Lesson video

Hi everybody and welcome to our lesson today.

My name is Ms. Mullins and today we're gonna be starting a brand new unit, so I'm really, really excited to see how we get on.

Let's get started.

In our lesson today, you will be able to identify the purpose and the linguistic features of a journalistic report.

Here are some key words we're going to use journalistic report, purpose, audience layout, linguistic features well done.

A journalistic report is a nonfiction text that provides information about an event.

The purpose is the aim of a text.

The audience is the person or people that read a text.

The layout is the way a text is structured.

Linguistic features are words and language that a writer chooses carefully.

Today we're going to be identifying the features of a journalistic report in preparation for writing about the "Titanic." First of all, we're going to be learning about the purpose, audience and layout of journalistic reports, and then we're going to be looking in more detail at the linguistic features of a journalistic report.

The purpose is the aim of the text.

The purpose of a journalistic report is to inform the reader about a particular event.

The audience of a journalistic report is the reader who wants to know more about the event.

Journalistic reports are types of nonfiction texts because they tell the reader about information about an event or a topic that has really happened in real life.

They can be printed in newspapers, but they can also be read online.

Journalistic reports reflect the current news cycle.

Current means what's happening right now.

So they're written with up-to-date and current information, particularly people who read the news online will find that information is refreshed and updated as it happens.

Newspapers are printed every day, so you get a news news report every single day to keep up with the day's events.

Where can journalistic reports be read? Pause the video now while you decide.

Well done if you spotted that they can be read online and in newspapers.

Journalistic reports are not printed in books.

That's because the publishing of a book can take a long time.

It can take months or even years for a book to be published.

But remember what we were talking about, how journalistic reports are about the news that's happened on the day or the day before, so they have to be refreshed constantly.

Otherwise, people won't want to read the newspaper if it's out-of-date and not up to date with the current information.

The layout of a journalistic report can look like this, so it has a headline.

In other text types we might call this a title, but in a news report or a journalistic report, we call it a headline.

Then we have an opening which gives the reader some general information about the event.

Then a recount section that gives specific details that tell the reader about the event.

Then we have a quote section which includes quotes from people who know more about the event or possibly people who were there and saw it with their own eyes.

And finally, we have a closing, which describes what is currently happening and what is likely to happen next.

Order the sections of a journalistic report and pause the video while you do that.

Great work everyone.

Well done if you started with the opening, then the recount section, then a quote section, and finally the closing.

The layout of a journalistic report can look like this.

So we have our heading, our opening, our recount section, quote section, and our closing.

The purpose is to inform the reader about one event or a subject.

The audience is anyone interested in learning about the event or the subject.

And the layout helps the reader to do that learning.

Now it's time for your first task.

Read the journalistic report in the additional materials and answer the four questions on the screen.

Pause the video now while you do that.

Let's begin by reading this report together.

The Grand Opening of the Great Exhibition.

On the 1st of May, the Great Exhibition, which has been organised by Henry Cole and Prince Albert, open to the public.

Thousands of people came to visit the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London to see inventions from all over the world.

At precisely 10:30am, Queen Victoria, who performed a short opening ceremony, commenced the event alongside the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Those in attendance entered the Crystal Palace, a vast iron and glass structure that is 564 metres by 138 metres, which was designed by Paxon.

In order to prevent seven elm trees from being cut down, the palace was built around them.

Furthermore, in the centre of the building stands a fountain constructed of pink glass.

The exhibits are grouped into four key areas, machinery, manufacturers, fine arts and raw materials.

Notably, there are over 100,000 objects on display including counting machines, musical instruments and carriages, and approximately half of them originate from Britain.

However, the Russian exhibits have not yet arrived due to being delayed by freezing conditions in the Baltic Sea.

Of significant note, for the first time, public lavatories have been provided for the gentlemen and there is a restroom for the ladies.

Their inventor, George Jennings, is charging a penny for their use.

Many people have expressed their views about the Great Exhibition.

Reports suggest that several well-known writers attended the opening.

Charles Dickens, a critically acclaimed author, stated that attending the Great Exhibition was like entering a magical world.

Most of the attendees seemed awestruck with astonishment at the brilliant scene like John Wilson, who had travelled from Birmingham.

He exclaimed, "That was incredible.

