What is the Review Tool?

What is the Review Tool?

Of the many wonderful new tools on WDC, I believe my favorite is the Fantastic review tool that is now available with a paid membership

http://www.writing.com/main/shop

. This tool comes in handy for members who love to review. Once you’ve mastered its simple formula, the process becomes even more fun than it already is. Reviewing other members is part of what makes WDC such a special place. Like a close family, we learn and grow together. Reviewing is part of that growing process.
The following is a tour of The Review Tool and a step by step guide to building a practice template.

Special Note:

The small numbers you will see scattered about in this article are footnotes. You can read them momentarily by hovering over them, or you can click on them. This will take you to the bottom of the page, where they are listed.

What is a Template? 1
I was around before the review tool. Back then, you either had to rewrite the outline of your review or just type what you wanted to say. This was always a time consuming project for me. There are certain things that I would write repeatedly for every review.

Now, with the review tool, my reviews are pre-categorized on a template. I have several templates for the different styles of writing I love to review. I have a template for short stories and for poems. I also have a template for articles and essays. Every time I find a new writing technique to review, I build a new template for it.


Where is the Review Tool?
Simply click on an item you would like to review. After you have read the item, you will come to a section below it that allows you to rate the item. If you choose to use the Review Tool, you do not need to rate the item here. Continue to scroll down past the feedback box. The Review Tool is located on the right hand side of the page, just below the option to either send the review anonymously or include it on the reviewing page. Again, if you use the Review tool, all of the options, including rating and how to send the item will be made available to you.


How do I rate an item using the Review Tool? 
Clicking on the “Review Tool” button brings up a new screen. I like to keep the item I am reviewing open in the original window for referencing. In Windows Vista, you can tab back and forth if you need to. More often than not, I have made notes of exactly what I want to say based on which template I am about to use. 2

In the Review Tool screen, the first thing you see is a link to the item you are currently reviewing. Below that, on the left, is the “Rating” drop-down box. Simply click the arrow and choose the rating for the item from the list. I have found the following two links very helpful regarding the rating process and I refer to them often to keep the concept fresh in my mind.

"Comment-In-A-Box"   by The StoryMistress

"How Should I Rate Items on Writing.Com?"   by The StoryMistress


What is all this other stuff?
On the right hand side, across from Rating, are five more buttons;

[Choose a Template]: is a drop down box that stores your review templates. I currently have six templates stored here, ready to go.

[Load] Allows you to open the template you want to use.

[Edit] Use this button to make changes to existing templates.
 
[Delete] This button discards templates you no longer want.
 
[New] Create new templates as you learn and grow!

Clicking on Choose a Template at this point will not bear fruit as you must first build a template. We will come back to that easy task in a moment.

Below all of these buttons is the feedback box. After you have built your templates, they will appear here when selected. Below the feedback box on the left are two excellent reference links; WritingML Help and Review Guidelines.3

It is always a good idea to utilize all the help aides as often as you need them. Our gracious hosts have gone to a lot of trouble to make this as easy as can be. I think they have done a wonderful job! When I review, I will sometimes open WritingML Help and have it at the ready. It is located in Site Navigation at the top left of almost every WDC page. Click on Site Tools, then scroll down to WritingML Help.

To the right of these reference links, in the center of the page are two buttons;
STORE DRAFT and STORE / EDIT. The Store Draft button works like the Draft option in most email programs. You can save a template before it is completed to work on later. The Store/Edit button saves your work and allows you to continue editing at that point. This is a great option if you are building a large, in-depth template.

It is always a good idea to save often when building a large item. For our purposes, we will build a simple, easy to use, generic template that will cover almost everything you will review.

To the far right is a small box that indicates the number of characters your review contains. A really good review should contain a minimum of 250 characters, not counting the characters that make up the template. Later, we will learn how to separate the two. It is important to note here that any review that is helpful, honest, and encouraging is a good review, regardless of its length. 4
 
The rest of the Review Tool page contains the same basic features of a review, including the options to include the review on the Reviewing Page, 5or to send the review anonymously. There is an option to send gift points, which is an excellent way to reward and encourage writers to “Keep Writing”. The last three buttons will Submit Review, Preview Review, and Spell Check the review.

So much for the tour. We have covered what the review tool is and how to find it. We know how to rate the item and what most of the buttons and links are for. By this time you are probably wondering,


How do I build a Template?
Go back to the top of the Review Tool, just above the feedback box 6 on the right side. The furthest button to the right reads, “New”. Clicking this button brings up the Template Editor.  7 This is where we will create your first review template. When we are done, we will delete the entry and you can create your own personalized template.

Now, click on New to bring up the Review Tool Template Editor. We will now create a Practice template. First, type the word “Practice” into the Template Name: title bar, located just above the main body for text. With that done, we are ready to create the main body of our template.

