A review is an evaluation or assessment of a product or service, such as a scientific article, book, film, exhibition, or any other type of creative work. You can use a review as an assignment by asking your students to write (or film) a review about a specific product or service. Creating a review helps your students develop their critical thinking skills and their understanding of the field.
In the style of the review, you can vary by having the students write the review for a specific medium (such as a newspaper or scientific journal). In a so-called ‘letter to the editor’, your students write their review addressed to a particular publication, magazine, or newspaper to compliment, criticize, or convey certain information about the medium.
Some examples:
- A book review – assign a book to your students (or let them choose one within certain parameters) and ask them to write a review in which they give their opinion on the content, style, characters, and contribution to the field of study.
- A movie review – assign a film to your students and ask them to write a review in which they give their opinion about the storyline, acting performances, direction, and contribution to the field.
- An exhibition review – your students visit an exhibition and write a review about it, expressing their opinion about the selected artworks, the arrangement, and the contribution to the field.
- A review of a scientific article – your students read one or more specific scientific articles and evaluate it on content, style, reliability and validity, relevance, and contribution to the field.
Give clear guidelines on what you expect from the students, such as the length of the review, the criteria on which you will evaluate the review, and a deadline.
When it comes to these types of assignments, it is always advisable to use tools such as FeedbackFruits Peer Review and FeedbackFruits Automated Feedback.
Want to know more?
- How to write academic reviews? – Trent University
- Writing letters to the editor – University of Kansas