speech news writing

News Writing Practice Exercises – Enhance Your Journalism Skills

My name is Debbie, and I am passionate about developing a love for the written word and planting a seed that will grow into a powerful voice that can inspire many.

Introduction:​ The ⁤Importance ‌of ⁤News Writing Practice Exercises

Expand your ‌vocabulary: ⁣strategies to enhance your word choice, mastering the inverted pyramid: structuring your⁣ news ‍articles, the art of crafting⁤ effective ​headlines: captivate your readers, fine-tuning your grammar skills: a beginner’s guide, interviewing techniques: ⁣asking the right questions for ‍compelling⁢ stories, exploring different writing ⁢styles: adapting to various news formats, sharpening your editing ⁣skills: polishing your articles for perfection, practice makes ⁣perfect, frequently⁣ asked questions, to⁣ conclude.

News ‌writing practice ⁤exercises ⁤are crucial for‍ aspiring journalists and writers. These exercises ⁤allow​ individuals to hone their skills and develop a deep understanding of⁣ the art of⁣ news writing. By engaging in regular practice,‍ writers can improve ‍their writing speed,​ efficiency, ⁣and accuracy, ‌ensuring that they produce high-quality news articles.

One ​of the main benefits of news writing ​practice‍ exercises ‍is‍ that ​they enable individuals to ​familiarize‍ themselves with the different types and ‌formats of news‌ articles. Through these exercises, writers can learn ⁤how to write ⁢effective​ headlines, introductions,⁢ and⁣ body paragraphs.‌ They can also practice incorporating quotes, statistics,​ and other relevant information into their​ articles, making their writing‌ more engaging⁣ and informative for readers. Regular ‍practice also ⁣helps ‌writers become more adept at organizing their thoughts⁣ and presenting⁢ information in ⁤a clear and concise ​manner.

Ever find yourself ‍using the same words over and over ‍again? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. However,‍ having a diverse​ vocabulary not only improves⁢ your writing and speaking⁢ skills,⁤ but it also ⁣helps you​ convey your ⁤thoughts more accurately and⁢ creatively. If you’re‍ looking‌ to enhance⁣ your ⁢word choice, ​here are a few​ strategies to ‍expand ​your vocabulary:

1. Read voraciously: ‌ Reading is ⁢one of the best ways to expose yourself to new words. Make it a habit to devour ⁤books, articles, ​and⁤ even blog posts on a wide ⁢range ​of topics. Take note of unfamiliar words and look up ⁣their meanings. Challenge yourself by exploring different​ genres⁣ and styles​ of writing ‌to encounter⁢ a​ variety⁢ of vocabulary.

2. Use a dictionary and thesaurus: These​ two handy ⁢tools should‍ be your best ​friends on‌ your vocabulary-building journey. Whenever ⁤you ⁤encounter an unfamiliar word, don’t⁤ hesitate to consult a dictionary to understand ⁣its ‍meaning and usage. Additionally,⁣ a thesaurus⁤ can help ‍you discover ‍synonym ⁣options,‌ allowing you to choose⁣ words that precisely convey your intended message.

The inverted pyramid⁢ is ⁣a tried-and-true technique for ⁤structuring news articles that quickly grabs ⁤readers’ attention and delivers the most important information up⁤ front. By prioritizing⁣ the ‍key details at the ⁤beginning, you can effectively engage ‌readers who may‌ have limited‌ time or attention​ spans. ⁤This method ensures ⁤that‌ even if ‌readers only read the first⁢ few⁣ sentences, they will still ​get the⁣ main message.

To effectively⁣ use the‍ inverted pyramid⁢ structure, start ⁣with a concise and attention-grabbing headline that summarizes the main point ⁣of⁤ your ​article. Follow it up with a compelling lead‍ paragraph that elaborates ⁢on the headline and ‍answers‌ the⁢ fundamental questions of ⁣who, ⁤what, when, where, ⁢why, and how.‍ Subsequent ‌paragraphs⁣ should‌ contain supporting details, each building on⁣ the previous one and presenting‌ the information in⁤ descending order of ⁣importance. This way, ⁢readers can choose‍ to​ read as much or⁤ as little as they need,⁢ and⁤ if they stop ‌reading after the ⁢first‌ few paragraphs, they will⁣ still⁢ have a good ‌understanding of the story.

Creating effective headlines ‍is an ⁢art⁤ that can ⁤truly captivate your readers and make ⁢your‍ content stand out from ‌the rest. The key ‌is to craft ‍headlines that are concise,‍ attention-grabbing, and ⁤arouse ‍curiosity.

One of the ⁣most important ‌factors to consider ‌when crafting a headline is understanding your target audience. What kind of​ language‌ and tone resonates⁤ with⁢ them? By tailoring your headline to their ⁤preferences,‍ you increase the chances of catching​ their attention. Additionally, incorporating‍ powerful and descriptive words can ⁤have a ​significant impact. Words like “ultimate,” ⁤”amazing,” and “secret” ⁢can instantly grab⁢ attention and spark ‍curiosity.

Good grammar is the backbone of effective⁤ communication. Whether you’re writing an email, crafting a business proposal, or even engaging in casual conversation, mastering grammar rules will ⁣help‌ you express‍ yourself clearly and ⁤confidently. If you are just starting your journey to improve your grammar,⁤ fear not! This beginner’s guide will walk you through essential⁤ tips and tricks to‍ fine-tune your grammar skills.

1. Start with the basics: ⁤Understanding parts of speech is fundamental to​ building a ⁣strong⁢ grammatical ⁤foundation. Familiarize yourself with ⁣nouns, verbs, ​adjectives, adverbs,​ pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions. Knowing how they function in a sentence will significantly‍ improve your⁢ writing.

2. Learn sentence structure: A well-constructed sentence can convey your thoughts⁣ effectively. Comprehending subject-verb agreement, ⁤proper ‍punctuation, and⁤ sentence types ‍(declarative, interrogative, ‍imperative, ‍and exclamatory) is ⁢crucial.⁤ Practice creating sentences ⁢using ⁢various structures ‌to enhance your written‌ and spoken ​communication skills.

3.‌ Brush up on common errors: Mistakes like subject-verb disagreement , improper​ use ⁢of homonyms ⁤(e.g.,⁣ they’re,⁣ there, and their), and incorrect pronoun usage ​often trip up beginners. Identify⁣ your​ weak areas and focus on them ‌to avoid these⁢ frequent errors. Additionally, consult reliable⁢ grammar ⁤resources to clarify any ‌doubts you may have.

4.‌ Read and listen actively: Immersing yourself⁢ in well-written ⁢books, articles, and podcasts can expose you ‍to ​correct ‍grammar ‌usage. Pay attention to the⁤ sentence ⁢structures, grammar rules, ‍and ⁣idiomatic expressions ⁤used by⁤ professional writers⁣ and speakers. Engaging with⁣ high-quality ‌content will help you absorb ⁢grammatical nuances naturally.

5. Practice makes perfect: ⁢Dedicate⁢ time each day to practice grammar exercises. Use‌ online⁤ quizzes, grammar books, or language-learning ‌apps to ⁣reinforce⁤ your understanding. Repetition and consistency⁢ are key components in developing‌ strong grammar ​skills.

Remember: ‌learning grammar is a gradual⁣ process, so be patient with yourself. Celebrate each milestone along⁢ the way and​ continue ‌expanding your ⁤knowledge. Soon, you’ll ​find yourself expressing ideas with precision and confidence!

When it ⁣comes to conducting interviews ⁤for ⁣compelling stories, ​asking ⁣the right questions is crucial. The right ⁢questions not only elicit valuable information but also help paint ‍a vivid picture that captivates the readers. To ensure​ a⁣ successful‍ interview,‌ consider the following techniques:

• Research your subject: ‌ Before⁣ the interview, take⁢ the time to ‌thoroughly‍ research your‍ subject ⁢to​ gain‍ understanding and familiarity ‍with their background, ⁣experiences, ⁤and ⁤achievements. This⁢ will enable you to ask ​informed questions and show a genuine interest in their story.
• Prepare open-ended questions: Open-ended questions encourage interviewees​ to share ⁤detailed ⁤and insightful responses. Instead of asking yes-or-no ⁢questions, frame your questions to prompt stories, emotions,⁤ and personal experiences. ⁤For instance,‍ ask “Can you describe a time when…”⁤ or “How do​ you ⁤feel about…?” This approach will‍ enable interviewees ​to open up and‌ provide compelling responses.
• Listen actively: During the‌ interview, ‍be ​fully present and actively ⁣listen to your ​interviewee’s responses. ⁢This‌ not only shows⁤ respect but also allows you‌ to pick ⁣up⁢ on interesting points that can be ⁣further explored. Maintain eye contact, nod, and provide affirmations to foster ​a comfortable and trusting atmosphere.

By utilizing ⁢these interviewing techniques,​ you can ensure that your ‌interview uncovers ‍captivating stories. Remember,‍ it is the ​power of these stories that will ⁣keep your‌ readers engaged and enthralled⁢ throughout your writing!

When it comes to ‍writing for⁢ news, a flexible⁢ approach is⁢ key.‍ Adapting to different⁢ news formats‌ allows⁣ writers⁤ to ⁣effectively ⁤communicate⁢ their stories while catering to the specific needs of each platform. Here are a⁤ few writing ‍styles ⁤commonly⁣ used:

• Straight‌ News: ‌ This‌ style focuses on delivering the ⁣facts accurately and objectively. It ‌is commonly ⁢used in ⁤newspaper articles‌ and online news⁢ portals. Straight news writing is concise,‍ uses a direct⁢ tone, and is free from personal ⁢opinions or bias. ⁤ ‌
• Feature Writing: Unlike straight news, ⁢feature‌ writing aims to⁢ engage readers on a‍ more emotional level. ​Reporters often utilize storytelling techniques and descriptive language ⁣to ⁣make their‌ articles captivating​ and entertaining.⁣ Feature pieces​ can be found⁢ in‍ magazines⁤ or⁢ as special ‌sections⁣ within newspapers. ​ ‌

Aside from⁢ these styles, ⁣there are‍ other formats such⁤ as editorials, op-eds, and blog posts that ⁣offer even more flexibility in expressing personal opinions. Whether ⁢you’re ​crafting a hard-hitting news report or a thought-provoking opinion piece , it is crucial to ​understand the ⁤characteristics and expectations of each format.‍ By harnessing⁣ various ⁢writing styles,⁤ writers can effectively adapt their message ⁢to reach a broader audience ‍and⁣ maintain their readers’ interest.

To become a skilled⁢ editor, practice is‌ key. Editing is not just about ⁢ fixing ⁤grammatical errors ; ⁤it ‍involves refining your writing to ⁤make​ it ⁤clear, concise, and ⁢engaging. Start⁣ by ​reviewing⁤ your ‌own work​ – read ​it out‍ loud, listen to⁤ the flow,‌ and identify ⁣areas that need ‌improvement. Ensure that⁣ your articles have⁤ a logical​ structure,⁣ with⁤ each paragraph supporting⁤ the main idea. Use clear and‍ varied sentence structures to maintain‌ the reader’s interest. ⁣

Another valuable exercise is peer editing.⁤ Collaborate with fellow writers or⁢ join an ​online writing community to ⁤get feedback on‍ your drafts. Constructive criticism ‍can help you identify ‍blindspots and enhance ​your ⁢editing skills. Consider joining a writing workshop ⁤or ⁢taking a course to get expert guidance on editing techniques. Remember, ⁣the more you practice,‍ the more proficient you will become in polishing your ⁢articles​ to perfection!

• Read your⁤ articles aloud to check for any awkward ​phrasing or lack of ‌clarity.
• Ensure a clear⁣ and logical structure in ‍your ‍writing, with each paragraph supporting the main‌ idea.
• Experiment ⁢with different ‍sentence ​structures ​to maintain reader interest.
• Solicit​ feedback from peers ⁤or join ‌a writing ‌community for constructive ‌criticism.
• Consider taking a writing ⁢workshop or course to learn ⁤advanced editing techniques.

With dedication ‌and ⁢practice,‍ you’ll‍ be well on your​ way⁤ to becoming a skilled editor who can transform any article into a polished ‌masterpiece.

Q:⁢ What are news writing practice exercises? A: ​News ​writing practice⁢ exercises⁣ are activities designed to enhance your‍ journalism ⁢skills by providing​ practical and ⁤hands-on experience in ​crafting news articles.

Q: Why are ​news⁣ writing‌ practice exercises important for aspiring ⁢journalists? A: ⁣News writing practice exercises are crucial for aspiring journalists because they allow ⁤individuals‍ to⁢ refine their writing style, improve their storytelling‍ abilities, and‌ develop an understanding of the ​essential ⁣elements involved in news reporting.

Q: How ‍can news writing practice ​exercises help improve my journalism skills? A:​ By engaging in news‌ writing ‌practice exercises, ​you can improve your ability ⁣to gather ⁣relevant information, structure your articles effectively, and⁤ communicate news stories ⁣in a clear‍ and engaging⁢ manner,​ all of ​which are essential skills for ​a successful journalist.

Q: What‌ types ‌of exercises‌ can ⁣I do to enhance my news writing skills? A: There are several ⁣exercises you can try. For ⁣instance,⁣ you can practice summarizing complex news stories into ​concise ⁢paragraphs,​ conducting interviews⁢ and writing feature stories, ‌or‍ even simulating ⁣breaking ‌news situations to practice quick ⁣and accurate reporting.

Q: Can these exercises‌ be done‌ individually or in a group? A:‌ News writing practice⁣ exercises can ⁤be‍ done​ both individually and in a group. Some⁢ exercises,⁢ such as summarizing news⁣ stories, can be done independently, while others, like ​conducting interviews,​ can benefit ⁢from ⁤group collaboration and⁣ feedback.

Q: Is it necessary to ‍have a background⁤ in journalism to benefit⁢ from these exercises? A:⁤ No, you‌ don’t need to have a ‍background‍ in journalism ⁣to benefit from ⁢news ‍writing practice exercises.⁤ These‍ exercises are⁣ designed⁤ to help anyone‍ interested⁣ in improving their⁢ news writing skills, regardless of their experience⁤ level.

Q: Are⁤ there any online resources ⁤or courses available for news ⁢writing practice exercises? A: ⁤Yes, there are ⁤numerous online⁤ resources and courses⁢ available that provide⁣ news writing practice exercises. These resources often include step-by-step guides, ⁤interactive⁣ exercises, ‌and feedback opportunities to help you hone your journalism skills.

Q:‍ How often should I practice ‌news⁤ writing exercises? A: The frequency of⁤ news writing practice⁣ exercises ‌largely depends on⁤ your ⁤personal‍ goals and schedule. However, it is recommended to​ set aside regular ‌time for practice, whether it’s daily,‌ weekly, or⁣ bi-weekly, to ensure consistent and gradual improvement.

