Review – examples & model answers | C2 Proficient (CPE)
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CPE Example Review: Book
Topic:
A literary magazine is running a series of reviews of books that people enjoyed reading as a child and would recommend for children today. You decide to send in a review in which you describe a book you enjoyed and the attractions it had for you as a child. You should also explain why you feel it remains relevant for children today.
Write your review
Answer:
Childhood Book
One of my favourite childhood books is the ‘Six Bullerby Children’ written by Astrid Lindergren, a famous Swedish author. The story is set in a three-farm remote village of Bullerby in Sweden.
The narrator is a seven-year-old girl, Lisa who, with her parents and two older brothers – Lasse and Bosse, lives in one of the houses. Lisa describes the daily life of the children in Bullerby which – contrary to what one might think when imagining life in a small, remote village – is far from boring. The children have plenty of funny ideas, which often lead to amusing adventures.
Although the book was included in the compulsory school literature when I was a child (which often meant long, boring reads), I have truly enjoyed the adventures of Lisa and her friends. Despite very limited resources (the story is set in 1930s when children did not have many toys, not to mention a TV or video games!) the children always come up with exciting games or things to play with. This is something I admired and wished I could do when reading the book.
Another thing which appealed to me as a child was the natural childlike way in which Lisa (or Astrid Lindgren, the author) could tell the story connecting effortlessly with the young readers.
Despite the environment in which the children live nowadays has changed considerably since 1930s, children will always be children and if the book has appealed to so many young generations since it was published, I believe it will retain its impact. It can be more, even more relevant today, when children are presented with things to play, instead of inventing games themselves. Reading the book could definitely wake up their innate creativity.
‘Six Bullerby Children’ could, however, also be more relavent to adults who would like to either ‘return’ to their childhood for a little while, or be able to connect with their own children a bit better.
Comments:
| Subscale | Grade | Commentary |
| Content | 5 | All content is relevant to the task. The target reader is fully informed. |
| Communicative Achievement | 4 | The conventions of the review are used with sufficient flexibility to communicate complex ideas in an effective and convincing way, holding the reader’s attention with ease, fulfilling all communicative purposes. |
| Organisation | 3 | The text is a well-organised, coherent whole which uses a variety of cohesive devices and organisational patterns with flexibility although there are instances when they are not used accurately. |
| Language | 4 | A range of vocabulary, including less common lexis, is used effectively and precisely. A wide range of simple and complex grammatical forms are used with full control, flexibility and some sophistication. There are a few slips. |
CPE Example Review: Old Film
Topic:
The magazine Big Screen has invited its readers to review old films. You have recently watched a film which was made a number of years ago. You decide to write a review of the film you saw, explaining why it might appeal to a new audience and saying whether any aspects of the film now seem old-fashioned or out-of-date.
Write your review
Answer:
Grease n’ Beats
A teenage love, the eternal rivalry between delinquents and gooks, some romance drama and John Travolta working his little dance magic make the perfect musical, certain to be enjoyed by all ages.
Set in the 1950s, although filmed 20 years later, the story revolves around a group of boys end girls and, more specifically, Sandy and Danny. The couple met in the summer and immediately fell in love, but unfortunately, the little lady has to return to Australia when the new semester begins. Heart-broken, they part ways, but wait! Sandy’s family has a change of plans and they decide to stay in America. Unbeknown to both, they are going to be in the same high school. And here’s where the real plot begins — Danny isn’t quite who his beloved thinks. Tough-guy, a show-off, with a leather jacket and a cigarette, his outer character shocks poor, naive Sandy. Fighting, jealousy, strugle, proms and more twists meet the young pair, as they stave not only to prove their love but also themselves to a not-so-understanding, fake society.
Rings a bell? Romeo and Juliet? Pride and Prejudice? Grease deals with people. Throughout the centuries, pretending to be someone you are not has been a key to surviving. Why can’t we be accepted for who we are? Why do we need a mask to hide our true feelings, thoughts, worries? The eternal problem, the fear of being the outcasts, is seen in everyone, especially adolescents.
When entering puberty, you are not a kid, neither an adult You can’t be childish but also don’t have the experience to act maturely. What’s a teen to do? Frustration, sadness and anger built up, as we search for our true selves. Cliche? Not quite. Everyone can sympathise with the characters in Grease since they are dealing with everyday problems. Problems which, unfortunately, haven’t disappeared in the past 50 years.
Should one forget about the fashion-gap, which is quite big, they will see themselves in Sandy and Danny. And, even it they don’t, there’s still lots of singing and dancing to lift the mood! Definitely worth your time!
Comments:
| Subscale | Grade | Commentary |
| Content | 4 | Good realisation of task set. Has a positive effect on target reader |
| Communicative Achievement | 4 | Register and format appropriate. |
| Organisation | 4 | Wall-organised and coherent. |
| Language | 4 | Good use of stylistic devices; wide range of vocabulary and structures. Minor and unobtrusive errors. |
CPE Example Review: Amusement Park
Topic:
A tourist magazine is publishing a series of reviews of amusements parks. You decide to send in a review of an amusement park you have visited which included interactive displays, rides, electronic games, a 3-D cinema and a boating lake. You should briefly describe two or three of the attractions and evaluate the contribution that amusement parks can make to the quality of life for local residents.
