Unit 4 • Givingyouropinion
1.2 Concert review
A Six sentenceshave beenremoved from this extract from a review of a
concert.Matchthe gaps (1-6)withthe sentences(A-H)given below. Note that
two of the suggested sentencesdo not fit at all.
B How many wordscan youfind which show howthe writer feels without him
needing to say'In my opinion'?In a fickle w orld, o ne c e r tain t y
remains.Everyyearat this time Eric
Clapl on returns to the Alb er t Hall
1'01'a dozen show sso ld out months
in advan ce. ( 1) • It
co uldeas ily becom ea cosy ritua l,an
annual report from that e ve r-
re lia ble trading. com pany, Clapto n
PLC. (2) Itbeganas
expected, then deve loped into an
extr aordinary, e motional blend of
the tragicandtrium pha nt.
li e and his band s tro lle d on in
immacula t e gre y s u its and
buttoned -up s h irts, with only thedarkgranny glass esof percu ssionist
HayCooper provid ing a clue that
th iswasn'tam eetiugo r s martcity
executi ves. (5) Not
great songs, any or them, but the
playi ng was ti ght and Ih e gui tar
solos as e ffortless and perfectly
crafted aseve r,
(4)_ _ _ Clapl on has
had morepublicity forhi s painful
private life than his musi c since
he last play ed here , as he
ackno w ledg ed with three songs
about Ihe deathofhi s lour-year -old
so n.':\l yFather's Eyes' had spee d,
attack andmelody tha iwas almost
w el come as defen ce agains t the
angu is hed, tho ug h tfu l ly ri cs.
(5) ,. lIis li nger-
pickingwas rol ling ands lic k, now
w itha Spanis hedge ,butthe lyricsof
'The Cir c usLe fl To w n' w ere at
times almost unbe arahly painful.
This wasn'ta blu e s buta lam en t
w ith the pers onalheartfeltin tensity
ofa greatblues, anditquiteliterally
redu ced some of thc audience to
l eal'S. (6) _
(TherL'lnewcontinues)A Butthenhesat down andswitched toaco ust icg uitar.
HThey kickedoffwitha trioofhluesypieces fromthe'89aIl HlIll, j ml rllcy " u/li.
C 'TearsIn Hea ve n' hadmuc hthe sameeffect.
DTicketto uts line the ent rances, and'Crossroads' is the encore.
E\Vhata change from thosewi ld daysofthe sixties.
F But t he first night lhisyearwasunforgettable.
G In fact, it's one ofmyfavouritesongs.
IISuddenly,the noisily sopo rific,case-goingmood changed.1.3 Writing a book review
A Thisrev iewof the novelHeat andOustis spoiled by a number of weaknesses.
Under lineexamples of wherethe writerfails to follow each of the numbered
pieces of advice giv en below.
Write for the reader.
Always bearin mindwhoyou arewrit ingfor.If y ou'rewriting for amagazine,
think of the kindof people who read that particularmagazine.A book review
is intended for peo ple who havenotread the book,sodon't assume thatyour
readersalready knowthe sto ry.
2 Don 'ttalkabout yourself.
Whengiv ingyouropinion, whetherin areview or elsewhere, be careful not to
fall intothetrapof talkingaboutyourself. Try to be objective. One way of
testingforobject ivity is to check your writing for the wordsI,me,my, myself.
Similarly, phrases suchasin my opinion, to my mind, I thinkshould be used
as littleaspossible; anymore thanoncein the first paragraph and once in the
last, andyour r eview seems to focus on yourself,not your subject.
3 Writein animpersonalstyle.
Many studentsspoil their articles andreviews by writingin a chatty, informal
style as if they were talkingto a friend. Onthecontrary, essays, articles and74 • Typesof writing