Curso/CityTravelReview

The Basics of Travel Writing

Resources

a) City magazines (for example „i-on“)

b) Websites (selection): - www.list.co.uk - www.visitscotland.com - www.edinburgh.org -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh

c) Word of mouth

d) Walking around (best option)

If you need to use public transportation, you can use the journey planner on www.lothianbusses.com

Getting started

Take a notebook with you wherever you go and use it to make notes about the things you are

reviewing. When reviewing a restaurant, for example, write down its name and the foods you tried,

as well as details about its location, opening times, interior, service, price range, the dishes, whether

you liked the food you had, and if you enjoyed the experience as a whole. This information will help

you formulate a review. Your notes do not have to be complete sentences. A few words on

everything is often enough to help you recall the experience later.

If you can’t take notes during your trip, write them down as soon as you can afterwards. Otherwise

you will have forgotten everything a couple of hours later, even though this will seem highly unlikely

to you while you are still at the sight/restaurant etc.

What is a travel review/guidebook article?

A travel review should do four things:

1. Give the reader all essential facts, i.e. tell them everything they need to know and would

want to know about the place you are reviewing (e.g. what is it? What does it have to offer?)

2. Describe the experience (sight etc.) further and capture it vividly and in an engaging manner.

(Ask yourself what it is like and convey your own observations and impressions as engagingly

and vividly as you can.)

3. Evaluate the experience. Examples: Is the museum worth visiting or not? Is the restaurant

equipped to deal with large families? Don’t forget to always give a reason for your verdict.

4. Include all the relevant practical information that the reader needs to visit the reviewed

place (address, public transport, opening times etc.)

And never forget: A review should as a bare minimum be informative. But a good review will also be

entertaining and engaging.

Curso/CityTravelReview

The Basics of Travel Writing

Tips on style

(NB: Please note that the following article deals with travel writing in general and not just with

guidebooks and reviews. Consequently not everything is necessarily applicable to your project)

How To Write the Perfect Travel Article

By Martin Li

Travel writing is part reporting, part diary and part providing traveler information. Travel writers create

their art using a multitude of different styles and techniques but the best stories generally share certain

characteristics, notably:

1) Clear writing style, without affectation, used by a writer who knows the point of the story, gets to it

quickly and gets it across to the reader strongly and with brevity and clarity.

2) Strong sense of the writer’s personality, ideally demonstrating intelligence, wit and style.

3) Use of the writer’s personal experiences, other anecdotes and quotations to add life to the piece.

4) Vivid reporting - the ability of the writer to convey to readers, using as many of the senses as

possible, the travel experience through the use of words alone.

5) High literary quality and the accurate use of grammar and syntax.

6) Meaty, practical and accurate information that is useful to the reader.

Be Fresh

Give your story a fresh point of view and, if at all possible, cover some out-of-the-ordinary subject

matter. Be creative in your writing. Strive for the best and strongest use of English and the most

original and powerful metaphors and similes.

Be Funny

Travel writing should mostly have a light, bright, lively and fun tone. Travel, the process of leaving the

familiar to go to the foreign and unfamiliar, is often rich in comedy and comical events. Incorporate

comedy into your writing where appropriate and don’t be afraid to make your readers laugh. Also, don’t

be afraid to incorporate mishaps into your pieces. These can be just as worth reading about, maybe

more so, particularly if they also incorporate an element of comedy or humor.

Be Balanced

Travel writing must blend your personal observations, descriptions and commentary with practical

information that is useful to your readers. The precise balance depends on the outlet you are aiming

your story at but rarely should a good travel piece comprise more facts than description. Two-thirds or

even three-quarters colorful description to one-third or one-quarter facts would be a reasonable

guideline to start from.

Curso/CityTravelReview

The Basics of Travel Writing

Think Like Your Reader

You need to develop as clear an impression as possible of what readers of the publications you are

targeting want to read, their travel aspirations, how they like articles written and what information they

want to know. You want to be able to think like your reader. Only then will you be able to identify how

you can help your reader. Only then should you start writing your article.

