Writing news
Learning objective:
• to understand the structure of a
news story remembering the
three Cs – clear, concise, correct
Discuss what these words
might mean
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
What does he say about the structure
of a news story?
BBC video: writing the news
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.
Here’s the correct order.
What’s the story?
CBBC Newsround - Artwork that lets you be Spiderman
Now write your own script to
match the pictures!
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.