Writing.Com 101

Reviews Tab

The Reviews tab within your portfolio displays information about your reviewing activity on Writing.Com. Visitors can see your reviewing style and preferences (if you have filled them out), request a review from you for a specific item (if your availability is set to ON), and view the public reviews you have written.

As with your Portfolio tab, the appearance of the Reviews tab will differ depending on whether you are viewing your own tab or another member’s.

Because the public view of the Reviews tab displays the same information without the management tools, this article focuses on the features available when viewing your own Reviews tab. See Review Requests for more information about using the Review Request feature.

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Review Requests

The Requests section allows you to manage incoming and outgoing review requests.

Incoming

Click Incoming to view review requests that other members have sent to you.

You can sort and filter requests by status:

• Pending
• Waiting
• Completed
• Declined
• Expired

Use the search box to locate specific requests and click the column headers to change the sort order.

See: Review Requests

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Outgoing

Click Outgoing to view review requests that you have sent to other members.

You can sort and filter requests by status:

• Pending
• Waiting
• Completed
• Declined
• Expired

Use a word in the Search Box to locate a specific request, and click the column headers to change the sort order of your Outgoing Requests.

See: Review Requests

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Ratings

The Ratings section provides statistics about star ratings.

Ratings: Received

This page provides a breakdown of all star ratings your items have received from other members of Writing.Com. This information can be useful when learning more about how readers respond to your work.

By default, the listing is shown By Item, displaying the item with the most total ratings first, along with its average rating and total number of ratings.

Use the drop-down sort menu to view the list in a variety of ways. Page through the results to see the full listing.

Click By Genre to see a breakdown of the ratings your items have received within each genre.

See: The Star Rating System

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Ratings: Given

This page provides a breakdown of all star ratings you have given to other members on Writing.Com.

By default, the listing is shown By Author, displaying the author you have rated most frequently first, along with the average of your ratings and the total number of ratings you have given.

Use the drop-down sort menu to sort this list in a variety of ways. Page through the results to view the entire list.

Click By Genre to see a breakdown of the ratings you have given within each genre.

See: The Star Rating System

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Stats

The Stats page provides a summary of your reviewing activity on Writing.Com, including statistics related to:

• Reviews sent
• Reviews received
• Review requests
• Ratings

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Reviews

The Reviews section provides access to the reviews associated with your account.

Reviews: Pending Response

This page provides quick access to reviews you have received but have not yet responded to. Feedback on Writing.Com is very important to our authors, and members who take the time to read and comment on your work deserve a thank you or acknowledgment for their time.

We encourage members to respond to each review they receive, and this area of your Reviews tab makes it easy to do so.

If there is a review you do not plan to respond to, click the Ignore button beside it to remove it from your Pending Response list. This operation can be undone by locating the review in your Reviews: Received listing and clicking the Undo button.

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Reviews: Received

This page displays all public and private reviews you have received for your items on Writing.Com.

Each review listing includes details such as your item's title, the reviewer's userlink, the group affiliation (if any), the content rating of the item, the star rating sent with the review, the public or private review status, and an option to hide the review.

If your switch on the Reviewers page is set to Show Details, additional information will be displayed, including the date and time the review was sent and the total character length of the review with and without writingml.

If your switch is set to Hide Details, you can hover over the binoculars icon in the upper-right corner of the review to display these details. The review ID number is also shown in the upper-right corner of each review.

At the bottom of each review you can see whether or not you have sent a response. If you have not yet responded to a review, we encourage you to do so. Responding to reviews lets other members know that their feedback is appreciated and often encourages additional reviews.

Use the drop-down sort menu to sort this list in a variety of ways. Page through the listing and scroll individual reviews as needed to view them in their entirety.

The search bars at the top and bottom of the listing can be used to locate reviews by item or entry ID number, review ID number, reviewer username or handle, words contained in the review, or words in the item's title. Other review header information is not searchable.

See: Reviewing On Writing.Com

Note: The Hide Review operation cannot be undone. Hiding a review removes it from your Reviews listings, and removes a public review from all the Public Review listings, but does not delete the review; it will still exist in the reviewer's Reviews: Given listing, and a public review can still be accessed via a review link by anyone who can access the item.

