A Little Summer Bonus – Save 15% Use code SUMMER2025 for 15% off eligible summer courses between £99 and £500 – and feel free to use it as often as you like.
Learn to write compelling and insightful reviews for films, books and stage performances. Develop your critical skills and ability to write in a succinct style.
Learning modes and locations may be different depending on the course start date. Please check the location of your chosen course and read our guide to learning modes and locations to help you choose the right course for you.
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
‘Everyone’s a critic’: we all have a response to and an opinion of the works of art that we consume.
But good reviewing communicates the pleasures or pains of the experience, describing, interpreting and evaluating the work for the benefit of others, with a level of seriousness appropriate to the work itself. This course invites students interested in and wishing to write as reviewers to explore the practice of reviewing across the major art forms, by looking at the work of leading practitioners and producing their own critical writing for class discussion.
What will we cover?
- Examine approaches to reviewing books, films, television productions, music, museums, and visual art.
- Explore key individual elements of good review writing, such as research and subject knowledge, structure, focus, beginnings and endings, humour, subjectivity and objectivity, critical jargon, and ways of expressing praise or disparagement of a work.
- Discuss the different professional outlets for reviewing e.g. the 1000-word book review, the 500-word film review, the column, the brief ‘capsule’ or listings review etc.
- How to make an effective pitch.
What will I achieve? By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Develop your skills as a critic/reviewer.
- Enhance your appreciation of the techniques employed by the best reviewers in their fields.
- Be able to write reviews with greater attention to style and structure.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
The course is open to aspiring writers of whatever standard, experience or ambition, who are fluent in written and spoken English.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
Each class will include analysis and discussion of outstanding examples of critical work across various art forms. Short writing tasks will be set in each session to help you develop your skills. Between classes, students will be required to produce written work for presentation and discussion in class. The volume of this work will be dependent on class size. Students will need to consume books, films, performances keenly in their own time in order to have material for these writing exercises.
All writing courses at City Lit will involve an element of workshop. This means that students will produce work which will be discussed in an open and constructive environment with the tutor and other students. The college operates a policy of constructive criticism, and all feedback on another student’s work by the tutor and other students should be delivered in that spirit.
For classes longer than one day regular reading and writing exercises will be set for completion at home to set deadlines.
City Lit Writing endeavours to create a safe and welcoming space for all and we strongly support the use of content notes in our classes. This means that learners are encouraged to make their tutor and classmates aware in advance if any writing they wish to share contains material that may be deemed sensitive. If you are unsure about what might constitute sensitive content, please ask your tutor for further clarification and read our expectations for participating in writing courses at City Lit.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
All published textual examples of review writing for class discussion will be provided to students. Students should bring a notebook and pen or laptop or whatever tool they prefer for the making of notes.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
City Lit offers a range of courses of a journalistic nature. The best follow on from this course would be Reviewing museums, exhibitions and galleries. You might also want to check out Writing about food and Travel writing. For more information, search the writing section of our website.
All students are invited to join us at Late Lines, our regular performance night for City Lit writers. Students are also encouraged to submit their work to Between the Lines, our annual anthology of creative writing. For the latest news, courses and events, stay in touch with the Department on Facebook and Twitter.
