Provide an analysis of the article and your opinion based on facts and researched info. (Minimum of 150 words)
*Current means happening now. News source cannot be older than a month.*
www.texastribune.org
www.communityimpact.org
www.kut.org
New Sources.1.20.docx
Summary: a brief statement or account of the main points of news article
Analyis of the Structure of News Articles
Is this article from a reliable news source. Ask yourself the following questions. Is
this news source known for biases? Is it known for favoring the conservative or
liberal ideology or favor a particular political party or organization? Is the person
writing a personal opinion that is only acceptable in an editorial or op-ed column,
or is this a factual account of the news?
Look at the headline. Does it give you an idea of what the article should be about?
Read the first paragraph, known as the lead.
Look for the main point of the story
and/or a summary of the major ideas. See if the lead gets you interested in reading
the article. Look for the lesser important materials that generally follow.
Look for the 5 W’s. These answer Who? What? Where? When? and Why? Jot
these down in your notebook to help you get the main point of the article. Refer to
this list as you read the remainder of the article. Emphasize the “Who”. Who is the
focus of the story? Think about the “What.” What happened to the person to make
the story newsworthy?
Check for fact and opinion. A news article should be factual with statistics, proven
studies and authorities backing up a claim. An opinion article, one based on
emotion or personal experience, does not belong in a news article. Learn to
distinguish between the two.
Look for conflicts or issues being discussed. Ask yourself if the writer is educating
you with the facts or if he is trying to get you to think a certain way or follow a
given action. Look at both sides of the argument. Consider the solutions proposed
if he gives any. Was there enough information to support the ideas?
Study the graphs or pictures if there are any. Ask yourself if they are clear. Do they
adequately and fairly represent the news they are supposed to be illustrating? Make
sure the pictures are not cropped to eliminate some unfavorable material.
Make a list of unfamiliar words in your notebook. Look them up in the dictionary.
Reread the sentences that contain them to reinforce the definitions.
Look at another newspaper with the same news article. Check to see if there are
similarities in their treatment. Analyze the differences before accepting either one
as correct.
After determining the facts of the story, what is your unbiased opinion.