100 Sentence Starters for Critical Reviews

No.	Item	Definition
1.	A careful reading suggests	Introduces text-based inference.
2.	A closer look reveals	Introduces detailed finding.
3.	A key issue is	Introduces a central problem.
4.	A less charitable view is	Offers harsher interpretation.
5.	A more generous reading is	Offers kinder interpretation.
6.	A notable feature is	Introduces an important aspect.
7.	All too often,	Criticizes repeated issue.
8.	As a piece of writing,	Judges writing quality.
9.	As a whole,	Judges the complete work.
10.	As a work of art,	Judges artistic merit.
11.	As an argument,	Judges persuasiveness.
12.	As an example of its kind,	Judges within its type.
13.	At a deeper level,	Moves to underlying meaning.
14.	At every turn,	Shows repeated pattern.
15.	At first glance,	Gives an initial impression.
16.	At its best,	Highlights strongest qualities.
17.	At its worst,	Highlights weakest qualities.
18.	At no point does it	Stresses complete absence.
19.	At times,	Notes occasional quality.
20.	Because of this,	Links cause and effect.
21.	By comparison,	Compares with another case.
22.	By the end,	Gives final impression.
23.	Compared with similar works,	Frames a comparison.
24.	Conceptually,	Evaluates core concept.
25.	Emotionally,	Evaluates emotional effect.
26.	Even so,	Introduces concession.
27.	Even then,	Adds a limiting contrast.
28.	For all that,	Concedes but continues critique.
29.	For the most part,	Gives a general pattern.
30.	For this reason,	Gives justification.
31.	From start to finish,	Covers the whole work.
32.	From the outset,	Begins with an early reaction.
33.	In contrast,	Introduces a difference.
34.	In formal terms,	Assesses form.
35.	In places,	Notes uneven sections.
36.	In stylistic terms,	Assesses style.
37.	In summary,	Summarizes the main evaluation.
38.	In the end,	States final judgment.
39.	In thematic terms,	Assesses themes.
40.	Intellectually,	Evaluates ideas and thought.
41.	It becomes clear that	Shows a developed conclusion.
42.	It is difficult to overlook	Stresses a noticeable point.
43.	It is easy to see why	Explains clear appeal.
44.	It is fair to say that	Signals a balanced judgment.
45.	It is hard to ignore	Emphasizes something obvious.
46.	It is tempting to argue	Introduces a possible claim.
47.	It is worth noting that	Adds a relevant observation.
48.	Like its peers,	Shows similarity to others.
49.	More often than not,	Describes usual tendency.
50.	Narratively,	Evaluates storytelling.
51.	Nevertheless,	Marks contrast despite earlier point.
52.	On balance,	Weighs strengths against weaknesses.
53.	On closer inspection,	Introduces deeper analysis.
54.	On the other hand,	Introduces a counterpoint.
55.	One could argue that	Presents a reasoned view.
56.	One major weakness is	Introduces a negative point.
57.	One of its strengths is	Introduces a positive point.
58.	Overall, this review finds	Introduces the overall judgment.
59.	Practically speaking,	Shifts to practical judgment.
60.	Seen in context,	Adds contextual judgment.
61.	Still,	Adds a reservation.
62.	Structurally,	Evaluates organization.
63.	Stylistically,	Evaluates style.
64.	Taken as a whole,	Assesses the complete work.
65.	Technically,	Evaluates technique.
66.	That said,	Softens or qualifies a point.
67.	The biggest drawback is	States the chief disadvantage.
68.	The main appeal lies in	States the chief attraction.
69.	The most striking aspect is	Highlights a memorable element.
70.	Thematically,	Evaluates themes.
71.	There is a clear attempt to	Notes an evident intention.
72.	There is a risk that	Warns of a possible issue.
73.	There is a sense that	Suggests an overall feeling.
74.	There is much to admire in	Introduces praise.
75.	There is much to question in	Introduces criticism.
76.	This captures the essence of	States the core quality.
77.	This falls short because	Explains a weakness.
78.	This implies that	Draws a likely conclusion.
79.	This raises the question of	Introduces a concern.
80.	This suggests that	Draws an inference.
81.	This work fails to	Introduces a failure.
82.	This work succeeds in	Introduces a success.
83.	This works well because	Explains a strength.
84.	Time and again,	Shows repeated recurrence.
85.	To begin with,	Starts the review clearly.
86.	To some extent,	Limits the strength of claim.
87.	Ultimately,	Signals final conclusion.
88.	Unlike many similar works,	Shows a distinguishing feature.
89.	Up to a point,	Partly agrees.
90.	Visually,	Evaluates visual qualities.
91.	What is missing is	Identifies an absence.
92.	What is most disappointing is	Highlights biggest letdown.
93.	What is most impressive is	Highlights strongest merit.
94.	What makes this effective is	Explains success.
95.	What matters most is	States key criterion.
96.	What remains unclear is	Identifies uncertainty.
97.	What saves it is	Names redeeming feature.
98.	What stands out most is	Points to the key feature.
99.	What undermines it is	Names damaging feature.
100.	What weakens the piece is	Explains failure.