Writing better reviews 
I wrote a lot of reviews in the early part of my freelance writing career. Mostly software and gadgets, with the occasional book thrown in there for good measure.
What I enjoyed about writing reviews was the challenge. I had to balance a lot of contradictions. I needed to be objective but judgmental. I needed to present an opinion, but one which I formed through work and not preconceptions. On top of that, I often needed to impart that opinion in a short space. On top of that, I got to play with some interesting toys and to read books that I normally wouldn’t have.
After writing all of those reviews, I learned a few lessons and internalized a few guidelines. Here are the main ones.
Writing a review isn’t easy
Let me rephrase that: writing a good review isn’t easy. It takes a lot of work, and a lot of time. You have to read that book, listen to that CD, or work with the program or device.
For the latter, I suggest spending two weeks with the subject of your review. That way, you can get a good feel for it and its ideosyncracies. What’s more, you’ll also learn how to adapt to the software or device in that time. That’s information you can impart to readers.
Know your subject
Being an expert helps. But it’s not entirely necessary. You should, though, have more than just a cursory knowledge of the subject. For example, if you’re reviewing a book on copywriting you should have done some copywriting yourself and/or (preferably and) read some of the better books on the subject.
I use two reviews that I read — one from the 1980s, the other from the 1990s — as examples of bad reviewing. The first one was published in a Toronto alternative weekly. The writer started his review of a record with words to the effect “You can tell a lot about an album by looking at its cover” (sorry, I can’t remember the exact words; that was over 20 years ago).
The second review was about 150 words in a local computer publication. It was on the book Understanding Japanese Information Processing and you could tell by reading the review that the writer didn’t know anything about the subject. In fact, I doubt he read it. The review read like a rehash of the back cover copy and the press release that the publisher put out. (Before you ask, I did read both.)
Obviously, neither reviewer could be bothered to take the time to actually listen to the LP or read the book. Deadline pressure? Desire for a (dubious) byline? Callous disregard for their readers? Who knows. But the reviews did both writers a disservice.
Be fair, but firm
In some circles, it’s trendy to trash everything and anything — regardless of its merits. On the other hand, it’s easy to gush, fawn, and be a fanboy too. When writing a review, you need to be critical but you also need to be objective.
You need to try to approach the subject with as much of an open mind as possible. It’s tough to shed certain notions about something but you need to try your best to do so.
Don’t fall into the “it’s not like ….” trap
Just because a horror novel isn’t like one of Stephen King’s books, or an MP3 player isn’t like your iPod doesn’t mean it’s not any good. It’s just different. Expect that. Get used to it. Use the differences as a peg in your review. Compare, contrast, and judge. But judge based on the merits of your review subject, and not just on your expectations.
A number of years ago, I wrote a review of a word processor called Yeah Write. One look and you knew that it was different from any other word processor out there. Instead of complaining that Yeah Write didn’t work like Word, WordPerfect, or Ami Pro (the three word processors that I used at the time), I spent time adapting to Yeah Write and embraced its differences. I also pointed out some areas in which the program fell a bit flat, but I couldn’t help but recognize its useful features.
Wrapping up
A review is your informed opinion. You get informed by reading that book, working with that software or gadget, or stress testing that piece of outdoor gear. You add to that with your knowledge of the subject or type of item about which you’re writing.
A good review not only points out what’s good or bad, weak or strong. It also points out why. In order to do that effectively and with authority, you need background knowledge. Readers are looking for your opinion, but they’re also looking to you to inform them.
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Good, commonsense article. One thing I would add is to let the product speak for itself. I hate reviews of books with no quotes from the book or reviews of products with no pictures.
I’ve just posted a review of ‘Under Control’ by Mark McNay but the review copy I was sent specifically prohibited the use of quotes so I wrote to the publisher and said I wanted to quote this chunk and that chunk and asked if that was okay. They said it was and the review is all the better for having them