Lesson goal: Students can review films, books and exhibitions with sophistication, balance praise with criticism and use concessive structures such as much as, however + adjective and adjective + as.
Add the lesson to get your own copies of the word set and exercises; the lesson opens in the builder, where you can adjust the steps and teach it.
Lesson plan
- 1
Warm-up
Questions to get the student talking and lead into the topic.
- What was the last film, book or show that really impressed you?
- Do you read reviews before you decide what to watch?
- Is there something everyone seems to love that you simply can't stand?
- What makes a piece of art 'good', in your opinion?
- 2
New words
Meet the words and practise them in games.
Find the matchAnagramcritically acclaimed · derivative · pretentious · evocative · poignant · avant-garde · a tour de force · highbrow · lowbrow · formulaic · subversive · pan · resonate with · understated · a cult following
All words in the set - 3
Exercises
The lesson's words in context. Only you see the answers.
- Fill the gap
Critics ___ the sequel so badly that the studio quietly cancelled the third film.
Answer: panned - Fill the gap
The novel's themes of loss and exile still resonate ___ readers today.
Answer: with - Fill the gap
___ as I admire her technique, I found the exhibition rather cold.
Answer: Much - Fill the gap
Brilliant ___ the lead actor is, even he can't save such a formulaic script.
Answer: as / though - Multiple choice
A film that borrows heavily from earlier, better films could be described as ...
derivativesubversiveevocativeunderstated - Multiple choice
Which sentence is correct?
However talented the director is, the film is far too long.However the director is talented, the film is far too long.How talented the director is, the film is far too long.However talented is the director, the film is far too long. - Multiple choice
A series that was cancelled but is now adored by a small, devoted group of fans has ...
a cult followinga tour de forcea lowbrow audiencea critical acclaim - True / false
Read: "Much as I wanted to love this exhibition, I left feeling oddly unmoved. The opening room, with its evocative photographs of abandoned factories, is genuinely poignant. Beyond it, however, the installations grow ever more pretentious, as though the curators feared that clarity might be mistaken for a lack of depth." The reviewer found every part of the exhibition disappointing.
Answer: False - True / false
Read the text again. The reviewer suggests that the curators avoided making the work easy to understand.
Answer: True - Discussion question
Write a short, balanced review (4–5 sentences) of a film, book or exhibition you know, using at least two concessive structures.
Sample answer: Much as I enjoyed the first half of the film, it loses its way badly after the wedding scene. The photography is evocative, and the lead gives an understated, poignant performance. Long as it is, though, the ending feels oddly rushed, and the final twist is frankly formulaic. Worth seeing, but hardly the tour de force the posters promise.
- Fill the gap
- 4
Speaking
The student answers using the new words.
- Is there a real difference between highbrow and lowbrow culture, or is it just snobbery?
- Should art be subversive, or is it enough for it to be beautiful?
- Do professional critics still matter in the age of online star ratings?
- Can a work be technically brilliant and still be bad art?
- Which critically acclaimed classic do you think is overrated, and why?
- 5
Review
A quiz on the lesson's words. With a student, it's homework on their link.
Quiz