Task type: Book review

Writing Paper: Part 2
Task type: Book review

QuestionYou 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)

What you need to include to passClick here for our checklist first to understand what the examiner is looking for in a good answer.

Ideas for writingAsk yourself the following questions to help you get started:

• First, decide which book you want to write about. It should be a work of fiction and it does not matter if a film has already been made of your chosen book. Write down one or two sentences to describe the outline of the book and who wrote it.
• Write down some key points about the setting, plot and characters of the book you have chosen.
• Now it is time to think about the issues or problems of turning your book into a film. Some of these general questions might help:
  - is the setting very specific? e.g. in a particular country, or in a particular period in the past?
  - does the storyline unfold over a long period of time?
  - do the characters have any specific physical characteristics? do they change over time? might one character require two different actors?
  - does the book contain a lot of dialogue that would work well in a film?
• Remember that while you are discussing these points you are also giving the reader the details of the story.

Drafting and proofreading your work
You should look at your first draft of the task and decide:

• Have you answered the question fully?
• Is the layout and organisation appropriate for your review?
• Is the language accurate with a good range of structures?
• Is the style appropriate and consistent throughout?
• Will the editor be interested in what you have written?

If the answer is 'no' to any of these questions then you will need to do some more drafting!

Writing Paper: Part 2
Task type: Book review

Content Should include information about a specific book and discuss some of the issues or problems that need to be considered when turning a book into a film.

Communicative achievementCould range from formal to informal, as long as the register is consistent throughout the review. The editor would be informed about your choice of book and how it could be made into a film. The review should be sufficiently well written for the editor to consider publication.

OrganisationThe review should be organised into clear paragraphs. The title of the book should be mentioned in the opening paragraph.

Language Language of narration, description, and evaluation/speculation (e.g. "A problematic area might be...."; "A filmmaker would also have to consider"). Vocabulary connected with books (e.g. 'author', 'setting', 'characters/characterisation', etc.) and films (e.g. 'casting someone in a role', 'director', 'script/screenplay' etc.) could be used. Does not have to be completely accurate but any errors should be minimal.

Writing Paper: Part 2
Task type: Book review

Model answer The book I would most like to see made into a film is Barbara Vine's psychological thriller 'The House of Stairs'. The plot in this accomplished novel begins in the present (the late 1980s) but the storyline is gradually revealed in a series of flashbacks to events in the 1960s, the climax of which involves a tragic death.{1} Creating the setting for the 1960s scenes would not cause the filmmakers tremendous difficulty because the action mainly takes place in a five-storey house in London, which belongs to the wealthy widow, Cosette. Choosing the right actors might present something of a challenge to the casting director, however. Elizabeth, the book's narrator, is described with the sketchiest{2} of detail. (We discover only that she is dark-haired and good-looking.) The roles of Bell and Mark, the secret lovers who are mistaken for brother and sister when they are first sighted together, would need to be played by actors with enough physical similarity for this to be a plausible mistake{3}. Another problem is that the novel spans two decades so the key characters, Elizabeth and Bell, would have to age 'naturally' over 20 years. The role of sixty-year-old Cosette, the other central character, presents the problem in reverse. By a combination of plastic surgery, and the transforming effects of falling in love, she becomes slimmer and more youthful to look at, compared to the dowdy, middle-aged woman we meet at the start of the book. The dialogue in the novel is sharp and well-observed and would translate well to the big screen, although the use of a voiceover or similar device would have to be considered to convey the thoughts and feelings of Elizabeth as she tries to cope with the secret knowledge that she may have inherited a serious neurological illness. For me, the most dramatic scene would undoubtedly occur at the end of the film as it does in the book.{4} This is when the weak-willed Mark is pushed to his death from the top floor window by Bell, in a fit of jealousy and rage that their cynical plot to get Cosette's money has gone wrong . (Mark has actually fallen in love with Cosette.) If the film manages to convey only half of the suspense and horror of the book, it will be a success.{5}