Lesson 22 — Activity 2: Parts of a News Article

You have previously learned about the 5 Ws and some of what goes into the writing of a news article.

In this activity, you will learn more about the content of news articles or reports.

News articles or reports:

• are factual and give information

• are written in short paragraphs, usually containing only one to two sentences
  

• contain the 5Ws and H in the first two paragraphs

• include quotations from people involved in the story

• are written in the third-person (do not use "I")

News reports contain the following:

headline

photo

byline

place line

lead paragraph

body paragraphs

quotations

Newspaper articles are often based on what is called the “inverted pyramid” style. This style has the most important information first, with the following paragraphs providing secondary details and background information. Newspaper articles are written so that people who don’t have time to read the entire article can get the main idea from the headline and the first two paragraphs.

The headline:

• is the title of the article
• should be catchy and capture a reader's attention

The photo:

will relate to the headline of the article

will illustrate characteristics of the story

Here's the first part of a sample report:

School Spirit Shines Brightly

Josh White

Lethbridge, Alberta

The byline:

• is the name of the person who wrote the report

The place line:

• is where the report was written

Lead Paragraph:

• is the first paragraph of the article

• must include 4 of the 5 Ws:

Who was involved in the event?

What happened?

Where did it happen?

When did it happen?

Body Paragraphs and Quotations:

Paragraph 2:

• explains how and why the event happened

Here's the second part of a sample report:

1. On Tuesday, March 15, 2016, Lethbridge Plains Elementary School in West Lethbridge received an award for community spirit.

2. The students of the school cleaned up their surrounding neighbourhood on a weekly basis for two months. The award was presented by the organization Our Neighbourhood Matters.

3.The principal of the school, Maryanne Smith, said, "I am so proud of the students for their dedication. I'm thrilled for them!" Student Brandy Lu said, "Every Friday, we went out and picked up litter all over the neighbourhood. It was a great project."

4. Students plan to continue this worthwhile project.

Paragraph 3:

• includes at least one quotation from someone who was part of the event and was interviewed for the story

Paragraph 4:

• includes any further information the reader may want to know