A news report tells the reader about an event that has occurred. It tells the reader who, what, where, when, why and how.  

STRUCTURE OF A NEWS REPORT 

Headline - quickly and briefly draws attention to the story.

Lead Paragraph - tells the most important facts of the about the event you are reporting.  

                                           1. Who is involved? 
                                           2. What happened?
                                           3. Where it happened?
                                           4. When it happened?
                                           5. Why it happened?
                                           6. How it happened?

Body - provides more details in the news report about the event (the who, the what, the where, the when, the why) and how it happened 

Tail - contains information that matters the least.  It can be omitted if the story is too long.
DO: 
  • make a link between the headline and the photograph.   Think .... What event could I write about using the photo and headline, that would make a good news story? 
  • make sure all of your details relate to the picture and headline 
  • make sure that you have included enough information and facts related to the event 
  • use correct grammar, spelling and punctuation 
DON’T: 
  • don’t write an advertisement, a television or radio report 
  • don’t write about an event that will take place in the future. It should be an event that has happened already
  • don’t use “I” or “you”.  Your report should sound professional.

CLICK TO COMPLETE NEWS REPORT WRITING TASKS:

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