Nov 20, 2005 01:40 AM
2508 Views
(Updated Mar 07, 2006 02:37 PM)
(I'm sorry this review is under the wrong category, but my wonderful 'opthalmologist-daughter's' eyesight couldn't seem to spot the right category in time.... and the laziness added to it! The actual category should have been Writing reviews at MouthShut So at present, you'll have to bear with it being here.... very sorry for the inconvenience!!)
Do you remember those times when we lick our fingers off at mummy’s favourite recipe?.........mmmm.. tasty! And then get into the kitchen to reproduce the dish and….. DISASTER! We got the recipe right no… but mummy ka kamaal hi kuch aur hai!
Now before the NU’s start pouring in, let me get to the point! The point is, reviews are written very similarly. There are some who get it so effortlessly (like afrank, chand_tare, coolcritic007, nenners, criminal, psyxx, cticize, cool_tanmay…..), and others (like me:() who try their very best…. But never seem to be getting the taste perfect! But I guess we have to keep trying all the same!
So here’s the recipe for the perfect review…… just keep working on the points, and I’m sure we’ll all eventually get there! So let’s head for the kitchen….
1. First things first…. Be in the right frame of mind Have you noticed how often the food Mom cooks after a fight is not really up to the mark? Similarly, even the best can fumble when you try to write in a sporadic outburst. Cool down, collect your thoughts, and then write. And write whole-heartedly…. People will enjoy reading it more! Believe me, its always works that way!
2. Know your Product well…. And stick to it! Don’t start off making a bhindi ki sabzi and end up with a baingan ka bharta. When you write about a product, just stick to writing about it and don’t go off another tangent. The reader gets really confused, believe me!
3. Divide it into Paras… To make a good dish, you don’t pour in all the ingredients in one go right? Who wouldn’t like to read a well-thought-out review? Priortize your points, give sub-titles, tackle them one-by-one, keep the reader interested!!
4. Highlight important points.. The taste of a food-item is evident at the first morsel you take in. So also, in a review, its necessary the readers get a taste of it at one look. Highlight your main points in bold/italics… not everyone has the time to go through it word-to-word!
5. Personalise it…. Noticed how many times your Mom’s and some aunty’s recipes of Dosa are same, and the end product so different? The thing is, its in the hands that make it, more than the recipe. Similarly, every writer has a certain style and churns out review that are very much his/her own…. A certain ‘individuality’ about every review. So develop your style…. Maintain it, and DON’T ape anyone!
6. Make sure its grammatically correct… There are no shortcuts to making some tasty food! If you have to wait for it to boil/bake/ferment, you have to…. No shortcuts there. In a review too, if you want it to be good, have the patience, make sure its grammatically correct, and DON’T use SMS language…. Its highly inconvenient!
7. Flavour it… Add some humour, sprinkle some facts, and pour some heart into the review, and there you have it! Or are we missing something?.....
8. Garnish it…. Some great person has said, “The first look of a recipe decides half its taste” (And that someone is me!:) OK… bad joke!). How come we all prefer to go to posh restaurant, as against some dhabas (though the food is obviously better at the latter!)? ‘Coz they present the food so well. Half my stomach is filled just by looking at it! So how do you garnish a review? With a great title of course! Give it a catchy title and see how people rush to read your review….. unlike mine!
So there you go, you finally have it! Now prepare yourself for the great compliments (read comments) on your appetising (read great) review!!
(Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, say that I’m fit enough to give this advice. But having committed most of the above blunders, I just thought people could learn from my mistakes. It might sound very ‘chota-muh-aur-badi-baat-ish’ as I’m saying this, but I’ve simply penned down my thoughts! Please bear with me…)
Now for the Comments…. Anything I left out???