Laura Silverman is Deputy Editor of Country Living. She has also worked at The Sunday Telegraph, The Times and the Daily Mail, editing and writing features for print and online. Her work ranges from profile interviews and arts reviews to pieces on food trends and country estates. She read Philosophy & Theology at Oxford University and holds a PGDip in Magazine Journalism from City University.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
product
https://www.citylit.ac.uk/writing-reviews137662Writing reviewshttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/w/r/writing_reviews-square.jpg159159GBPInStock/Courses/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Writing/Journalism/Courses/vm/Writing Courses/Courses/vm/Writing Courses/Non-Fiction Creative Writing/Courses/Writing/Courses/Writing/Journalism2285120720182030135811358712285117712051653201813581Learn to write compelling and insightful reviews for films, books and stage performances. Develop your critical skills and ability to write in a succinct style. <div data-content-type="html" data-appearance="default" data-element="main">‘Everyone’s a critic’: we all have a response to and an opinion of the works of art that we consume. <br />
<br />
But good reviewing communicates the pleasures or pains of the experience, describing, interpreting and evaluating the work for the benefit of others, with a level of seriousness appropriate to the work itself. This course invites students interested in and wishing to write as reviewers to explore the practice of reviewing across the major art forms, by looking at the work of leading practitioners and producing their own critical writing for class discussion.</div>551187728Writing reviews159159https://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/w/r/writing_reviews-square_1.jpgInStockEveningThuOnlineAvailable courses5-10 weeksWeekday2025-10-23T00:00:00+00:00Beginners, Some experienceOct 2025WritingHJ009159159Writing reviews15980159Laura Silvermanwriting-reviews/hj009-2526Learn to write compelling and insightful reviews for films, books and stage performances. Develop your critical skills and ability to write in a succinct style.0000-Available|2025-10-23 00:00:00‘Everyone’s a critic’: we all have a response to and an opinion of the works of art that we consume. <br />
<br />
But good reviewing communicates the pleasures or pains of the experience, describing, interpreting and evaluating the work for the benefit of others, with a level of seriousness appropriate to the work itself. This course invites students interested in and wishing to write as reviewers to explore the practice of reviewing across the major art forms, by looking at the work of leading practitioners and producing their own critical writing for class discussion.Learn to write compelling and insightful reviews for films, books and stage performances. Develop your critical skills and ability to write in a succinct style.- Examine approaches to reviewing books, films, television productions, music, museums, and visual art. <br />
- Explore key individual elements of good review writing, such as research and subject knowledge, structure, focus, beginnings and endings, humour, subjectivity and objectivity, critical jargon, and ways of expressing praise or disparagement of a work. <br />
- Discuss the different professional outlets for reviewing e.g. the 1000-word book review, the 500-word film review, the column, the brief ‘capsule’ or listings review etc.<br />
- How to make an effective pitch.- Develop your skills as a critic/reviewer.<br />
- Enhance your appreciation of the techniques employed by the best reviewers in their fields.<br />
- Be able to write reviews with greater attention to style and structure.The course is open to aspiring writers of whatever standard, experience or ambition, who are fluent in written and spoken English.Each class will include analysis and discussion of outstanding examples of critical work across various art forms. Short writing tasks will be set in each session to help you develop your skills. Between classes, students will be required to produce written work for presentation and discussion in class. The volume of this work will be dependent on class size. Students will need to consume books, films, performances keenly in their own time in order to have material for these writing exercises. <br />
<br />
All writing courses at City Lit will involve an element of workshop. This means that students will produce work which will be discussed in an open and constructive environment with the tutor and other students. The college operates a policy of constructive criticism, and all feedback on another student’s work by the tutor and other students should be delivered in that spirit. <br />
<br />
For classes longer than one day regular reading and writing exercises will be set for completion at home to set deadlines.<br />
<br />
City Lit Writing endeavours to create a safe and welcoming space for all and we strongly support the use of content notes in our classes. This means that learners are encouraged to make their tutor and classmates aware in advance if any writing they wish to share contains material that may be deemed sensitive. If you are unsure about what might constitute sensitive content, please ask your tutor for further clarification and read our <a href=" https://www.citylit.ac.uk/expectations-for-participating-in-writing-courses" target="_blank">expectations for participating in writing courses at City Lit</a>.All published textual examples of review writing for class discussion will be provided to students. Students should bring a notebook and pen or laptop or whatever tool they prefer for the making of notes.City Lit offers a range of courses of a journalistic nature. The best follow on from this course would be Reviewing museums, exhibitions and galleries. You might also want to check out Writing about food and Travel writing. For more information, search the writing section of our website.<br />
<br />
