Aug 20, 2001 11:57 AM
2064 Views
I can't stand it anymore. I've resisted as long as I can. I have to jump on the band wagon and give my opinion on writing reviews for Mouthshut!
If you want to earn Highly Recommended ratings, you have to earn them! If you look around Mouthshut, you will notice that most of the writers that have all or mostly Highly Recommended reviews follow this basic plan.
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Write from your own personal experience.
I have seen reviews that say ''my friend tried this and said....'' or ''my mother used to use this is and said.....''. We don't want to know what your friend or mother thought about a product or service. We want to know what you think! :) That's why we are reading your reviews to begin with.
Be specific.
Saying that something ''sucked'' or was awful isn't really enough information. Why do you think it so bad? What was wrong with it? If you liked it, why did you like it? Did it work as advertised? Or did it not meet your expectations?
Give enough information for readers to make an informed decision.
I have seen too many reviews on here that are too short. Give more information than what is written on the package or found on the advertiser's website. We can read that for ourselves. We want real information, from real people who have actually tried the product, used the service, read the book, etc.
Give both sides. List both the pros, and the cons. What did you like about it? What did you NOT like about it? In other words, write what you would like to see if you were thinking about making a using the same product.
Offer suggestions.
If you are writing a negative review, offer suggestions about what could be done to make the product better, what features you would like added. You never know who might be reading your review, and taking your advice to heart!
Be original.
Try to offer your readers different information than they can find in another review on the same subject. Skim though what is here, and then do your own work. Add your personal touch to it.
Watch the language.
We understand that, a lot of time, you are angry, especially when you feel you have wasted your time and money on something. Calm down, take a deep breath, and give them a bad review. It's not necessary to curse or get obscene when writing a review. No matter what good information you may have, chances are that if you have offensive language in your review, you are not going to get a good rating. At least I know you won't from me. I don't speak that way, and I don't like to read things like that.
Write well.
Double check your grammar and punctuation. MS was considerate enough to include a spell check for us. Use it! It only takes a second, and can make a world of difference in the response your review turns out. :) Also, use periods to end a sentence and commas to separate long sentences.
Don't overuse abbreviations. I realize this is a touchy subject for many of the writers here, but I find the use of U for you, and R for are, extremely annoying. It has nothing to do with writing proper ''English'', it's just good grammar and makes your review look more professional. I've seen several reviews that don't have a single misspelled word in it, and the grammar and punctuation are perfect, yet they insist on using abbreviations for common words. It only takes a second to type ''you'' as opposed to ''U'', and it looks much better.
Watch the overuse of capital letters.
When an entire paragraph is written in all caps, it makes it hard on the eyes and hard to read. Smaller case letters are easier to read, as they are not all an uniformed height. Using all capital letters also makes it appear as if you are angry and screaming.
ETC.
Break down your review into more than one paragraph. That too, makes it easier to read and helps you arrange your information more orderly. Use Bold, Italics, and a combination of both to give your review a little ''boost''. Post your review in the proper category.
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Good luck in writing your reviews! I wish you all the best of luck!
~~ Ronda ~~
PS You can also get help with writing reviews at my Yahoo club! The address is on my profile :)
