NEWS ITEM

Definition of News Item

News item is a text which informs readers about events of the day. The events are considered
newsworthy or important.

Generic Structure of News Item

# Main Events / Newsworthy event(s): it recounts the event in summary form.

# Elaboration / Background event(s): they elaborate what happened, to whom, in what circumstance

# Resource of Information (Source) : it contains comments by participants in, witnesses to and

authorities expert on the event

Language Feature of News Item

– Focusing on circumstances (using a simple language in writing the text)

– Using saying verbs: “….”, She said, informed, told, reported.

– Sometimes at the beginning of news, the scene is mentioned : Jakarta – … .. / Kuala Lumpur – …

– Using Past tense in explaining news events. But if it is a fact that until now still happen or still in the
form of fact, then can use simple present tense.

– Short, telegraphic information about story captured in headline

– Using adverbs: time, place and manner.

– Uses of material processes to retell the event

Purpose of News Item

News Item Text is used to inform readers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or
important.

Or

– To inform the readers about newsworthy or important events of the day

– To present information the readers about newsworthy or important events of the day
Example :

Nepal rescuers find 3 bodiesnear crashed US Marine

Nepalese rescuers on Friday found three bodies near the wreckage of a U.S. Marine helicopter that
disappeared earlier this week while on a relief mission in the earthquake-hit Himalayan nation, officials
said.

Nepal’s Defense Secretary Iswori Poudyal gave no details about the nationalities of the victims. The
helicopter was carrying six Marines and two Nepalese army soldiers.

The wreckage was found near Gothali village in the district of Dolakha.

The U.S. Embassy in Nepal had no immediate comment Friday.

The discovery of the wreckage, first spotted by a Nepalese army helicopter Friday, followed days of
intense search involving U.S. and Nepalese aircraft and even U.S. satellites.

The U.S. relief mission was deployed soon after a magnitude-7.8 quake hit April 25, killing more than
8,200 people. It was followed by another magnitude-7.3 quake on Tuesday that killed 117 people and
injured 2,800.

The second quake was centered between Kathmandu and Mount Everest, and hit hardest in deeply rural
parts of the Himalayan foothills, hammering many villages reached only by hiking trails and causing road-
blocking landslides.
CAPTION

Definition caption

A caption is text that appears below an image.

The social function of caption

is helping the reader or viewer to understand information that may not be in a photo or a video.

The structure used in captions:

- the little

- the lead

- section headings

The language features used in captions:

- exclamation

- question

- adjective phrase

- prepositional phrase

Example