This is a news writing module I prepared for grade school pupils, but for high school starters, school paper advisers can also use this material. It has a detailed discussion of the process of news writing as well as lead writing. Please acknowledge me if you wish to use this material in your classes, coaching, or seminar. Thank you!

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NEWS WRITING MODULE
Prepared By Jerry M. Noveno (School Paper Adviser, PSHS Bicol Region Campus)
TASK 1: Determine which group of sentences can be considered news. Brainstorm with your
seatmates which you think can be considered news and why.
Pair 1
A. Lisa Reyes came late for the afternoon class yesterday because while she walked to school a
group of person caught her attention because they were holding placards that said the mayor
should step down due to misuse of government funds
B. Some residents of Baler town in the province of Aurora called for the resignation of its
municipal mayor Dino Ferrer due to alleged misuse of funds.
Pair 2
A. Three persons were injured due to the collision of two tricycles along Rivera Street yesterday
morning.
B. It was scary to see two tricycles colliding each other along Rivera Street yesterday. The
collision injured three very young students in a very exclusive school for boys.
Concept 1: What is News?
News is any event, idea or opinion that is timely, that interests and affects a large number of
persons in the community, and that is capable of being understood by them.
Concept 2: Elements of News
1. Accuracy--It refers to the correctness of statements, names, figures, and other information.
2. Objectivity--The news does not take side and is not impartial.
3. Factual--The news does not take side and is not impartial.
4. Balance--It gives proper emphasis on each fact in relation to another fact.
5. Concise--It is short enough to contain the most important facts.
6. Timely--It is relevant, considering immediacy or the newest angle.
7. Attribution--It pertains to proper acknowledgment by the news reporter of his/her sources.
Talking Point: Why is it important to know these elements? How will your knowledge or
awareness of these elements influence you as a news writer?
Concept 3: How to Write a News Story
TASK 2: Analyze the graph below. Focal points: (1) The beginning paragraph—what does it contain?;
(2) The succeeding paragraphs; (3) Organization of the details. Work in three groups.
To introduce the Albay Central School (ACS) Horizon writers to the forms of campus writing,
a series of journalism lecture-workshops has been conducted at the ACS since
the second week of June.
The lecture-workshops have also been held to help the school paper
moderator select the Horizon’s new editorial board and the
school’s delegation to the schools press conference this
school year.
Around 25 pupils are the participants to the activity, who
all are hoping to get enlisted in the paper
and in the press con team.
ACS hopes to equal if not surpass
the 2015 National Schools Press
Conference victory courtesy of Al
Xavier Galicia, who placed seventh in editorial cartooning.
Talking Point: Why are the details of the news arranged like an inverted pyramid? What does
this arrangement say about news writing?

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Concept 4: The Inverted Pyramid Format
All straight news articles are written in the inverted pyramid form. This is the traditional form of
news writing. The most important facts are placed at the beginning. The details and the background
are interwoven into the succeeding paragraphs, in descending importance.
Components of the Inverted Pyramid Format
 Primary or main lead – usually a single paragraph, it contains the four ―Ws‖ (what, who,
where, when)
 Secondary or support lead – this portion explains or complements the main lead.
 Details or particulars – to give flesh to the story, all available facts are included here
especially those that would answer ―W‖ (why) and one ―H‖ (how).
 Background – Relevant past events are recounted and incorporated in this portion of the
story. This portion may be deleted, if space in the newspaper will not allow, but still the story
can stand.
TASK 3: Work with two participants. Arrange the following sentences in the same order as those on
page 1 to come up with a sound news article. To show the arrangement, indicate the sentence letter
as in (A-B-C-D-E-F).
A. Because the SRA requires time and focus, a teacher-aide will be hired by the school to assist the teachers during
the sessions.
B. With SRA, the English teachers expect that the scholars will do well especially in college entrance tests with
reading comprehension items.
C. To familiarize themselves with the program, English teachers Joy Melga Olazo, Maricor Barbonio, Jerry Noveno,
and Mylene Oliver attended on Nov. 24 an orientation on the content and implementation of SRA.
D. As an initial step, the school has already purchased three SRA kits mark II reading laboratory, amounting to
P186,237.60.
E. Oliver said a placement test will be taken by the scholars to identify their appropriate reading levels.
F. To address the low reading comprehension scores of the 10 Class 2014 seniors who took the Scholastic Aptitude
Test last January, the campus is set to implement this coming school year the Science Research Associate (SRA)
Reading Program.
G. Oliver also said the SRA sessions will be conducted in a room specifically designed for the program.
Concept 4: The Lead Paragraph
Talking Point: How will you describe the first paragraph of the two samples we have
discussed so far? Why is this paragraph called the lead?
The lead, or opening paragraph, is the most important part of a news story. A good lead gives
readers the most important information in a clear, concise and interesting manner. It also establishes
the voice and direction of an article.
Tips in Writing News Leads
 The lead should be a one-sentence paragraph. The less words you use, the more catchy
your lead will be.
Example: The construction of the St. Monica Building designed for the senior high
school students is expected to be finished by September this year.
 The form of the lead sentence is straightforward declarative sentence, usually with the verb in
simple past tense: subject-verb-object.
Example: The Colegio San Agustin is conducting the diagnostic this week in the basic
education level, the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs
announced.
 Use the active voice rather than the passive voice; it is more forceful.
Weak: Hundreds of sets of school supplies will be distributed by the Community Extension
Office to San Francisco Elementary School pupils this week.
Strong: The Community Extension Office will be distributing this week hundreds of sets of
school supplies to San Francisco Elementary School pupils.

