that ....
• I hold the view that ....

25 Phrases for Expressing Agreement

• I agree ....
• Definitely ....
• Absolutely ....
• I see your point ....
• I see what you are getting at ....
• I'd go along with that view to a point ...
• I have to side with you on this one ....
• I think so too ....
• That's a good point ....
• You're right, that's a good point ....
• That's true ....
• You have my full agreement ....
• Ok, that's convincing ....
• You took the words right out of my mouth ...
• I totally agree ....
• I couldn't agree more ....
• Precisely ....
• Sure, that's one way of looking at it ....
• I suppose so ....
• I'd go along with that ....
• I see exactly what you mean ....
• Actually, I think you're right ....
• Well, I agree with you here ....
• I second that ....
• I take your word on it ....
• I'm of the opinion that ....

Jagrati Chauhan, 2014

25 Phrases for Expressing Disagreement

• I see your point, but ....
• That's one way of looking at it, however ....
• Well, I see things rather differently ....
• I'm not sure I go along with that view.
• I agree up to a point, but ....
• I wouldn't quite put it that way myself ....
• I can't/ couldn't go along with that ....
• You've got to be kidding ....
• I find that very difficult to accept ....
• Not necessarily ....
• There is no way I could agree with that ....
• No, I'm not sure about that because ....
• We don't seem to be in complete agreement ....
• I see what you are getting at, but ....
• I completely disagree ....
• Umm, I'm not sure about that ....
• I don't really agree with that idea.
• You could say that, however ....
• I still have my doubts ....
• That's out of question ....
• Well, I don't quite agree with you ....
• We don't seem to agree here ....
• That's not always true ....
• I don't think so ....
• I'm afraid, I disagree ....

25 Phrases for Expressing Interruption

• Sorry to interrupt, but ....
• Is it ok if I jump in for a moment ....
• If I may interrupt ....
• Do you mind if I add something ....
• Excuse me, but in my opinion ....
• Excuse me for a second, but ....
• Let me finish what I have to say first ....
• Excuse me for interrupting, but ....
• Well, that reminds me that ....
• I don't mean to intrude, but ....
• Sorry, but can you let me finish.
• Before you go on, I'd like to say something ....
• Before you move on, I'd like to say something ....
• Just a moment, I like to add something here ....
• Can I add something here ....
• If I might add something ....
• Can I throw my two cents in ....
• Umm, well not really ....
• Are you telling that ....
• Sorry, but I'm not done yet ....
• May I say something here ....
• Sorry to cut you off, but ....
• So, you're telling me ....
• Well, if that is the case ....
• Wait a minute ....

Jagrati Chauhan, 2014

Connectives (Conectores Textuales) B1-B2 Aptis General

Sequencing Narration

• after that, ... después de eso
• all of a sudden ... de repente,
• finally, ... finalmente
• first of all, ... en primer lugar
• in the end ... al final
• in the meantime, ... mientras tanto
• meanwhile ... mientras tanto
• next ... luego
• suddenly ... de repente,
• then ... entonces, después
• while ... mientras

Contrast

• however, ... : sin embargo
• instead of ... : en vez de
• neverthelesss, ... : no obstante
• on the contrary, ... : por el contrario
• whereas / while : mientras
• though / although : aunque
• In spite of/despite + Noun/Clause/Verb+ing: a pesar de ..
• On the one hand, On the other hand, ...: Por una parte, ... Por otra parte, ...
• Conversely: A la inversa, por el contrario

Structuring Discourse

Primer párrafo

• At first sight: A primera vista
• First of all: Antes que nada
• In the first place: En primer lugar
• To start with: Para empezar

Segundo párrafo

• In the second place, ... : En segundo lugar,
• Second, ... : Segundo,
• Secondly, ... : En segundo lugar,
• Third, ... : Tercero,
• Thirdly, ... : En tercer lugar,

Conclusión

• Finally, ... : Por último,
• In conclusion, ... : Para concluir,
• Lastly, ... : Por último,

Cause and Effect

• because of ... : ... debido a .
• due to + noun : Debido a + sustantivo
• due to the fact that + sentence: Debido a que + oración
• for this/that reason, ... : Por esta/esa razón
• on account of + noun: A causa de + sustantivo

Reason

• to + verb: para + verbo
• in order to/that + clause: para (que)
• so as to/ so that + clause: para (que)

Summing Up

• All in all, ... : En conjunto, resumiendo
• In brief, ..: En resumen
• In conclusion, ..: Para concluir
• In short, ...: En resumen
• To sum up, ... : Para resumir

Result

• so: por lo tanto, así que
• As a result: Como resultado, en consecuencia
• consequently: En consecuencia
• therefore: Por lo tanto
• thus: así que

Addition

• besides, : además,
• in addition to + noun: además de + sustantivo
• in addition,: además,
• moreover,:además,
• furthermore: asimismo
• also: también
• what's more, ... : Además; lo que es más,
• another point is that ... : Habría que añadir que

Giving Opinion

• As far as I'm concerned: Por lo que a mí respecta
• From my point of view: Desde mi punto de vista
• I agree / disagree: Estoy de acuerdo /no estoy de acuerdo
• In my opinion: En mi opinión ...
• In my view: En mi opinión ...
• I think (that): Creo que ...
• It is true that: es verdad que ...
• Personally, ... : Personalmente ...
• To be honest, ...: Para ser honesto
• To tell the truth, ... : A decir verdad

Giving Examples

• ... , and so on. : etcétera
• for example, ...: por ejemplo,
• for instance, ..: por ejemplo,
• such as ... : tal(es) como ...

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