Best Travel (and restaurant) reviews?

CyndiA · #1 09-15-2002, 06:08 PM

Not sure if this is the right space to toss out a question and request for help . . .

I'm teaching a small writing class on travel. The first piece is a restaurant review, and they'll do various other location based pieces this month.

Each writer is very different in terms of age, interests, writing style. What I thought would be helpful was to match styles with Epinions writers/pieces and refer students to a writer with a similar type focus to look over and get ideas. Now, I'm not going to send them to shake anyone down for writing help. Just want to pass on the articles and talk about what made the piece shine and how they can add those kinds of things.

I wondered if any EA folks could toss out travel (and especially restaurant) reviews that would be good learning pieces matched to these:

Writer 1 - Young, egdy, male. Likes to include humor. Enjoys getting over a bit.

Writer 2 - Late 20s male. Uses words really well. Deeper level humor.

Writer 3 - Late 30s male. Engineering type. Would prob work best with sub heads and more step-by-step style. Sort of a how-to piece but straight and not funny.

Writer 4 - Female with newborn. Talks really well and vividly. Not so sure on paper. Would enjoy a friendly tone in an article.

Writer 5 - Older female. Nurse. Very good with words. Descriptive with details. Kind of a mood piece but with solid info.

Writer 6 - Southern girl. Research oriented. History based connected to story idea.

Writer 7 - Scared writer. Would like nostalgia I think. Needs a shake-and-bake set up to learn the ropes and what to put in an article.

If any of my writers sound like they match a piece you penned or one you love by another writer, please post. There was a funny Outback article I read, but with over 400 posted, I can't find it. Male EP writer. A little older I think. Descriptive. Very funny. I'd like Writer 2 to take a look at that one. It would give him more ideas about working with humor. Ring a bell for anyone?

I'm passing on my own aritcles when they match and would help, but I know that some of you guys more closely match these writers I'm working with. My humor would not be the same as the humor for my youngest male for example.

These aren't Epinions writers, but the range is so broad at EP that I think the work could help a lot. If you can share a link, I'd appreciate it a lot.

Thanks!

**Joubert**[$] · #2 09-15-2002, 08:28 PM

It's a lovely idea, Cyndi, but I think it has a better home in Rapping about Reviews. Let's head off there.

(woosh....)

CyndiA · #3 09-15-2002, 08:31 PM

Tks joubert! I wasn't sure where to put it. It would add some new member hits for members, so I hope there are some ideas about good reviews to pass on. Smiles.

lyagushka · #4 09-16-2002, 03:29 AM

Well, I write travel and restaurant reviews. I don't know that they would provide a good match for any of your students, but they are usually the reviews I most enjoy writing, and so they can get rather lengthy at times.

If you're interested, there're drop down menus with links for my reviews on my profile page.

Good luck with what sounds like a fun but challenging class!

CyndiA · #5 09-16-2002, 05:26 PM

Hi lyagushka!

Your topics will prob flip my NC conservatives out (-: I was reading through (and hope I remembered to rate--VH on all I read and sure enjoyed).

The Chez Panisse Cafe is one I'm going to use with the engineer. OK--don't ROF. He is looking at a steak house and very traditional meat/potatoes kind of place. But, you used the sub heads and told about different aspects of the restaurant and experience. He was trying to do that, but he didn't divide the way you did. I tend to not sub-head and didn't have anything restaurant related to show him with that set up. So, I think that will help a lot. He'll also get to read about a place very unlike what he would probably visit or write about which is a good thing too.

The class is a 4 hour block on Mon and Thurs so exhausting for students coming in after work or even before 3rd shift. These guys really want to learn though and work extra hard. I hope I can give them great stuff to read and see them all get excited about travel writing.

Thanks again so much. I hope the engineer will check out more reviews and see the many different ways you handled restaurants and travel. The pull downs are nice. That helped me look really fast.

CyndiA · #6 09-16-2002, 11:55 PM

quick update

lyagushka

My engineer person loved your review. He read it on break tonight. Then he asked if he could do a golf club for his travel review and divide it by holes. It would be kind of a cheat sheet thing (-: well not exactly. It would tell how to conquer the holes. "If you want to play here, then you need to know this hole by hole." He saw how you divided which is what I wanted him to look at. Then, he could see how he could use that format in his own way.

YES! I'm thrilled. I thought some great voices from Epinions would spark ideas, and your piece did just that. Now, he's all set for his first travel piece. Plus, he enjoyed hearing about a different place that you shared in your neat voice.

Redlass · #7 09-17-2002, 11:03 AM

What a great idea!

It's been awhile since I read on a regular basis in travel, but I did have some reviews and people come to mind while reading your post.

DAnneC might be a good match for #6.

Gungian might be a good one for #7.

Some of Joubert's pieces might be helpful for #3, though I think he incorporates humor pretty well into his reviews.

#4 might like jdhauer.

I used to really enjoy writing travel reviews, but I don't travel much anymore and when I do it isn't outside of Michigan (er, or Windsor which isn't Michigan, but it's pretty darn close) and I've already written my limit of Michigan reviews.

Redlass · #8 09-17-2002, 11:11 AM

Oh, and #2 might like this one:

http://www.epinions.com/content_27384843908

And if you'll forgive the self-pimping, #6 might like:
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-...399C6DE8-prod6

CyndiA · #9 09-17-2002, 09:58 PM

Pimp on girl (-: I want folks to share their work that they would work for any of the students. I figure everyone knows their own collection the best. It takes me a long time to wade through even when I remember something that I think will work. I'm telling the class that you all are sharing as a big favor and to help out and about Epinions. So, some may even post up a piece or two.

It will prob be this weekend before I can read and copy for the students. I was in class teaching 9 hrs yesterday and then catching up grading today plus the county fair with the boys. I wish we had high tech stuff at the school, and then I could link up in class for them and just bounce around EP and show them all kinds of great pieces.

So . . . everyone do feel free to tell me pieces that you wrote that you think would work. That was a good class last night with sharing what I had from you all.

**Prepoia**[$] · #10 09-17-2002, 11:08 PM

Okay. Here are a couple of mine too. Both were firsts for me...my first travel review (Niagara Falls) and my first restaurant (Burger King). I received great comments on the Niagara one which is one of the pieces that kept me writing way back then and I had fun with the Burger King because it was a Fast Food Write Off which was my first Write Off experience. No guarantees on the quality but they are different in style.

http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-...38E90E7A-prod2

http://www.epinions.com/rest-review-...396A6247-prod5

Sandy

CyndiA · #11 09-18-2002, 12:19 AM

Tks Sandy! I'll be checking in this weekend. Right now, I need to get on to bed and then knock out this killer work week. Joubert, I'm glad you linked this from forums where I came in as sort of newbie. I signed up, then forgot password, then had a new email . . . The only way I could think to get in was to drop the A on my name and sign up again. But, this space is wonderful. Tks for the warm welcome, the reviews to check out, and ideas to think about. I look forward to seeing the restaurant and travel pieces you guys linked here. They don't have to be like the travel books. I want students to see the range and to carve out things with the styles they love already. I'm big on a variety of voices, which is why I do love EP. It's really the only place I've visited where I got such a range.

CyndiA · #12 09-22-2002, 08:41 PM

# 2 in my group checked out EP to see what folks had written about an Arizona park with sand sledding. I need to check on the writer on that--can't recall off the bat though the piece is in my student's folder at school. But I thought you guys might want to know that my students like EP and are looking around to get ideas. I hope some of them will post reviews. Travel is a neat spot, and I love to read stuff in the category. I print a few when I go places (-: If my students in class add to that, then we have more ideas when we get a break! I love that!