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 Do not forget about the time element. Tell the readers in the lead when the news happened.
Wrong: The school clinic has issued an advisory to all levels regarding the weekend
fumigation within the school premises.
Right: The school clinic issued on Friday an advisory to all levels regarding the weekend
fumigation within the school premises.
 Do not clutter up the lead with adjectives and adverbs.
Wrong: Applied physics professor Milagros Moreno finally passed and joined the Lord on that
gloomy Monday morning at the age of 55, following a long, courageous battle with
cancer.
Right: Physics professor Milagros Moreno died of cancer on Monday. She was 55.
 The lead should be simple, brief, compact, vigorous, attractive, and should shoot straight into
the reader’s attention.
Example: The Colegio San Agustin is all set to implement the senior high school program
beginning next school year.
TASK 4: Work with a partner and write news leads based on sets of information. Note that you may
not include all the details in the lead paragraph. Assess each piece of information before attempting to
produce your output.
SET A
 Newspaper drive from June-September 2014
 Grade 7-Diamond collected 28 kilograms of newspaper and ranked first among 12 classes
 Newspaper drive was conducted by the Supreme Student Government (SSG)
 Newspaper drive aimed to fund the projects of the SSG for the school’s 15th anniversary.
 Newspaper drive was a major fund-raising project of the SSG.
SET B
 Survey on high school course preferences among 50 grade-six pupils of Albay Central
School.
 There were 5 pupils from each of the ten classes.
 The survey showed Legazpi City High School, Bicol University Integrated Laboratory School,
and Daraga National High School as the three leading schools preferred by the pupils.
 The Survey was conducted by The ACS Horizon from June 2 to June 6, 2015.
(Note: All pairs will present their output)
Concept 5: Steps in Writing a News Story
1. List all your facts.
2. Arrange your facts in a descending order, or from the most important (or most interesting) to
the least important (or least interesting).
3. Always put the news at the beginning (lead). Write the lead making sure to play up the most
interesting or important points.
4. Write the next paragraph or paragraphs presenting the other highlights or answering the
questions not answered.
5. Add other facts, keeping in mind their descending order of importance.
TASK 5: Write a news story based on the following information. Consider the steps provided on the
previous page and the structure illustrated on Page1 before working on your output.
SET A
 Mr. Joseph Mantes and his wife, Laura, were driving to their home in Inarado, Daraga,
Albay yesterday afternoon, after shopping at JY in Daraga. The couple were in the front of
their Toyota pick-up. Their three children were seated at the back—Paul, 9; Rachel, 7; and
Miriam, 3.
 Driving past the Napocor substation in Penafrancia, they met a truck travelling in the
opposite direction. This was a semi-trailer belonging to Pacific Earthmoving Inc, carrying a

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12-ton bulldozer. The truck was driven by Mr. Lino Austero, who is from Binitayan,
Camalig, Albay. The Toyota pick-up ran out of control and collided head-on with the semi-
trailer.
 Police and ambulance were sent for. Mr. and Mrs. Mantes and their two elder children died
instantly. Miriam was taken to hospital with serious injuries and died later. The pick-up was
a total wreck. The semi-trailer suffered only minor damage. Mr. Austero was also taken to
hospital and treated for shock, but was later allowed home.
 Police have interviewed Mr. Austero. They say they are unlikely to charge him with any
offense.
SET B
 Some parents of Grade 7 students of St. John’s Academy (SJA) in San Pedro City,
Laguna filed last week complaints at the DepEd Division Office in Santa Cruz.
 The complaints were about SJA requiring the students to pay mandatory 100 pesos for the
Youth Council.
 According to the parents, the said fee was not part of the list of fees they needed to pay
during the enrollment.
 After discussing the matter with the school board yesterday, Laguna Schools Division
Superintendent Ibrahim Mendoza ordered that the students be given back their 100 pesos.
 Mendoza said the fee was not legal.
 Mendoza also added that the school should have consulted the parents regarding the
additional fee so as not to stir confusion and protest among the students and their parents
as well.
 SJA Academic Coordinator Charlie Montarde told the school board to return the money to
all 357 grade 7 students.
Talking Point:
1. How does news writing differ from editorial writing?
2. What important concepts did you learn about news writing?
3. How can you be an effective news writer?