All students are invited to join us at <a href=" https://www.citylit.ac.uk/latelines" target="_blank">Late Lines</a>, our regular performance night for City Lit writers. Students are also encouraged to submit their work to <a href="https://www.citylit.ac.uk/betweenthelines" target="_blank">Between the Lines</a>, our annual anthology of creative writing. For the latest news, courses and events, stay in touch with the Department on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/citylitcreativewriting" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href=" https://www.twitter.com/citylitwriting" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.virtual2622159Writing reviews159159https://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/w/r/writing_reviews-square_15.jpgInStockEveningThuOnlineAvailable courses5-10 weeksWeekday2026-05-28T00:00:00+00:00Beginners, Some experienceMay 2026WritingHJ126159159Writing reviews15980159Laura Silvermanwriting-reviews/hj126-2526Learn to write compelling and insightful reviews for films, books and stage performances. Develop your critical skills and ability to write in a succinct style.0000-Available|2026-05-28 00:00:00‘Everyone’s a critic’: we all have a response to and an opinion of the works of art that we consume. <br/><br/>But good reviewing communicates the pleasures or pains of the experience, describing, interpreting and evaluating the work for the benefit of others, with a level of seriousness appropriate to the work itself. This course invites students interested in and wishing to write as reviewers to explore the practice of reviewing across the major art forms, by looking at the work of leading practitioners and producing their own critical writing for class discussion.Learn to write compelling and insightful reviews for films, books and stage performances. Develop your critical skills and ability to write in a succinct style.- Examine approaches to reviewing books, films, television productions, music, museums, and visual art. <br/>- Explore key individual elements of good review writing, such as research and subject knowledge, structure, focus, beginnings and endings, humour, subjectivity and objectivity, critical jargon, and ways of expressing praise or disparagement of a work. <br/>- Discuss the different professional outlets for reviewing e.g. the 1000-word book review, the 500-word film review, the column, the brief ‘capsule’ or listings review etc.<br/>- How to make an effective pitch.- Develop your skills as a critic/reviewer.<br/>- Enhance your appreciation of the techniques employed by the best reviewers in their fields.<br/>- Be able to write reviews with greater attention to style and structure.The course is open to aspiring writers of whatever standard, experience or ambition, who are fluent in written and spoken English.Each class will include analysis and discussion of outstanding examples of critical work across various art forms. Short writing tasks will be set in each session to help you develop your skills. Between classes, students will be required to produce written work for presentation and discussion in class. The volume of this work will be dependent on class size. Students will need to consume books, films, performances keenly in their own time in order to have material for these writing exercises. <br />
<br />
City Lit Writing endeavours to create a safe and welcoming space for all and we strongly support the use of content notes in our classes. This means that learners are encouraged to make their tutor and classmates aware in advance if any writing they wish to share contains material that may be deemed sensitive. If you are unsure about what might constitute sensitive content, please ask your tutor for further clarification and read our <a href=" https://www.citylit.ac.uk/expectations-for-participating-in-writing-courses" target="_blank">expectations for participating in writing courses at City Lit</a>.All published textual examples of review writing for class discussion will be provided to students. Students should bring a notebook and pen or laptop or whatever tool they prefer for the making of notes.City Lit offers a range of courses of a journalistic nature. The best follow on from this course would be Reviewing museums, exhibitions and galleries. You might also want to check out Writing about food and Travel writing. For more information, search the writing section of our website.virtual15915980HJ009,HJ126NONEThu23/10/25 - 27/11/2519:00 - 21:0019:0021:006 sessions (over 6 weeks)65-10 weeksEveningWeekdayOnlineOnlineLaura SilvermanBeginners, Some experienceAvailable courses2025-10-23T00:00:00+00:00,2026-05-28T00:00:00+00:00Oct 2025,May 2026Writing159159Writing reviewswriting-reviews/hj009-2526,writing-reviews/hj126-2526Learn to write compelling and insightful reviews for films, books and stage performances. Develop your critical skills and ability to write in a succinct style.0000-Available|2025-10-23 00:00:00‘Everyone’s a critic’: we all have a response to and an opinion of the works of art that we consume. <br />
<br />
But good reviewing communicates the pleasures or pains of the experience, describing, interpreting and evaluating the work for the benefit of others, with a level of seriousness appropriate to the work itself. This course invites students interested in and wishing to write as reviewers to explore the practice of reviewing across the major art forms, by looking at the work of leading practitioners and producing their own critical writing for class discussion.,‘Everyone’s a critic’: we all have a response to and an opinion of the works of art that we consume. <br/><br/>But good reviewing communicates the pleasures or pains of the experience, describing, interpreting and evaluating the work for the benefit of others, with a level of seriousness appropriate to the work itself. This course invites students interested in and wishing to write as reviewers to explore the practice of reviewing across the major art forms, by looking at the work of leading practitioners and producing their own critical writing for class discussion.Learn to write compelling and insightful reviews for films, books and stage performances. Develop your critical skills and ability to write in a succinct style.- Examine approaches to reviewing books, films, television productions, music, museums, and visual art. <br />