Q: Can ‌news writing ​practice exercises help‌ me‍ enhance my career prospects in journalism? A:‌ Yes, news writing practice exercises can significantly enhance your career prospects in journalism.⁣ By honing your ⁤news writing skills, ‌you improve your chances of successfully landing internships, freelance assignments, or even full-time ​journalism positions.

Q: Are news‌ writing practice exercises only ⁤beneficial‌ for aspiring journalists or can professionals ​also benefit from them? A: News⁣ writing‍ practice ⁢exercises can‌ be ⁢beneficial for ‍both⁢ aspiring journalists and professionals alike. Even experienced journalists can benefit from refining their ⁢writing style, keeping up​ with⁤ evolving industry⁤ practices, and staying⁢ sharp in their skills.

In conclusion, regular news writing practice ​exercises are essential for journalists​ to ‍enhance their ⁣skills and stay updated in an evolving field.

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A Reporter Explains His Approach to Writing News and Features

Brooks Barnes, a correspondent who covers Hollywood for The Times, explains how his writing process changes depending on the type of article he is working on.

By Sarah Bahr

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

Brooks Barnes’s head is constantly on a swivel.

As a domestic correspondent covering Hollywood’s leading celebrities, companies and executives for The New York Times, he writes both daily news articles about media companies and long-lead features about subjects such as Walt Disney World’s animatronic robot crew and the Polo Lounge , a Hollywood hot spot that attracts the who’s who of the film industry.

Those two types of articles — news and features — are the yin and yang of journalism. As the name suggests, news articles provide readers with new information about important events, often as they unfold. They can cover nearly any topic, are generally 500 to 1,000 words long and are packed with the need-to-know facts of a given situation. Features, which need not be tied to a specific event, dive deep into a particular topic or person, are usually longer than news articles and often offer more comprehensive context about their subjects.

Every day, The Times publishes both. While many journalists specialize in writing news or feature articles, Mr. Barnes flips between the two.

“I have eight to 10 features on the assembly line at any given time,” Mr. Barnes said, adding that he often has to drop what he’s working on to chase the news and that he focuses on writing features when the news is slow. Generally, he can finish a news article in a couple of hours or less; a major feature can take upward of six months.

For Mr. Barnes, the main difference between a news article and a feature isn’t the word count, the number of interviews involved or how long he spends drafting it: “The writing process changes,” he says.

Interviewing Sources

A news article is all about gathering the essential information and publishing quickly.

He begins working on a news article by making calls to sources, often contacts he has built up over more than 20 years of reporting. He says he jots down his most important questions before he calls a source, even if he’s on a deadline and knows the conversation will only last a few minutes.

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How to Write a News Article

Last Updated: June 5, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Gerald Posner . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 2,448,372 times.

Writing a news article is different from writing other articles or informative pieces because news articles present information in a specific way. It's important to be able to convey all the relevant information in a limited word count and give the facts to your target audience concisely. Knowing how to write a news article can help a career in journalism , develop your writing skills and help you convey information clearly and concisely.

Things You Should Know

• Outline your article with all the facts and interview quotes you’ve gathered. Decide what your point of view on the topic is before you start writing.
• Your first sentence is the most important one—craft an attention-getter that clearly states the most important information.
• Proofread for accurate information, consistent style and tone, and proper formatting.

Sample Articles

Planning Your Article

• If you’ve ever written a research paper you understand the work that goes into learning about your topic. The first phase of writing a news article or editorial is pretty similar.
• Who - who was involved?
• What - what happened?
• Where - where did it happen?
• Why - why did it happen?
• When - when did it happen?
• How - how did it happen?

• 1) those that need to be included in the article.
• 2) those that are interesting but not vital.
• 3) those that are related but not important to the purpose of the article.
• This fact list will help prevent you from leaving out any relevant information about the topic or story, and will also help you write a clean, succinct article.
• Be as specific as possible when writing down all of these facts. You can always trim down unnecessary information later, but it’s easier to cut down than it is to have to beef up an article.
• It’s okay at this point to have holes in your information – if you don’t have a pertinent fact, write down the question and highlight it so you won’t forget to find it out
• Now that you have your facts, if your editor has not already assigned the type of article, decide what kind of article you’re writing. Ask yourself whether this is an opinion article, an unbiased and straightforward relaying of information, or something in between. [2] X Research source

• If you’ve ever heard the term “burying the lead”, that is in reference to the structure of your article. [4] X Research source The “lead” is the first sentence of the article – the one you “lead” with. Not "burying the lead" simply means that you should not make your readers read several paragraphs before they get to the point of your article.
• Whatever forum you’re writing for, be it print or for the web, a lot of readers don’t make it to the end of the article. When writing a news article, you should focus on giving your readers what they want as soon as possible.
• Write above the fold. The fold comes from newspapers where there’s a crease because the page gets folded in half. If you look at a newspaper all the top stories are placed above the fold. The same goes for writing online. The virtual fold is the bottom of your screen before you have to scroll down. Put the best information at the top to engage your readers and encourage them to keep reading.

• Ask yourself the “5 W's” again, but this time in relation to your audience.
• Questions like what is the average age you are writing for, where is this audience, local or national, why is this audience reading your article, and what does your audience want out of your article will inform you on how to write.
• Once you know who you are writing for you can format an outline that will get the best information to the right audience as quickly as possible.

• Even if you are covering a popular story or topic that others are writing about, look for an angle that will make this one yours.
• Do you have a personal experience that relates to your topic? Maybe you know someone who is an expert that you can interview .

• People usually like to talk about personal experiences, especially if it will be featured somewhere, like your news article. Reach out through a phone call, email, or even social media and ask someone if you can interview them.
• When you do interview people you need to follow a few rules: identify yourself as a reporter. Keep an open mind . Stay objective. While you are encouraged to ask questions and listen to anecdotes, you are not there to judge.
• Record and write down important information from the interview, and be transparent with what you are doing and why you are doing this interview.

Writing Your News Article

• Your lead should be one sentence and should simply, but completely, state the topic of the article.
• Remember when you had to write essays for school? Your lead is like your thesis statement.
• Let your readers know what your news article is about, why it’s important, and what the rest of the article will contain.

• These details are important, because they are the focal point of the article that fully informs the reader.
• If you are writing an opinion piece , this is where you will state what your opinion is as well.

• This additional information helps round out the article and can help you transition to new points as you move along.
• If you have an opinion, this is where you will identify the opposing views and the people who hold them.
• A good news article will outline facts and information. A great news article will allow readers to engage on an emotional level.
• To engage your readers, you should provide enough information that anyone reading your news article can make an informed opinion, even if it contrasts with yours.
• This also applies to a news article where you the author don’t state your opinion but present it as an unbiased piece of information. Your readers should still be able to learn enough about your topic to form an opinion.

• Make sure your news article is complete and finished by giving it a good concluding sentence. This is often a restatement of the leading statement (thesis) or a statement indicating potential future developments relating to the article topic.
• Read other news articles for ideas on how to best accomplish this. Or, watch news stations or shows. See how a news anchor will wrap up a story and sign off, then try to emulate that.

Proofing Your Article

• Be sure to double check all the facts in your news article before you submit it, including names, dates, and contact information or addresses. Writing accurately is one of the best ways to establish yourself as a competent news article writer.

• If your news article is meant to convey direct facts, not the opinions of its writer, ensure you’ve kept your writing unbiased and objective. Avoid any language that is overly positive or negative or statements that could be construed as support or criticism.
• If your article is meant to be more in the style of interpretive journalism then check to make sure that you have given deep enough explanations of the larger story and offered multiple viewpoints throughout.

• When quoting someone, write down exactly what was said inside quotations and immediately cite the reference with the person’s proper title. Formal titles should be capitalized and appear before a person’s name. Ex: “Mayor John Smith”.
• Always write out numbers one through nine, but use numerals for numbers 10 and up.
• When writing a news article, be sure to only include one space after a period, not two. [12] X Research source

• You shouldn’t submit any news article for publication without first letting someone take a look at it. An extra pair of eyes can double check your facts and the information to ensure that what you have written is accurate.
• If you are writing a news article for school or your own personal website, then have a friend take a look at it and give you notes. Sometimes you may get notes that you want to defend or don’t agree with it. But these should be listened to. Remember, with so many news articles getting published every minute you need to ensure that your widest possible audience can easily digest the information you have provided.

Expert Q&A

• Start with research and ask the “5. Asking these questions will help you create an outline and a narrative to your article. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• Interview people, and remember to be polite and honest about what you are writing. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• Put the most important information at the beginning of your article. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about writing an article, check out our in-depth interview with Gerald Posner .

• ↑ https://libguides.mit.edu/select-topic
• ↑ https://writingcenter.gmu.edu/writing-resources/different-genres/news-writing-fundamentals
• ↑ https://libguides.southernct.edu/journalism/howtowrite
• ↑ https://spcollege.libguides.com/c.php?g=254319&p=1695313
• ↑ https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/cm360
• ↑ https://mediahelpingmedia.org/basics/how-to-find-and-develop-important-news-angles/
• ↑ https://www.northwestern.edu/brand/editorial-guidelines/newswriting-guidelines/
• ↑ https://tacomacc.libguides.com/c.php?g=599051&p=4147190
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/journalism_and_journalistic_writing/ap_style.html
• ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/punctuation/space-after-period
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/

About This Article

To write a news article, open with a strong leading sentence that states what the article is about and why it’s important. Try to answer the questions who, what, where, when, and why as early in the article as possible. Once you’ve given the reader the most important facts, you can include any additional information to help round out the article, such as opposing views or contact information. Finish with a strong concluding sentence, such as an invitation to learn more or a statement indicating future developments. For tips on researching your article, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Write a News Story: Definition, Structure, Types of the News Story

• by Anastasiya Yakubovska
• 21.06.2022 04.05.2024
• How to write ...

The news story refers to the journalistic writing style that is used in the mass media: television, the Internet, newspapers, magazines, and radio.

Table of Contents

• What Is a News Story 

Features of the News Story

Main functions of news.

• The Inverted Pyramid Structure 
• News Story Structure 

According to the method of writing, news stories are:

• According to the scope, there are the following types of news:
• According to the sequence:

According to the source ofinformation news stories are:

• According to the content:
• Minor forms of news stories:

What Is a News Story

News stories are widely used by the media to inform the audience about current, significant, and interesting events.

A news story is a journalistic presentation of a new event or fact.

Most often this is a short message. 

The news function is to answer the questions: what, where, and when happened.

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The features of the news stories are:

• reliability of information;
• minimal details;
• news stories must be clear and easy to read;
• attractive to all classes;
• widely known terms ( exchange, broker, exchange rate, transaction, market );
• the use of words and figures of speech that are typical for business writing style ( have activities, during the reporting period, take into consideration );
• noun predominance;
• sentences are usually complex. 

Example of News Story

News story “March For Our Lives: Tens of thousands rally for stricter US gun laws” (excerpt) :

Thousands of protesters are gathering across the US to call for stricter gun laws in the wake of last month’s mass shooting in Texas . Gun safety group March For Our Lives – founded by survivors of the 2018 Parkland school shooting – said some 450 rallies were planned for Saturday. It said it would not let politicians “sit back” as people continue to die. US President Joe Biden backed the protests, calling on Congress to “pass common sense gun safety legislation”. Nineteen children and two adults were killed in the 24 May shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. That attack, and another days earlier in Buffalo, New York, in which 10 people were killed, has led to renewed calls for action on gun control in the US. bbc.com

The major function of the news stories , just like other texts related to journalism, is to provide information about some socially significant event. In addition, the news may contain assumptions, hypotheses, forecasts, recommendations, and regulatory and evaluation information.

The purpose of a news story is not only a detailed analysis of an event. The most important thing is to inform the mass addressee about an event that has happened or will only happen in the future. 

If the news needs to be covered in more detail, then the journalist can indicate the sources of information, add quotes and provide statistics.

How to Write A New Story: The Structure and Method of Writing

The inverted pyramid structure.

To write a news story, journalists use the traditional structure that is typical for the journalistic writing style: information is presented in descending order, that is, its value and importance decrease from the beginning of the text to its end. This way of writing news is called the inverted pyramid .

A news story written using the inverted pyramid structure consists of 4 parts:

• Headline . The headlines of new stories in the media are most often quite informative – within 10 words. The heading itself usually illustrates the main idea of the news. 

For example:

“ Global markets fall after rough week on Wall Street; yen hits two-decade-low” 

2. Lead . The lead is the first or leading paragraph of the news story, the chapeau or abstract of the article, which outlines the main idea of the text, only the most valuable information.

“ Hong Kong/London (CNN Business)Global markets and US stock futures fell early Monday, indicating a downbeat start to the trading week after a broad sell-off on Wall Street following surprisingly strong US inflation data.”

3. The body of the text . It is a description of the event, details, evidence, photographs, quotes, etc.:

“ The Dow (INDU) plunged 880 points, or 2.5%, on Friday. The S&P 500 (SPX) shed 2.7% and the Nasdaq (NDX) dropped about 3%. The US consumer price index rose by 8.6% in May, raising fears that the Federal Reserve will have to act even more aggressively to try to tame price rises. The shockwaves were felt most acutely in Asia on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei (N225) closed down 3%, and the yen weakened to the lowest level in more than 20 years. The Japanese currency has declined rapidly in recent months because of a strong greenback and ultra-loose Japanese monetary policy. The Japanese central bank and government warned in a rare joint statement on Friday that they are concerned about the sharp falls, suggesting a potential intervention by Tokyo to stem the decline. The yen wasn’t the only Asian currency seeing a steep fall. The Indian rupee fell to an all-time low of 78.2 against the US dollar in early trade. Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSI) fell 3.4% on Monday. Korea’s Kospi fell 3.5%. China’s Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) was down 0.9%. In Europe, France’s CAC 40 (CAC40) dropped 2.47% in early trade, while Germany’s DAX 30 (DAX) was down 2.3%. The FTSE 100 (UKX) slipped 1.8%, while the pound slipped to $1.22 after new data showed the UK economy contracting for a second consecutive month in April. In the US, Dow futures were down 1.9% at 5.20 am ET. S&P 500 futures were down around 2.3%, while Nasdaq futures were down about 2.9%.

4. Ending . The final part of the news story is additional information, similar, interesting materials, and journalistic assessment. This part is optional. 

“The hangover from Friday’s US CPI data isn’t helped by concern about China walking back some of its economic reopening, or more dire economic data in the UK,” Societe Generale strategist Kit Juckes said in a research note. A number of neighborhoods in Shanghai faced another temporary lockdown at the weekend, as authorities launched mass testing just days after Covid restrictions were eased for most of its 25 million residents. Authorities in Beijing’s largest Chaoyang district announced Thursday the closure of all entertainment venues, just days after allowing their reopening. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/12/investing/global-stocks/index.html

News Story Structure

Usually, the journalist tells the reader:

• About the event – what happened?
• About time – when?
• About the place – where?
• About participants – who?
• About the circumstances – how?
• About the source of information – how is it known?
• About the predicted development of the event – what happens next?

