valentina widya.s report. social function to provide information about natural and non natural...

Valentina Widya.S

REPORT

Social FunctionTo provide information about natural and non

natural phenomena

Includes information reports, book reports, descriptions, and news reports.

Generic StructureTitle

: indicates topic of reportGeneral Statement

: introduces the topic of the reportDescription

: provides details of the topic such as physical appearance, behaviour, landforms and uses (typically organized in paragraphs)

Linguistic Features focus on generic participants (human and

non- human)Use of present simple tense to indicate

‘timeless’ nature of informationSome technical vocabularyUse of long nominal groups to compact

informationPrincipally the use of verbs of being and

having rather than action verbs

Writing a News ReportTask: Write a news report on the next page based on the headline and picture below.

• You will have to make up the facts and information to answer 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.

Storm Shuts Down Region

(Very Poor Answer)

(Best Answer)

The Inverted Pyramid

The Inverted PyramidMost news stories are written in the inverted pyramid style. This means all the important information — most of the 5 W’s — can be found in the lead. Information and quotes are added according to their importance. The least important information can be found at the bottom of the story, or pyramid.

The Inverted Pyramid

Headline

LeadImportant Facts

Important Facts

Facts

Facts

Facts

Strategies for a News ReportLook closely at the picture and the headline. Think of an event that relates to them.

Create interesting “facts” answering the questions:who, what , where, when, why and how

Use quotations to make the report more interesting.Write in short paragraphs.

Be sure your news report reflects the picture and headline or it will be scored much lower.

Write your report in the third person (i.e. “he said,” not “I said”).

Tips:

Following are tips on writing a compelling and gripping news report.1.Facts: The facts will answer the: who, what, when, where, why, and how of the news event. A writer has a responsibility to make sure his facts are accurate. If you have to write a report before you get all the facts, then say that in the report.2.Style: When writing a news report, use the active voice. The active voice is more understandable and has more impact. Make short, concise sentences with action verbs. Your language needs to be simple and not have extra words that don’t really contribute to the focus of the story. For example, the weather or how someone is dressed doesn’t need to be included unless it has a bearing on the overall story. While you are writing, try to anticipate any questions a reader might have while reading your story.

Here are a few additional tips for writing that apply to writing in general. These will help your writing be clearer and easier to understand.1.Words should not be too long or complicated. A news story is not the place to try and impress people with your intelligence or your command of the English language. Pick your words carefully so they are concise and you will use fewer words overall.2.Make sure your sentences are under 25 words and contain only one idea. Use a simple subject verb object form and don’t use too many commas.3.Paragraphs need to say something new and, like sentences, be short and to the point. Never put more than three prepositional phrases into one sentence and never put more than three numbers in one sentence.

Class Task – Writing a News Report

Write a news report based on the following headline and picture. You will have to make up the facts and information answering some or all of the following questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? Purpose and Audience: to report on an event for the readers of a newspaper Length: Approximately 1 – 2 pages.

Assignment