Follow me now on slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/gohbangrui These slides are used to explain the idea of writing a news report for English Language.. Students are introduced to the concept of news report from English newspaper in Singapore and then expected to identify the 5 key areas of a news report and from there, write their news report in the follow-up activity. These slides also explain the differences between hard and soft news. The 5 sections of a news report are 1. Headline 2. Byline 3. Introduction (Lead) 4. Body (Details) 5. Conclusion If you have any feedback, please comment and like it if you find it useful. Thank you.

1. Factual
RecountsWriting News Reports

2. SINGAPORE
ENGLISH
NEWSPAPERS

3. The Straits Times The New Paper Business Times TODAY
EXAMPLES

4. Why do we
read papers?

5. Learn current events & new information
Publish comments
Provide opportunity to express opinion on
issues
Provide entertainment

6. SECTIONS in
The Straits Times
Prime
Asia
World
Singapore Today
Home
Forum
Sports
Obituaries
Money

7. HEADLINEa heading at the top of an article or page in a
newspaper or magazine.

8. Man Drowned in Quarry Chicken flu hits HK again
COE prices drop to all-time low Farming goes hi-tech

9. NEWS HEADLINES
The Memory Lingers on
Father-son Team in Perfect Harmony
The Sound of Silence
Better Late than Never

10. Types of News Reports
Hard News
Immediate reports of recent
events
Soft News
News which provide readers
with information which is of
general interest

11. Hard News
Road Accidents Criminal Acts Natural Disaster National Events
Announcements
on Public
Policies
Sports Events

12. Soft News
New Inventions
Trends in Society
and Lifestyle
Choices
Celebrity Profiles
Travel
Destinations

13. Exercise 1

14. For Headlines A-G,
decide if they are
Hard News Soft News

15. A) Victorious Lions return home to roaring welcome
B) Dismembered kittens found outside Chong Pang flat
C) 7.7 quake hits off Alaska, triggers local tsunami
D) Top 10 little-known dream islands
E) Worker dies from fall at Sengkang site
F) Thousands flee wildfires in southern Australia
G) Thinner, lighter iPad launching March 2013?

16. Purpose
Hard News
Inform
Factual
Objective
Soft News
Entertain
Need not be factual
Subjective

17. Our Focus
Hard News

18. Structure of News Report
1. Headline
2. Byline
3. Introduction [Lead]
4. Body [Detail]
5. Conclusion

19. Exercise 2

20. 1. Headline
2. Byline
3. Introduction [Lead]
4. Body [Detail]
5. Conclusion
Arrange this news report
according to this structure:

21. Let’s go through the
answer now

22. Robbery Suspects nabbed
after chase
By Jalelah Baker
Taxi driver Tan Chai Cheng, 52, had
picked three passengers up at 7.40am
yesterday and was about to drop them off
at West Coast Park when he was held at
knife point.
Byline
Headline
Introduction

23. Body
He was then forced to hand over about $250, his
cellphone and also the key to his taxi.
Although stranded, the quick-thinking cabby
stopped a car on West Coast Highway. The driver, 60-
year-old man, then called the police before agreeing to
drive around to look for the suspects.

24. They were spotted minutes later and Mr Tan gave
chase. Student Michael Theofanis, 19, who had heard
Mr. Tan’s cries for help, instinctively joined in.
When the three suspects tried to escape by taking a
bus, Mr. Tan stopped it by standing in front of it. He
then did the same when they tried to board a taxi. Even
threats by one of the suspects welding a knife failed to
deter the pair.

25. The police arrived shortly and caught a man and a
woman. The third suspect was arrested at his house
about eight hours later. The three suspects are aged
between 18 and 22.
Yesterday evening, at the Clementi Police Division
headquarters, Mr Theofanis was given a plaque and
commended for his actions.

26. Conclusion
Mr. Tan who had remained
calm throughout the
incident, had learnt his
lesson from a previous
experience—he was robbed
of $10 000 eight years ago in
a lift by three knife-welding
men and still has a scar to
show for it.

27. Those convicted of armed robbery
with hurt may be jailed up to 20
years and are liable to a minimum
of 12 strokes of the cane.

28. The End