Jointly reported by:
Ong Chen Xi Jr2Z(2)
Tan Qing Lin Sr3ScA
Tee Jia Xien Sr3D
On the 29th of May, Keun Cheng Newsletter Club organized a workshop over Zoom on English news article writing techniques. As the Club has recently doubled in size, many newcomers should be guided on how to write articles. The speaker in question is Mr Jonathan Lee, a senior writer of BRATs, a youth journalism program.
Jonathan started his talk by introducing article writing and giving some basic tips. As a journalist, your role is to report clearly, accurately, and fairly. For example, a news article has to be brief but easy to understand, which means using common words and good grammar. Different types of sentences and linking words can make your articles livelier. A journalist should also remove themselves from the article as far as possible.
Jonathan then entered the main bulk of his presentation, which is the parts of a news article. Firstly, a headline has to be short, catchy, and specific to generate interest in your article. However, misleading headlines can hurt your reputation. As such, you need to strike a balance between these two extremes.
Jonathan then introduced the audience to the inverted pyramid, a template used in many articles, which is made of a lead, a body, and a tail. The lead, which is usually the first paragraph, introduces the main points using the 5W1H (Who, What, Where, When, Why, How) method, be it by summing up or setting up the story.
The inverted pyramid template
This article about the recent LRT accident follows the inverted pyramid template.
On the other hand, the body contains information that can help explain the topic. When writing a body, make sure your topic is consistent throughout the story and to list your facts in order of importance. Jonathan also added that since your work is meant to be for the public, you have to be inclusive with your writing.
Moving on, the tail is made of minor details and wraps up the story. For example, a “zinger” closing sentence can influence readers to think critically about the topic mentioned.
The next topic was about quotes and interviews. He explained that using someone else’s words in your article can make it more relatable to readers. Direct quotes can have an emotional impact on readers as something is being described in a human way, while partial quotes are used to provide missing information and context or to avoid controversy.
An example of direct and partial quotes being used
In addition, interviews are sought after because they can include human elements or an expert’s take on a subject. However, he also stressed that the quality of your questions determines the quality of your interview. When interviewing, you must also follow some guidelines, which include preparing beforehand, forming a relationship with the interviewee, asking relevant questions, and listening carefully.
To end his main session, Jonathan described the editing process in mass media and lateral reporting. Lateral reporting includes using tools like links, pictures, graphs and videos to express ideas that text cannot. He also addressed unethical behaviour like plagiarism and misrepresentation and how they should be avoided.
Jonathan briefly talked about feature-length articles and had a Q&A session. During the session, he described his experience working at The Star, talked about ways to draw out different responses from people during interviews, and even brought up the decline of print-based journalism among other topics. Afterwards, everyone gathered for a group photo.
Overall, this was an informative speech, especially for the Newsletter Club members. In the end, Jonathan hopes that the skills he shared could help both club members and regular students alike.
Group photo