C2 Proficiency Part 2: Review of a Book That Changed Your Mind
Review a book that changed your opinion about something, evaluating its style and argument for a literary website.
- Time
- 45 min
- Length
- 280-320 words
Writadia · C2 · Reviews
NameClassDate
The situation
You see this notice on a literary website.
Reviews wanted: A book that changed my mind Tell us about a book (fiction or non-fiction) that made you see something differently. What was the book about, how did it change your thinking, and would you recommend it to others?
Your task
Write your review in 280–320 words.
Writing toolkit
Open these only when you need them. Try the first draft on your own.
Plan it in steps
- Hook: your opinion before the book.
- Brief summary: no spoilers, no long plot retelling.
- The heart of the review: what exactly changed in your thinking and why.
- Evaluate style and argument: one strength, one limitation.
- Recommendation to a specific kind of reader.
Useful phrases
Opening
Evaluation
Change of mind
Recommendation
Tap a phrase to add it to your text. Gaps (…) are selected so you can type over them.
Vocabulary
- unassuming
- modest, not trying to impressan unassuming style
- meticulous
- very careful and detailedmeticulous research
- dismiss
- decide something is not importantI had dismissed the idea.
- linger
- stay in your mind for a long timeThe final chapter lingers.
Model answer (259 words)
Read it after you’ve written your own version. Notice the highlighted parts. The numbers explain why they work.
Small Lives, Big Questions1
I had always dismissed the idea that a single tree could be worth writing a book about. I opened The Hidden Life of a Street Tree expecting a pleasant, slightly sentimental read. I closed it unable to walk past a pavement plane tree without looking up.2
The book follows one London plane tree through a single year, moving between careful observation and short, surprising chapters on the science of how trees share water, survive pollution and communicate through their roots. There is no plot in the usual sense, yet the structure is so carefully paced that I read it in two evenings.3
What sets the book apart is its unassuming style.4 The writer never lectures. Instead, meticulous research is presented through vivid, everyday details: the tree's response to a heatwave, the birds that depend on it, the council worker who measures its trunk each spring. It was only after finishing that I realised how completely the book had changed my sense of what a city is: not a place where nature is absent, but one where it quietly persists.
If the book has a weakness, it is that the final chapters repeat some earlier points, and readers hoping for practical advice on urban planning will be disappointed.5 This is a book about seeing, not about policy.
Anyone who has ever hurried down a city street without noticing what grows there will find this book quietly transformative.6 It is not a book that shouts, but its final pages linger long after you have put it down.
- An intriguing title.
- Hook: previous view + the change, in three contrasting sentences.
- Brief description, evaluation built in.
- Strength.
- Balanced criticism.
- Targeted recommendation.
Teacher notes
C2 Part 2: style and range are crucial. Note the contrasting short sentence ("I closed it...") and the precise adjectives. The book is invented, so students can't reproduce a real review.
Extra challenge
Write a 50-word version of this review for a social media post, keeping the hook.
Lesson plan
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: unassuming, meticulous, dismiss, linger.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “I had always assumed that ...”, “I opened this book expecting ...”, “What sets this book apart is ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (280-320 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
Assessment rubric
| Criterion | 5 | 3–4 | 1–2 | 0 | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Content | All content relevant; reader fully informed. | Minor omissions or irrelevances. | Important omissions; reader partly informed. | Content irrelevant. | |
| Communicative Achievement | Genre and register fully suit the reader; holds attention. | Register mostly appropriate; ideas clear. | Inconsistent register; message sometimes unclear. | Not suited to the reader. | |
| Organisation | Well organised; varied cohesive devices. | Generally connected; limited linking. | Disjointed; basic linkers only. | No organisation. | |
| Language | Good range of vocabulary and grammar; errors do not impede. | Everyday vocabulary and structures used adequately; some errors. | Basic vocabulary and forms; errors affect meaning. | Not understandable. | |
| Total | / 20 | ||||
The four subscales are Cambridge’s official subscales, each marked 0–5 (total 20). Descriptors are classroom summaries.
Task checklist
- My review explains how my thinking changed, not just the plot.
- I included one clear limitation.
- I recommended it to a specific reader.
Teacher comment
Peer-review sheet
Students swap texts and give each other feedback with this sheet.
Before you finish
Before you finish
- My review explains how my thinking changed, not just the plot.
- I included one clear limitation.
- I recommended it to a specific reader.
Writadia · C2 · Reviews
Assessment rubric: C2 Proficiency Part 2: Review of a Book That Changed Your Mind
| Criterion | 5 | 3–4 | 1–2 | 0 | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Content | All content relevant; reader fully informed. | Minor omissions or irrelevances. | Important omissions; reader partly informed. | Content irrelevant. | |
| Communicative Achievement | Genre and register fully suit the reader; holds attention. | Register mostly appropriate; ideas clear. | Inconsistent register; message sometimes unclear. | Not suited to the reader. | |
| Organisation | Well organised; varied cohesive devices. | Generally connected; limited linking. | Disjointed; basic linkers only. | No organisation. | |
| Language | Good range of vocabulary and grammar; errors do not impede. | Everyday vocabulary and structures used adequately; some errors. | Basic vocabulary and forms; errors affect meaning. | Not understandable. | |
| Total | / 20 | ||||
The four subscales are Cambridge’s official subscales, each marked 0–5 (total 20). Descriptors are classroom summaries.
Task checklist
- My review explains how my thinking changed, not just the plot.
- I included one clear limitation.
- I recommended it to a specific reader.
Teacher comment
Writadia · C2 · Reviews
Peer-review sheet: C2 Proficiency Part 2: Review of a Book That Changed Your Mind
WriterReviewer
Read your partner’s text carefully. Be kind and specific: say why, not just “good”.
Task checklist
| Yes | Partly | No | |
|---|---|---|---|
| My review explains how my thinking changed, not just the plot. | |||
| I included one clear limitation. | |||
| I recommended it to a specific reader. |
Questions
- Does the text cover every point in the task?
- Are there paragraphs? What is each one about?
- Write two linking words the writer used.
- Is there a sentence you had to read twice?
Two stars and a wish
★ Something I liked
★ Another thing I liked
→ One suggestion
Writadia · C2 · Reviews
Lesson plan: C2 Proficiency Part 2: Review of a Book That Changed Your Mind
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: unassuming, meticulous, dismiss, linger.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “I had always assumed that ...”, “I opened this book expecting ...”, “What sets this book apart is ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (280-320 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
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