Which of these questions the journalist will answer in the text of the news story and the number of these questions will depend on the amount of information that he has and on the purpose of the news. These questions can be arranged in the most varied order, at the author’s discretion.

Another thing to keep in mind regarding whether the new event needs to be related to others that have already happened before and are widely known to the audience. In this case, the structure of the news story will be more complex, because it is necessary not only to talk about the event but also to connect this fact with the information already available.

How to Write a News Story: Types of News

Before you start writing, you need to decide in which genre you need to write, and what type of news story is suitable specifically for this news event.

So that you can quickly navigate and make the right choice, further in the article we will consider the types of news stories. 

There are two general types of news stories according to structure :

• Informative or straight news. The aim is to give the facts of the news. 
• Feature or human interest news story. The aim is to take material of little or no news value and make it interesting for the audience. 
• Descriptive.
• Expository.
• Combination of these types. 

According to the scope , there are the following types of news:

• Local: news story takes place within the immediate locality. 
• National: news takes place within a country. 
• Foreign: the event takes place out of the country. 
• Dateline: news preceded by date and place of origin or the place when it was written. 

According to the sequence :

• Anticipated news or announcement. An announcement is a message about upcoming events (for example, about the construction of new buildings).

Such news stories attract the public to visit various cultural events.

The main purpose of the announcement is to give brief but objective information about the time and aspects of the planned event, about its most important prerequisites and stages.

• Spot news. News that gathered and reported on the spot. The journalist is the eyewitness to the event. Such type of news is reported immediately. 
• Coverage news. News has been written from the given beat. 
• Follow-up news. A sequel to the previous news story.
• Interview story. 
• Speech story. 
• Quote story. Information is presented primarily through quotes. These news stories are based almost entirely on an interview or a speech. 
• Fact story. 
• Action story. A description of an event that involved a lot of motion. For example, war reports, competitions, and sports games reports. 

According to the content :

• Science news. 
• Police reports. 
• Developmental news. 
• Sports stories. 
• Routine stories: celebrations, graduations, election stories reported year in and year out. 

Minor forms of news stories :

• News brief. It is a short news broadcast. News briefs are a good way to describe events that do not need in-depth treatment. 
• News bulletin. It aims to give the gist of the news. 
• Flash news. Flash news is a bulletin that conveys the first word of the event. 
• News-featurette. It is a short news feature usually used as filler. 

Used sources of information:

• Types of News Writing. Willard Grosvenor Bleyer.
• Campus Journalism and School Paper Advising Fourth Edition 1997. Ceciliano J. Cruz.
• Style Palette. Textbook on Russian language style for foreigners. Authors: Nina Afanasyeva, Tatyana Popova .
• Literary editing strategies. Authors: Zueva T. A., Ivanova E. N.
• Russian language and speech culture. Authors: Tatyana Balykhina, Mikhail Rybakov, Marina Lysyakova.
• Image: freepik.com

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Expert Commentary

Basic newswriting: Learn how to originate, research and write breaking-news stories

Syllabus for semester-long course on the fundamentals of covering and writing the news, including how identify a story, gather information efficiently and place it in a meaningful context.

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License .

by The Journalist's Resource, The Journalist's Resource January 22, 2010

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This course introduces tomorrow’s journalists to the fundamentals of covering and writing news. Mastering these skills is no simple task. In an Internet age of instantaneous access, demand for high-quality accounts of fast-breaking news has never been greater. Nor has the temptation to cut corners and deliver something less.

To resist this temptation, reporters must acquire skills to identify a story and its essential elements, gather information efficiently, place it in a meaningful context, and write concise and compelling accounts, sometimes at breathtaking speed. The readings, discussions, exercises and assignments of this course are designed to help students acquire such skills and understand how to exercise them wisely.

Photo: Memorial to four slain Lakewood, Wash., police officers. The Seattle Times earned the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for their coverage of the crime.

Course objective

To give students the background and skills needed to originate, research, focus and craft clear, compelling and contextual accounts of breaking news in a deadline environment.

Learning objectives

• Build an understanding of the role news plays in American democracy.
• Discuss basic journalistic principles such as accuracy, integrity and fairness.
• Evaluate how practices such as rooting and stereotyping can undermine them.
• Analyze what kinds of information make news and why.
• Evaluate the elements of news by deconstructing award-winning stories.
• Evaluate the sources and resources from which news content is drawn.
• Analyze how information is attributed, quoted and paraphrased in news.
• Gain competence in focusing a story’s dominant theme in a single sentence.
• Introduce the structure, style and language of basic news writing.
• Gain competence in building basic news stories, from lead through their close.
• Gain confidence and competence in writing under deadline pressure.
• Practice how to identify, background and contact appropriate sources.
• Discuss and apply the skills needed to interview effectively.
• Analyze data and how it is used and abused in news coverage.
• Review basic math skills needed to evaluate and use statistics in news.
• Report and write basic stories about news events on deadline.

Suggested reading

• A standard textbook of the instructor’s choosing.
• America ‘s Best Newspaper Writing , Roy Peter Clark and Christopher Scanlan, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006
• The Elements of Journalism , Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, Three Rivers Press, 2001.
• Talk Straight, Listen Carefully: The Art of Interviewing , M.L. Stein and Susan E. Paterno, Iowa State University Press, 2001
• Math Tools for Journalists , Kathleen Woodruff Wickham, Marion Street Press, Inc., 2002
• On Writing Well: 30th Anniversary Edition , William Zinsser, Collins, 2006
• Associated Press Stylebook 2009 , Associated Press, Basic Books, 2009

Weekly schedule and exercises (13-week course)

We encourage faculty to assign students to read on their own Kovach and Rosentiel’s The Elements of Journalism in its entirety during the early phase of the course. Only a few chapters of their book are explicitly assigned for the class sessions listed below.

The assumption for this syllabus is that the class meets twice weekly.

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Weeks 13/14

Week 1: Why journalism matters

Previous week | Next week | Back to top

Class 1: The role of journalism in society

The word journalism elicits considerable confusion in contemporary American society. Citizens often confuse the role of reporting with that of advocacy. They mistake those who promote opinions or push their personal agendas on cable news or in the blogosphere for those who report. But reporters play a different role: that of gatherer of evidence, unbiased and unvarnished, placed in a context of past events that gives current events weight beyond the ways opinion leaders or propagandists might misinterpret or exploit them.

This session’s discussion will focus on the traditional role of journalism eloquently summarized by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel in The Elements of Journalism . The class will then examine whether they believe that the journalist’s role has changed or needs to change in today’s news environment. What is the reporter’s role in contemporary society? Is objectivity, sometimes called fairness, an antiquated concept or an essential one, as the authors argue, for maintaining a democratic society? How has the term been subverted? What are the reporter’s fundamental responsibilities? This discussion will touch on such fundamental issues as journalists’ obligation to the truth, their loyalty to the citizens who are their audience and the demands of their discipline to verify information, act independently, provide a forum for public discourse and seek not only competing viewpoints but carefully vetted facts that help establish which viewpoints are grounded in evidence.

Reading: Kovach and Rosenstiel, Chapter 1, and relevant pages of the course text

Assignments:

• Students should compare the news reporting on a breaking political story in The Wall Street Journal , considered editorially conservative, and The New York Times , considered editorially liberal. They should write a two-page memo that considers the following questions: Do the stories emphasize the same information? Does either story appear to slant the news toward a particular perspective? How? Do the stories support the notion of fact-based journalism and unbiased reporting or do they appear to infuse opinion into news? Students should provide specific examples that support their conclusions.
• Students should look for an example of reporting in any medium in which reporters appear have compromised the notion of fairness to intentionally or inadvertently espouse a point of view. What impact did the incorporation of such material have on the story? Did its inclusion have any effect on the reader’s perception of the story?

Class 2: Objectivity, fairness and contemporary confusion about both

In his book Discovering the News , Michael Schudson traced the roots of objectivity to the era following World War I and a desire by journalists to guard against the rapid growth of public relations practitioners intent on spinning the news. Objectivity was, and remains, an ideal, a method for guarding against spin and personal bias by examining all sides of a story and testing claims through a process of evidentiary verification. Practiced well, it attempts to find where something approaching truth lies in a sea of conflicting views. Today, objectivity often is mistaken for tit-for-tat journalism, in which the reporters only responsibility is to give equal weight to the conflicting views of different parties without regard for which, if any, are saying something approximating truth. This definition cedes the journalist’s responsibility to seek and verify evidence that informs the citizenry.

Focusing on the “Journalism of Verification” chapter in The Elements of Journalism , this class will review the evolution and transformation of concepts of objectivity and fairness and, using the homework assignment, consider how objectivity is being practiced and sometimes skewed in the contemporary new media.

Reading: Kovach and Rosenstiel, Chapter 4, and relevant pages of the course text.

Assignment: Students should evaluate stories on the front page and metro front of their daily newspaper. In a two-page memo, they should describe what elements of news judgment made the stories worthy of significant coverage and play. Finally, they should analyze whether, based on what else is in the paper, they believe the editors reached the right decision.

Week 2: Where news comes from

Class 1: News judgment

When editors sit down together to choose the top stories, they use experience and intuition. The beginner journalist, however, can acquire a sense of news judgment by evaluating news decisions through the filter of a variety of factors that influence news play. These factors range from traditional measures such as when the story took place and how close it was to the local readership area to more contemporary ones, such as the story’s educational value.

Using the assignment and the reading, students should evaluate what kinds of information make for interesting news stories and why.

In this session, instructors might consider discussing the layers of news from the simplest breaking news event to the purely enterprise investigative story.

Assignment: Students should read and deconstruct coverage of a major news event. One excellent source for quality examples is the site of the Pulitzer Prizes , which has a category for breaking news reporting. All students should read the same article (assigned by the instructor), and write a two- or three-page memo that describes how the story is organized, what information it contains and what sources of information it uses, both human and digital. Among the questions they should ask are:

• Does the first (or lead) paragraph summarize the dominant point?
• What specific information does the lead include?
• What does it leave out?
• How do the second and third paragraphs relate to the first paragraph and the information it contains? Do they give unrelated information, information that provides further details about what’s established in the lead paragraph or both?
• Does the story at any time place the news into a broader context of similar events or past events? If so, when and how?
• What information in the story is attributed , specifically tied to an individual or to documentary information from which it was taken? What information is not attributed? Where does the information appear in the sentence? Give examples of some of the ways the sources of information are identified? Give examples of the verbs of attribution that are chosen.
• Where and how often in the story are people quoted, their exact words placed in quotation marks? What kind of information tends to be quoted — basic facts or more colorful commentary? What information that’s attributed is paraphrased , summing up what someone said but not in their exact words.
• How is the story organized — by theme, by geography, by chronology (time) or by some other means?
• What human sources are used in the story? Are some authorities? Are some experts? Are some ordinary people affected by the event? Who are some of the people in each category? What do they contribute to the story? Does the reporter (or reporters) rely on a single source or a wide range? Why do you think that’s the case?
• What specific facts and details make the story more vivid to you? How do you think the reporter was able to gather those details?
• What documents (paper or digital) are detailed in the story? Do they lend authority to the story? Why or why not?
• Is any specific data (numbers, statistics) used in the story? What does it lend to the story? Would you be satisfied substituting words such as “many” or “few” for the specific numbers and statistics used? Why or why not?

Class 2: Deconstructing the story

By carefully deconstructing major news stories, students will begin to internalize some of the major principles of this course, from crafting and supporting the lead of a story to spreading a wide and authoritative net for information. This class will focus on the lessons of a Pulitzer Prize winner.

Reading: Clark/Scanlan, Pages 287-294

Assignment: Writers typically draft a focus statement after conceiving an idea and conducting preliminary research or reporting. This focus statement helps to set the direction of reporting and writing. Sometimes reporting dictates a change of direction. But the statement itself keeps the reporter from getting off course. Focus statements typically are 50 words or less and summarize the story’s central point. They work best when driven by a strong, active verb and written after preliminary reporting.

• Students should write a focus statement that encapsulates the news of the Pulitzer Prize winning reporting the class critiqued.

Week 3: Finding the focus, building the lead

Class 1: News writing as a process

Student reporters often conceive of writing as something that begins only after all their reporting is finished. Such an approach often leaves gaps in information and leads the reporter to search broadly instead of with targeted depth. The best reporters begin thinking about story the minute they get an assignment. The approach they envision for telling the story informs their choice of whom they seek interviews with and what information they gather. This class will introduce students to writing as a process that begins with story concept and continues through initial research, focus, reporting, organizing and outlining, drafting and revising.

During this session, the class will review the focus statements written for homework in small breakout groups and then as a class. Professors are encouraged to draft and hand out a mock or real press release or hold a mock press conference from which students can draft a focus statement.

Reading: Zinsser, pages 1-45, Clark/Scanlan, pages 294-302, and relevant pages of the course text

Class 2: The language of news

Newswriting has its own sentence structure and syntax. Most sentences branch rightward, following a pattern of subject/active verb/object. Reporters choose simple, familiar words. They write spare, concise sentences. They try to make a single point in each. But journalistic writing is specific and concrete. While reporters generally avoid formal or fancy word choices and complex sentence structures, they do not write in generalities. They convey information. Each sentence builds on what came before. This class will center on the language of news, evaluating the language in selections from America’s Best Newspaper Writing , local newspapers or the Pulitzers.

Reading: Relevant pages of the course text

Assignment: Students should choose a traditional news lead they like and one they do not like from a local or national newspaper. In a one- or two-page memo, they should print the leads, summarize the stories and evaluate why they believe the leads were effective or not.

Week 4: Crafting the first sentence

Class 1: The lead

No sentence counts more than a story’s first sentence. In most direct news stories, it stands alone as the story’s lead. It must summarize the news, establish the storyline, convey specific information and do all this simply and succinctly. Readers confused or bored by the lead read no further. It takes practice to craft clear, concise and conversational leads. This week will be devoted to that practice.

Students should discuss the assigned leads in groups of three or four, with each group choosing one lead to read to the entire class. The class should then discuss the elements of effective leads (active voice; active verb; single, dominant theme; simple sentences) and write leads in practice exercises.

Assignment: Have students revise the leads they wrote in class and craft a second lead from fact patterns.

Class 2: The lead continued

Some leads snap or entice instead of summarize. When the news is neither urgent nor earnest, these can work well. Though this class will introduce students to other kinds of leads, instructors should continue to emphasize traditional leads, typically found atop breaking news stories.

Class time should largely be devoted to writing traditional news leads under a 15-minute deadline pressure. Students should then be encouraged to read their own leads aloud and critique classmates’ leads. At least one such exercise might focus on students writing a traditional lead and a less traditional lead from the same information.

Assignment: Students should find a political or international story that includes various types (direct and indirect) and levels (on-the-record, not for attribution and deep background) of attribution. They should write a one- or two-page memo describing and evaluating the attribution. Did the reporter make clear the affiliation of those who expressed opinions? Is information attributed to specific people by name? Are anonymous figures given the opportunity to criticize others by name? Is that fair?

