Nefertari International Schools, Cairo Middle School Literacy Department

Name: ----------------- Date: ------------------- Y6 (----)

Newspaper Reports

How can you write a Newspaper Report?

A- Headlines

Newspapers use headlines to grab your attention. Headlines try to tell

the story in as few words as possible. A catchy headline uses rhyme or
alliteration. Make your headline short and snappy.

Can you guess what these news reports are going to be about by reading the headlines?

'Driverless car ploughs through busy junction!' -----------------------------------

'Watery weather washes out Wales!' ----------------------------------

Some headlines are funny and others are more serious, depending on the story they are about.

B- By-line

Usually under the headline is the By-line. This by-line is the name of the person who wrote the report.

C- Lead Paragraph (Outline what the report is about; IN BRIEF)

The first paragraph under the byline gives the reader more information on the event, and sum
up what it is going to be about by answering all the W’s (Who? / What? / Where? / When? /
Why? / and maybe How?).

This lead paragraph should be written in no more than 6 sentences.

D- Paragraphs

Next, split your newspaper report up into paragraphs to help the reader clearly understand the
information on the story. The events should be written in

Chronological order. (the order of the events/ time order)

Past tense: Newspaper reports needs to be written in the past tense because they
report on events that already happened.
Passive voice: use some passive voice e.g. has been witnessed.
Third person: newspaper reports use the third person because they report about events
that happened to the people involved in the article.
 E- Sub-heading

Often, a new paragraph should be given a 'subheading'. This is a very short title that tells the
reader a little about what the paragraph is going to be about.

F- Facts and opinions

Newspaper reports use both facts and opinions. They often use the 5 W's, (who,
what, why, where and when) to give the reader as many facts as possible.

Can you tell which of these sentences are facts, and which are opinions?

 The house exploded at 9.30am exactly.

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 The footballer gets paid too much money and isn't playing well enough.
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 In Western Brazil, carnivals are lively and exciting.
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G- Quotations

Newspaper reports use quotations (direct speech) from the people involved in the story.
Adding quotations makes the report more interesting because it tells the story from the
point of view of the people involved. Don't forget to use speech marks! Also, they contain
reported (indirect speech).

H- Photos and captions

Photos help to give readers a picture of what happened, where it happened or who
it happened to.

Photos need to tell the story as much as the words do. For example, what do you
think a report using this picture would be about?
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Photos need a caption under them. A caption is a short sentence explaining what is happening.
Which of the following captions do you think best describes what you can see in this picture?
1- The town has had great weather this week.
2- Many homes have been ruined by the rising flood water.

I- Summing up (Conclusion)

The final paragraph should sum up the report.

This is usually the place where the reporter puts his/her opinion.