Exploration Five: Review From Alexander Enders

     One observation I had from Chapter five about reviews was that when you review something you must do it with an open mind.  This means that even if people hate or love a certain item and you are the person reviewing it you must keep an open mind about the item so that you may make an honest and clean review. In turn, the people or persons that want to read your review may be able to not only get a good idea around the item or idea that you reviewed, but they may also know that it is honest and just.
     Another observation I had from the chapter was once you have come to your conclusion for the review of that certain item or article you must give reasons and arguments to persuade people to look at that certain item the way you did. Seth Schiesel did a great job of this in his review titled "Grand Theft Auto Takes On New York". Throughout this review Seth talks not only about the video game and how it is almost an exact replica of New York, but he states many examples of how the video game correlates with real life New York as well. For example one way that Seth showed how the game correlated with the real world was on page 170 when he said "It looks like New York. It sounds New York. It feels like New York. Liberty City has been so meticulously created it almost even smells like New York".This really showed how the video game creator did a great job of creating a virtual game that was relatable to real life and how to use examples from the item your reviewing to get your view across.
     I use reviews in my life all the time to help me make decisions about certain things. A couple years ago my LG G4 phone was dying on me. Not only was the battery life minimal but the phone's quickness was no longer there. I in turn decided to start looking for a new phone. I had always wanted an IPhone so I started looking at reviews of the IPhone 6, 6s, and the 7.  When I was reading the reviews I slowly learned that the 6s and the 7 were way better than the 6. In addition, as I read deeper into the reviews I learned that I could get just about the same features and apps that I would get on the IPhone 7 like texting, calling, Facetime, etc that I would get on the IPhone 6s for cheaper. Furthermore, I decided to buy the IPhone 6s and I have been happy with it ever sense.

IPhone 6s

Exploration Five: Hannah Belden

In my active reading of chapter five, I really liked reading the different reviews of things.  I didn't actually realize that they were an "academic form" (page 58).  I think this is something that struck out to me because the review of a video game is just as valid as a book review or an art review.  For example, looking at the review of GTA, the video game, I was surprised that something classified as entertaining could be written from an academic perspective. One question I did have about this review was the question of ethics.  In the description, it said that the author of this review "side stepped the ethics" of a game like this (page 169).  So this leads me to the question, should you put ethics into a review, or focus solely on the thing at hand and not one's morality?  Again, I thought this was a very interesting chapter because reviews are something that we actually come across in our everyday lives.

A screenshot of a niche review, where different scores are given in
different areas, along with reasons why 

 I use reviews everyday in my own life, for everything whether it be food, makeup, etc.  I think one of the biggest ways I used reviews was when looking for colleges to attend.  There are websites like "niche" that give different schools different ratings on different aspects, and why.  Of course, I didn't decide on a school solely based on a review but it did help me decide on which schools I wanted to go visit, and add to the list of potential candidates.  If I found a school with no positive reviews, I pretty much would dismiss it as something that I shouldn't put my time and energy into exploring further.  When looking into Ohio State, though, I found an abundance of positive reviews and I knew that this was definitely a school I would want to invest my time in going to visit and applying to.  OSU wasn't the only school I did this with, but I did cut out some other schools based on very, very bad reviews and the values that these schools had that I did not.

                                   

Exploration 5 by Ben Berger

     One Observation I made in chapter 5 is that one big challenge of evaluating something is keeping an open mind. This really caught my attention because you start with your emotion and judgment. Its hard to keep an open mind from this because you may feel strongly against it. This leads into my second observation which is the love or hate the reviewers have when writing. In "A Christmas Story", the writer says that its a great film by any measure. He goes into his enjoyment a lot during his review. 

     I use reviews to make decisions all the time. They help me really compare two or more things and make an educated decision. I mostly use reviews when I want to make a purchase. One good example of this is when I was buying my laptop for college. For a graduation present, my grandma gives all of us money for a laptop. She gives us a certain amount, and has us do our own research to find which one we want. This is a long process, cross checking what laptop is the best quality for the best price. I watched my sisters do it, and had a good idea how to do it myself when my time came around. I saw really cheap laptops which looked great at first, but after reading the reviews I learned it was bad. The reviews really helped me narrow down my options and after looking at the prices and comments, I was able to make my decision. I went with my new Lenovo Yoga, and it has been great.

The Lenovo computer I ended up buying

Exploration Five: Eleni Smock

Exploration Five

     One observation that I made while reading chapter five was that reviews are much like an iceberg. The judgements, reasoning, and evidence of how well or bad a product can be is something that you can see from your point of view. However, the criteria, or the more in depth judgements, is hidden below the surface. One other observation that I made was that your tone needs to be strong and it needs to show your characters and your values. You also need to stray away from unfamiliar language or else your readers will not understand what you are explaining. 