Week 5: Establishing the credibility of news

Class 1: Attribution

All news is based on information, painstakingly gathered, verified and checked again. Even so, “truth” is an elusive concept. What reporters cobble together instead are facts and assertions drawn from interviews and documentary evidence.

To lend authority to this information and tell readers from where it comes, reporters attribute all information that is not established fact. It is neither necessary, for example, to attribute that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was first elected president in 1932 nor that he was elected four times. On the other hand, it would be necessary to attribute, at least indirectly, the claim that he was one of America’s best presidents. Why? Because that assertion is a matter of opinion.

In this session, students should learn about different levels of attribution, where attribution is best placed in a sentence, and why it can be crucial for the protection of the accused, the credibility of reporters and the authoritativeness of the story.

Assignment: Working from a fact pattern, students should write a lead that demands attribution.

Class 2: Quoting and paraphrasing

“Great quote,” ranks closely behind “great lead” in the pecking order of journalistic praise. Reporters listen for great quotes as intensely as piano tuners listen for the perfect pitch of middle C. But what makes a great quote? And when should reporters paraphrase instead?

This class should cover a range of issues surrounding the quoted word from what it is used to convey (color and emotion, not basic information) to how frequently quotes should be used and how long they should run on. Other issues include the use and abuse of partial quotes, when a quote is not a quote, and how to deal with rambling and ungrammatical subjects.

As an exercise, students might either interview the instructor or a classmate about an exciting personal experience. After their interviews, they should review their notes choose what they consider the three best quotes to include a story on the subject. They should then discuss why they chose them.

Assignment: After completing the reading, students should analyze a summary news story no more than 15 paragraphs long. In a two- or three-page memo, they should reprint the story and then evaluate whether the lead summarizes the news, whether the subsequent paragraphs elaborate on or “support” the lead, whether the story has a lead quote, whether it attributes effectively, whether it provides any context for the news and whether and how it incorporates secondary themes.

Week 6: The building blocks of basic stories

Class 1: Supporting the lead

Unlike stories told around a campfire or dinner table, news stories front load information. Such a structure delivers the most important information first and the least important last. If a news lead summarizes, the subsequent few paragraphs support or elaborate by providing details the lead may have merely suggested. So, for example, a story might lead with news that a 27-year-old unemployed chef has been arrested on charges of robbing the desk clerk of an upscale hotel near closing time. The second paragraph would “support” this lead with detail. It would name the arrested chef, identify the hotel and its address, elaborate on the charges and, perhaps, say exactly when the robbery took place and how. (It would not immediately name the desk clerk; too many specifics at once clutter the story.)

Wire service stories use a standard structure in building their stories. First comes the lead sentence. Then comes a sentence or two of lead support. Then comes a lead quote — spoken words that reinforce the story’s direction, emphasize the main theme and add color. During this class students should practice writing the lead through the lead quote on deadline. They should then read assignments aloud for critique by classmates and the professor.

Assignment: Using a fact pattern assigned by the instructor or taken from a text, students should write a story from the lead through the lead quote. They should determine whether the story needs context to support the lead and, if so, include it.

Class 2: When context matters

Sometimes a story’s importance rests on what came before. If one fancy restaurant closes its doors in the face of the faltering economy, it may warrant a few paragraphs mention. If it’s the fourth restaurant to close on the same block in the last two weeks, that’s likely front-page news. If two other restaurants closed last year, that might be worth noting in the story’s last sentence. It is far less important. Patterns provide context and, when significant, generally are mentioned either as part of the lead or in the support paragraph that immediately follows. This class will look at the difference between context — information needed near the top of a story to establish its significance as part of a broader pattern, and background — information that gives historical perspective but doesn’t define the news at hand.

Assignment: The course to this point has focused on writing the news. But reporters, of course, usually can’t write until they’ve reported. This typically starts with background research to establish what has come before, what hasn’t been covered well and who speaks with authority on an issue. Using databases such as Lexis/Nexis, students should background or read specific articles about an issue in science or policy that either is highlighted in the Policy Areas section of Journalist’s Resource website or is currently being researched on your campus. They should engage in this assignment knowing that a new development on the topic will be brought to light when they arrive at the next class.

Week 7: The reporter at work

Class 1: Research

Discuss the homework assignment. Where do reporters look to background an issue? How do they find documents, sources and resources that enable them to gather good information or identify key people who can help provide it? After the discussion, students should be given a study from the Policy Areas section of Journalist’s Resource website related to the subject they’ve been asked to explore.

The instructor should use this study to evaluate the nature structure of government/scientific reports. After giving students 15 minutes to scan the report, ask students to identify its most newsworthy point. Discuss what context might be needed to write a story about the study or report. Discuss what concepts or language students are having difficulty understanding.

Reading: Clark, Scanlan, pages 305-313, and relevant pages of the course text

Assignment: Students should (a) write a lead for a story based exclusively on the report (b) do additional background work related to the study in preparation for writing a full story on deadline. (c) translate at least one term used in the study that is not familiar to a lay audience.

Class 2: Writing the basic story on deadline

This class should begin with a discussion of the challenges of translating jargon and the importance of such translation in news reporting. Reporters translate by substituting a simple definition or, generally with the help of experts, comparing the unfamiliar to the familiar through use of analogy.

The remainder of the class should be devoted to writing a 15- to 20-line news report, based on the study, background research and, if one is available, a press release.

Reading: Pages 1-47 of Stein/Paterno, and relevant pages of the course text

Assignment: Prepare a list of questions that you would ask either the lead author of the study you wrote about on deadline or an expert who might offer an outside perspective.

Week 8: Effective interviewing

Class 1: Preparing and getting the interview

Successful interviews build from strong preparation. Reporters need to identify the right interview subjects, know what they’ve said before, interview them in a setting that makes them comfortable and ask questions that elicit interesting answers. Each step requires thought.

The professor should begin this class by critiquing some of the questions students drew up for homework. Are they open-ended or close-ended? Do they push beyond the obvious? Do they seek specific examples that explain the importance of the research or its applications? Do they probe the study’s potential weaknesses? Do they explore what directions the researcher might take next?

Discuss the readings and what steps reporters can take to background for an interview, track down a subject and prepare and rehearse questions in advance.

Reading: Stein/Paterno, pages 47-146, and relevant pages of the course text

Assignment: Students should prepare to interview their professor about his or her approach to and philosophy of teaching. Before crafting their questions, the students should background the instructor’s syllabi, public course evaluations and any pertinent writings.

Class 2: The interview and its aftermath

The interview, says Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jacqui Banaszynski, is a dance which the reporter leads but does so to music the interview subject chooses. Though reporters prepare and rehearse their interviews, they should never read the questions they’ve considered in advance and always be prepared to change directions. To hear the subject’s music, reporters must be more focused on the answers than their next question. Good listeners make good interviewers — good listeners, that is, who don’t forget that it is also their responsibility to also lead.

Divide the class. As a team, five students should interview the professor about his/her approach to teaching. Each of these five should build on the focus and question of the previous questioner. The rest of the class should critique the questions, their clarity and their focus. Are the questioners listening? Are they maintaining control? Are they following up? The class also should discuss the reading, paying particularly close attention to the dynamics of an interview, the pace of questions, the nature of questions, its close and the reporter’s responsibility once an interview ends.

Assignment: Students should be assigned to small groups and asked to critique the news stories classmates wrote on deadline during the previous class.

Week 9: Building the story

Class 1: Critiquing the story

The instructor should separate students into groups of two or three and tell them to read their news stories to one another aloud. After each reading, the listeners should discuss what they liked and struggled with as the story audience. The reader in each case should reflect on what he or she learned from the process of reading the story aloud.

The instructor then should distribute one or two of the class stories that provide good and bad examples of story structure, information selection, content, organization and writing. These should be critiqued as a class.

Assignment: Students, working in teams, should develop an angle for a news follow to the study or report they covered on deadline. Each team should write a focus statement for the story it is proposing.

Class 2: Following the news

The instructor should lead a discussion about how reporters “enterprise,” or find original angles or approaches, by looking to the corners of news, identifying patterns of news, establishing who is affected by news, investigating the “why” of news, and examining what comes next.

Students should be asked to discuss the ideas they’ve developed to follow the news story. These can be assigned as longer-term team final projects for the semester. As part of this discussion, the instructor can help students map their next steps.

Reading: Wickham, Chapters 1-4 and 7, and relevant pages of the course text

Assignment: Students should find a news report that uses data to support or develop its main point. They should consider what and how much data is used, whether it is clear, whether it’s cluttered and whether it answers their questions. They should bring the article and a brief memo analyzing it to class.

Week 10: Making sense of data and statistics

Class 1: Basic math and the journalist’s job

Many reporters don’t like math. But in their jobs, it is everywhere. Reporters must interpret political polls, calculate percentage change in everything from property taxes to real estate values, make sense of municipal bids and municipal budgets, and divine data in government reports.

First discuss some of the examples of good and bad use of data that students found in their homework. Then, using examples from Journalist’s Resource website, discuss good and poor use of data in news reporting. (Reporters, for example, should not overwhelm readers with paragraphs stuffed with statistics.) Finally lead students through some of the basic skills sets outlined in Wickham’s book, using her exercises to practice everything from calculating percentage change to interpreting polls.

Assignment: Give students a report or study linked to the Journalist’s Resource website that requires some degree of statistical evaluation or interpretation. Have students read the report and compile a list of questions they would ask to help them understand and interpret this data.

Class 2: The use and abuse of statistics

Discuss the students’ questions. Then evaluate one or more articles drawn from the report they’ve analyzed that attempt to make sense of the data in the study. Discuss what these articles do well and what they do poorly.

Reading: Zinsser, Chapter 13, “Macabre Reminder: The Corpse on Union Street,” Dan Barry, The New York Times

Week 11: The reporter as observer

Class 1: Using the senses

Veteran reporters covering an event don’t only return with facts, quotes and documents that support them. They fill their notebooks with details that capture what they’ve witnessed. They use all their senses, listening for telling snippets of conversation and dialogue, watching for images, details and actions that help bring readers to the scene. Details that develop character and place breathe vitality into news. But description for description’s sake merely clutters and obscures the news. Using the senses takes practice.

The class should deconstruct “Macabre Reminder: The Corpse on Union Street,” a remarkable journey around New Orleans a few days after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005. The story starts with one corpse, left to rot on a once-busy street and then pans the city as a camera might. The dead body serves as a metaphor for the rotting city, largely abandoned and without order.

Assignment: This is an exercise in observation. Students may not ask questions. Their task is to observe, listen and describe a short scene, a serendipitous vignette of day-to-day life. They should take up a perch in a lively location of their choosing — a student dining hall or gym, a street corner, a pool hall or bus stop or beauty salon, to name a few — wait and watch. When a small scene unfolds, one with beginning, middle and end, students should record it. They then should write a brief story describing the scene that unfolded, taking care to leave themselves and their opinions out of the story. This is pure observation, designed to build the tools of observation and description. These stories should be no longer than 200 words.

Class 2: Sharpening the story

Students should read their observation pieces aloud to a classmate. Both students should consider these questions: Do the words describe or characterize? Which words show and which words tell? What words are extraneous? Does the piece convey character through action? Does it have a clear beginning, middle and end? Students then should revise, shortening the original scene to no longer than 150 words. After the revision, the instructor should critique some of the students’ efforts.

Assignment: Using campus, governmental or media calendars, students should identify, background and prepare to cover a speech, press conference or other news event, preferably on a topic related to one of the research-based areas covered in the Policy Areas section of Journalist’s Resource website. Students should write a focus statement (50 words or less) for their story and draw up a list of some of the questions they intend to ask.

Week 12: Reporting on deadline

Class 1: Coaching the story

Meetings, press conferences and speeches serve as a staple for much news reporting. Reporters should arrive at such events knowledgeable about the key players, their past positions or research, and the issues these sources are likely discuss. Reporters can discover this information in various ways. They can research topic and speaker online and in journalistic databases, peruse past correspondence sent to public offices, and review the writings and statements of key speakers with the help of their assistants or secretaries.

In this class, the instructor should discuss the nature of event coverage, review students’ focus statements and questions, and offer suggestions about how they cover the events.

Assignment: Cover the event proposed in the class above and draft a 600-word story, double-spaced, based on its news and any context needed to understand it.

Class 2: Critiquing and revising the story

Students should exchange story drafts and suggest changes. After students revise, the instructor should lead a discussion about the challenges of reporting and writing live on deadline. These likely will include issues of access and understanding and challenges of writing around and through gaps of information.

Weeks 13/14: Coaching the final project

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The final week or two of the class is reserved for drill in areas needing further development and for coaching students through the final reporting, drafting and revision of the enterprise stories off the study or report they covered in class.

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from training.npr.org: https://training.npr.org/2020/03/13/the-haiku-of-radio-journalism-how-to-write-a-newscast-spot/

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The haiku of radio journalism: how to write a newscast spot

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(Halisia Hubbard/NPR)

Writing a spot may seem easy, because the script is short. “Just a spot” is how it’s sometimes described, as though it’s a throwaway bit of reporting.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

A spot is the haiku of news reporting. It’s a format that purports to tell a complete story — no matter how complex or involved — in under a minute. In fact, reporters often struggle to write spots.

At NPR Newscasts, good writing in a spot is paramount because upward of 28 million people listen weekly on the radio, with an estimated two million more on smart devices. That’s more than any other NPR show.

Wrap or voicer?

If you pitch a spot to NPR Newscasts, you’ll be asked whether you are offering a wrap or a voicer.

A voicer is a straight reporter spot without any ambi or actualities . Wraps are voiced spots with at least one short bit of tape “wrapped,” or embedded, in the story.

At NPR, spots run about 40 seconds. They have to be short because newscasts are only five minutes at the top of the hour and three minutes at the bottom of the hour. Anchors fill the rest of the newscast with shorter stories they voice themselves. The reporter spots give the newscast texture and create a dynamic listening experience that would be missing if the anchor read all the stories.

Write the intro first, to help you focus your spot. The intro should contain the newest information and tell the listener what the story is going to be about, in one or two sentences. Include only the most essential details required to understand the story.

Here are two examples:

THE U-S IS CALLING ON RUSSIA TO STOP AIRSTRIKES THAT HAVE FORCED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SYRIANS TO FLEE.

U-N HUMANITARIAN OFFICIALS DESCRIBE THE SITUATION AS INTOLERABLE AS FIGHTING INTENSIFIES IN NORTHWEST SYRIA.

N-P-R’S MICHELE KELEMEN REPORTS.

PRESIDENT HASSAN ROUHANI ADDRESSED A LARGE CROWD IN TEHRAN TODAY ON THE FORTY FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF IRAN’S ISLAMIC REVOLUTION.

N-P-R’S PETER KENYON HAS MORE.

An alternative format is the “informational intro,” which foreshadows what the reporter is going to say.

