#Calyxium here, and I'm putting up a rough template for you to use to format and structure book reviews. I hope it's helpful!
As always, include a [MAJOR SPOILER WARNING] whenever it's necessary, but please confine all spoilers to the Personal Experience section. Book Title Shelves: Classic Literature, Horror, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Paranormal Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Epic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Mystery, Crime, Historical, Non-Fiction, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Suspense Romance, Paranormal Romance, Dystopia, Comedy, Alternate History... etc. Age Range: Adult, Young Adult, Children's. Author(s): The Author(s), if audiobook or graphic novel, also include the narrator and the artists. If it's an anthology, just list the biggest names. Series: Ignore this if the book is standalone, but otherwise include the name of the series it's from. Published: Publication date/original language. Pages: The number of pages in the book, this information is on Goodreads. Synopsis: An outline of the plot, or the book's blurb. This can be sourced from Goodreads or written yourself, but make sure it's spoiler-free. If you are reviewing one book from a series, ensure you do not spoiler the previous books here. Review Plot: 1-10 Was the plot well-constructed? Were there plot holes? Did it make sense overall? Were things left hanging, questions left unanswered? Was the plot enjoyable and engaging? Did the author rely too heavily on deus ex machina? Were all elements of the plot skilfully brought together for a satisfying conclusion? Please don't spoiler here, just your comments on the quality of the plot's construction. Pacing: 1-10 Was the book too slow, so you lost interest, or too fast so you couldn't follow what was happening? Did you remain engaged throughout reading? Were there sluggish parts where nothing interesting happened? Did you constantly want to read more and find you couldn't put the book down? Characters: 1-10 Were the characters likeable? Believable? Sympathetic? Did you root for the hero, or for their cause? Did you engage with them? Were they fully developed - did they have flaws and full, fleshed out personalities or were they reader or author-avatar characters, or just there to push the plot onward? Writing: 1-10 Was it well written? Were there grammar errors, or sentences that ran on too long, or not long enough? Did the author use synonyms or overuse the same words over and over? Was it too descriptive, or not descriptive enough? Did the author "show, not tell" and introduce you to information as it became relevant to the current plot, or did they have large chunks of exposition to wade through? Worldbuilding: 1-10 Were you given a sense of the wider-world? Was it described, did you have a sense of the geographical location the book was set in, and how it related to other areas? Were there different cultures which were presented and developed? Was the description and imagery lacking, or enough for you to imagine this setting? Narration/Illustration: 1-10 OPTIONAL category for people reviewing audiobooks or graphic novels, or books with illustrations. For audio, consider whether the narrator was the right choice from the book, and if his performance added to the book, or detracted from it. Was his range sufficient for the cast of characters? Did he add emotion to scenes or read in a flat monotone? For illustrations, did they add to the book? Were they skilfully illustrated in a style that fit with the book? Did they illuminate scenes that might otherwise have been obscure? Feels: 1-10 Did you feel for the characters, and for their plight, or for their successes? Did you care about them and about what happened to them? Did you connect emotionally, or relate to any of the characters or circumstances? Personal Experience: Your personal experience and any other thoughts you had while and after reading. You can obviously include spoilers here but be sure to use the spoiler warning tag: [MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS] where appropriate. Are you looking forward to reading more by the author, or similar books, or the next in the series? Did the book make you think about issues you hadn't previously considered? Would I Recommend This? If so, who to? Who wouldn't you recommend the book to? Explain why. Overall Rating: The numerical average of the score for the previous categories. If you're interested in writing a movie review for us, but don't know where to start, staff member @Funnelby has made this helpful template for movie reviews.
(Please include a spoiler warning everywhere it's necessary!) Movie Title Genre: Action, Animation, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Fantasy, History, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller. Age Certification: Director(s): Writer(s): Could include whether the movie is based on a true story, a book, or something else (TV show, anime, etc). Notable Actors: It's not necessary to give a complete list of who was involved, but rather known actors or actors that are otherwise notable, e.g. for their outstanding performance. Release: Date, Language Plot Outline: Please keep it reasonably short and as spoiler free as possible. This is not a tool to describe everything that happens, but rather to try and get the reader interested. Review On a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, rate the following aspects of the movie and explain your rating. As before, try to keep this as spoiler free as possible. Acting: 1-10 How good was the acting, were the actors believable? Writing: 1-10 Is the story interesting, are the characters introduced and developed well and are their actions justified? Are there unnecessary scenes? Directing: 1-10 Optional. Include this if you have specific notes about the directing, but otherwise skip it. Sound/Music: 1-10 Did the movie have a good soundtrack and sound effects? Were they used correctly to influence or accentuate the current mood? Visuals: 1-10 Was the movie eye candy, did the visuals add to the overall experience? "Feels": 1-10 A somewhat subjective category. Did you get emotionally invested, were you able to bond with the characters? Did the movie as a whole make you feel anything or think about something specific (happiness, sadness, societal circumstances, etc)? Personal Experience: This is where you can write all about what you loved/hated most about the movie. Spoilers can obviously be included. Would you recommend this movie to others? Why/why not? Overall Rating: 1-10 An average of the other scored categories. |
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