One part of the Grade 10 Literacy test is the creation of an article. Students need to be familiar with this task so that they create a product that matches the format and the content expected.

Most newspaper articles break down into two categories:

• News articles
• Feature articles

You will also find opinion pieces, like editorials and book and movie reviews.

Here’s how you can tell the difference between a news story and a feature story.

• News articles cover the basics of current events. They answer the questions: who, what, where, how, and when?
• Feature articles are longer and more in depth than regular news articles. They cover one subject from multiple angles and are written in a more creative, entertaining format. Although a news story can be creative and entertaining, too! Check out the examples below.

It is important to remember that both news and features demand the same level of research and reporting.

On the literacy test you will be asked to write a news article. Dialogue and quotations are an important part of the news article. See the powerpoint below to review the rules.

Newspaper articles require a different style of writing from what is used when writing a story. When writing a newspaper article, picture a triangle like the one shown.

The newspaper article has all of the important information in the opening paragraph.

This information includes: who, what, when, where, why, and how.

It is written this way because many people do not read an entire newspaper article all the way through.

So newspaper writers put the most important information at the beginning.

A typical newspaper article contains five (5) parts:

Headline: This is a short, attention-getting statement about the event.

Byline: This tells who wrote the story.

Lead paragraph: This has all the who, what, where, why and how in it. It is generally three sentences long. Awriter must give the answers to these questions and write them in the opening sentences of the news article.

Explanation: After the lead paragraph has been written, the writer must decide upon and order other facts or details the reader might want to know. These generally expand upon the lead points. It is generally a good idea to have at least 4 paragraphs. It is important to name people involved or who have insight about the topic and use quotations to support the work. Paragraphs are often very short.

A dditional Information: This information is the least important. Thus, if the news article is too long for the space it needs to fill, it can be shortened without rewriting any other part. This part can include information about a similar event.