Tag: writing a review essay

Introduction

Everyone has opinions. People debate which restaurant has the best pizza, which show is worth binge watching, or whether a new product is worth the hype. But in college writing, opinion by itself is not enough. Academic work requires you to evaluate, to move beyond “I liked it” or “I did not like it” and instead offer clear, supported judgments based on criteria. A review essay does just that. It asks you to choose a subject such as a book, movie, play, performance, or product and evaluate it in a structured way.

This article will guide you through the process of crafting a review essay. By the end, you will know how to select criteria, balance summary and analysis, support your claims, and write in a way that is thoughtful, convincing, and well organized.

Understand the Purpose of a Review Essay

The goal of a review essay is not simply to summarize a work or share your personal feelings. Instead, the goal is to:

• Explain what you are evaluating, the subject.
• Establish criteria for judgment, the standards you are using.
• Provide evidence that supports your evaluation.
• Draw a conclusion about the subject’s effectiveness, quality, or impact.

Think of a review essay as a bridge between criticism and analysis. You are making judgments, but those judgments are carefully reasoned and supported.

Choose a Subject You Can Evaluate Meaningfully

A strong review essay begins with a thoughtful choice of subject. Your professor may assign a specific text, performance, or artifact, or you may choose your own.

When selecting, ask:

• Is this subject specific enough? For example, “The Marvel movies” is too broad, but “Black Panther” is manageable.
• Can I find criteria to judge it by? Think of aspects like originality, effectiveness, style, clarity, credibility, or impact.
• Will my evaluation add something beyond a basic summary?

Choose something that interests you but also allows for serious evaluation.

Establish Clear Evaluation Criteria

One of the most important steps is setting the standards you will use to judge your subject. Criteria are like rules of the game. You cannot evaluate without them.

Common criteria include:

• Effectiveness, does it achieve its purpose?
• Organization and structure, is it logically arranged?
• Style and delivery, is the language or performance powerful, clear, engaging?
• Originality, does it offer something new or unique?
• Credibility and evidence, is it well supported, trustworthy, accurate?
• Impact, what effect does it have on the audience or field?

For example, if reviewing a TED Talk, you might use clarity of message, use of evidence, and effectiveness of delivery.

Tip: Narrow to three or four criteria. Too many and your essay becomes scattered. Too few and it feels shallow.

Balance Summary and Evaluation

Students often fall into one of two traps: too much summary or too little context. A good review essay needs both, in balance.

• Summary provides background: what the subject is, who created it, when, and why. This helps readers who may not be familiar with it.
• Evaluation explains how well the subject meets the criteria you have set.

Think of summary as setting the stage, and evaluation as the main performance. In a one thousand word essay, one hundred fifty to two hundred words of summary is usually enough.

Use Evidence to Support Judgments

Evaluation without evidence is just opinion. Strong review essays provide examples, quotations, or details that show why your judgment is valid.

Examples of evidence:

• Quoting a line from a book or speech to illustrate strong or weak writing.
• Describing a specific scene in a film that demonstrates creativity or predictability.
• Citing statistics or reviews that support your assessment.

Instead of writing: The speaker was engaging.

Write: The speaker maintained eye contact, used humor effectively, and moved naturally across the stage, which kept the audience engaged.

Evidence makes your evaluation credible.

Structure the Essay Clearly

A review essay needs a logical, easy to follow structure. Here is a common outline:

Introduction

• Introduce the subject, title, author or creator, context.
• State your thesis, your overall judgment with a hint at the criteria.

Body Paragraphs (one for each criterion)

• Topic sentence stating the judgment.
• Evidence or examples that support it.
• Analysis explaining how the evidence proves the judgment.

Conclusion

• Summarize your overall evaluation.
• Consider the subject’s larger significance, such as its impact, effectiveness, or contribution.

Example Thesis:
Although the documentary 13th relies heavily on statistics, its clear organization, powerful use of interviews, and emotional appeal make it one of the most effective explorations of mass incarceration in recent years.

This thesis gives an overall judgment, “one of the most effective explorations,” and hints at the criteria, organization, interviews, emotional appeal.

Write with Balance and Fairness

Strong evaluations consider multiple sides. Avoid extremes such as “This is the best thing ever” or “This is garbage.” Instead, acknowledge strengths and weaknesses.

For example:

• The novel’s pacing drags in the middle chapters, but its vivid characters keep readers invested.
• Although the speech is repetitive, that repetition drives home the central message.

Balanced writing shows depth and credibility.

Maintain an Academic Tone

Even though you are giving your judgment, avoid casual or overly emotional language. Instead of “I think” or “I feel,” write in a confident, analytical voice.

Weak: I feel like the actor was good because he seemed real.
Stronger: The actor delivered a believable performance by using subtle expressions and natural dialogue.

This does not mean stripping away personality. It means grounding your perspective in analysis.

Revise for Clarity and Depth

Good writing does not happen in one draft. After drafting:

• Re read your thesis: Does it clearly state an overall judgment and criteria?
• Check each paragraph: Does it focus on one criterion? Does it provide evidence?
• Trim unnecessary summary or vague statements.
• Strengthen weak analysis by asking “why” after each judgment.

Peer review is especially helpful here. Another reader can spot gaps in your reasoning or areas that need more evidence.

Avoid Common Pitfalls

• Too much plot summary. Readers do not need a blow by blow recap. Focus on evaluation.
• Lack of criteria. Without clear standards, your essay becomes unfocused.
• Opinion without support. “I liked it” is not enough. Show why.
• Vagueness. Avoid words like “good,” “bad,” or “boring” unless you explain what makes it so.

Conclusion

A review essay is more than just an opinion piece. It is a structured, evidence based evaluation. By choosing a clear subject, setting specific criteria, balancing summary and analysis, and supporting judgments with evidence, you can craft a review essay that is thoughtful, persuasive, and academically sound.

Remember: the purpose of the review essay is not only to evaluate a specific subject but also to practice evaluative thinking, a skill that transfers to every field, from analyzing research articles in science to assessing business proposals or policy decisions.

When done well, a review essay shows that you can move from “I liked it” or “I did not like it” to a deeper level of analysis: “Here is what worked, here is what did not, and here is why it matters.”