Q&A for How to Write a News Report

Yes, you can include the names of your subjects, as long as they aren't minors. However, don't include them in your lede.

If the journalist witnesses the event, they can act as a witness. However, this isn't the case most of the time.

Most news reports do, particularly if witnesses were interviewed, since quotations signify spoken words.

A good news headline is used to catch the reader's attention while it sums up the story you're writing about.

Make sure the headline shows mostly what you are talking about, since it is your thesis. For example, "Tornado strikes Kansas, killing dozens".

Yes, if you want it to be accurate.

You can try using a Google search for your desired topic, and see if you can find any historical news websites.

Prepare beforehand from the Internet and books as you will not have access to these things during the exam.

Paper, notebook, a voice recorder, and a pen or pencil. Then use Microsoft Word to type everything out.

Get yourself a grammar handbook and brush up on your lessons. Ask someone to look it over when you're finished.

Compare your writing to professional work. Also ask a trusted friend or co worker to review it.

Write a piece of news on ongoing issues and take it to your respective English teacher for reviewing it. If the teacher appreciates your piece of writing, then proceed and ask her directly if you can be on the school paper.

Generally, you'd be listing facts from most important to least important, so you would just cut the article off at the end of the last paragraph when it reaches its assigned length.

"Talented Students' Award Presentation"? Short, simple, and direct is sometimes best.

A news report should answer the questions, who, what, where, why, when, and how to the best of your ability. Did you forget to answer any of these questions? If this isn't helpful, try showing your report to a friend or family member and asking them if they have any questions about it. If they do, then you've found something you can elaborate on.

You write your byline beneath your headline.

In some articles yes. It can be something like friendly advice, or something to sum up the topic.

You can credit them as you mention the facts stated by them or any information about the article provided by them. You basically quote them.

Sure, if the facts are relevant to the report. I would just advise you to be mindful of tone, i.e. you would not include a headline like "Fun Facts about Cancer!"

It is best to use third person in News Reports, (he, she, him, her, they, them).

Yes, and doing so makes your article look professional. Buy or borrow some newspapers and look on how they layout their articles, that may help.

Have someone who speaks the language you are translating to, because Google Translate may get it wrong.

You can put it in the byline or in the place line. This will make your news report look more professional and doesn't mess up your main paragraph.

You can place a picture anywhere as long as its clearly visible and doesn't jumble or disconnect sentences of the text. Commonly you see pictures underneath the headline and the byline and then the rest of the information below. However, sometimes it is on the side or down the bottom of the page. Just make sure that wherever you put the picture, it makes sense (as in, it matches the text it sits with) and looks aesthetically pleasing.

This means that it's written using the guidelines in the Associated Press Stylebook.

AP style means following the Associated Press Stylebook, a standardized guideline for use of abbreviations, contractions, names, places, etc.

Read it aloud (this can really help you spot errors or weak spots that you missed) to friends or family members and solicit their feedback. Ask listeners if there are any key elements that your report missed or any information that's not needed.

The third-person point-of-view is when you write it in a “narration” view, or someone who isn’t actually part of the current scene. For example, if you wrote “Jon Doe ate pizza for dinner,” that would be third person, while “I ate pizza for dinner” would be first person.