by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: February 28, 2009

Writing product reviews is a very specific genre of writing, quite unlike any other. While in many writing disciplines it is important that we are careful not to express personal opinions, in product reviews it is essential that we do so if we are to give our readers a balanced and structured review.

When we are reviewing a product, the first golden rule is that we must have sampled or used the product and be very familiar with it and its properties. If, for example, it is a food product we are reviewing, we must have tasted it and know such as its price and availability. If it is perhaps an electrical appliance we are reviewing we must be very familiar with its features and how same perform. There is little point in us trying to review a product by researching such details as we will be unable to inject sufficient authenticity in to our review and our readers will pick up on same very quickly.

When we are writing our review, we should mention specific aspects of the product and state in each case why we did or did not like same. For example, if we are reviewing a brand of tomato ketchup, we would consider such as its consistency, its taste and its value for money. If we are reviewing a DVD player, we have to detail its features, how well these features perform and how easy they are to use. We have to in this fashion construct an overall picture of the product for our readers as we are essentially giving them a recommendation as to whether they should subsequently sample or buy the item under review.

When we have covered the specific details of the product we are reviewing, we have to draw overall conclusions for our reader. We may wish to consider the product's value for money, its suitability for use in certain circumstances or locations, how easy it is to use for someone unfamiliar with the particular type of product, or even any hazards or hidden dangers associated with the product. We are essentially a consumers' guide in this respect and we have to build a relationship of trust with our readers if we are to succeed in this field of writing.

I have found that when writing product reviews, it goes down very well with consumers if we ultimately conclude by giving the product a mark out of ten. Although this can be very difficult if we do not have a specified scale to judge it upon, try to be objective and give the product a particular score. It may well be the difference between the consumer accepting your review or rejecting it.

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