The News Report: A “How to” Guide

What Is It? This is a task that requires you to write a news report based on a picture and headline that is provided for you. You must create the details of the story using your own imagination, but it also must be reflective of the picture/headline. You will be evaluated on your ability to create the story, organize the story and follow appropriate news report format. The evaluator will also assess your ability to writer clearly, using proper writing conventions (sentence structure, paragraphing, grammar/spelling)

Word Power! Knowing the following terms will assist you in writing your news report. LEAD: the lead is the FIRST paragraph in a news story. It answers WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY in 2-3 sentences. Inverted Pyramid: this is a diagram meant to show that news writers give the MOST IMPORTANT information first and the LEAST IMPORTANT information last. Check out the diagram!

Answer WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY Here’s an inverted pyramid. It represents the news story you will write! Your Lead is first! Answer WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY Next, give HOW and WHY. Remember! Most important to least important information. Add quotations!

Bystander Quotation: A statement made by a person on the scene of the event or who is closely related to the situation. Your news story topic: The Kitchener Rangers game. A bystander quotation??? Here’s an example: “Wow! The team’s offence really played well tonight. Each player gave 110%,” said Rangers fan and season ticketholder Joe Schmoe, one of the thrilled spectators at today’s game.

Expert Quotation: this is a statement made by someone who has very specific knowledge about a situation. For example, a police officer or doctor. Your news story topic: The Importance of Technology in the Classroom A quotation from an expert??? Here’s an example: “Studies show that students who make regular use of technology in their classroom environment are better prepared for life after high school, whether it be post secondary education or the world of work,” says Dr. Ima Genius, a professor of Communication at Wilfred Laurier University.

Tips and Tricks Before you begin... Examine the picture carefully. What ideas can you generate using that image? Plan your news report. Think of some specific facts and information that answer the questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? Remember, you have to make up the facts and information. Jot down your ideas in the Rough Notes space provided on the test.

Tips and Tricks Writing a Report Organize your ideas clearly to help your reader follow and understand your news report. The best way to organize a news report is using the inverted pyramid structure. When you are explaining the Who? What? When? Where? Why? And How? use specific details. For example, don’t just write Students at a local high school participated in their annual spring cleaning last week. Instead, write 75 students at Bluevale Collegiate Institute participated in their annual spring cleaning event “Operation Clean Sweep” on Thursday April 25th. Don’t try to be funny. Your humour may be lost on the person who is evaluating the test and could cause confusion. Keep your answers focused and on point.

Tips and Tricks Writing a Report Write enough to ensure that your reader will feel fully informed about the event. Write your report using third person objective point of view. DO NOT use personal pronouns. For example, avoid writing, We interviewed Jason Smith and he told us that he enjoyed the activity. Instead write In an interview with Jason Smith, a Grade 11 Student at BCI, Smith stated that he enjoyed participating in the activity. Be sure to include a minimum of two quotations from people who witnessed or were participants in the story. These quotations should only be a few short sentences but should add detail to your newspaper article. Remember to integrate these quotations correctly into your writing.

Tips and Tricks Writing with style Write neatly Use proper paragraph format. Every time you begin discussing a new idea or a new element of your news story, begin a new paragraph. Your news report should not appear as a single paragraph. You may choose to use indentations or to leave an extra line between paragraphs Use transitions to link your ideas. Re-read your answer to make sure all the ideas make sense. If you make changes to your writing, do so as neatly and as clearly as you can.