C1 Advanced · Writing · Part 2
Reviews that describe, evaluate and recommend.
A review describes something and then judges it, and the second half is where the marks are. A review that summarises the plot of a film or the layout of a restaurant and never commits to a verdict has not done the task, however well written the description is.
It also has a purpose beyond opinion: a reader is deciding whether to go, watch, read or buy. So a recommendation — for whom, and why — belongs at the end. Descriptive language is genuinely rewarded here, which makes this one of the better tasks for showing off range if you can hold the structure together.
At C1 the review runs to 220 to 260 words and is pitched at a more demanding publication, so a flat good-or-bad verdict is not enough. The expectation is a considered assessment — what the thing was trying to do, how far it succeeded, who it will and will not suit. A balanced judgement with a clear overall line reads better here than unqualified enthusiasm.
No. A negative or mixed verdict is fine, and often gives more to write about, as long as it is supported by specifics rather than asserted. What is not fine is having no verdict at all.
Yes, unless the task says otherwise. Examiners are marking your English, not checking the film exists. Inventing something you can describe confidently usually beats straining to remember a real one.