Write your review
Answer:
Amusement Park
I have recently visited an amusement park while on holiday. It had many exciting features including a 3-D cinema, boating lake, electronic video games and rides of all sizes ranging from simple ones for children to much larger rides for thrill-seekers. The 3-D cinema is exciting as it is a relatively new technology and unavailable near me. A documentary about sharks was showing when I visited. The 3-D experience is amazing, and when things come out at you from the screen they look very realistic. When this happens it makes people scream, like they were on a rollercoaster. There are more rides than anything else at the park as this is the reason many people go – for the exhilarating experiences. The larger rides have long queues and can take up to an hour to reach the front. The one that stood out for me was ‘The Extreme Drop’, which shoots you up a steep track at about 100kph before pausing at the top where you look down for a few seconds at the antlike people on the ground before hurtling towards them at an even greater speed. This ride has an incredible exhilarating rush and provides the loudest screams of any of the rides. There is a second queue for this ride
which takes a little longer than the main one, but you get a seat right at the front of the carriage. I would recommend joining this queue for any ride available as you get the best views and biggest adrenalin rush.
Amusement parks make a huge contribution to the quality of life for local residents. They not only provide entertainment for the local residents, especially for young families during school holidays, they also bring jobs and money into the area. As well as jobs within the actual park, amusement parks help increase local tourism, which can provide a vast amount of jobs in a variety of different areas for the local residents. This will then provide a lower rate of unemployment in the area and a higher standard of living for the local residents.
Comments:
| Subscale | Grade | Commentary |
| Content | 5 | Although the amusement park is not named and the section evaluating the role of amusement parks is slightly short, all the content is relevant to the task and the target reader would be fully informed. |
| Communicative Achievement | 3 | The conventions of the review are used with sufficient flexibility to communicate complex ideas in an effective way, holding the target reader’s attention with ease, and fulfilling all communicative purposes. The description of the rides is very effective, the evaluation slightly less so. The final section could have been rounded off in a style more appropriate to a review and the focus of the evaluation could have been signposted in an |
| Organisation | 1 | The text is well-organised and coherent and uses a variety of cohesive devices and organisational patterns to generally good eff ect (not only …. also, As well as, and reference pronouns). |
| Language | 3 | A range of vocabulary, including less common lexis, is used effectively and precisely and is highly appropriate for the topic area (thrill-seekers, exhilarating, shoots you up a steep track, hurtling, adrenalin rush). A wide range of simple and complex grammatical forms are used with full control, flexibility and sophistication |
CPE Model Review: Television Series
Topic:
A TV listings magazine has invited readers to contribute a review of a television series that is particularly popular at the moment. Write a review, explaining why this programme is so popular in your opinion and commenting on whether you believe it deserves such popularity.
Write your review
Answer:
I bet a couple of years ago, the producers wouldn’t have expected and dreamt that their new ‘attempt to amuse’ bored viewers- and with totally unknown actors ‘from nowhere’ – would earn such a great success. After many years of living a daily life with characters from Dallas, Baywatch, Dynasty, a new wave of funny, clever and witty entertainment struck people in. And obviously, people welcomed the change very warmly.
‘Friends’ is full of diversity. Each of the main five characters is completely different and brings to the series something new. Despite their differences, they create a perfect working jigsaw. They live, laugh, cry and share their fate together. You can feel some kind of oneness there; and that is a vital thing in every friendship. Chandler – a sexist who can’t live without women – with his ironic and sharp, witty humour, contrasts with naive, a little bit dumb but cute Joey, who has a vanity and irresistible smile in the role of an unsuccessful actor. Monica is a nagging perfectionist who often quarrels with frivolous and untidy Rachel. Ross is a worried palaeontologist who tries to come to terms that his wife left him. Poor guy! And at last weird Pheobe, who refreshes almost every episode with her ‘fabulous’ music which nobody can get. Oh yeah, she’s quite odd but everybody loves her.
‘Friends’ is a great refreshment after a long, exhausting day at work. It is no wonder that it is so popular. People just love it – from children to adults and older people as well. We need to laugh and relax. The actors, producers and creators deserve appreciation and admiration for making such a great show. People are waiting eagerly for new episodes all the time. And that’s a sign of success. Otherwise they would cease producing it, wouldn’t they? Not to mention that ‘friends’ is popular in every continent of the world. And that proves something.
Comments:
| Subscale | Grade | Commentary |
| Content | 5 | The review fully covers the requirements of the question, providing a detailed description of the chosen programme and a clear explanation of its popularity. |
| Communicative Achievement | 4 | The register is appropriately informal and the format, with its clear paragraphing, is appropriate for a review. The reader would be absolutely clear as to what the series is like, why it is popular and why the writer likes it so much. |
| Organisation | 4 | The review is very well-organized. It begins with a general view of television programmes and introduces the programme chosen, the second paragraph talks about the programme’s success, the third paragraph provides a detailed description of the characters, the fourth paragraph talks about how it deserves its success and the final paragraph ends the review on a personal and enthusiastic note. There is good linking throughout, enabling the review as a whole to flow very well. |
| Language | 5 | An excellent and virtually fluent review, with a lot of very good and appropriate vocabulary |