Contextualization
The News textual genre is one of the main mechanisms through which we inform ourselves about events around the world. This genre is mainly disseminated by media such as newspapers, magazines, radios, televisions, and websites on the internet. Contrary to what many might think, writing a news article is not simply reporting a fact. A well-written news article must have a specific structure, which includes a captivating title, a lead (first paragraph) that summarizes the main event, and subsequent paragraphs that provide more details about the fact, in decreasing order of importance. This method is called the inverted pyramid.
In today's world, where we are bombarded with information all the time, it is even more important to understand how a news article is made, what its elements are, and how they are constructed. This allows us to discern a well-made news article from a simple rumor, or even from fake news. Additionally, understanding the structure and characteristics of a news article can also help in writing skills, as it facilitates the organization of information in a clear and concise manner.
News plays a fundamental role in our society. It informs, educates, entertains, and often shapes public opinion. As such, it is essential that news be written in an impartial and accurate manner, showing all sides of the same story. However, since absolute neutrality does not exist, it is also important to know how to identify possible biases present in a news article and understand how they can affect our understanding of the reported fact.
To delve deeper into the topic, we recommend the following sources:
- Book "Writing with Creativity: Innovative Practices of Creative Writing" by Priscila Gontijo. This book can help understand and practice writing news in a creative and structured way.
- BBC Brazil website (https://www.bbc.com/portuguese), where you can see examples of well-structured news on various subjects.
- YouTube video "How to write a news article?" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3n5TZ6pOc0), which offers a clear and direct explanation of the structure of a news article.
Practical Activity: "Reporting in Groups"
Project Objective
Explore the News textual genre, identifying its structure, characteristics, and application, as well as practicing writing, reading, and critical analysis of different news articles.
Project Description
The project will be carried out in groups of 3 to 5 students, to be formed by the teacher. Each group will have the task of producing three news articles over a week. These news articles should be on varied topics, preferably of social or school relevance.
The first news article should be a report of a fictional event, created by the students themselves. This should be an exercise in creativity and application of the news concepts that will be studied. The second news article should be a report of a real event that occurred at school or in the local community. The third news article should be a critical analysis of an existing news article, published in a newspaper, magazine, website, or other media.
Necessary Materials
- Book "Writing with Creativity: Innovative Practices of Creative Writing"
- Internet access
- Notebooks or sheets of paper for notes
- Pens or pencils
Step by Step
- Formation of groups and definition of news delivery dates.
- Study of the News textual genre, based on the indicated materials. Students should understand the structure and characteristics of a news article.
- Creation of the first news article. Students should create a fictional event and write a news article about it.
- Creation of the second news article. Students should report a real event that occurred at school or in the local community.
- Critical analysis of an existing news article. Students should choose an already published news article and conduct a critical analysis, checking if the news article presents all the necessary elements and if there is any inconsistency or bias.
- Writing the final report. Students should prepare a report with an introduction, development, conclusion, and bibliography, according to the given guidelines.
Delivery
At the end of the project, the groups should deliver the three written news articles, as well as a report on the process. This report should follow the following structure:
Introduction: In this part, the group should briefly present the project's objective, the concept of news, its relevance, and application in the real world.
Development: Here, students should describe and analyze the theory about news that they studied. They should detail the stages of the conception and writing process of the news articles and justify their choices. They should also highlight the difficulties encountered and how they overcame them, as well as present the results obtained.
Conclusion: In this part, the group should revisit the main points of the work, explaining the learnings and conclusions drawn from the project. It is important to reflect on the role of news and the importance of critical thinking when consuming them.
Bibliography: Finally, students should list the sources consulted for the development of the project, including books, websites, videos, among others.
The final work will be evaluated considering the quality of the produced news articles, the critical analysis performed, and the delivered report, as well as the collaboration and participation of all group members.
