Elements of Writing a News Report

A news article explains a

real-life event. It gives lots of
information in simple words.

 Facts About News Reports

1. Factual and real information is reported.
2. Written in short paragraphs of 1-2 sentences.
3. Uses plain and easy language.
4. A news report contains all the 5 W’s and the H in the first
two paragraphs. ( Who, Where, Why, When, Which, How)
5. Includes quotations of people who are on the scene/part of
the incident.
6. Written in third person.
(Does not use the word
“I”)
 A News Report includes the following :-
 1)Headline 2)  Image
 3) Byline 4)  Place line
 5) Lead paragraph 6) Body Paragraph/Paragraphs
 7) Quotations 8)  Captions
 1) Headline – This is the title of the article. The heading
should be catchy and should grab the reader’s attention.
 2) Image – The photo should relate to the heading of the report
  3) Byline – Is the author of the article. It tells who wrote the
report.
 4) Placeline – Is where the incident took place.
 5) Lead Paragraph – This is the first paragraph of the article.
The first paragraph should answer the Four W’s – What, Who,
Where, When.
 What – What exactly happened?
 Who – Who was involved?
 Where – Where did the incident take place?
 When – When did it happen?

Example of a Lead Paragraph

Yesterday, (When) Chantal Fredrick (Who) celebrated her 50th
Birthday (What)in grand style at the Water’s Edge Hotel (Where)in
Sri Lanka.

 6) Body Paragraphs ( Body of the report)

 Paragraph 2 – Explains how and why the incident happened.
 Paragraph 3 – Includes at least one quotation from someone
who was part of the incident or who was interviewed for the
report.
 Paragraph 4 – Includes additional information/facts the
reader might want to know.
 Paragraph 5 – Conclusion. This sums up all of the events in
the other paragraphs.