     I use reviews for everything in my life! Whenever I want to buy anything online, I typically look for multiple reviews before I consider my purchase. Normally when I buy things like makeup, I turn to YouTube to get the best reviews possible. All the YouTubers that I watch give me the honest opinion of the product, and I can fully trust their judgement. One time, I really liked this eyeshadow palette that I wanted to buy. However, all of the reviews on YouTube showed that the palette was not worth the $50 I was willing to pay! I am actually very happy for reviews, because they can save you tons of money.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture Palette

Exploration 5: Cheyenne Zurski

An observation I made is that every review throughout Chapter Five includes someones thought backed up by a lot of evidence and facts. For example, Seth Schiesel says he believes that Grand Theft Auto IV is "violent, intelligent, profane, endearing, obnoxious, sly, richly textured and thoroughly compelling." Later on he says that the star of the game is the city itself. He backs up his opinion by using his previous knowledge of New York to tell how the game is unmistakably authentic. Schiesel backs up every one of his opinions with his experience of the game and some facts about it as well. A question from my active reading is how do you state an opinion without offending others? I was curious about this because it's extremely hard to please everyone when it comes to opinions, so I wanted to know if there was a formal way to do so.

A review that affected a decision I made was when I was looking to buy a used car. First I found someone selling a used car online and read all about the condition of the car. The review told me a lot of information like the mileage, year, price, accident history, and many other features the car had. It also included pictures of the car so I was able to visually see what condition it was in. After that, I read two more reviews. One review was about the dealership I was getting the car from, and the other review was about the model of the car I was going to purchase. Every review I read included pros and cons. Almost everything was positive, so I decided to purchase the car. Thanks to these reviews, I was able to happily get a great full functioning car.

Example of a review I read before purchasing my car

Picture of my car on the dealers review

Exploration Five: Review Writing Response Emilee McCabe

     In Chapter 5, I learned that in order to write a good review, it is important to evaluate and explore the reasons why you have a certain opinion toward something. Evaluating before making reviews is important because the critic needs to understand that topic completely. On page 156 in The Curious Writer, the evaluation process is listed with the following steps: judgements, reasons, criteria, and evidence. These steps are important to give the reader solid information and evidence backing the topic.
     In The Christmas Story review by Roger Ebert, he gives the reader detailed information about the movie. There is a brief summary of the movie and its history as to why it was made and where it was filmed. In Ebert's review of The Christmas Story he explains the movie was released in 1983. It was filmed mainly in Toronto, and some parts in Downtown Cleveland, but the movie was set in Indiana. The movie is based on stories from Jean Shepherd and how he remembered a particular Christmas season in the 1940's. Giving this information along with a detailed summary of the movie and why Ebert thought it was "a world that no longer exists in America", really gives the reader a clear understanding of why his view is valid. He used all of the four steps to back up his point of view to the reader. (The Christmas Story review is found on page 162)
     I use reviews in my own life for many things. The main thing I use reviews the most is to decide if whether or not I want to buy a new product. For an example, last Christmas, I wanted to buy myself a laptop because I was unsure what type or brand to buy. I have had an iPhone since 8th grade and I really like Apple products, so I wondered if I would want a MacBook Pro. After looking at the reviews and talking to people about their experiences with certain laptops, I decided to get a MacBook Pro based on other peoples reviews about the different laptops.

This is one of the websites that I visited in looking for a laptop.

Exploration Five: Jordon Frye

     Two observations I noticed were that the reviews summarized their media and then started to talk about there thoughts on it. The other is that these reviewers have a passion or a hate for the things they reviewed. For instance, Roger Ebert, the reviewer for A Christmas Story, told about how this movie made him feel and expressed his love for it before talking about the movie in a critiquing way, if that makes sense. Each reviewer discusses what they are reviewing before they start to review it. Ebert gives a small yet detailed summary of the movie and then talks about its themes and ideas. Ebert says that "A Christmas Story records a world that no longer quite exists in America". That really stuck with me. Back then, kids could stay out longer without having to be wary of thieves or muggers as much. Today, vigilance is a necessity.

     I use reviews every time I go to make a purchase. I thoroughly compare and contrast two or more goods for a solid week or more before I buy them. I like to be an educated buyer and make sure what I buy is the best of the best. One example of this is my phone case. I had just gotten a new phone a month or less ago, and wanted to get a case to protect the $900 I just spent. In my research, I compared a few cases. One was by a brand called Spigen, the other was from a European brand names Mous. Mous and Spigen both had excellent reviews, but Mous' product was pricier. After a thorough investigation of this, I went with Mous. The reason for my decision was because the case was made with carbon fiber and other strong materials that help protect my phone and give it a unique design.

The Carbon Fibre (Re because it's European) case that I decided to get