News Item

Purpose 

To inform the readers, listeners, or viewers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important.

Generic Structures

• Newsworthy events (tells the readers in a summary form)
• Background events (elaborates what happened, explained what caused the incident)
• Sources (comments by participants, witnesses, authorities, and experts involved in the events) 
  

Language Features 

• Information on the use of headlines
• Use of action verbs (hit, attack, burn)
• Use of saying verbs (said, added, claimed)
• Use of passive sentences (Aceh was hit by a tsunami in 2004)
• Use of adverbs in passive sentences (the victims were badly injured)

Examples of News Item

• Seven people were killed in a collision
• Fire razes four houses in Ambon