Writing news

Learning objective: • to understand the structure of a

news story remembering the three Cs – clear, concise, correct

StarterStarter

clear

Discuss what these words might mean

concisecorrect

Key points?

The 3 Cs : Clear: Write it how you would say it. Get straight to the point at the beginning.

Concise: Don't waffle. Keep your sentences - and the length of your report - short.

Correct: Get your facts, spelling and grammar right.

Newsreader Huw Edwards talk talks about writing

BBC video: writing the news

What does he say about the structure of a news story?

What else should you remember about writing?

• Ask yourself - What is the main point of this story? • If you’re not sure, tell it to a friend – what’s the first thing

you say to them? • Pick out the best answers from a long interview. • Plan an ending – what final thought do you want to leave

audience with? • For TV or radio, you need to write a script that will be read

aloud - possibly alongside pictures or audio clips. • If you’re writing a text-based story, think about how

photos might work alongside it.

BBC reporter shows you how he writes a script

BBC video: Top tips on script-writing

Activity: in pairs put the paragraphs in the correct order

Here is the original Newsround article

Activity: put these pictures in the correct order.

B

C D

A

Here’s the correct order. What’s the story?

D - 1

B - 3 C - 4

CBBC Newsround - Artwork that lets you be Spiderman

A - 2

Now write your own script to match the pictures!

D - 1

B - 3 C - 4

A - 2

Activity: You are a journalist!• Find a story in a newspaper, magazine or

other reliable source and try to tell the whole story in four paragraphs - that’s about 80 words.• What kind of information do you have to

cut out? What do you notice about the language you use?• Be ready to read it out to the class.