Here are two examples of this type of intro:

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE IS PULLING THE STATE DEPARTMENT’S TOP AIDS OFFICIAL ABOARD TO JOIN HIS CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE TEAM.

AS N-P-R’S FRANCO ORDOÑEZ REPORTS, DEBORAH BIRX IS AN AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE WHO WORKS ON GLOBAL HEALTH DIPLOMACY ISSUES.

A BRITISH COURT HAS RULED THAT PLANS TO BUILD A THIRD RUNWAY AT HEATHROW AIRPORT ARE ILLEGAL BECAUSE THEY DON’T ADDRESS THE U-K GOVERNMENT’S CLIMATE CHANGE COMMITMENTS.

N-P-R’S FRANK LANGFITT HAS MORE ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL RULING FROM LONDON.

Your intro should contain any numbers or details that may change as the story develops. This way, your spot will have the longest possible shelf life.

After telling the listener what the news is, you can begin your spot by setting the scene, fleshing out the details or offering context.

In Peter’s spot, he does all three.

IRANIANS TURNED OUT IN CHILLY WINTER CONDITIONS TO HEAR ROUHANI URGE THEM NOT TO BE PASSIVE — BUT TO SHOW SUPPORT FOR THE GOVERNMENT AND THE NATION AT A TIME OF HIGH TENSIONS WITH WASHINGTON.

His voicer continues with background.

ROUHANI’S CALL FOR SUPPORT COMES JUST MONTHS AFTER SECURITY FORCES WERE CALLED OUT — TO VIOLENTLY QUELL PROTESTS OVER DEPRESSED ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND RISING PRICES — AMID ONGOING AMERICAN SANCTIONS AND THE FALTERING 2015 NUCLEAR AGREEMENT.

This is a long sentence, but it efficiently gives the listener information that is crucial to understanding the story. It’s not a history lesson.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SAID SOME 300 PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN THE CRACKDOWN — A FIGURE TEHRAN DISPUTED WITHOUT PROVIDING ITS OWN TOLL.

After a little more background, Peter returns to the present moment and closes by mentioning something else that happened at the rally.

THE ANNIVERSARY ALSO MARKED THE KILLING OF IRAN’S TOP GENERAL QASSEM SOLEIMANI — IN A U-S DRONE STRIKE.

PETER KENYON, NPR NEWS, ISTANBUL

This is just one of many ways of structuring a spot.

Another way is how Ofeibea Quist-Arcton structured this wrap, which she filed in 2019 on the yellow vest protests in Paris:

SIXTY THOUSAND POLICE OFFICERS HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED ACROSS FRANCE — AUTHORITIES GUARDING AGAINST VIOLENCE AMID TODAY’S YELLOW VEST PROTESTS.

N-P-R’S OFEIBEA QUIST-ARCTON IS IN PARIS.

SHE REPORTS THAT YELLOW VEST PROTESTORS SAY THEY TOO REGRET MONDAY’S FIRE AT NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL — BUT THAT THEY REMAIN ANGRY AT PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON’S GOVERNMENT.

Ofeibea introduces her speaker right out of the gate:

LEADING FRENCH POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, CHRISTOPHE BARBIER, SAYS PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON’S MOMENT OF RESPITE — AFTER THE NOTRE DAME TRAGEDY AND FRANCE BRIEFLY UNITING AND FORGETTING POLITICAL DIVISIONS — IS OVER.

You’ll notice she is building toward the actuality by outlining the stakes:

HE SAYS THE FRENCH ARE DEMANDING SOLUTIONS TO PRESSING SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC WOES.

<<PEOPLE SAY, WHAT ABOUT US? OF COURSE, NOTRE DAME IS VERY IMPORTANT, WE HAVE TO REBUILD. BUT WHAT ABOUT US?  WHAT ABOUT THE END OF THE MONTH? WHAT ABOUT OUR DAILY PROBLEMS, NOT HISTORICAL PROBLEMS?>>

ANSWERS MACRON WILL HAVE TO DELIVER SOON.

That sentence fragment was Ofeibea writing out of the actuality by talking about the next step. She then considers what might come next:

INTERIOR MINISTER, CHRISTOPHE CASTANER, WARNS THAT THE ANARCHIST MOVEMENT BLAMED FOR VIOLENCE IN PAST DEMONSTRATIONS AND ACCUSED OF HIJACKING LEGITIMATE YELLOW VEST PROTESTS — IS AGAIN PLANNING UNREST.

OFEIBEA QUIST-ARCTON, NPR NEWS, PARIS

Whatever the format, sentences in a spot should almost always be in active voice: subject-verb-object. And while longer sentences help vary the flow, don’t entangle the listener in subordinate clauses and parenthetical observations. Limit the verbiage and cut unnecessary adjectives. And don’t editorialize.

For example, instead of writing what you think people are feeling:

A MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE SHOOK PUERTO RICO TODAY LEAVING RESIDENTS REELING.

Be specific and direct:

AN EARTHQUAKE WITH A MAGNITUDE OF 6-POINT-4 STRUCK PUERTO RICO TODAY. SO FAR AUTHORITIES ARE REPORTING NO DEATHS OR INJURIES.

The listener can draw their own conclusions based on the facts given in the story.

NPR’s newscasts also have a shortened type of spot called a Q. They serve to further vary the texture of the newscast and are generally 20 to 30 seconds long with no out cue. NPR reporters are often asked to do a Q for each spot they write; the reporter can use the same intro from the spot on the same topic.

The best way to do a Q is to focus on the nut of the story or one basic fact.

Here’s an example that runs 21 seconds (not including the intro):

TWENTY PEOPLE ARE DEAD AND ABOUT 200 ARE WOUNDED IN INDIA’S CAPITAL, NEW DELHI, ON THE THIRD DAY OF RIOTS OVER A NEW CITIZENSHIP LAW.

CRITICS SAY THE LAW IS DISCRIMINATORY BECAUSE IT EXCLUDES MUSLIM REFUGEES FROM GETTING FAST-TRACK CITIZENSHIP.

SUSHMITA PATHAK REPORTS FROM MUMBAI.

UNTIL NOW, PROTESTS OVER THE CITIZENSHIP LAW HAD BEEN MOSTLY PEACEFUL.

RIOTS BEGAN OVER THE WEEKEND WHEN HINDU SUPPORTERS OF THE LAW FACED OFF WITH ITS OPPONENTS.

HINDU MOBS TOSSED MOLOTOV COCKTAILS ON MUSLIM HOMES. IN ONE VIDEO, A MAN CLIMBS A MOSQUE’S MINARET AND PUTS A HINDU FLAG ON TOP.

THIS IS THE WORST SECTARIAN VIOLENCE IN THE INDIAN CAPITAL IN DECADES.

Don’t forget the Five Ws!

Whether you’re writing a voicer, a wrap or a Q, make sure you’re thinking about the five Ws of journalism — who, what, where, when and why. And steer clear of absolutes — the biggest, the oldest, the first — because they are easy to get wrong.

And remember, writing a spot is about delivering the basic facts of a story in a clear, concise manner that leaves no doubt or confusion in the listener’s mind.

Kathy Rushlow is a senior producer at NPR Newscasts.

Writing & Voice

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DPI-835M: Speechwriting

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Stephen Krupin

MaryRose Mazzola

What makes a speech persuasive and memorable – and how do you write one? How can storytelling help political, corporate, nonprofit, and community leaders achieve their goals? What is the role of the speech in our politics, policymaking, and international relations? This course will explore the techniques speechwriters and speakers use, from research to rhetoric, to shape messages that move people and change the world.

Every Communications Program course assumes a fluency with the English language. Attendance at first class required.

The Best Way for a Reporter to Cover a Speech

Watch for the Unexpected

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• Writing Essays
• Writing Research Papers
• English Grammar
• M.S., Journalism, Columbia University
• B.A., Journalism, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Covering speeches, lectures and forums – any live event that basically involves people talking - might seem easy at first. After all, you just have to stand there and take down what the person says, right?

In fact, covering speeches can be tricky for the beginner. Indeed, there are two big mistakes novice reporters make when covering a speech or lecture for the first time.

• They don't get enough direct quotes (in fact, I've seen speech stories with no direct quotes at all.)
• They cover the speech chronologically , writing it out in the order it occurred like a stenographer would. That's the worst thing you can do when covering a speaking event.

So here are some tips on how to cover a speech the right way, the very first time you do it. Follow these, and you'll avoid a tongue-lashing from an angry editor.

Report Before You Go

Get as much information as you can before the speech. This initial reporting should answer such questions as: What’s the topic of the speech? What’s the background of the speaker? What’s the setting or reason for the speech? Who’s likely to be in the audience?

Write Background Copy Ahead of Time

Having done your pre-speech reporting, you can bang out some background copy for your story even before the speech begins. This is especially helpful if you’ll be writing on a tight deadline . Background material, which typically goes at the bottom of your story, includes the kind of information you gathered in your initial reporting – the background of the speaker, the reason for the speech, etc.

Take Great Notes

This goes without saying. The more thorough your notes , the more confident you’ll be when you write your story.

Get The “Good” Quote

Reporters often talk about getting a “good” quote from a speaker, but what do they mean? Generally, a good quote is when someone says something interesting, and says it in an interesting way. So be sure to take down plenty of direct quotes in your notebook so you'll have plenty to choose from when you write your story .

Forget Chronology

Don’t worry about the chronology of the speech. If the most interesting thing the speaker says comes at the end of his speech, make that your lede. Likewise, if the most boring stuff comes at the start of the speech, put that at the bottom of your story – or leave it out entirely .

Get The Audience Reaction

After the speech ends, always interview a few audience members to get their reaction. This can sometimes be the most interesting part of your story.

Watch For The Unexpected

Speeches are generally planned events, but it’s the unexpected turn of events that can make them really interesting. For instance, does the speaker say something especially surprising or provocative? Does the audience have a strong reaction to something the speaker says? Does an argument ensue between the speaker and an audience member? Watch for such unplanned, unscripted moments – they can make an otherwise routine story interesting.

Get a Crowd Estimate

Every speech story should include a general estimate of how many people are in the audience. You don’t need an exact number, but there’s a big difference between an audience of 50 and one of 500. Also, try to describe the general makeup of the audience. Are they college students? Senior citizens? Business people?

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• Finding and Developing Ideas for News Stories and Articles
• Objectivity and Fairness in Journalism
• Court Reporting and Legal Journalism Writing Guide
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Rice Speechwriting

Beginners guide to what is a speech writing, what is a speech writing: a beginner’s guide, what is the purpose of speech writing.

The purpose of speech writing is to craft a compelling and effective speech that conveys a specific message or idea to an audience. It involves writing a script that is well-structured, engaging, and tailored to the speaker’s delivery style and the audience’s needs.

Have you ever been called upon to deliver a speech and didn’t know where to start? Or maybe you’re looking to improve your public speaking skills and wondering how speech writing can help. Whatever the case may be, this beginner’s guide on speech writing is just what you need. In this blog, we will cover everything from understanding the art of speech writing to key elements of an effective speech. We will also discuss techniques for engaging speech writing, the role of audience analysis in speech writing, time and length considerations, and how to practice and rehearse your speech. By the end of this article, you will have a clear understanding of how speech writing can improve your public speaking skills and make you feel confident when delivering your next big presentation.

Understanding the Art of Speech Writing

Crafting a speech involves melding spoken and written language. Tailoring the speech to the audience and occasion is crucial, as is captivating the audience and evoking emotion. Effective speeches utilize rhetorical devices, anecdotes, and a conversational tone. Structuring the speech with a compelling opener, clear points, and a strong conclusion is imperative. Additionally, employing persuasive language and maintaining simplicity are essential elements. The University of North Carolina’s writing center greatly emphasizes the importance of using these techniques.

The Importance of Speech Writing

Crafting a persuasive and impactful speech is essential for reaching your audience effectively. A well-crafted speech incorporates a central idea, main point, and a thesis statement to engage the audience. Whether it’s for a large audience or different ways of public speaking, good speech writing ensures that your message resonates with the audience. Incorporating engaging visual aids, an impactful introduction, and a strong start are key features of a compelling speech. Embracing these elements sets the stage for a successful speech delivery.

The Role of a Speech Writer

A speechwriter holds the responsibility of composing speeches for various occasions and specific points, employing a speechwriting process that includes audience analysis for both the United States and New York audiences. This written text is essential for delivering impactful and persuasive messages, often serving as a good start to a great speech. Utilizing NLP terms like ‘short sentences’ and ‘persuasion’ enhances the content’s quality and relevance.

Key Elements of Effective Speech Writing

Balancing shorter sentences with longer ones is essential for crafting an engaging speech. Including subordinate clauses and personal stories caters to the target audience and adds persuasion. The speechwriting process, including the thesis statement and a compelling introduction, ensures the content captures the audience’s attention. Effective speech writing involves research and the generation of new ideas. Toastmasters International and the Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill provide valuable resources for honing English and verbal skills.

Clarity and Purpose of the Speech

Achieving clarity, authenticity, and empathy defines a good speech. Whether to persuade, inform, or entertain, the purpose of a speech is crucial. It involves crafting persuasive content with rich vocabulary and clear repetition. Successful speechwriting demands a thorough understanding of the audience and a compelling introduction. Balancing short and long sentences is essential for holding the audience’s attention. This process is a fusion of linguistics, psychology, and rhetoric, making it an art form with a powerful impact.

Identifying Target Audience

Tailoring the speechwriting process hinges on identifying the target audience. Their attention is integral to the persuasive content, requiring adaptation of the speechwriting process. A speechwriter conducts audience analysis to capture the audience’s attention, employing new york audience analysis methods. Ensuring a good introduction and adapting the writing process for the target audience are key features of a great speech. Effective speechwriters prioritize the audience’s attention to craft compelling and persuasive speeches.

Structuring Your Speech

The speechwriting process relies on a well-defined structure, crucial to both the speech’s content and the writing process. It encompasses a compelling introduction, an informative body, and a strong conclusion. This process serves as a foundation for effective speeches, guiding the speaker through a series of reasons and a persuasive speechwriting definition. Furthermore, the structure, coupled with audience analysis, is integral to delivering a great speech that resonates with the intended listeners.

The Process of Writing a Speech

Crafting a speech involves composing the opening line, developing key points, and ensuring a strong start. Effective speech writing follows a structured approach, incorporating rhetorical questions and a compelling introduction. A speechwriter’s process includes formulating a thesis statement, leveraging rhetorical questions, and establishing a good start. This process entails careful consideration of the audience, persuasive language, and engaging content. The University of North Carolina’s writing center emphasizes the significance of persuasion, clarity, and concise sentences in speechwriting.

Starting with a Compelling Opener

A speechwriting process commences with a captivating opening line and a strong introduction, incorporating the right words and rhetorical questions. The opening line serves as both an introduction and a persuasive speech, laying the foundation for a great speechwriting definition. Additionally, the structure of the speechwriting process, along with audience analysis, plays a crucial role in crafting an effective opening. Considering these elements is imperative when aiming to start a speech with a compelling opener.

