Writing a News Report

Types of News & Audiences School News – parents, students, and teachers Local News – people who live in the community Sports News – people who are interested in sports Entertainment News – people who are interested in music, movies, & TV World News – people interested in world events

“Science Perfects a Swing” Practice Companion p. 128 What type of news is this? Who is the audience? What did you learn? How is this topic related to what we have been reading about science? How is the writing organized? Where is the most important information? What does the author want us to know about tennis rackets?

Characteristics of a News Report A good news report… informs readers about current events. has a headline that grabs readers’ attention. has a lead sentence that summarizes the most important information. has supporting sentences and paragraphs that tell who, what, where, when, why, and how. has facts and details that relate to the topic. has information presented from most to least important.

Organization of a News Report Lead sentence with the most important information. Paragraphs that give facts and details. Least important information.

“Science Perfects a Swing” What is the lead sentence? What paragraphs give supporting details? What is the least important information? Answer the 5W +H Questions… Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?

Prewriting Brainstorm your ideas of the type of news report you would like to write. Who will your audience be? What are possible topics? Practice Companion p. 129 – Evaluation Rubric

Newsworthy Topics Current: Recent events make good topics for news reports. Important: Does the topic affect a lot of people? Nearby: Did it happen close to us? Well-Known: Is it about a person or place that is well- known? Emotional: Does it contain strong emotions the reader can respond to?

Newsworthy or not? The School Board voted to keep schools open twelve months a year. The school assembly started ten minutes late last Friday. The car was lost in the school parking lot. Local restaurant gives extra food to homeless shelter. School book drive collects books for schools damaged by hurricane.

Cause and Effect Connection Skilled news writers make connections between causes and effects very clear in their reports so that readers understand how events happened and what the results of those events were.

Independent Writing Select a topic Think of who your audience is Answer the 5W +H Questions

Gather Information - Interviews One way to gather information for a news report is to interview someone who is involved or knows about the news event. This could be an expert or a witness. Planning and asking your interview questions will help you learn more about the news event. Your questions should be the 5W+H Questions.

During the Interview Ask open-ended questions Jot down new questions as you think of them Be friendly & polite Listen carefully & be responsive Take notes

Independent Writing Work with a partner to generate questions for the person you plan to interview. Practice asking your partner the questions and taking notes on the responses.

Reflect on Your Writing Revisit the Evaluation Rubric on p. 129 in your Practice Companion

Using Direct Quotations A direct quote is the exact words of another person. A writers uses these so that the reader knows exactly what that person said. They are most effective when there are just a few important quotes and they are short.

Write a First Draft Remember: A news report begins with the most important information about the topic. It continues with facts and details about the topic. It concludes with the least important information about the topic.

Write a Lead A lead is the first and most important sentence in a news report. With a strong focus and good lead, the rest of your report will flow naturally.

Write Objectively When writing a news report it is important to write objectively – do not let your personal opinions show through in your writing. Avoid words that have obvious positive or negative connotations like: best, greatest, and worst. Also avoid words that suggest your personal opinion like: In my opinion, I believe, and I think.

Supporting Paragraphs Give interesting facts and details about the topic Support the main idea of the report

Write a Headline A headline is the title of a news report. Writers often write their headlines last so that they can see what interesting fact might grab the reader’s attention. The purpose of a headline is to attract attention and encourage the reader to keep reading.

A Strong Headline Tells the topic of the report Is written in the present tense and uses action verbs Captures the reader’s attention

Revise the Draft Continue to check your work using the Evaluation Rubric on p. 129 in your Practice Companion

Peer Review Routine The writer shares his or her report. The reviewer tells what he or she liked about the report. The reviewer asks questions about the report. The reviewer makes suggestions for changes. The writer makes notes of the reviewer’s comments. The partners switch roles. See Peer Evaluation Form in your Practice Companion p. 130

Edit the Draft Use the Editing Checklist to read your report several times and look for one or two kinds of errors at a time.

Publish the Final Draft Review the Evaluation Rubric (Practice Companion p. 129) one more time. Read each area carefully and evaluate how well you did. Experienced writers go back many times to revise and edit their work. Make any final changes you’d like to make to make it your best work. Make your final draft.