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Reviews: Given

This page displays all public and private reviews you have written for other members' items on Writing.Com.

Each review listing includes details such as the item's title, the author's userlink, the group affiliation (if any), the public or private review status, the content rating of the item, and the star rating sent with the review.

If your switch on the Reviewers page is set to Show Details, additional information will be displayed, including the date and time the review was sent and the total character length of the review with and without writingml.

If your switch is set to Hide Details, you can hover over the binoculars icon in the upper-right corner of the review to display these details. The review ID number is also shown in the upper-right corner of each review.

At the bottom of each review, you can see whether or not the author has responded to your review.

Use the drop-down sort menu to sort this list in a variety of ways. Page through the listing and scroll individual reviews as needed to view them in their entirety.

The search bars at the top and bottom of the listing can be used to locate reviews by item or entry ID number, review ID number, the username or handle of the item owner, words contained in the review, or words in the item's title. Other review header information is not searchable.

See: Reviewing On Writing.Com

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Review Tool

The Review Tool, available to members with a Basic+ paid membership, provides additional tools for creating and managing your reviews.

This tool allows you to create and manage Review Templates and Draft Reviews, and opens a full-size pop-up review editor with additional features, including:


• Editor area
• Template Selector
• Character counter
• Preview function
• Spellcheck function
• Reviewing Options

Additional resources are displayed above the review text area, including rotating Review Tips and a link to Guidelines To Great Reviewing.

See: The Review Tool

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Managing Your Review Settings

Click the gear icon in the upper-right corner of the Reviews tab to open the area where you can manage your Review Settings and the information visitors see on your portfolio’s Reviews tab.

When your Review Request status is set to ON, other members can request a review using the form displayed below your review details. Your current Review Request status is also shown in your left-click handle menu.

From this area you can:

• Choose who can access your Reviews tab
• Set a minimum Gift Point amount required for review requests
• Turn your Review Request status ON or OFF (see: Review Requests)
• Set a maximum content rating for incoming review requests
• Set the maximum number of pending Accept/Decline requests
• Choose a cover to customize the appearance of this section (see: Covers)

Below these settings are several labeled text boxes where you can describe your reviewing style and preferences for members who visit your Reviews tab.

If a section is left blank, its title will not appear. Because display space is limited, hard returns are ignored when the text is formatted, and some WritingML tags are not processed in these fields.

If you complete the first section and your Review Request status is ON, you will automatically be listed on the Community / Request a Review page, which highlights members who are available to review items.

If you have not logged in for two weeks, the system will automatically switch your Review Request status to OFF.

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Public Reviews Display

This area automatically displays all visible public reviews you have written for other items on Writing.Com. Reviews are shown based on the viewer's access restrictions and content rating filter settings.

Your public reviews allow visitors to see your reviewing style and attention to detail. Members often use this area to decide whether they would like to request a review from you.

A switch for your content rating filter is located at the upper-right corner of the review listing. This filter is used in multiple areas of Writing.Com and can be adjusted in several locations; this switch provides convenient access to that setting.

Each review listing includes information such as the item's title, the reviewer's userlink, the affiliated group (if any), the content rating of the item, and the star rating sent with the review.

If the viewer's switch on the Reviewers page is set to Show Details, additional information will be displayed, including the date and time the review was sent and the total character length of the review. If the switch is set to Hide Details, the viewer can hover over the binoculars icon in the upper-right corner of the review to display these details. The review ID number is also shown in the upper-right corner of each review.

Use the paging controls to browse through the list and scroll individual reviews as needed to view them in their entirety. A paging bar appears at the top of the listing, while the bottom includes both a search bar and a more detailed paging control.

The search bar can be used to locate reviews by item or entry ID number, review ID number, reviewer username, words contained in the review, or words in the item's title. Other review header information is not searchable.

When viewing another member's Reviews tab, you can reward a review with Gift Points using the Review Reward box located in the upper-right corner of the review. This option is available for two weeks after the review is sent.

See: Reviewing On Writing.Com

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Explore more:

Reviewing On Writing.Com
Seeking Reviews
Review Requests