Developing the Body of the Speech

Crafting the body of a speech involves conveying the main points with persuasion and precision. It’s essential to outline the speechwriting process, ensuring a clear and impactful message. The body serves as a structured series of reasons, guiding the audience through the content. Through the use of short sentences and clear language, the body of the speech engages the audience, maintaining their attention. Crafting the body involves the art of persuasion, using the power of words to deliver a compelling message.

Crafting a Strong Conclusion

Crafting a strong conclusion involves reflecting the main points of the speech and summarizing key ideas, leaving the audience with a memorable statement. It’s the final chance to leave a lasting impression and challenge the audience to take action or consider new perspectives. A good conclusion can make the speech memorable and impactful, using persuasion and English language effectively to drive the desired response from the audience. Toastmasters International emphasizes the importance of a strong conclusion in speechwriting for maximum impact.

Techniques for Engaging Speech Writing

Engage the audience’s attention using rhetorical questions. Create a connection through anecdotes and personal stories. Emphasize key points with rhetorical devices to capture the audience’s attention. Maintain interest by varying sentence structure and length. Use visual aids to complement the spoken word and enhance understanding. Incorporate NLP terms such as “short sentences,” “writing center,” and “persuasion” to create engaging and informative speech writing.

Keeping the Content Engaging

Captivating the audience’s attention requires a conversational tone, alliteration, and repetition for effect. A strong introduction sets the tone, while emotional appeals evoke responses. Resonating with the target audience ensures engagement. Utilize short sentences, incorporate persuasion, and vary sentence structure to maintain interest. Infuse the speech with NLP terms like “writing center”, “University of North Carolina”, and “Toastmasters International” to enhance its appeal. Engaging content captivates the audience and compels them to listen attentively.

Maintaining Simplicity and Clarity

To ensure clarity and impact, express ideas in short sentences. Use a series of reasons and specific points to effectively convey the main idea. Enhance the speech with the right words for clarity and comprehension. Simplify complex concepts by incorporating anecdotes and personal stories. Subordinate clauses can provide structure and clarity in the speechwriting process.

The Power of Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal cues, such as body language and gestures, can add emphasis to your spoken words, enhancing the overall impact of your speech. By incorporating visual aids and handouts, you can further augment the audience’s understanding and retention of key points. Utilizing a conversational tone and appropriate body language is crucial for establishing a genuine connection with your audience. Visual aids and gestures not only aid comprehension but also help in creating a lasting impression, captivat**ing** the audience with compelling visual elements.

The Role of Audience Analysis in Speech Writing

Tailoring a speech to the audience’s needs is paramount. Demographics like age, gender, and cultural background must be considered. Understanding the audience’s interests and affiliation is crucial for delivering a resonating speech. Content should be tailored to specific audience points of interest, engaging and speaking to their concerns.

Understanding Audience Demographics

Understanding the varied demographics of the audience, including age and cultural diversity, is crucial. Adapting the speech content to resonate with a diverse audience involves tailoring it to the different ways audience members process and interpret information. This adaptation ensures that the speech can effectively engage with the audience, no matter their background or age. Recognizing the importance of understanding audience demographics is key for effective audience analysis. By considering these factors, the speech can be tailored to meet the needs and preferences of the audience, resulting in a more impactful delivery.

Considering the Audience Size and Affiliation

When tailoring a speech, consider the audience size and affiliation to influence the tone and content effectively. Adapt the speech content and delivery to resonate with a large audience and different occasions, addressing the specific points of the target audience’s affiliation. By delivering a speech tailored to the audience’s size and specific points of affiliation, you can ensure that your message is received and understood by all.

Time and Length Considerations in Speech Writing

Choosing the appropriate time for your speech and determining its ideal length are crucial factors influenced by the purpose and audience demographics. Tailoring the speech’s content and structure for different occasions ensures relevance and impact. Adapting the speech to specific points and the audience’s demographics is key to its effectiveness. Understanding these time and length considerations allows for effective persuasion and engagement, catering to the audience’s diverse processing styles.

Choosing the Right Time for Your Speech

Selecting the optimal start and opening line is crucial for capturing the audience’s attention right from the beginning. It’s essential to consider the timing and the audience’s focus to deliver a compelling and persuasive speech. The right choice of opening line and attention to the audience set the tone for the speech, influencing the emotional response. A good introduction and opening line not only captivate the audience but also establish the desired tone for the speech.

Determining the Ideal Length of Your Speech

When deciding the ideal length of your speech, it’s crucial to tailor it to your specific points and purpose. Consider the attention span of your audience and the nature of the event. Engage in audience analysis to understand the right words and structure for your speech. Ensure that the length is appropriate for the occasion and target audience. By assessing these factors, you can structure your speech effectively and deliver it with confidence and persuasion.

How to Practice and Rehearse Your Speech

Incorporating rhetorical questions and anecdotes can deeply engage your audience, evoking an emotional response that resonates. Utilize visual aids, alliteration, and repetition to enhance your speech and captivate the audience’s attention. Effective speechwriting techniques are essential for crafting a compelling introduction and persuasive main points. By practicing a conversational tone and prioritizing clarity, you establish authenticity and empathy with your audience. Develop a structured series of reasons and a solid thesis statement to ensure your speech truly resonates.

Techniques for Effective Speech Rehearsal

When practicing your speech, aim for clarity and emphasis by using purposeful repetition and shorter sentences. Connect with your audience by infusing personal stories and quotations to make your speech more relatable. Maximize the impact of your written speech when spoken by practicing subordinate clauses and shorter sentences. Focus on clarity and authenticity, rehearsing your content with a good introduction and a persuasive central idea. Employ rhetorical devices and a conversational tone, ensuring the right vocabulary and grammar.

How Can Speech Writing Improve Your Public Speaking Skills?

Enhancing your public speaking skills is possible through speech writing. By emphasizing key points and a clear thesis, you can capture the audience’s attention. Developing a strong start and central idea helps deliver effective speeches. Utilize speechwriting techniques and rhetorical devices to structure engaging speeches that connect with the audience. Focus on authenticity, empathy, and a conversational tone to improve your public speaking skills.

In conclusion, speech writing is an art that requires careful consideration of various elements such as clarity, audience analysis, and engagement. By understanding the importance of speech writing and the role of a speech writer, you can craft effective speeches that leave a lasting impact on your audience. Remember to start with a compelling opener, develop a strong body, and end with a memorable conclusion. Engaging techniques, simplicity, and nonverbal communication are key to keeping your audience captivated. Additionally, analyzing your audience demographics and considering time and length considerations are vital for a successful speech. Lastly, practicing and rehearsing your speech will help improve your public speaking skills and ensure a confident delivery.

Expert Tips for Choosing Good Speech Topics

Master the art of how to start a speech.

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Newscasting Opening and Closing Script Lines – Newspaper Script – Headline Writing

According to Oxford, Dictionary news is information about important people or events. Or news is something someone, somewhere wants to suppress, the rest is advertising, said William Randolph Hearst. News must tell the audience something they do not already know. This should be any piece of information that is recent or just come to light. With that being said, if you are going to host a news broadcast, you are at the right place. This article discusses some best newscasting opening and closing script lines in English.

Newscasting Opening and Closing Script Lines

For a newscaster one of the significant parts of news is the opening lines. Indeed, everything counts in the first impression. If you have a good first impression it will give you a positive impression and energy for the whole session. Moreover, a good first impression will influence your listener or reader to know more about your session and attract them to be with you.

Similarly, the closing lines of a news is equally important. Because it determines what your audience is going to remember and discuss further. Hence, you should ensure that you are writing some strong and effective opening and closing lines.

Nonetheless, the following Newscasting opening and closing script lines are written as examples. So, you can select your preferred ones and edit them according to your news theme.

Opening Lines

Opening 01. Good evening, and welcome to the news hour on………………news. I am [Your Name], bringing you the latest updates from around the world. In a world inundated with information, we strive to sift through the noise to bring you the most relevant and reliable news. Stay tuned for the top stories that matter.

Opening 02 . Hello, and a warm welcome to……………..news. I’m [Your Name], and it’s a pleasure to have you with us. As we embark on this news journey together, we promise to deliver the facts, untangle the complexities, and keep you informed. So, let’s dive into today’s headlines.

Opening 03 . Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us on…………..news. I am [Your Name], and we have an exciting lineup of stories for you today. From local events to global affairs, we’ve got it covered. Stay tuned as we unravel the news that shapes our world.

Opening 04 . Greetings, and a happy [morning/afternoon/evening] to you. You are watching………………news, and I’m [Your Name]. In a world where information is key, we strive to be your reliable source. Join us as we navigate through the headlines, providing you with the latest updates and insights.

How to Write a News Report | The Basic Steps of News Writing

Opening 05. Hello, and good morning. The truth is our priority, we give justice to your curiosity. The latest news spotted only here on…………….news giving you the latest and most credible news for today.

Opening 06. One mission, one community, one assailant. Good afternoon Americans, it is Thursday, October 22nd you are watching………….news and we hope you are having a great day here in………….. This is the ………….. bringing you the top stories that are sure with no bias. For the details of our news…

Opening 07. Good morning from the studio………… newsroom at…………..News headquarters here in New York, good to be with you. I am…………. “Thousands are expected in Havana’s Revolution Plaza today to pay their respect to Fidel Castro. In Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, the tone following Castro’s death is marked differently …………”

Opening 04. Good morning! It is Thursday, October 22 and this is the…………. Morning News. Bringing you the latest news around the globe. “Grief and joy following the death of Cuba’s former leader as the communist nation prepare to say goodbye to Fidel Castro…………”

Opening 05. Good morning/afternoon/evening happy Thursday and thanks for joining us today. I am…………….and I am…………. here with………….

Closing Lines

Closing 01. And with that, we wrap up this edition of………….. News. Your trust in us is the force that drives our commitment to unbiased and accurate reporting. As we bid you farewell, we wish you a wonderful day ahead. Stay informed, stay safe. This is [Your Name], signing off.

Closing 02. Thank you for joining us today on…………..news. Your time is valuable, and we appreciate you choosing us to stay informed. If you have any news tips or feedback, do not hesitate to reach out. Until next time, take care, stay informed, and have a fantastic day. This is [Your Name], signing out.

Closing 03 . That concludes today’s news session at………….. News. We trust you found the information insightful and valuable. Remember, knowledge empowers. Feel free to connect with us through our social media channels. Until next time, this is [Your Name], wishing you a pleasant day and a well-informed future.

Weather Forecast Report Sample Script in English

Closing 04. And that brings us to the end of another edition of………….. News. Your support means the world to us. As we part ways, remember that knowledge is the key to understanding the world around us. Thank you for being with us. I’m [Your Name], and this is [Your Channel]. Until next time, take care.

Closing 05. That was the news of truth and accuracy from the ……….. team. We are hoping everyone is in good condition and also hoping you have a great day ahead. This is………….. News.

Closing 06. Those were the top stories for this hour. We do not just secure freedom we defend what people deserve. You can contact us through these numbers flashed on your screen. Share your feedback and make us aware of the hot news you have. Good day.

Closing 07. And that’s all for today’s time-sizzling news. Once again I am…………..and I am……….delivering news from worldwide towards one united direction this is the ……….. Have a great day!

Closing 08. You have just heard the latest news around the globe. Again this is…………….. News. News with no bias, news with no exception delivering nothing but the truth. This has been (Anchor name) and (2nd Anchor name) bringing you the latest news around the globe. Thank you for being with us.

How to Write a News Headlines

The headline is the structure of the news and this part must be given much time and attention because if the headline is poor you can not capture the audience’s attention. The headline can go before greetings or after greetings, but most of the anchors prefer it to go for it after the greetings.

The steps below tell you how to write a perfect news headline.

1. Write Short and Sweet Sentences

The sentences you write are more likely to be clear. If they are shorter sentences, communicating one idea, or a connected range of thoughts. Writing a limited number of words in a news headline to convey an important point of news is challenging. Therefore, find out the bullet words in the news to create the headline and keep the sentence as short as possible just to convey the main story of the news.

2. Write in a Positive Form

Writing in a positive form is an excellent way to make your sentences short and nappy. Your sentences should assert, as your readers should be told what is, they don’t want to be told what something isn’t. Example:

• Jonas didn’t win the election.
• Instead write: Jonas lost the election.
• John Brown, who escaped last night, has still not been caught.
• Instead write: John Brown is still free.

Avoid words like: “not, isn’t, didn’t, and any other negative to-be verbs “

3. Be Active in Your Sentences not Passive

Headline news writing requires you to be direct, vigorous, and economical in your writing, which is why the active voice is preferred.

• Police arrested Smith. (Active Voice)
• Smith was arrested by the police. (Passive Voice)
• A hurricane destroyed the whole village. (Active Voice)
• The whole village was destroyed by a hurricane. (Passive Voice)

Writing sentences in passive voice, you unnecessarily extend the sentence words.

4. Do not use Slangs in The Headline

Using slang or jargon in the headline can be confusing for your audience to understand. Moreover, using slang in the headline doesn’t provide the reader with useful information, hence write your headline in simple sentences and words.

5. Use Present Tense and Don’t Use Article (a, an, and the)

If the events are happening now or in the process, you should use the present tense . Because your headline should have a time element to be clear to your audience when the event is taking place.

• PDM fighting for the country’s Sovereignty
• New Policy lets private Indian firms launch satel
• 3 Things that increase the risk of Covid reinfection

If possible you should avoid using the articles like “a, an, and the” and transitional words in the headline. Because these can be only padding and are not important to cover the key points.

Bottom Lines

I hope you have found the newscasting opening and closing script lines beneficial. If you need any kind of anchoring script in English, please comment on it using the comment section below, then we will try to provide the script as soon as possible.

You can read more about:

• News Broadcast Script Sample for Students
• How to Write a Summary of a Newspaper
• Best Freelance Writing Services in 2024
• The Ultimate SEO Copywriting Guide in 2024
• Top Rated Universities in Australia: A Student’s Handbook

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Speech Writing

• Updated on  
• Jan 16, 2024

The power of good, inspiring, motivating, and thought-provoking speeches can never be overlooked. If we retrospect, a good speech has not only won people’s hearts but also has been a verbal tool to conquer nations. For centuries, many leaders have used this instrument to charm audiences with their powerful speeches. Apart from vocalizing your speech perfectly, the words you choose in a speech carry immense weight, and practising speech writing begins with our school life. Speech writing is an important part of the English syllabus for Class 12th, Class 11th, and Class 8th to 10th. This blog brings you the Speech Writing format, samples, examples, tips, and tricks!

This Blog Includes:

What is speech writing, speech in english language writing, how do you begin an english-language speech, introduction, how to write a speech, speech writing samples, example of a great speech, english speech topics, practice time.

Must Read: Story Writing Format for Class 9 & 10

Speech writing is the art of using proper grammar and expression to convey a thought or message to a reader. Speech writing isn’t all that distinct from other types of narrative writing. However, students should be aware of certain distinct punctuation and writing style techniques. While writing the ideal speech might be challenging, sticking to the appropriate speech writing structure will ensure that you never fall short.