The use of WritingML can help you create a visually appealing review. The over-use of WritingML will detract from the overall impact of what you are trying to say. Your good judgment is all that is needed to ensure a great review!

Start by telling the author what your intentions are. Creating a good tagline that is singular to you may take some practice or you may have already created one that you use in your everyday reviews. I use a mix of definition and personal statement. Try to keep your tagline as short and to the point as possible and remember to use encouragement and sound rating judgment. (E for everyone.)

If you do not have a tagline already …
Type this,
{c:blue}{b}The definition of a review (in verb form) is to inspect, criticize, re-edit or check thoroughly. My intent is to give you my opinion, nothing more. It is my sincere hope that you will find something useful in it and disregard the rest.{/b}{/c}

To achieve this,
The definition of a review (in verb form) is to inspect, criticize, re-edit or check thoroughly. My intent is to give you my opinion, nothing more. It is my sincere hope that you will find something useful in it and disregard the rest.


This is short, blue, and to the point. With the exception of {b} and {e:smile}, the only other time I use WritingML is to make a point, which we will demonstrate together in a few moments.

Type your practice statement now.

Next, for my practice template, I’ve decided on four general review topics. I have added them to my template as follows:

{b}Overall Impression{/b}
Overall Impression: In this section I tell the writer what I think he was trying to achieve and how I perceived the style. I note what the piece made me “feel”. If I am reviewing a poem, I note style, meter, form and flow, if any. I also make it a point to make very positive statements. There is something positive in everything a writer does. I feel it is my job to point that out.

{b}Suggestions:{/b}
Suggestions: This is where I point out, in a positive way, any corrections that might be made or what might be done to improve the piece, in my opinion. I use WritingRL to color highlight corrections. WritingRL should be WritingML

{b}What I Iiked Most:{/b}
What I Liked Most: This is my very favorite part of the reviewing process. It allows me to speak to the author, writer to writer, in a very positive and enthusiastic way.

{b}Summary{/b}
Summary: An overall summary of why the rating was given. An encouraging closing statement.

This is a view of the template after it is complete.

The definition of a review (in verb form) is to inspect, criticize, re-edit or check thoroughly. My intent is to give you my opinion, nothing more. It is my sincere hope that you will find something useful in it and disregard the rest.

Overall Impression:


Suggestions:

What I Liked Most:

Summary:

My style is to use as little WritingML as possible. Your tastes might be different. I have seen beautiful reviews with flowers used as bullets and many different colors. The trick is not to go too far overboard with WritingML so you do not distract the author from any important points you are trying to convey. Play around with WritingML and see what you can create.

When you have finished creating the practice template, click Preview in the bottom right corner to see what your finished template looks like. If you are happy with the options you have chosen and the look and feel of your template, save it. If not, edit is the way to go! Just scroll down to make chnges in the Editor.

When you are done, store the template. When you have created a template you will use, open that template and make a note of the character count. Jot this number down so you can keep track of how many characters you use in the actual review.

You can delete the practice template by clicking the Choose a Template button and highlighting the Practice entry. Then click load. When the template loads, click Delete. A confirmation dialog box will appear asking if you are sure. Click Yes and a Success! box will let you know you have deleted the template.

If you have created a template you would like to use, you can always edit and fine tune the template. This is a wonderful, fun, and well thought out tool and it has been my pleasure to attempt to help you use and enjoy it.

Key reading:

ID: 818872   (Rated: E) Guidelines To Great Reviewing  Writing a detailed review takes time. Follow these guidelines for best results! by The StoryMaster

Paid memberships

http://www.Writing.Com/main/store.php

Keep Writing and Keep ing

Footnotes
1  In this format, a template is a page with a pattern that can be used over and over again. Each time you open the template, it is blank except for the pattern.
2  In windows, if you right click on a link, you will get a list. One option on the list is to open the link in a new window. I have found this function comes in handy when navigating a website as it saves having to go back if I need to find something on a previous page.
3  Review Guidelines is an excellent source of information and a must see for all serious reviewers. Although just a guide, the Six Key Characteristics For Reviews is inspired writing and just about guarantees successful reviewing. "Guidelines To Great Reviewing"   by The StoryMaster
4  Daily Review Rewards: This incentive program encourages members to provide each other with meaningful feedback. Each night it awards gift points for reviews that contain at least 250 characters. For more detailed information, see "Daily Review Rewards" 
5  This page displays recent, public reviews given by Writing.Com members to various items within the site. This is an excellent tool for finding new reading material on WDC. Only public reviews 31 days or newer with more than 250 characters of text are included within this list.
6  A different helpful tip is displayed above the feedback box every time you enter the page. These are wonderful, helpful pieces of advice that will help improve the quality of your review. How very thoughtful!
7  There is a wonderful forum link here that is very helpful and friendly. "Template Talk"