News report writing

Christian Caro Solis, Master in TEFL

FUNCTIONAL CONTENT: NEWS REPORT
Parts of a News
Report
Parts of a
News Report
 NEWS REPORT: FACTS

• Get your facts right!

• The 5 Ws (and H)
• Who
• What
• When
• Where
• Why
• How
 NEWS REPORT: CONTEXT
• Why should I care?
• Why should I read this?
• Deciding on what the audience
needs to know
• Circumstances surrounding facts
 NEWS REPORT: IMPACT
• “Why we should care”
• Impact keeps readers in tune beyond headline
• How will this affect me?
 NEWS REPORT: EMOTION
• Emotion commands attention
• Fine line between cold, hard facts and a tug
on emotional heart strings
• Readers must be able to decide for
themselves
 NEWS REPORT: BALANCING FACTS
AND STYLE
• Readers want to know facts
• Related stories
• Background information
• Active voice
• Simple, concise language
• Anticipate questions from readers
 NEWS REPORT: WRITING A GOOD
LEAD
• The lead is comprised of the first few sentences of the text
• Hard news story: include as many facts as possible in summary
• Soft news story: facts in body of the story
• Common error in leads: focusing on more than one main idea
• Avoid burying the lead
• Make sure the news report is suitable for everyone to read
 EXAMPLES OF GOOD LEADS
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 BASIC COMPONENTS OF A NEWS
REPORT
• A headline
• A lead (sometimes written lede)
• A backup quote
 BASIC COMPONENTS OF A NEWS
REPORT
• Attribution
• Reaction
• A "nut graph"
 BASIC COMPONENTS OF A NEWS
REPORT
• Background
• An ending
• Active voice
EXERCISES ON NEWS REPORT WRITING
https://mattkushin.com/2019/03/04/practice-writing-headlines-and-news-leads-re-write-the-headline-and
-lead-of-a-news-story-by-focusing-on-the-most-interesting-part-in-class-activity/

https://www.thenewsmanual.net/Exercises/Writing%20the%20news%20story%20exercise.htm

https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199846412/student/chapter1/

https://speakspeak.com/english-grammar-exercises/advanced-vocabulary-exercises/words-used-in-new
s-headlines

http://www.mulinblog.com/an-example-on-good-online-news-writing/
 REFERENCES

• Tips on Writing a News Report. (n.d.). In Your Dictionary. Retrieved from

https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/grammar-rules-and-tips/tips-on-writing-a-news-report.h
tml
• Baba, . (2016, July 26). The Basic Components of a News Story. In Journalism and
Communication. Retrieved from
https://wecommunication.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-basic-components-of-news-story.html
• Angelopoulos, C. (2018, April 20). How to Write a News Report. Retrieved from
https://speare.com/@blog/all-about-writing/how-to-write-a-news-report
SUMMARY AND
FAREWELL

• Mention three new things you learnt

today