Lesson 6 Assignment - Reviews

Newbie Nellie has been reading lots of different people's work in WdC. One of her friends told her she should write reviews for some of the items she liked. She's thinking about it. Here are her questions for this week.

1) Why should we review other peoples writing?

1. To assist other authors in the writing process by offering a reader's opinion on their work.
2. To assist with areas in writing you may have knowledge of such as grammar or punctuation.
3. To get noticed by other authors on the site.
4. To create a beneficial, give-and-take, learning relationship with other writers.
5. To earn review credits and community recognition.
6. To see in others writing things that you yourself may need to work on.
7. To learn about other genres and styles of writing.

2) What kinds of reviews do you like to receive?

I like to receive reviews that are constructive in nature, those that provide suggestions for things I need to work on without telling me exactly how to write those changes. I like to hear that my writing is well received and enjoyable, but also to give me pointers for things that might could use work, but in a friendly non-hostile manner.

3) What do you comment on in a review?

I do find punctuation/grammar issues if I see them (unless there are just too many to list. I look for holes in the story, things that may not have very good flow (like where did he get the gun?). I look for characterization and plot pace/flow. I look at format and rhythm for poems, as well as word choice. I note where in a story I'm pulled out due to a grammatical error, point of view change, or general writing flaw.

4) I want reviews, but I don’t want ratings. How do I set that up?

When you create an item, under Section 6 of the Create Item screen you can choose "Reviews Only; No Ratings" as your Rating/Reviewing preference. This will make it so the item cannot receive ratings.

5) I want to write some reviews. Is there any option for random reviewing? If so, where is the link?

If you click on the "REVIEW" link on the left hand side of the screen (in the same un-boxed area as "CREATE" and "Authors"/"Bloggers"/"Reviewers") that will bring up a random item for you to review. This is also awesome in that it gives you extra GPs just for reviewing something random!

6) How do I decide what rating I should give a piece?

It is mostly a personal judgment call, but you can use these couple links as guidelines:

How Should I Rate Items on Writing.Com?  (E) Wondering how to approach the rating system on Writing.Com? #544855 by The StoryMistress

Comment-In-A-Box  (E) My view on and methods of rating items on Writing.Com. #544247 by The StoryMistress