News Stories form an important part of media writing. Through this assessment you will apply the concepts, approaches, and methods that you learn in this unit, to your own media writing. In the process developing skills in academic and media research, documentation, as well as, clear, logical, and convincing writing.
Task Description ✏️
You are required to write a hard news story suitable for publication in a metropolitan daily newspaper.
Additional Information 📚
To help you complete this task successfully, the following resources are provided:
Marking Rubric — refer to this to understand how you will be assessed
Checklist: How to write a News Story — use this to help you complete the task
Example: News Story — review this to see a completed example of the task
Library Search Tips — use this guide to help you search for resources
Checklist: How to write a News Story ✅
Please copy + paste this checklist into your Notes, ticking off each task as you go.
Step 1: Task Understanding
To help you understand what you need to do for this task and how will be assessed, you must:
Read the Instructions including this Checklist carefully
Read the Marking Rubric
Step 2: Research Subject
To help you develop a deep understanding of the subject, you need to:
Read the Library Search Tips guide
Identify a set of useful resources. NB: you are looking for background information
As you read the relevant articles and books, jot down notes in the Notes section
Tip: as you read, make reference notes of any sources you use
Step 3: Guest Lecture
A guest will coming to the lecture.(NB. This session is recorded, so that you can review it). To help you record important information, you can:
Write down any questions you want answered, ie. what, when, where, why, & how
During the lecture listen actively(ie. engage intellectually) not passively
Take notes. NB: try not to write down everything the guest says(ie. scribe), unless it’s a direct quote, instead try to analyse and evaluate what is being said
Review your notes, adding anything you missed or further thoughts/arguments
Step 4: Plan Story
To help you plan your News Story, jot down dot points under each of these headings:
Headline: this is a short, attention-getting statement about the event
Byline: this tells who wrote the story
Lead Paragraph: this is where you answer who, what, when, where, why, and how questions
Explanation: this has the other facts and details the reader might want to know. Ensure you can answer any important questions a reader might have after reading the heading and lead paragraph. This is where you include any direct quotes.
Additional: This has any additional information that’s not important enough to fit into the main part of the article
Step 5: Submit Draft
Submit your News Story plan as a draft before the tutorial
Purpose 🎯
Task Description ✏️
Additional Information 📚
Checklist: How to write a News Story ✅