See this sample Review from the Cambridge English Proficiency (CPE) Writing paper with feedback from a teacher

Writing Class: Review

Task Type: Review

Question
You have been asked to contribute to a local arts magazine on the following topic:

The book I would most like to see made into a film

Write about a book that you have read that you would like to see made into a film. Describe the book and discuss some of the problems or issues that a filmmaker would encounter in making a film from the book.

Write the book review for the editor of the arts magazine. (around 280 - 320 words)

Makeover: Jose

Read Jose's answer to this question below. Try correcting the piece of writing yourself first: use the marking codes to think about what might be wrong (or what's good) about the piece of work. Then when you're ready, click the green buttons in the text for our feedback.

The book I would most like to see made into a film is Alexandre Dumas’ The Count Of Mount Christ famous novel. WO The plot of this fabulous novel begins when Edmundo Dantes – the main character- is unfairly imprisoned because of the betrayal of some friends. The story extends for at least three decades (circa 1815- around 1838).

On the grounds that the book is set in France, Italy and some Mediterranean islands, searching for the locations could be an extremely time-consuming assignment. Due to the great deal of time in which the storyline unfolds, the filmmaker will also need a splendid make-up team to tackle the problem of the cast characterisation. In addition, taking into account the psychological complexity of Edmundo, the actor who portrays this character should be carefully-chosen P which might present something of challenge for the casting director.

In terms of the extension WW of the book itself, the amount WW of pages surpasses easily the one thousand ones WW How might anyone summarise the content of the novel in a two-hour film? This is an absolutely crucial aspect to consider and the main reason why previous directors failed in the adaptation. Such a great work did the author do WW that many of the dialogues can be translated literally to the big screen without the necessity of outdating WW them. From my point of view, one of the more dramatic scenes would occur when Edmundo escapes from The Castle of If – his prison for around 13 years-, there is every likelihood that the director has WF to hire a stunt-man to shoot this scene.

Life is about transformation. The main character goes through completely different periods, namely naivety, depression, revenge and redemption. If the film manages to convey half of the fantastic metamorphosis of this character, it will be a blockbuster.

Feedback

This is an excellent answer to the question, José. You have clearly given a lot of thought to the content, which deals directly with the main issues in the task. It’s also very well-written, both in terms of the use of English and the overall style of the piece. It would have a very positive effect on the reader.

Well done!

Marking Code

/\ Word(s) missing

- Omit word

C Capitalization

Gd Good

O Organisation

P Punctuation

PE Poorly expressed

R Register/Formality

SS Sentence Structure

S Spelling

T Tip

WF Wrong form

WO Word order

WT Wrong tense

WW Wrong word

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