Excellent links, dear colleagues! The way I briefly explain this to my advanced sts is this:
1. the steps:
- first state some basic facts about what you are reviewing(writing a critique of) - if it �s a book, which one, when you read it, what it �s about basically...
- next state the things you found positive about it, and things you found problems with (never forgetting to state why for each of your arguments, and back it up with examples)
- then say who or for what purpose you would recommend it to and why
(in these two paragraphs you can state your own opinion, but in a formal way and using substantiated arguments)
- sometimes people also add a footnote containing formal info(if it �s a book - publisher, year, if it �s a movie or a play- where and when you can see it), although this piece of info is optional
2. the language - this depends on the situation; the vocabulary depends on the topic (if it �s a medical text, you need the proper vocabulary, if it �s a literary context, you need to use the necessary format and vocab...), and the use of formal phrases depend on your target readers - if you �re writing a critique of a movie for a teenage magazine, the level of formality and the complexity of the sentences(even the length of the text) will be quite different from writing a review of a scientific thesis for a highly advanced professional magazine...
Welcome back!