Writing a News Article (Report)

News Articles (Reports)

• A news article is actually a type of recount.
• When you think about where you find news
articles/reports, you probably think about the
news that you read in newspapers, the internet,
magazines, hear on the
radio, and see on
television etc.
Main Purposes Of News Articles (Reports)
• There are three main purposes of news articles:
– To inform
– To entertain
– To persuade
• A news article should contain objective, factual
information and be written in the third person
(he, she, it, they).
• The text should be simple, clear and to the point.
• The article should not be emotional and only
rarely include an opinion.
The Outline Of a News Article (Report)

Most Important

Less Important

Least Important
 The Structure Of a News Article
• A news article usually consists of:
– A headline
– The Subhead (Optional)
– A byline
– A body
• Generally, a narrative will build up to the climax,
or the most important part, of the story. A news
article, on the other hand, begins with the most
important information and then proceeds to the
less important information, leaving the least
important to the end.
• A news article begins with a lead paragraph that
contains the most significant information in the
story.
 The Headline
• The headline is the title of your news article.
• It is a very brief summary of your news article.
• The heading must grab the reader’s attention
by using exciting words.
• It can often contain just a noun and a verb.
• All important words are capitalized and there
is no punctuation at the end of the title.
Headline Examples
 The Subhead (Optional)
• Sometimes a subhead, or secondary title,
appears immediately after the headline.
• A subhead provides additional information
about the story.
Subhead Examples
 The Byline
• The byline is positioned after the subhead or
under the headline.
• As the name suggests, it is the line that tells
who the story is by; that is, who wrote the
article.
• Sometimes the date is put with the byline.
The Byline Examples
Example of Headline, Subhead and Byline.

HOUSES ROBBED
Ten houses robbed before man caught
By Jason Smith. March 18, 2019.
 The Lead Paragraph
• The beginning of a news article is called the lead, and
it sets the structure for the rest of the article.
• The most important ideas of the article are included in
the lead.
• A good lead usually answers the following questions:
– Who?
– What?
– Where?
– When?
– Why?
– How?
 The 5Whs (+1) of the Lead Paragraph
• Who: the subject of the article. The article could be
about a person, place, idea, event or object – basically
anything about which an article can be written.
• What: the action of the article. What has happened or
what is currently happening.
• Where: the place the action is happening.
• When: the time frame of the article. Did the action take
place last night, last week, or over the course of a
month?
• Why: explains the “what,” or the actions that occurred.
• How: describes the sequence of events or actions that
occurred.
 The Lead (First) Sentence
• The first sentence of the lead, in particular, is very
important.
• It must hook readers and encourage them to
continue reading.
• In most news articles, the first sentence gives
answers to as many of the 5 WHs as possible, in as
few words as possible.
• Eg: Thousands of students marched in the streets
of London today to protest violence in schools.
 The Lead (First) Sentence
• To create an original and captivating first
sentence you might consider introducing your
topic using a lead that:
– Asks a question/s
– Includes a surprise/s
– Creates suspense
– Uses a quotation
– Provokes a thought or idea
Lead Paragraph Example
 The Middle Paragraphs
• The middle paragraphs of a news article provide the
reader with more details about the topic.
• There should be smooth transitions from one
paragraph to the next.
• Remember to be objective – do not state opinions.
• The purpose of an article is to convey facts.
• Include a quotation/s from people involved in the
story, and here the quotation/s can express opinions.
• Make sure the speaker is properly identify.
 Quotations
• If the speaker has a title or a specific role in the event, draw
attention to it.
• For example:
• “The kids wear clothes that look just like ours,” Tara Clarke, a
participant in the ceremony, commented.
• “We have just invested a great deal of money into this
program,” said Norma Jacob, Minister of Education.
• If the speaker has already been referred to at some point in
the article, you may then refer to the speaker by their last
name only.
• For example:
• “As much as I enjoyed the trip, I am happy to be home,”
Clarke said.
 The Last Paragraph
• The last paragraph concludes and summarizes the
article.
• It may also provide a call to action – a suggestion
of what readers can do in response to the article.
• For example, the last paragraph of an article
about an earthquake could include information
about where readers could donate money,
clothes, blankets etc to help those affected.
 Example for Grade 6
INTERNET OUTAGE, KIDS GOING CRAZY
Government officials hope to rectify the situation soon

John Budiman. 18th July, 2019.

Social problems among children have sharply risen in Permata

Buana, West Jakarta due to an internet outage. The outage began at
the beginning of July and has now lasted for more than two weeks.

Parents have struggled with bad behaviour, tantrums etc from

children that have been disrupting their households. Parents are
desperate to get the internet on again because their families are
being disrupted through the mental break down of their children
who cannot cope without the internet.
 Example Continued
Neighbours in the area have reported hearing screams, arguments
and yelling by the youth of many houses. “I can’t sleep some nights,”
stated Pak Arifin of Island Street. Police have been called to some
houses to make sure resident’s children do not continue to disturb
the peace.

Many parents have been showing high levels of stress because of

their children. Counsellors have reported a spike in the number of
parents coming to see them. The local government have set up extra
counselling services for parents that cannot cope.

Government officials have stated they are working over time on the
situation. They have provided more finances to overcome the
internet problem as soon as possible and are pleading for children to
stay calm for the good of the community.