- Explore key individual elements of good review writing, such as research and subject knowledge, structure, focus, beginnings and endings, humour, subjectivity and objectivity, critical jargon, and ways of expressing praise or disparagement of a work. <br />
- Discuss the different professional outlets for reviewing e.g. the 1000-word book review, the 500-word film review, the column, the brief ‘capsule’ or listings review etc.<br />
- How to make an effective pitch.,- Examine approaches to reviewing books, films, television productions, music, museums, and visual art. <br/>- Explore key individual elements of good review writing, such as research and subject knowledge, structure, focus, beginnings and endings, humour, subjectivity and objectivity, critical jargon, and ways of expressing praise or disparagement of a work. <br/>- Discuss the different professional outlets for reviewing e.g. the 1000-word book review, the 500-word film review, the column, the brief ‘capsule’ or listings review etc.<br/>- How to make an effective pitch.- Develop your skills as a critic/reviewer.<br />
- Enhance your appreciation of the techniques employed by the best reviewers in their fields.<br />
- Be able to write reviews with greater attention to style and structure.,- Develop your skills as a critic/reviewer.<br/>- Enhance your appreciation of the techniques employed by the best reviewers in their fields.<br/>- Be able to write reviews with greater attention to style and structure.The course is open to aspiring writers of whatever standard, experience or ambition, who are fluent in written and spoken English.Each class will include analysis and discussion of outstanding examples of critical work across various art forms. Short writing tasks will be set in each session to help you develop your skills. Between classes, students will be required to produce written work for presentation and discussion in class. The volume of this work will be dependent on class size. Students will need to consume books, films, performances keenly in their own time in order to have material for these writing exercises. <br />
<br />
All writing courses at City Lit will involve an element of workshop. This means that students will produce work which will be discussed in an open and constructive environment with the tutor and other students. The college operates a policy of constructive criticism, and all feedback on another student’s work by the tutor and other students should be delivered in that spirit. <br />
<br />
For classes longer than one day regular reading and writing exercises will be set for completion at home to set deadlines.<br />
<br />
City Lit Writing endeavours to create a safe and welcoming space for all and we strongly support the use of content notes in our classes. This means that learners are encouraged to make their tutor and classmates aware in advance if any writing they wish to share contains material that may be deemed sensitive. If you are unsure about what might constitute sensitive content, please ask your tutor for further clarification and read our <a href=" https://www.citylit.ac.uk/expectations-for-participating-in-writing-courses" target="_blank">expectations for participating in writing courses at City Lit</a>.,Each class will include analysis and discussion of outstanding examples of critical work across various art forms. Short writing tasks will be set in each session to help you develop your skills. Between classes, students will be required to produce written work for presentation and discussion in class. The volume of this work will be dependent on class size. Students will need to consume books, films, performances keenly in their own time in order to have material for these writing exercises. <br />
<br />
City Lit Writing endeavours to create a safe and welcoming space for all and we strongly support the use of content notes in our classes. This means that learners are encouraged to make their tutor and classmates aware in advance if any writing they wish to share contains material that may be deemed sensitive. If you are unsure about what might constitute sensitive content, please ask your tutor for further clarification and read our <a href=" https://www.citylit.ac.uk/expectations-for-participating-in-writing-courses" target="_blank">expectations for participating in writing courses at City Lit</a>.All published textual examples of review writing for class discussion will be provided to students. Students should bring a notebook and pen or laptop or whatever tool they prefer for the making of notes.City Lit offers a range of courses of a journalistic nature. The best follow on from this course would be Reviewing museums, exhibitions and galleries. You might also want to check out Writing about food and Travel writing. For more information, search the writing section of our website.<br />
<br />
All students are invited to join us at <a href=" https://www.citylit.ac.uk/latelines" target="_blank">Late Lines</a>, our regular performance night for City Lit writers. Students are also encouraged to submit their work to <a href="https://www.citylit.ac.uk/betweenthelines" target="_blank">Between the Lines</a>, our annual anthology of creative writing. For the latest news, courses and events, stay in touch with the Department on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/citylitcreativewriting" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href=" https://www.twitter.com/citylitwriting" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.,City Lit offers a range of courses of a journalistic nature. The best follow on from this course would be Reviewing museums, exhibitions and galleries. You might also want to check out Writing about food and Travel writing. For more information, search the writing section of our website.configurable
12071205Journalismhttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/history-culture-and-writing/writing/journalism1/2/285/1177/1205/1207/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Writing/Journalism