“There are three things to aim at in public speaking: first, to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself, and lastly, to get your subject into the heart of your audience.”- Alexander Gregg

The English language includes eight parts of speech i.e. nouns , pronouns , verbs , adjectives 410 , adverbs , prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.

• Noun- A noun is a word that describes anything, such as an animal, a person, a place, or an emotion. Nouns are the building blocks for most sentences.
• Pronoun – Pronouns are words that can be used in place of nouns. They are used so that we don’t have to repeat words. This makes our writing and speaking much more natural.
• Verb – A verb is a term that implies activity or ‘doing.’ These are very vital for your children’s grammar studies, as a sentence cannot be complete without a verb.
• Adjective – An adjective is a term that describes something. An adjective is frequently used before a noun to add extra information or description.
• Prepositions- A preposition is a term that expresses the location or timing of something in relation to something else.
• Conjunction- Because every language has its own set of conjunctions, English conjunctions differ from those found in other languages. They’re typically used as a connecting word between two statements, concepts, or ideas.
• Interjections- Interjections are words that are used to describe a strong emotion or a sudden feeling.

Relevant Read: Speech on the Importance of English

The way you start your English speech can set the tone for the remainder of it. This semester, there are a variety of options for you to begin presentations in your classes. For example, try some of these engaging speech in English language starters.

• Rhetorical questions : A rhetorical question is a figure of speech that uses a question to convey a point rather than asking for a response. The answer to a rhetorical question may be clear, yet the questioner asks it to emphasize the point. Rhetorical questions may be a good method for students to start their English speeches. This method of introducing your material might be appealing to the viewers and encourage them to consider how they personally relate to your issue.
• Statistics: When making an instructive or persuasive speech in an English class, statistics can help to strengthen the speaker’s authority and understanding of the subject. To get your point over quickly and create an emotional response, try using an unexpected statistic or fact that will resonate with the audience.
• Set up an imaginary scene: Create an imaginary situation in your audience’s thoughts if you want to persuade them to agree with you with your speech. This method of starting your speech assists each member of the audience in visualizing a fantastic scenario that you wish to see come true.

Relevant Read: Reported Speech Rules With Exercises

Format of Speech Writing

Here is the format of Speech Writing:

• Introduction : Greet the audience, tell them about yourself and further introduce the topic.
• Body : Present the topic in an elaborate way, explaining its key features, pros and cons, if any and the like.
• Conclusion : Summary of your speech, wrap up the topic and leave your audience with a compelling reminder to think about!

Let’s further understand each element of the format of Speech Writing in further detail:

After the greetings, the Introduction has to be attention-getting. Quickly get people’s attention. The goal of a speech is to engage the audience and persuade them to think or act in your favour. The introduction must effectively include: 

• A brief preview of your topic. 
• Define the outlines of your speech. (For example, I’ll be talking about…First..Second…Third)
• Begin with a story, quote, fact, joke, or observation in the room. It shouldn’t be longer than 3-4 lines. (For Example: “Mahatma Gandhi said once…”, or “This topic reminds me of an incident/story…”)

This part is also important because that’s when your audience decides if the speech is worth their time. Keep your introduction factual, interesting, and convincing.

It is the most important part of any speech. You should provide a number of reasons and arguments to convince the audience to agree with you.

Handling objections is an important aspect of speech composition. There is no time for questions or concerns since a speech is a monologue. Any concerns that may occur during the speech will be addressed by a powerful speech. As a result, you’ll be able to respond to questions as they come in from the crowd. To make speech simpler you can prepare a flow chart of the details in a systematic way.

For example: If your speech is about waste management; distribute information and arrange it according to subparagraphs for your reference. It could include:

• What is Waste Management?
• Major techniques used to manage waste
• Advantages of Waste Management  
• Importance of Waste Management 

The conclusion should be something that the audience takes with them. It could be a reminder, a collective call to action, a summary of your speech, or a story. For example: “It is upon us to choose the fate of our home, the earth by choosing to begin waste management at our personal spaces.”

After concluding, add a few lines of gratitude to the audience for their time.

For example: “Thank you for being a wonderful audience and lending me your time. Hope this speech gave you something to take away.”

Practice Your Speech Writing with these English Speech topics for students !

A good speech is well-timed, informative, and thought-provoking. Here are the tips for writing a good school speech:

Speech Sandwich of Public Speaking

The introduction and conclusion must be crisp. People psychologically follow the primacy effect (tendency to remember the first part of the list/speech) and recency effect (tendency to recall the last part of the list/speech). 

Use Concrete Facts

Make sure you thoroughly research your topic. Including facts appeals to the audience and makes your speech stronger. How much waste is managed? Give names of organisations and provide numerical data in one line.

Use Rhetorical Strategies and Humour

Include one or two open-ended or thought-provoking questions.  For Example: “Would we want our future generation to face trouble due to global warming?” Also, make good use of humour and convenient jokes that engages your audience and keeps them listening.

Check Out: Message Writing

Know your Audience and Plan Accordingly

This is essential before writing your speech. To whom is it directed? The categorised audience on the basis of –

• Knowledge of the Topic (familiar or unfamiliar)

Use the information to formulate the speech accordingly, use information that they will understand, and a sentence that they can retain.

Timing Yourself is Important

An important aspect of your speech is to time yourself.  Don’t write a speech that exceeds your word limit. Here’s how can decide the right timing for your speech writing:

• A one-minute speech roughly requires around 130-150 words
• A two-minute speech requires roughly around 250-300 words

Recommended Read: Letter Writing

Speech Writing Examples

Here are some examples to help you understand how to write a good speech. Read these to prepare for your next speech:

Write a speech to be delivered in the school assembly as Rahul/ Rubaina of Delhi Public School emphasises the importance of cleanliness, implying that the level of cleanliness represents the character of its residents. (150-200 words)

“Cleanliness is next to godliness,” said the great John Wesley. Hello, respected principal, instructors, and good friends. Today, I, Rahul/Rubaina, stand in front of you all to emphasise the significance of cleanliness.

Cleanliness is the condition or attribute of being or remaining clean. Everyone must learn about cleaning, hygiene, sanitation, and the different diseases that are produced by unsanitary circumstances. It is essential for physical well-being and the maintenance of a healthy atmosphere at home and at school. A filthy atmosphere invites a large number of mosquitos to grow and spread dangerous diseases. On the other side, poor personal cleanliness causes a variety of skin disorders as well as lowered immunity.

Habits formed at a young age become ingrained in one’s personality. Even if we teach our children to wash their hands before and after meals, brush their teeth and bathe on a regular basis, we are unconcerned about keeping public places clean. On October 2, 2014, the Indian Prime Minister began the “Swachh Bharat” programme to offer sanitation amenities to every family, including toilets, solid and liquid waste disposal systems, village cleanliness, and safe and appropriate drinking water supplies. Teachers and children in schools are actively participating in the ‘Clean India Campaign’ with zeal and excitement.

Good health ensures a healthy mind, which leads to better overall productivity, higher living standards, and economic development. It will improve India’s international standing. As a result, a clean environment is a green environment with fewer illnesses. Thus, cleanliness is defined as a symbol of mental purity.

Thank you very much.

Relevant Read: Speech on Corruption

You are Sahil/Sanya, the school’s Head Girl/Head Boy. You are greatly troubled by the increasing instances of aggressive behaviour among your students. You decide to speak about it during the morning assembly. Create a speech about “School Discipline.” (150 – 200 words)

INDISCIPLINE IN SCHOOLS,

It has been reported that the frequency of fights and incidences of bullying in our school has increased dramatically in the previous several months. Good morning to everyone present. Today, I, Sahil/Sanya, your head boy/girl, am here to shed light on the serious topic of “Increased Indiscipline in Schools.”

It has come to light that instructor disobedience, bullying, confrontations with students, truancy, and insults are becoming more widespread. Furthermore, there have been reports of parents noticing a shift in their children’s attitudes. As a result, many children are suffering emotionally, psychologically, and physically. The impact of this mindset on children at a young age is devastating and irreversible.

Not to mention the harm done to the school’s property. Theft of chalk, scribbling on desks, walls and lavatory doors, destruction of CCTV cameras and so forth. We are merely depriving ourselves of the comforts granted to us by doing so.

Following numerous meetings, it was determined that the main reasons for the problem were a lack of sufficient guidance, excessive use of social media, and peer pressure. The council is working to make things better. Everyone is required to take life skills classes. Counselling, motivating, and instilling friendly ideals will be part of the curriculum. Seminars for parents and students will be held on a regular basis.

A counsellor is being made available to help you all discuss your sentiments, grudges, and personal problems. We are doing everything we can and expect you to do the same.

So, let us work together to create an environment in which we encourage, motivate, assist, and be nice to one another because we are good and civilised humans capable of a great deal of love.

Relevant Read: How to Write a Speech on Discipline?

The current increase in incidences of violent student misbehaviour is cause for alarm for everyone. Students who learn how to manage their anger can help to alleviate the situation. Write a 150-200-word speech about the topic to be delivered at the school’s morning assembly. (10)

HOW TO CONTROL ANGER

Honourable Principal, Respected Teachers, and Dear Friends, I’d like to share a few “Ways to Manage Anger” with you today.

The growing intolerance among the younger generation, which is resulting in violence against teachers, is cause for severe concern. The guru-shishya parampara is losing its lustre. Aggressive behaviour in students can be provoked by a variety of factors, including self-defence, stressful circumstance, over-stimulation, or a lack of adult supervision.

It has become imperative to address the situation. Life skills workshops will be included in the curriculum. Teachers should be trained to deal with such stubborn and confrontational behaviours. Meditation and deep breathing are very beneficial and should be practised every morning. Students should be taught to count to ten before reacting angrily. Sessions on anger control and its importance must also be held.

Remember that Anger is one letter away from danger. It becomes much more crucial to be able to control one’s rage. It’s never too late to start, as a wise man once said.

“Every minute you stay angry, you lose sixty seconds of peace of mind.”

Relevant Read: English Speech Topics for Students

Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘I Have A Dream’ is one of his most famous speeches. Its impact has lasted through generations. The speech is written by utilising the techniques above. Here are some examples:

“still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” – emotive Language

“In a sense, we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check” – personalising the speech

“to stand up for freedom together” – a call to action.

Importantly, this is an example of how the listener comes first while drafting a speech. The language chosen appeals to a specific sort of audience and was widely utilised in 1963 when the speech was delivered.

• The Best Day of My Life
• Social Media: Bane or Boon?
• Pros and Cons of Online Learning
• Benefits of Yoga
• If I had a Superpower
• I wish I were ______
• Environment Conservation
• Women Should Rule the World!
• The Best Lesson I Have Learned
• Paperbacks vs E-books
• How to Tackle a Bad Habit?
• My Favorite Pastime/Hobby
• Understanding Feminism
• Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): Is it real or not?
• Importance of Reading
• Importance of Books in Our Life
• My Favorite Fictional Character
• Introverts vs Extroverts
• Lessons to Learn from Sports
• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Also Read: How to Ace IELTS Writing Section?

Ans. Speech writing is the process of communicating a notion or message to a reader by employing proper punctuation and expression. Speech writing is similar to other types of narrative writing. However, students should be aware of some different punctuation and writing structure techniques.

Ans. Before beginning with the speech, choose an important topic. Create an outline; rehearse your speech, and adjust the outline based on comments from the rehearsal. This five-step strategy for speech planning serves as the foundation for both lessons and learning activities.

Ans. Writing down a speech is vital since it helps you better comprehend the issue, organises your thoughts, prevents errors in your speech, allows you to get more comfortable with it, and improves its overall quality.

Speech writing and public speaking are effective and influential. Hope this blog helped you know the various tips for writing the speech people would want to hear. If you need help in making the right career choices at any phase of your academic and professional journey, our Leverage Edu experts are here to guide you. Sign up for a free session now!

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Alex Salmond on the Scottish independence referendum 10 years on

The historic event took place on 18 September 2014 and saw more than two million people (55.3%) vote No and 1.6 million (44.7%) vote Yes. Then first minister Alex Salmond stood down following the defeat.

Scotland reporter @Jenster13

Wednesday 18 September 2024 00:37, UK

Former first minister Alex Salmond has told Sky News he started to write his concession speech after the first result was declared in the Scottish independence referendum 10 years ago.

The historic event - which would have seen Scotland break free from the rest of the UK - took place on 18 September 2014 and saw more than two million people (55.3%) vote No and 1.6 million (44.7%) vote Yes.

Clackmannanshire was the first to return a result and recorded 19,036 (53.8%) votes for No and 16,350 (46.2%) for Yes.

Known as the "Wee County", the local authority area often reflects the opinion of Scotland as a whole.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Salmond said: "So, when I saw that result, I started to write my concession speech."

Although Dundee, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire showed "thunderous support" for Yes, it was not enough.

Following the defeat, Mr Salmond stood down as first minister and SNP leader and was replaced by Nicola Sturgeon.

More on Alex Salmond

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• Alex Salmond
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Reflecting 10 years on, Mr Salmond said the campaign for independence started from behind.

He said: "Nobody gave us a chance at the start.

"I always reckoned if we got to the positive side of the argument, if we claimed the positive side for Yes, which in itself is an affirmation, then once we got into the campaign, I thought we'd pick up ground, and so we did."

Mr Salmond believes the Yes side "nudged ahead" with around 10 days to go, but the huge public support effectively mobilised the No voters to take action.

Speaking about the "infectious" atmosphere at the time, he said thousands of people turned up to campaign, joking it was "impossible to do the shopping".

He added: "So, it was a very exciting period, and I thought we'd just about make it. I thought we'd just done enough.

"So, it was a big disappointment, of course it was."

Mr Salmond is now the leader of the Alba Party.

Despite the UK Supreme Court ruling in 2022 that the Scottish government cannot legislate for indyref2 without Westminster approval , he does not believe independence is as far away as it's ever been as there has been a "seismic change" since the campaign was launched in 2012.

Mr Salmond is calling for campaigners to mobilise now to return a majority pro-independence Scottish parliament in the 2026 election. From there, a strategy should be put in place to "face down Westminster with the democratic will of the Scottish people".

He said: "All we have to do is reconfigure the political furniture so as that mass of Yes support finds a political expression."

The politician said it would be better for the movement if a number of pro-independence parties are elected but not actually in government.

He explained: "You don't want people not to vote for independence because, you know, they're fed up with half-built ferries or daft bottle schemes or self-identification , or whatever it might be.

"You want people to vote for independence because they want self-determination and respect for the nation."

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Mr Salmond noted how the Better Together No campaign, dubbed "Project Fear", said "all sorts of dreadful things" would happen to Scotland if the Yes campaign won.

He said: "You know, we wouldn't get into Europe. Nobody would talk to us. That Scotland would somehow drift off and end up at the North Pole or whatever. All these dreadful things were going to happen."

