Description tells the reader what something is. Judgement tells them what you think of it and why.
A strong article or review keeps these jobs in separate paragraphs so the reader can follow both. The skill appears in every piece in articles and reviews.
Why keep the two apart?
A reader needs facts before they can trust an opinion. If you say “the plot is boring” before they know what the plot is, they have no way to agree or disagree. If facts and opinions are mixed in every sentence, the reader cannot tell which is which.
Separate paragraphs also make your writing easier to plan. Each paragraph gets one job, and you always know what to write next.
How do you organise the body, step by step?
- List your facts. Write the title, setting, main character and situation in plain notes.
- List your opinions. Write two or three things you liked or disliked, each with a reason.
- Plan paragraph jobs. One paragraph for description, then one for each main judgement.
- Write description neutrally. Use present tense and few opinion words.
- Write judgement with reasons. Start with your view, then explain it with a detail from the description.
Worked example
Here is a muddled paragraph about the invented film The Lantern Keeper.
The Lantern Keeper is wonderful. It is about Oren, an old man who lights a lighthouse every night. It is boring at first, but the music is beautiful and the harbour is painted in soft blue, so I loved it.
Step 1, sort the facts: the film is about Oren, an old man, who lights a lighthouse every night.
Step 2, sort the opinions: the start is slow, the music is beautiful, the soft blue harbour is lovely, and the writer loved it overall.
Step 3, rewrite as two paragraphs.
Description: The film follows Oren, an old man who lights the lighthouse on a small island every night, even though ships rarely pass. Over one winter, a young girl arrives by boat and asks him why he keeps going.
Judgement: The first ten minutes move slowly, but the slowness has a purpose: it makes us feel Oren’s routine before it is disturbed. The soft blue paintings of the harbour and the quiet piano music then turn that routine into something beautiful.
The description paragraph has no opinion words, only facts. The judgement paragraph gives views and reasons linked to details the reader has just learned.
What mistake should you avoid?
The typical slip is to fill the description paragraph with opinions, such as “the film follows a lovely old man who does a boring job”. The reader meets your judgement before they know what you are judging.
The correction is to read each sentence and ask “is this a fact or an opinion?” Move every opinion sentence to the judgement paragraph, and attach a reason to it.
Check yourself
1. Label each sentence D (description) or J (judgement). (a) The story is set on a small island in winter. (b) The animation is so gentle that I wanted to stay inside the picture. (c) Oren speaks to the lamp as if it were an old friend. (d) The ending felt rushed because the final five minutes solve too much at once. (e) A girl called Mila arrives by boat.
Show answer
(a) D, (b) J, (c) D, (d) J, (e) D. The judgement sentences contain feelings or evaluations such as gentle, rushed and too much.
2. Which sentence should move out of a description paragraph? “The hero is a brave, clever girl who lives in the old town.”
Show answer
The words brave and clever are opinions. The sentence could become “The hero is a girl who lives in the old town” in the description, and the judgement paragraph could explain why you found her brave, with an example.
3. Why is “the plot is slow” a weak judgement on its own?
Show answer
It gives an opinion but no reason. A stronger version adds one: “The plot is slow at first, but that helps us understand how quiet Oren’s life is.”
Where does this lead next?
Now that each paragraph has a job, learn how to make the judgement paragraphs convincing in supporting an opinion about a fictional experience. Review the earlier step, writing an opening suited to a public audience, if your first paragraph still sounds like a report. The mixed practice set checks both.
Some students plan well but lose the structure once they start writing. A teacher in online one-to-one English as a Second Language tuition can watch where that happens in your own drafts.