Newspaper Articles Lesson 1 PDF

Newspaper Articles Lesson 1 What are newspaper articles? They are written to inform readers about current news/affairs and issues. Why are they important? A newspaper report needs to … Be about an Capture the reader’s interesting event attention Present factual information...

Newspaper Articles Lesson 1 What are newspaper articles? They are written to inform readers about current news/affairs and issues. Why are they important? A newspaper report needs to … Be about an Capture the reader’s interesting event attention Present factual information Be succinct and to the point The Essentials When the reader reads It is important that a newspaper report, newspaper reports they should be given have the most the essential important information information first, so coming first. This is that they can decide if called front-landing. they wish to read more. Structure of a Newspaper Report Headline and byline Lead Body Tail Headline Headline and byline Lead For a good headline, you need to: Catch the reader’s attention so they want to read the rest of the report; Sum up the story in a few words; Body Use powerful and interesting language; Write in the present tense – even if the report is about an event that has already happened; Include alliteration or wit at times. Tail Byline Headline and byline Lead For a good byline, you need: The writer’s name; Body The writer’s speciality (for example, Sports reporter, Food correspondent, Crime editor, Deputy politic editor, Senior fashion reporter); Tail A link to the writer’s Twitter account (for example, @dgoodman). Lead Headline and For a good lead paragraph, you need to; byline Make the paragraph short and snappy so that it briefly explains what has Lea happened; d Ensure that, even if the reader stopped reading at this point, they would still know Body roughly what happened; Use past tense in most cases; Make sure the first paragraph answers as many of these six questions as you can – Tail Who? What? Where? Why? When? How? Body Headline and For a good body section, you need to: byline Add more information and detail to your lead paragraph; Include background information, Lea d evidence, facts and quotes from people involved in or connected to the event/story; Having Bod Continue to write in order of quotes from y importance, putting the most important witnesses or experts information in the first few paragraphs Be sure to will make Tail use correct of the body section. your report punctuatio more credible n for and quotes! interesting. Tail This ‘Tail’ information can be useful but is not always needed. It tends to be the least important Headline and information in the report. byline Lea d For a good tail section: Give the reader the opportunity to gain Bod additional information if they are y particularly interested in the topic of the news report; Tail Include links to previous news reports or useful websites; Include a final quote from a witness or expert that helps to sum up the story or that could hint at what might happen next. Example School Children Raise Funds for Local Charity Francis Trackall, Education Reporter A small group of Year 5 students from Arkwood Primary School have created a brilliant plan to raise money for a local charity that assists people in the community. Following a visit to the school from a charity representative, the students set out to create a way of raising much needed funds. The students presented the fundraising idea to school principal Mrs Justine Knight, who saw great potential in the plan to sell produce from the school’s vegetable garden to local restaurants and, in turn, raise money for the local charity. She stated that ‘the children have displayed a true sense of community in their fundraising plan.’ Following a meeting with teachers, it is hoped that the students can begin to implement the four-phase plan. ‘The school would support students wholly in the fund-raising venture,’ Mrs Knight added. The school plans to sell the garden produce to two local restaurants, beginning in early September. For more information on this fundraising plan, visit the Arkwood Primary School website (www.arkwood.sch.com). Example Answers For a GREAT newspaper report you need to: Cut out the less Keep your most important sections important from the bottom of information near the the report if it ends top of the report; up being too long; Keep your sentences short and punchy, so Check your spelling that the report is and your facts…and interesting to your check them again! reader; Homework Read this newspaper report and answer the following questions: 1. What is the headline? 2. Who is the report about? 3. What is the report about? 4. Where did the event happen? 5. When did the event happen? 6. Why do you think they wrote this article?