1. This project and its actions were made possible due to co-financing by the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals Writing book reviews Black and white cards Subject:English Age groups:8 – 11, 12 – 14, 15 – 16, 17 - 18 Topic:Non-fiction writing EAL Nexus resource Licence information | This resource is free to use for educational purposes. © British Council 2014 Source | This resource was originally developed by Charlotte Hurley and has been adapted by EAL Nexus.

2. paragraph Book review: key term

3. opinion Book review: key term

4. background Book review: key term

5. plot Book review: key term

6. conclude Book review: key term

7. character Book review: key term

8. setting Book review: key term

9. conjunction Book review: key term

10. orientate Book review: key term

11. adjective Book review: key term

12. author Book review: key term

13. genre Book review: key term

14. strengths Book review: key term

15. weaknesses Book review: key term

16. past tense Book review: key term

17. present tense Book review: key term

18. 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

19. A judgement or viewpoint on a particular matter Definition

20. Information about the story or book, such as when it was written or details about the author. Definition

21. The events that take the story from start to finish Definition

22. To bring to an end Definition

23. The people or creatures that have roles within the story Definition

24. The time and place where the story takes place Definition

25. A word that is used to link other words or parts of a sentence to make compound or complex sentences Definition

26. Direct the reader to a particular place in the text Definition

27. A word which modifies and gives more information about a noun Definition

28. The person or people who have written the book or story Definition

29. A particular type of story, book or writing with similar themes, characters, setting etc. Definition

30. The good (positive) points about the book or story Definition

31. The bad (negative) points about the book or story Definition

32. A verb tense used to show an action that has already happened Definition

33. A verb tense used to show an action that is happening now Definition

34. This is a ghost story written by…________________ ______________________________________________ _____________________________________________. The best thing about the book is…_____________ _____________________________________________. ______________________________________________ The characters are…__________________________ ______________________________________________ _____________________________________________. The story is set during… …_____________________ ______________________________________________ _____________________________________________. Example

35.  The main character is interesting…  The plot is weak…  Many people believe that it is cruel to… Examples

36. 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 When it was written Details about the author

37. Examples opening build up problem ending resolution

38.  In conclusion…  To summarise… Examples

39.  Goldilocks  Baby Bear  Katniss Everdeen  Harry Potter  Smaug Example

40. Long ago on a planet far, far away… Examples

41. and, but, or, because, when, if, so…  The ending didn’t work because…  The main character was unlikeable when… Examples

42. on the first page, after that, later on, towards the end, when, after, whenever…  Later on, Katniss needs to make an important decision Examples

43.  The second part of the story was boring …  He was a believable character… Example

44.  Phillip Pullman  J K Rowling  Charles Dickens  Roald Dahl Example

45.  Horror  Mystery  Crime  Ghost  Adventure  Sci-fi Example

46. The detail of the description is amazing and the fast pace is incredible. Example

47. It has a weak plot and unconvincing characters. Example

48.  When I read the final page I found that…  It was surprising when she made it out of there alive… Example

49.  I think that when the two characters finally become friends…  The author uses a variety of techniques to keep the plot moving… Example