THE REVIEW
 
     A review is not just your opinion-- it is your educated
opinion.  

1. STYLE -- it is usually the same as the informal essay.

2. SUBJECT MATTER  The reviewer must have some knowledge of the
subject but this does not mean that you must have a great deal
of previous knowledge.  The process of learning about something
can be a valuable part of your review.  The subject matter
should also be something that the audience might find
interesting, although many reviews deal with seemingly
irrelevant things -- they are made interesting because of the
writing talent or the presentation.
Avoid reviews of any off-colour or blatantly distasteful
subjects since these will just turn off your audience and
probably earn great disdain (and a lousy mark).

3. PROCESS OF THE REVIEW

     1. Define your subject.  Let the reader know what
distinguishes your subject from others or makes it distinctive. 
If the subject requires technical knowledge,  supply some.  For
instance, a car review is very general. Do a review of
something much more specific such as sport utility vehicles or
your dad's car.

     2. Explain what you will be comparing your "thing" to or
what you will use as the benchmark.  If you review your
girl/boy friend, why not compare him/her to a highly desirable
T.V. character.

     3. Break your subject down into easily understandable,
well organized parts.  For instance, a restaurant review will
move from the first impression as you enter, through the
courses in order, and then conclude.

     4.  The best comes last, or if you are doing the five
worst, then the worst comes last.

4. LANGUAGE

     Needless to say, you will employ a rhetorical question to
stimulate interest, allusions, slang, colloquialisms, analogy
and any other of the myriad of techniques that we studied to
make your writing more interesting and entertaining.

5. REFERENCES

     Your good taste and impeccable knowledge are the best
references.  Your review of french fries is accepted on your
word alone because you are an acknowledged expert-- or at least
said you were.  You do not need to do a massive amount of
research unless you know nothing about the subject, in which
case no one will accept your opinion anyway.