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EAL Nexus resource
Writing book reviews
Colour cards
Subject:
English
Age groups:
8 – 11, 12 – 14, 15 – 16, 17 - 18
Topic:
Non-fiction writing
Licence information | This resource is free to use for educational purposes.
Source | This resource was originally developed by Charlotte Hurley and has been adapted by EAL Nexus.
©British Council 2014
Book review: key term
paragraph
Book review: key term
opinion
Book review: key term
background
Book review: key term
plot
Book review: key term
conclude
Book review: key term
character
Book review: key term
setting
Book review: key term
conjunction
Book review: key term
orientate
Book review: key term
adjective
Book review: key term
author
Book review: key term
genre
Book review: key term
strengths
Book review: key term
weaknesses
Book review: key term
past tense
Book review: key term
present
tense
Definition
A part of a piece of
writing that usually
deals with one subject,
that begins on a new
line, and that is made
up of one or more
sentences.
Definition
A judgement or
viewpoint on a
particular matter
Definition
Information about
the story or book,
such as when it
was written or
details about the
author.
Definition
The events that take
the story from start
to finish
Definition
To bring to an end
Definition
The people or
creatures that have
roles within the story
Definition
The time and place
where the story takes
place
Definition
A word that is used to
link other words or
parts of a sentence to
make compound or
complex sentences
Definition
Direct the reader to a
particular place in the
text
Definition
A word which
modifies and gives
more information
about a noun
Definition
The person or
people who have
written the book or
story
Definition
A particular type of
story, book or writing
with similar themes,
characters, setting
etc.
Definition
The good (positive)
points about the
book or story
Definition
The bad (negative)
points about the
book or story
Definition
A verb tense used
to show an action
that has already
happened
Definition
A verb tense used
to show an action
that is happening
now
Example
This is a ghost story written by…________________
______________________________________________
_____________________________________________.
The best thing about the book is…_____________
_____________________________________________.
______________________________________________
The characters are…__________________________
______________________________________________
_____________________________________________.
The story is set during… …_____________________
______________________________________________
_____________________________________________.
Examples
The main character is
interesting…
The plot is weak…
Many people believe
that it is cruel to…
Examples
Details
about the
author
When it
was
written
The BFG (The Big Friendly
Giant) is a book written
by the world famous
children’s author Roald
Dahl. It was first published
in 1982 and was based on
an idea in one of Dahl’s
previous books ‘Danny
the Champion of the
World’.
Examples
problem
resolution
build up
opening
ending
Examples
In conclusion…
To summarise…
Example
Goldilocks
Baby Bear
Katniss Everdeen
Harry Potter
Smaug
Examples
Long ago on a planet
far, far away…
Examples
and, but, or, because,
when, if, so…
The ending didn’t
work because…
The main character
was unlikeable
when…
Examples
on the first page, after
that, later on, towards
the end, when, after,
whenever…
Later on, Katniss
needs to make an
important decision
Example
The second part of
the story was boring…
 He was a believable
character…
Example
Phillip Pullman
J K Rowling
Charles Dickens
Roald Dahl
Example
Horror
Mystery
Crime
Ghost
Adventure
Sci-fi
Example
The detail of the
description is amazing
and the fast pace is
incredible.
Example
It has a weak plot
and unconvincing
characters.
Example
When I read the final
page I found that…
It was surprising when
she made it out of
there alive…
Example
I think that when the
two characters finally
become friends…
The author uses a
variety of techniques
to keep the plot
moving…