3/7/2016
IB English B: News report
Newsreport
ThefollowingkeyfeaturesarelikelytoformthebasisofmarkingforPaper2,
CriterionC:
*willhaveaheadline,andpossiblysubheadline+byline
*willuseasemiformalregisteri.e.simple,clearanddirect
*willdeployfactualinformationmethodically,usuallyfrommainfactsto
subordinatedetails
*willusuallyemployshortparagraphs,forclearandaccessiblereading
Theessenceofagoodnewsreportisthatitefficientlyconveysalotofclearfactsabouta
definedsituation.Newsmediaalwayshaverestrictedspace,sotheinformationneedstobe
selectedcarefullyandthenpresentedconcisely.
Actually,IdonotrecalltheNewsReporthavingbeensetasataskforPaper2(whichisnot
tosaythatitwon'tbe,sothetexttypehastobetaughtandpractised).Thisisbecausethe
essenceofthetexttypeisthatitreflectsaccuratelyanexternalreality...andexternalreality
isnoteasilyavailableinanexamcontext.Ineffect,studentswouldhavetoinventanews
eventinordertothendemonstratethattheycouldreportitcorrectly.Ontheotherhand,most
othertasksrequireadegreeof'let'spretend...',don'tthey?
FormatandApproachdiscussed
BasicFormat
Headline/title
Subheadline,summarising
Byline(author,date,location)
Shortparagraphs(possibly)
Subheadings(possibly)
Approach
>register:...usually,semiformal/simplyclear/direct
Weusecookies.Bycontinuingtousethiswebsiteyouaregivingconsenttocookiesbeing
>mainfactstosubordinatedetails:...standardgoodpracticeinnewsreportingisto
used. Readmore
close
startwiththeimportantfacts,andmovegraduallydownwardstotheleastimportant
http://www.thinkib.net/englishb/page/18428/news-report
1/2
3/7/2016
IB English B: News report
facts(alsoknownasthe'cutfromthebottomsystem'subeditorscouldsafelytrimthe
texttosizewithouthavingtorewrite)
>fact/opiniondistinction:...goodjournalismalwaysstrivestomakeclearwhatare
objectivefacts,andwhatsubjectiveopinions(e.g.opinionslikelytobeexpressedas
quotesfromidentifiedindividuals)
Relevantwritingpurposes
Newsreportsareusuallyconcernedwithevents(asopposedtoarticles,whichareusually
concernedwithideas,whichmaybebasedoneventsandfacts),sotheprimewriting
purposeislikelytobeNarration.ThisinturnislikelytorequireadegreeofDescription...
anddrawingeventsandfactstogetherwilldependoneffectiveExplanation
Materials&models
>BurkaAvenger...providesanewsreport(fromtheBBC)andalsotwoOpEd
articles(fromtheTimesofIndia).Thusgoodforcontrastingobjectiveandsubjective
reporting
>Midsomerracism?...thepageprovidestwocontrastednewsreports+worksheet,
illustratingbothformat+structure,andtheslantsthatcanbecontainedinnews
reports
>InternetTrolls...casestudyhandoutprovidesanextendednewsreportfor
analysis
>ScottishIndependence?...containstwonewsstories,andthehandouttasks
stresstheanalysisofstructuregoodforteachingthebasicconventionsofthenews
report.
>Factualbackground...thevariousreportsmentionedunderthepageaboutthereal
lifeversionsofthenovelRoomprovidemodelsandtechniques.
>TheIBThreat...thenewsreportprovidedaspartofthehandoutmaterialinthis
pageisusedforastructuralanalysisexercisewhichshouldhelpunderstandhow
newsreportswork.
>Women&Facebook...theshorternewsreportonthispageworkswellasabasic
model,whilethelongerisusefulforcontrastpurposes
Allmaterialsonthiswebsitearefortheexclusiveuseofteachersandstudentsatsubscribing
schoolsfortheperiodoftheirsubscription.Anyunauthorisedcopyingorpostingofmaterials
onotherwebsitesisaninfringementofourcopyrightandcouldresultinyouraccountbeing
blockedandlegalactionbeingtakenagainstyou.
http://www.thinkib.net/englishb/page/18428/news-report
2/2