However, Mr Salmond said the No campaign never claimed the SNP was not fit to run the Scottish parliament due to its past record.

Mr Salmond said that situation has since changed.

He said: "Because of the mistakes in governance, let's put it that way, over the last five years, the SNP have got this albatross round their necks of their record in government.

"And if that becomes a hindrance to the independence campaign, then it becomes a problem."

And then there's the Police Scotland investigation into the SNP's funding and finances.

Dubbed Operation Branchform, the long-running probe is linked to the spending of around £600,000 raised by supporters to be earmarked for Scottish independence campaigning. It is understood there have been complaints the ringfenced cash has been used improperly by being spent elsewhere.

Peter Murrell, Ms Sturgeon's husband and former SNP chief executive, was charged by police earlier this year in connection with the embezzlement of party funds.

The investigation has also seen Ms Sturgeon arrested and released without charge, alongside ex-party treasurer MSP Colin Beattie. Ms Sturgeon continues to deny any wrongdoing.

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Mr Salmond said the police probe "certainly overhangs" and "casts a shadow" over the party but is not the "main source of problems".

Citing the SNP's recent record in government, he said the controversial Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill "alienated a great number of people in the women's movement".

Mr Salmond said: "And for the life of me, I don't understand what all that was about. I mean, even if you thought that was a hugely important issue, you wouldn't divide a country just when you're trying to take it to independence.

"You'd say, 'oh well, you know, we'll discuss that after independence'."

He added: "If the SNP were the only thing on offer, that would be a problem. Luckily, they're not the only party on offer and I think we can overcome that problem."

Mr Salmond said there has been a lot of talk over the years, but not a lot of action.

He said: "I haven't seen a sustained campaign for Scottish independence from the SNP for 10 years."

Mr Salmond said a clear strategy is required so people know the direction the movement is going - in the past it was "let's get a parliament, let's get into government in the parliament, then hold a referendum and become independent".

Mr Salmond said he was a "betting man" and believes "Scotland will be independent in the next 10 years".

He said the Alba Party would happily cooperate with the SNP to get the job done.

Mr Salmond said: "That's what matters for Scotland. What we do with the independence, what we do with that self-determination, well, I think, we would govern Scotland well and wisely."

And as for any future blunders, he said it will be the nation's "own mistakes" that they can do something about.

Mr Salmond added: "I don't say that Scotland would be a land of milk and honey, but we would be a land of oil, gas and renewables and that would stand us in good stead."

The SNP was contacted for comment.

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Nancy Karibjanian is a journalism instructor and director of the journalism program in the Department of Communication at the University of Delaware. She teaches courses in broadcast news writing and field television news production, bringing 30 years of experience in broadcast journalism to the classroom. 

Karibjanian's broadcasting career includes anchoring, reporting, producing and news staff management. She has covered presidential campaigns, elections, and moderated numerous Delaware political debates; including the 2010 U.S. Senate debate which received worldwide attention. Karibjanian has interviewed members of the U.S. Congress, governors, corporate CEOs, and countless Delaware newsmakers. She also is known for her reporting on remarkable Delawareans outside the limelight. She is part of the core group of journalists who founded Delaware Public Media and launched the state’s first native NPR station, WDDE. A 1980 graduate of the University of Delaware, Karibjanian earned her degree in communication and was inducted to the Alumni Wall of Fame in 2011.

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Wedding Toasts: How To Write A Father Of The Bride Speech

You’ve walked your daughter down the aisle, and have just watched her marry the love of her life – now it’s time to make your father of the bride speech. This is such a big day, full of love and happiness, and a brilliant father of the bride speech can make or break the evening (so no pressure!).

But, there is probably a lot you want to say – and you’re likely wondering ‘how can I condense years of pride and affection into a short but great father of the bride speech?’ Never fear, we’ve got loads of useful tips and tricks to make your toast the cherry on top of an already amazing day.

What should you include in a father of the bride speech?

With loads of memories and stories about your daughter (and her partner) that you could share, getting your ideas on paper is the hard part. But, there are a few core elements that are always included in all the best father of the bride speeches that can give you somewhere to start writing.

We’ve even put our suggestions in an order for you to follow – consider this a father of the bride template from us to you!

Start by thanking the guests

It’s pretty standard practice to thank your guests for attending during a father of the bride speech. Whether the wedding is for 20 or 200 people, everyone has made an effort to be there, so you should take some time to recognise that in your speech.

Of course, while you can thank the wider guestlist more generally, make sure to call out certain people by name. These include your daughter and her new spouse, your partner, your new in-laws, bridesmaids and groomsmen, and other close family members involved in the wedding – basically everyone that has been a key contributor to making the day a success.

We recommend starting your speech with any thanks, but keep it fairly short. You don’t want to bore your audience before you’ve properly begun your father of the bride speech.

Praise your daughter and the person she has become

As the father of the bride, your speech is a time for sharing stories and memories of your daughter. From when she was born and her childhood, to stories of her as she grew, this is the time to share silly memories and tell everyone how proud you are of her.

Stuck for ideas? We suggest picking out some of your favourite qualities of your daughter to share with the wedding crowd. This is your time to be honest and make your father of the bride speech unique. Everyone can say a bride is beautiful, or funny – you don’t want people to think that you’ve copied some random father of the bride speech off of the internet. 

Instead, you have insight into the woman she is, (who she really is), so share something quirky and original to tailor your father of the bride speech specifically for her.

Maybe you’re proud of how much she cares about family, her determination and ambition, or even that she can recite a specific scene of her favourite film! Whatever you choose, make sure to keep it light, positive, and personal to celebrate her on one of the biggest days of her life. Aim to have people laughing and crying in equal measure – and don’t be afraid to shed a tear yourself.

Share memories of the couple

Of course, the day isn’t just about your daughter – it’s also about her partner. So, make sure you spend some time talking about the new member of your family. This could be with funny stories about how they met, the early days of their relationship and how you felt on meeting them for the first time, or stories from the present.

Like with your daughter, make sure they know you’re proud of the person she has chosen to spend her life with. Remember, you’re not losing your daughter to someone, you’re gaining more family!

We suggest spending most of your time talking about your daughter and her partner on their wedding day – that way you’ll have the rest of the wedding party eating out your hands with an emotional, funny, and brilliant father of the bride speech.

Give some words of wisdom or advice

Whether it’s a quip about dealing with some habits of your daughter, or how to make her favourite treat, the best father of the bride speeches always have some advice for the couple.

Some lighthearted teasing and funny advice is bound to get some laughs, and you can then switch the tone with some more serious words of wisdom for the happy couple. Offering some tips about marriage, or even just reminding the couple that they can always come to you for help and advice, is a great way to start rounding off your father of the bride speech.

End with a toast to the happy couple

Now you’ve done the hard part – but don’t forget you want to end strong. That’s why you should finish off your father of the bride speech with a heartfelt toast to the newlyweds. This is the time to round up everything you’ve said, (maybe slip in one last joke), and raise a glass to your wonderful daughter and her new partner. 

Then it’s time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of the celebration safe in the knowledge that you delivered a brilliant father of the bride speech.

Things to remember

Using our father of the bride speech template above is a surefire way to make sure your speech stands out and makes the best impression on the other wedding guests. But, we do have a little more advice for you…

• Introduce yourself : make sure everyone knows who you are before you get into your father of the bride speech. Remember to introduce yourself, and even slip in a small joke to help you (and the crowd) relax.
• Do NOT embarrass your daughter : this is her wedding day, so maybe keep some of the more embarrassing stories for another occasion. We’re not saying you shouldn’t include some funny stories, but make sure they’re ones she will laugh along with as well.
• Don’t force funny : peppering your father of the bride speech with some jokes is one thing – but don’t try to shoehorn jokes in for the sake of it. Stories and memories will tend to get some laughs anyway, which will make your speech feel much more natural.
• Speak from the heart : part of writing the best father of the bride speeches means speaking from the heart. Be honest and genuine, and there won’t be a dry eye in the house when you’re done.
• Tell your daughter you love her : this is an obvious one, but sometimes you can get swept up in the details and forget the simple things. Whatever you say in your speech, don’t forget to tell your daughter you love her.
• Keep it short : weddings are a celebration! So, you don’t want to drone on and on until people are bored stiff. Keep your father of the bride speech to about 10 minutes max – although six to eight minutes is even better.
• Practice : keeping to time, and making sure your speech feels smooth is hard. Spend some time practising before the big day (and don’t be afraid to keep some cue cards with you if you need them).

Look your best on the big day with Marc Darcy

You’ve got your speech in hand, so now it’s time to look your best on your daughter’s big day! So, why not explore the Marc Darcy wedding suits collection to find the perfect one for you?

Need some fashion tips and styling advice? Check out The Marc Darcy Guide to Men’s Wedding Suits and Looks… Or, head to the Marc Darcy blog for loads of the latest fashion guides and wedding style advice to help the family prepare for the big day.

Shop fantastic Suits , Accessories , and Formal Footwear today.

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Ohio sheriff suggests residents keep a list of homes with Harris yard signs

A sheriff in Ohio who made disparaging remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris and immigrants on social media suggested that residents compile a list of addresses where they see yard signs in support of the Democratic presidential nominee .

In a public Facebook post Friday, Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski used anti-immigrant rhetoric and denounced both Harris and her supporters.

"When people ask me...What’s gonna happen if the Flip — Flopping, Laughing Hyena Wins?? I say...write down all the addresses of the people who had her signs in their yards! Sooo...when the Illegal human ‘Locust’ (which she supports!) Need places to live...We’ll already have the addresses of the their New families...who supported their arrival!" the post said.

Zuchowski, the sheriff’s office and the Harris campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday afternoon.

The post Zuchowski shared also included TV images mentioning Aurora, Colorado , and Springfield, Ohio — towns that have become flashpoints in the immigration debate.

Springfield in particular has been subject to security t hreats amid baseless claims about Haitian immigrants living there. former President Donald Trump amplified the claims at Tuesday's presidential debate, which drew more than 67 million viewers , when he said, “They’re eating the pets.”

Follow live updates on the 2024 election

Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, has made similar remarks on social media, and he doubled down on them in an interview Sunday on NBC News' " Meet the Press ."

Springfield Mayor Rob Rue has said "a lie" is tearing apart the city of nearly 59,000 residents. "We'd like that to stop," he said Saturday .

Springfield is a little less than 200 miles southeast of Portage County.

Zuchowski's Facebook page includes a photo of him with Vance and other pictures of him with Trump allies such as former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

The photo with Vance is dated July 15 . One of the photos with Flynn is dated June 13 , and the other is dated March 30 and includes Ramaswamy.

Raquel Coronell Uribe is a breaking news reporter. 

'Baby Reindeer' Star Richard Gadd Says "It Always Gets Better" As He Wins Emmy for Writing the Autobiographical Series

"If you're struggling, keep going and I promise you things will be okay," he said while picking up his first Emmy.

Writer and actor Richard Gadd vulnerably wrote about his trauma in Baby Reindeer —and the Netflix miniseries, in turn, became a must-watch TV show that took its success all the way to the Emmys .

At the 2024 Emmys , the Scottish performer won Best Writing for a Limited or Anthology series for his work on Baby Reindeer . In the true-crime hit , Gadd wrote about his own experience with a stalker , surviving sexual assault, and coming to terms with his sexuality.

As Gadd accepted the award at the Emmys held on Sunday, September 15, he took the opportunity to share a message of encouragement. "Look, 10 years ago, I was down and out, right?" he said, referring to his own story documented on Baby Reindeer . "I never, ever thought I'd get my life together. I never, ever thought I'd be able to rectify myself with what had happened to me and get myself back on my feet again."

Gadd continued, "And then here I am just over a decade later, picking up one of the biggest writing awards in television. I don't mean that to sound arrogant. I mean it as encouragement for anyone who's going through a difficult time right now to persevere."

"I don't know much about this life. I don't know why we're here, none of that, but I do know that nothing lasts forever and no matter how bad it gets, it always gets better," he concluded. "So if you're struggling, keep going, and I promise you things will be okay."

To kick off his speech, the Netflix star said being at the Emmys was "the stuff of dreams" and shouted out his collaborators and family.

In the Best Writing in a Limited Series and Anthology category, Baby Reindeer was up against Black Mirror , Fargo , Fellow Travelers , Ripley , and True Detective: Night Country .

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Richard Gadd poses with his Best Writing in a Limited Series and Anthology award at the 2024 Emmys.

The writing award was hardly the only win for Baby Reindeer or even Gadd at the 2024 Emmys. He also took home a prize for acting and the series secured the win for Outstanding Limited Series or Anthology.

The star was in shock as he accepted the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Anthology—especially since he beat out John Hamm, who he said he was the "biggest fan" of. The writer/actor—who was nominated against Matt Bomer ( Fellow Travelers ), Hamm ( Fargo ), Tom Hollander ( Feud: Capote vs. the Swans ), and Andrew Scott ( Ripley )—noted that the win was unexpected and thanked his parents for their support. "They're the best and we've had some trying times as a family and they've been through there for me as a constant source of love and support," said Gadd. "The thing I'm most grateful for is they've never, ever taught me what I needed to do with my life and they never, ever taught me who I needed to be—and I think that's the greatest gift a parent can give a child."

He added, "They always said, follow your heart and the rest will fall into place. I think it's good advice."

Immediately after securing the award for his performance, Gadd came back out on stage and was joined by his costars and crew as they won Outstanding Limited Series or Anthology. The show competed against Fargo , Lessons in Chemistry , Ripley , and True Detective: Night Country.

During Gadd's third speech of the night, he spoke about how Baby Reindeer has proven that an original show without actors with name recognition can be a runaway success.

Jessica Gunning poses on the red carpet at the 2024 Emmys.

Jessica Gunning , who played Martha in the drama, also won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series—bringing the show's total wins at the ceremony up to four.

In her acceptance speech, the British actress shared a thoughtful message to her costar, Gadd, who she said she owes the "biggest thanks." "I've tried so many times to put into words what working on Baby Reindeer meant to me and I fail every time," Gunning said. "So I'm going to sing … no. No, I'll keep it simple and just say thank you for trusting me to be your Martha. I will never, ever forget her or you or this. It really means a lot."

Gunning was nominated alongside another Baby Reindeer star. Nava Mau was also up for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series—and made history as the first transgender woman recognized in the category.

Baby Reindeer became a word-of-mouth and critical success for Netflix, becoming one of its most-watched shows in the weeks after its April debut. Many viewers noted how powerful it was that Gadd told a fictionalized version of his own story.

Sadie Bell is the Senior Culture Editor at Marie Claire , where she edits, writes, and helps to ideate stories across movies, TV, books, and music, from interviews with talent to pop culture features and trend stories. She has a passion for uplifting rising stars, and a special interest in cult-classic movies, emerging arts scenes, and music. She has over eight years of experience covering pop culture and her byline has appeared in Billboard , Interview Magazine , NYLON , PEOPLE , Rolling Stone , Thrillist and other outlets.

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