Newspaper Reports
Newspaper reports are printed in newspapers, or published online, to keep us informed about important things that are happening all around the world.
When you are writing a newspaper report, you should:
- Include a short and snappy headline (title).
- Write a sentence at the start to sum up what the story is about.
- Write in the third person (he, she, they).
- Write in the past tense (as if it has already happened).
- Use paragraphs to make the text clear and easy to understand.
- Include quotes (other people’s thoughts and opinions about the subject).
- Include facts about what has happened using the 5 Ws: what, where, when, who, why?
You could also include a photo with a caption to give the reader more information.
It’s important not to confuse facts and opinions when you’re writing a newspaper report.
Facts are the true details about what has happened. They can be researched and proved to be correct.
For example: Russia is the largest country in the world.
Newspaper reports contain lots of facts. One way they do this is by answering the 5 Ws: what, where, when, who, why?
Opinions are what people think. People can have lots of different opinions and often disagree with each other.
An example of an opinion could be: Chocolate ice cream is tastier than strawberry ice cream.
When you include an opinion from someone in a newspaper report, you should put it in inverted commas (speech marks) and name the person who said it. This makes it clear that it is what someone believes and is not a fact.
