Department of Education – Schools Division Office of Cavite

Learning Resources Management Section

Learning Activity Sheet

Name:___________________________________________ Grade and Section: __________________

Features of Journalistic Writing

English 4, Quarter 4 – Week 4

Learning Competency with code/Kasanayang Pampagkatuto at koda

Identify features of journalistic writing (EN4RC-III-36)

Background Information for Learners

Newspapers are an important tool used to make us aware of what is happening around
the world; a news provider on hand. News is everywhere. News writers make use of
Journalistic Writing. It is a style of writing that is used in news reports and other articles
like feature articles, opinion articles, and sports articles. It is different from what you
have learned in writing a composition.
Journalism is the act of writing informative content for newspapers, magazines, or
different news websites. It is not only about reporting news, it is also about infusing
facts with personal opinions that are presented to the readers in a convincing manner.
A journalist is a person who works in journalism to report news. He or she is involved in
the presentation of what he or she considers to be noteworthy and is committed to
meeting the standard of honesty in reporting.
Journalistic writing is a style of writing that is used to report news stories in a variety
of media formats. It is used for magazines, newspapers, television broadcast, and even in
radio.
What are the features of a journalistic writing?
Journalistic writing reports facts or is based on facts as it reaches unlimited number of
readers.
 It uses short, simple lines or sentences and paragraphs that all readers can
understand easily.
 It uses a catchy heading that prompts readers to read the full article.
 It sums up all the data in a short article as people can lose interest when an article is
too long.
The Key Features of Journalistic Writing
a. Headlines- newspapers use catchy and bold headlines to grab your attention. If the
headline is not eye-catching, and interesting then the reader won’t read the article
b. Introduction. The first sentence underneath the headline should give the reader more
information on the story and sum up what is going to be about.

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 Department of Education – Schools Division Office of Cavite
Learning Resources Management Section
Learning Activity Sheet

c. Paragraphs: Split into paragraphs to help the reader clearly understand the
information on the story. Each new paragraph must be given a news heading.
- Past tense: Written in the past tense because you are reporting on something that has
already happened.
- Third person: In the third person because you are writing about somebody else. This
means using the names of the people involved in the story or using he or she not I or me.
- Summing up: The final paragraph should sum up the story. This is usually a good
place to put in your opinion.
d. Fact and Opinion- newspaper reports use many facts and opinions to tell their
stories.
They often use the 5 W’s, (who, what, why, where and when) to give the reader as much
information and detail as possible.
e. Captions- A caption is a short concise sentence explaining what is happening in the
photograph.
f. Quotations- or speech marks tell us what those involved said.
Example: It was the scariest moment of my life! “the 31-year-old owner told us.
g. Photos - help give a visual of the story. The picture is important as it tells the story by
giving readers a snapshot of what happened, where it happened or who it happened to.

Activity 1
Directions: Read the sentences and identify the features of journalistic writing. Write
TRUE if it describes the correct features of journalistic writing and FALSE if it does not.

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 Department of Education – Schools Division Office of Cavite
Learning Resources Management Section
Learning Activity Sheet

_______ 1. Journalistic writing must be based on facts.

_______ 2. Journalists must use long, simple lines and paragraphs that all the readers
can understand easily.
_______ 3. Journalists must not use a catchy heading that prompts readers to read the
full article.
_______ 4. The articles are short but concise and direct to the point.
_______ 5. Journalistic writing must be bias, a one-sided idea only.
Activity 2
Directions: Identify whether the given situation is journalism or not. If it is journalism
write yes on the blank, otherwise, write no.
_________1. Vanz submits to his boss his report of the feasibility study he conducted.
_________2. Elton files a flash report on TV Patrol about the typhoon that is now visible
in areas like Mindanao.
_________3. Christofer confides to his best friend that he saw the murder in the
Cathedral.
_________4. Brian tells his class that the governor has accepted his project proposal.
_________5. Alexis sends a letter to the manager asking him to investigate his employee.
Activity 3
Directions: Name the arrowed feature of the new paper article below.

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 Department of Education – Schools Division Office of Cavite
Learning Resources Management Section
Learning Activity Sheet

Reflection/Self-Monitoring
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
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_______________________________________________________________________________________________
References
MELCs Grade 4
-Google.com/ Sample of Journalistic Writing
Prezi.com Internet: https://www.google.com.ph

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 Department of Education – Schools Division Office of Cavite
Learning Resources Management Section
Learning Activity Sheet

Answer Key

Activity 1
1. T
2. F
3. F
4. T
5. F
Activity 2
1. yes
2. yes
3. yes
4. yes
5. no
Activity 3
1. Headline
2. Introduction
3. Picture
4. Caption
5.Paragraph

Prepared by:
Rica J. Mendoza
Teacher I
Amadeo Elementary School – Amadeo District