How to structure a review

You can structure your review/article as a narrative or in a non-narrative way.

Example of a narrative structure: Write about a restaurant by describing your experiences

chronologically from the time you entered it until the moment you left.

Example of a non-narrative structure: Brief introduction (what, where etc.); description of content

(what do you get to see) - organized by topic (e.g. 1st floor, 2nd floor, etc.); assessment of value;

comparison with other similar places; conclusion.

Some Do’s and Don’ts

Give examples! When reviewing a museum, for example, you should list, and maybe even describe,

some of the items on display (at least one or two).

Don’t go on for too long: Reviews that are short and to-the-point are more effective than long ones.

Don’t be too negative! If you don’t like something, just make clear that it’s not worth visiting.

Don’t write in the first person. Generalize if you want to include personal observations or

experiences (example: “the waiting staff can seem a bit stressed at times”).

If you are writing for the Web, write in shorter sentences and shorter paragraphs than you would for

a print publication. Reading extended prose on a computer screen is not easy.

Provide only accurate and up-to-date information in your review. Double-check your facts, names,

dates and any other relevant information before writing your piece.

Don’t review ‘one-offs’ – i.e. events that will never be repeated, or will reappear only very

sporadically such as a particular party or pop-concert.

Curso/CityTravelReview

The Basics of Travel Writing

Add pictures to your review (ideally submit two for each review that you write.) But make sure they

are your own and you are not violating any copyright laws.

Don’t use clichés or journalese (e.g. East meets West, German efficiency, etc.)

Do some background research about everything you review.

Examples

The Washington Post: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

100 Raoul Wallenberg Place SW, Washington, DC 20024 | 202-488-0400,202-488-0427

Neighborhood: The Mall Metro: Smithsonian (Blue, Orange lines) Type: History Museum Hours:

Daily 10 am-5:20 pm Admission: Free

While other museums celebrate the best of the past, the Holocaust Museum memorializes one of

humanity's worst atrocities. The museum, located a short walk from the Washington Monument, is

dedicated to informing Americans about the history of the persecution and murder of six million

Jews, and millions of other victims, by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945.

It is a memorable confrontation with one of history's most gruesome chapters. Built in 1993, the

Holocaust Memorial has dramatic exhibitions and a beautiful space for telling its appalling story.

The museum's permanent exhibition spans three floors and recounts the rise of Nazism and the

stories of millions of Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals killed by the Nazis. Passes to enter this

exhibition are required and are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis; there may be a short

wait for entry.

The New York Times: Zafra

At Maricel Presilla’s ultra-casual pan-Latin restaurant, foodies over from Manhattan sit elbow-to-

elbow with workers from the hospital down the street and dig into stellar versions of homey dishes

like Cuban-style roast pork, featherlight empanadas, and shrimp in a complex red mole sauce. It’s

never even close to expensive, but if you’re looking for one of the best bargains in this part of the

country, show up during the week before 6 p.m. and get a three-course dinner, complete with rice

and black bean soup, for $18. 301 Willow Ave., Hoboken, NJ (201-610-980)

Example for a walking tour review on Berlin-Neukölln (excerpt): “Taking a gentle stroll along Karl

Marx Strasse, there are a selection of shops and then you come to the cultural centre of Neukölln.

The old cinema 'Passage Kino' and the Neukölln Theatre have adjoining cafes- Hofperle and Cafe Rix

respectively. The clientele is arty, with local artists' paintings adorning the walls. Both cafes have

plentiful breakfasts plus Hofperledoes a bargain business lunch around 5.50 Euro- 3 freshly made

courses, a different option every day. If you slip out of the back of Hofperle, you find yourself on

Richardstrasse, home to a 70s style Italian called Pulcinella. The prices are unbelievably cheap, main

courses only 4 euro and the coffee potent.”