LA PAT Part A - How to write a news report (functional writing)

WRITING EXAMPLES TO USE FOR PAT PRACTICE WITH PART A, the 2nd part, writing a news article.

Literacy Preparation Week November 2009
Student Edition

Learning About Writing a News Report

Created by:
Dale Simnett and Darren Reed Formatted by R Fracchioni 2009
Reproduction of the material without authorization from authors, by any duplication process, is strictly prohibited.

Key Learning Points News Report
• The key elements of a News Report are:
1. Headline
Catches your attention Sums up the story

2. Byline

•  Writer’s name
  
•  Writer’s Specialty, e.g. sports, food, crime,
  current events
  4.
  

3. Placeline
Where the story begins 
4. Lead
The opening section
Gives most important information Should answer most of the 5W's
5. Body
Supplies detail
Most important details come first Simple true statements
6. Quotation
What someone actually said Adds accuracy
Adds “at the scene” feeling

Key Learning Points News Report – An example
Headline

Car thief caught trapped in target vehicle
Jim Day, Staff Reporter Wed Feb 25, 2009
Placeline

Byline (name of author)

Lead

• –  catches reader interest,
  
• –  most important info
  
• –  introduces topic
  
• –  answers most of the 5W’s
  

CANBERRA - A bungling Australian car thief was nabbed after accidentally locking himself in the vehicle he was trying to steal, police said Wednesday.
Police were called to a house in Adelaide after two thieves were heard trying to steal a car. On arrival they were surprised to find a 53-year old man hiding inside the vehicle.

Quotation

"The man, while breaking into the car, had locked himself in the car and couldn't get out," South Australian police said, adding a second thief was found hiding in nearby bushes.

Body

Day 1: Writing a News Report

News Report Practice
Read the article below. Fill in the Elements of a News Report chart on the next page.
Students Grow Flying Sauce
Jim Wilkes, Science Reporter
TORONTO - In the cult movie classic Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, mutant vegetables cut a deadly swath through the community, consuming everyone in their path.
But Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk says Toronto students cultivating tomato seeds from space shouldn’t worry about like imitating art.
“There should be no fear on the part of teachers or parents about any toxic fruit growing from these tomato plants,” said Thirsk, who flew aboard the shuttle Columbia on a 17-day mission in 1996.
He said he’ll eat tomatoes produced from the high-flying seeds or use them to make salsa or ketchup.
Thirsk visited students at St. Cecillia Catholic School on Annette St. yesterday to check up on their experiments with tomato seeds taken into space by astronaut Mark Garneau.
The Tomatosphere project involves 2,500 secondary school classrooms across Canada growing 400,000 seeds, half of which made the trip to space. Space plants are said to grow faster and taller.
“The space-flown seeds made 170 orbits of the Earth, travelled more than 7 million kilometers and spent 12 days weightless,” Thirsk said.
At the end of June, schools will send results of their experiment to the Canadian Space Agency which will compile the date and make conclusions.
Thirsk said the program is designed to introduce space science to young Canadians. “I can see that in these classrooms we have potential future Canadian scientists and astronauts,” he said. “I find that incredibly exciting.”

Day 1: Writing a News Report
Fill in all the elements of the news report based on the previous article:

Element	Definition	From the Article
Headline	Catches your attention Sums up the story	Students Grow Flying Sauce
Byline	Writer’s name Writer’s Specialty, e.g. sports, food, crime, current events
Placeline	• Where the story begins
Lead	The opening section Gives most important information Should answer most of the 5W’s
Body	Supplies detail Most important details come first	Circle the Paragraphs in the Body
Facts	• Simple true statements	Underline 4 Facts in the Article
Quotation	What someone actually said Adds accuracy Adds “at the scene” feeling

Day 1: Writing a News Report

Students Raise Money for a Good Cause
Writing a News Report is as easy as 1-2-3!
Step 1: Start planning
Look at the picture – What is happening in this picture?
How can you connect the picture to the headline?
In your rough notes, answer some or all of the following questions:
Who? What? Where?
Then add:
Quotes
More information
Think of a catchy lead paragraph
Step 2: Create a story!
Write a byline
Create a placeline
Create a catchy lead paragraph Write in the 3rd person
Write the body (1-3 paragraphs) Be ensure to include a quotation Print neatly and legibly

When? Why? How?

Rough Notes
Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?

Step 3: Review

Day 1: Writing a News Report

As a class, work with your teacher to create a news report.

Students Raise Money for a Good Cause

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Day 2: Writing a News Report

Task: Write a news report based on the headline and picture below.
• You will have to make up the facts and information by answering some
or all of the following questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? • You must relate your newspaper report to both the headline and the picture.
Purpose and
Audience: to report on an event for the readers of a newspaper
Length: The lined space provided for your written work indicates the approximate length of the writing expected.

Important Discovery Made Rough Notes By Local Student

Day 2: Writing a News Report

Important Discovery Made By Local Student

Day 2: Marking a News Report

How Will the News Report Be Marked? Take a look at these examples!

The students of BSS raised money to help the poor. Last week BSS held a fundraiser selling food. All of the money the collected went to helping out the poor. The raised almost 400 dollars. You done a very good job BSS students.	Related to headline All 5 W’s present - When? Enough detail Quotation used No personal opinion 4-5 paragraphs used Proper spelling and grammar Stop! Not a Pass!
Students from BSS school are doing a fundraiser to help build a new computer lab. The computer lab will have 36 new Pentium 4 computers. It will also have 4 new printers and scanners. The computers will be programmed with a fire wall and a pop up blocker. The students from BSS have been baking cakes, cookies and pies for the past four weeks. The students have inspired other restaurant to sponsor them in their fundraiser.	Related to headline All 5 W’s present - When? Enough detail Quotation used No personal opinion 4-5 paragraphs used Proper spelling and grammar Still No Pass! Almost There!
BRAMPTON - For the past year, a group of students have raised money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Society. To support loved ones with breast cancer. This money was raised through the help of other family and friends who came out to fundraisers and walkathons the students held. “It is amazing to see young children in our community taking charge and creating events for such a good cause,” said a walker from the walkathon. With bright smiles on their faces, mothers, sisters, fathers, brothers, grandparents came out to the walkathon and pledge money. The students were amazed to see how many community members came out the event. If you would like to be part of the events or even just to pledge money, you may contact students at bsswalks@bss.com	Related to headline All 5 W’s present Enough detail Quotation used No personal opinion 4-5 paragraphs used Proper spelling and grammar You Passed!

Day 2: Peer Evaluation

Instructions:
Read your partners news report.
Answer the following questions as you read through the article!

YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO

Is the article related to headline? Are all 5 W’s present?
Is enough detail used?
Is there a quotation used?
Do they use third person narration?
Are 4-5 paragraphs used?
Do they use proper spelling and grammar? Is there a byline?
Is there a placeline?
Is there a good lead paragraph?

How’d your peer do? How many ‘yes’ answers did you circle? (Circle One)
Pass Maybe Needs Improvement 7 – 10 YES 6 – 7 YES 0 – 6 YES

Day 2: Self Evaluation

Instructions:
Read your own news report.
Answer the following questions as you read through the article!
Do you agree with your peer? Read your peer’s evaluation.
Reflect below on what you could do better next time to get a better result!

YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO YES NO

Is the article related to headline? Are all 5 W’s present?
Is enough detail used?
Is there a quotation used?
Do they use third person narration?
Are 4-5 paragraphs used?
Do they use proper spelling and grammar? Is there a byline?
Is there a placeline?
Is there a good lead paragraph?

Reflection: Do you agree with your peer? What could be better?