I was glad to see this topic on the community centre and my friends Suyog and Rosie have already put forward some great points.
Here are few of my pointers which I usually follow when I write reviews.
Well to start with, the main idea of writing in Mouthshut is to share your opinions and thoughts and let out that latent creative talent in you. This site can also be of help to many people who are reading our reviews in many aspects. So you are contributing to a great extent to the general society. Yes and dont forget you also end up making great friends.
How do you go about it ?
Get to know what this site is all about. This is a site where people share their opinion about products, movies, recipes, places, websites, etc. Go through the different sections given in the site. Have a feel of what kind of reviews are written. Click on Take a Tour or you can also go through the Help Centre for starters. It will give you an idea about the site and how to proceed with writing a review.
If you are already an experienced reviewer then you can start writing . But if are new to the world of writing reviews you must have had an idea of what is a review and what type of reviews are written. Go to the main page of the site and start by reading reviews. You will get a fair idea as to how to start writing.
What to write ?
Select about the topics on which you would like to share your opinion on. Select something on which you have had extensive experience or use if its a product, and if its movies or restaurants be very particular about what you write.
When you are writing make sure that you are providing useful information instead of just ranting and raving. :):). Details are very important. Essential details. Dont diverge from the topic. You can write pages and pages but it might not contain any useful information. Do try and concentrate on facts and your experience.
For example if you are writing about a product, do make sure you write about the quality and the quantity, the durability, your preference towards the product, price and the advantages and disadvantages (if any) of using the product.
Style and formatting
Keep your English simple and legible. Avoid using capital letters in your paragraphs. You could make with a bold font if you want to emphasize something specific. Capital letters indicate that you are shouting. I personally try to divide my content into paragraphs and different sections so that it is easier to read and it keeps the flow smooth.
Check your grammar and spelling. That is good for easy reading !!! Keep your review precise and to the point and your reviewers will come back for more. And yes be original. :) Format your review. Be creative. If the review looks good and has good content, it will be popular. Though these are the finer points of good writing, it does not harm to spend sometime on producing a well formatted review.
Now What ?
Your review will be there on the site for the members and the visitors to read. You can send your friends the sites link with your review link to your friends so that they read this review and rate it. So keep writing and have fun !!!
Note: It is advisable to write your review in notepad or Word document so that you can copy and paste the document you have written. You might lose online time or your content might not be retrieveable from the MS Text box if your connectivity is not stable, etc.