Feedback writing a news report

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 4

Feedback writing a news report

To recap:

A good news report:

•  efficiently conveys a lot of clear facts about a defined situation. 
• The information is presented concisely. 

To recap:

A good news report should contain:

• Headline/title
  
• Sub-headline, summarising
  
• Byline (author, date, location)
  
• Paragraphs
• Sub-headings (possibly)

To recap:

Headline – usually only four or five words. It tries to attract the interest of the reader by telling them what the story is about, in a short and interesting way.

· What is the headline for your article?

· How many words are in the headline?

To recap:

Sub-headline

gives additional information about the topic of the news article

To recap:

By-line – who wrote the article, when and where

· Who wrote your article? / When? / Where?

To recap:

Introduction – It will set the scene and summarise the main points of the article: who, what, when, where.

· Can you identify these important points in your article?

- Who is the article about?

- What happened?

- When did it happen?

- Where did it happen?

To recap:

Body – provides more detail about the event, in particular it answers the questions how and why.

· What else do you know now?

To recap:

Quotes – sometimes articles will include what a person (like an eye-witness or an expert) has said. These will be in speech marks.

· Does you article have quotes? If so,

- What was said?

- Who said it?

- How are they related to the event?

Approach:

• Register: usually semi-formal, clear, direct
  
• Main facts to subordinate details: a news report starts with the important facts, and gradually moves downwards to the least important facts.
  
• Fact/opinion distinction: it should be clear what the objective facts are and what are subjective opinions (e.g. opinions are likely to be expressed as quotes from identified individuals).

Remarks

• Avoid repetition: of vocabulary; of sentence structures; of ideas
  
• Do NOT start a sentence with: and; but; or; because
  
• Word order
  
• Punctuation 
  
• Use more / a larger variety of linking words

Wordweb

• linking words
• topic specific vocabulary
• news report vocabulary