Reviews – examples & model answers | B2 First (FCE)
FCE Example Review: Topic (Course)
You see this announcement on an English-language website:
| Reviews wanted Courses Have you been on a course recently? Please tell us about it! It could be any type of course, like a sports course, photography course or language course. What were the classes like? What was the most interesting thing you learned? Would you recommend the course to other people? The best reviews will be published in next month’s magazine. |
Answer:
The course I have been recently is a language course. In september I went to a Italian course for improving my level of Italian, with a native teacher, Andrea.
The classes were very funny. Everyday when we arrived to the class he gave us a song in which there were gaps which we had to filling them while we listened the song. After that we did differents exercise, the majority of them for improving our vocabulary. For instance we spoke about restaurant, shops, cinema and so on.
The most interesting thing that I learned was how to prepare a theater play, and it was fantastic. During a week we wrote a play based on a book, and the last day of the week we interpreted it. Everyone had a different paper on it. For me it was an unforgetable experience, because I spent a wonderful time doing it and I learned a lot of idioms.
I would recommend this course because Andrea is a nice person who teach you with interesting exercise. Learning Italian isn’t boring with him.
Comments:
| Subscale | Grade | Commentary |
| Content | 5 | All content is relevant and the target reader is fully informed. The candidate gives details about a language course that they attended. They describe the classes and the teacher. The most interesting thing learned on the course is addressed along with descriptions of the activities involved. Finally, a positive, personal recommendation is given. |
| Communicative Achievement | 3 | The conventions of review writing are evident and hold the reader’s attention. The writer expresses opinions, describes the course and makes a concluding recommendation. The register in which the review is written is informal and personal rather than analytical and objective, but is consistent throughout. The style is suitable for a school website. Straightforward ideas are communicated about the writer’s personal experiences of the course. |
| Organisation | 4 | The text is well organised and coherent. The paragraphs are used well to develop the main points in the question, each one focusing on a certain aspect. There are some errors with punctuation, but this generally occurs when ideas are being connected across sentences or when two clauses are being joined. |
| Language | 3 | Everyday vocabulary is used appropriately with some less common expressions attempted, particularly in the third paragraph. There are errors with plurals and some prepositions, but these errors do not impede communication. |
FCE Model Review: Topic (TV Series)
You recently saw this notice on an English-language website called TV Watch:
| Reviews wanted! TV series Is there a TV series that you watch regularly? |
Answer:
My favourite TV series has to be Sherlock. It’s an exciting and entertaining series based on short stories written by Arthur Connan Doyle.
The series displays how it would have been, had Sherlock Holmes lived in our modern era. Sherlock, the main character, is a consulting detective who offers help to desperate people who need to quickly find or recover something or someone. He often helps the advises the police forces of London to aid them when they’re stuck with a case. His role in this British series is played by Benedict Cumberbetch. He always travels with his faithful companion, Dr. Henry Watson, who is played by Martin Freeman.
I love this series mainly because it’s fun, while still remaining thrilling and mysterious. It has many references to the original novels and stories and manages to touch modern day problems as well. The only downside is that there are currently only 9 episodes within 3 series each being roughly about an hour and a half long.
I’d recommend Sherlock to anyone who’s at least a little interested in the original books or who just likes detective stories with a tint of contemporary British humour.
Comments:
| Subscale | Grade | Commentary |
| Content | 5 | All content is relevant to the task and the target reader would be fully informed. We learn about the series, what the writer likes about it and who they would recommend it to. |
| Communicative Achievement | 4 | The conventions of review writing are used effectively to communicate straightforward and some more complex ideas, for example the well-controlled summary of what the series is about in the second paragraph. The persuasive tone holds the reader’s attention throughout. |
| Organisation | 4 | The text is well organised and coherent and makes use of a variety of suitable cohesive devices to introduce and connect the main points within and across sentences. |
| Language | 5 | There is a range of suitable, natural vocabulary, including less common lexis (a consulting detective; stuck with a case; faithful companion; downside) used appropriately. There is a range of simple and complex grammatical forms used with control. There are only occasional slips. |