I have never seen anything like it!" It is thought that Queen Victoria was highly impressed by the event.

Commenting on her behalf, The Royal Household Communications Department made this statement, "Seeing the world's most gifted manufacturers modern industrial designs for the first time is a magnificent achievement for this country." It has been alleged that around 45,000 people visited the exhibition on the first day, and this is expected to increase in the coming weeks.

Many of the visitors travelled to London from far afield via the country's rapidly expanding railway network.

Reportedly, money raised from the exhibition will be used to set up three new museums in Kensington, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The exhibition will remain open for another six months and it will close on the 15th of October.

What is the headline? Well done if you spotted that the headline is the Grand Opening of the Great Exhibition.

What is the purpose of this report? The purpose is to inform the reader about the Great Exhibition.

What is the first paragraph called? It was called the opening, and the last paragraph is called the closing.

Well done.

Now we're on to the next part of our lesson, which is identifying the linguistic features of a journalistic report.

There are a number of linguistic features in journalistic reports, journalistic language, fronted adverbials, relative complex sentences.

Brackets to indicate parenthesis.

Well done.

Linguistic features are types of words and language that a writer chooses carefully, and we can use all of these features in journalistic reports.

They also help us with actually achieving the aim of the text because remember, the aim of a report is to inform the reader about an event or a subject.

And by using journalistic language, varied fronted adverbials, relative complex sentences and brackets for parenthesis, we can help share information with our reader in lots of different ways to keep them engaged and also to help them understand what we are telling them about.

We're gonna start by looking at journalistic language.

Journalistic language is words and phrases used by journalists in their reports.

Journalistic language brings a formal, objective tone to the report.

It helps the journalist explain what happened or what might have happened without giving their personal opinion.

Journalistic words and phrases include all of these.

It is believed, reported, suggested, or alleged that.

Well done.

Allegedly or reportedly.

Reports, statements, suggestions, claim or maintain that.

At approximately, at precisely.

Well done.

These words and phrases are really important, especially words and phrases such as it is believed or reported or alleged or suggested that or that statements or suggestions claim or maintain that because when a journalist is writing their report, they may not have 100% of the information finalised, so this is a way for them to share with the reader what rumours are maybe being shared or what people are saying has happened.

Although this information may not have been fully confirmed just yet.

It helps protect the journalist and the newspaper because then they aren't necessarily saying that something definitely did happen, but by using words such as allegedly or it is believed that they're able to say that this might have happened or people are saying that this thing happened, but it hasn't 100% been confirmed as true yet.

Which of these does journalistic language achieve? Pause the video while you do that.

Well done if you decided that it creates a formal tone and it helps the journalist explain what happened.

As journalists, we don't share our own opinions because we have to tell the information in a neutral way for our reader.

There are a number of linguistic features in journalistic reports.

We've already talked about journalistic language.

Now we're going to talk about fronted adverbials.

There are different types of fronted adverbial.

Formal fronted adverbials, viewpoint fronted adverbials, fronted adverbials of cause.

Well done.

They all follow the same rule.

They start a sentence and a comma follows them, and we can use this scaffold to help show that.

True or false, a fronted adverbial goes at the end of a sentence, pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you said that this is false.

Now let's read some justifications.

Pause the video while you read A and B and decide how to justify your answer.

Well done if you spotted that the correct justification was B.

A fronted adverbial goes at the start of a sentence and it is followed by a comma.

A formal fronted adverbial starts a sentence and it is followed by a comma.

Here's the scaffold we just looked at.

It is formal in tone and it links one sentence to the previous sentence.

Formal fronted adverbials can be grouped into two categories.

On one side we can have and formal fronted adverbials.

These are words that build on from a previous point by adding another similar point, we can count them on our hands.

In addition to this, as well as this.

Also, furthermore, moreover, building on to this.

Well done.

So all of these and formal fronted adverbials build on another similar idea from the previous sentence.

So we've got our and hands, but we can also use our but hands.

So the reason why we put them on our hands is to show that and but formal fronted adverbials are both types of formal fronted adverbials, so they're similar in that way, but the words on our but hand have a very different function.

They add a contrasting idea to the previous sentence, so the whilst our and formal fronted adverbials build on a similar new idea, our but formal fronted adverbials add a different or an opposing or contrasting idea to the previous sentence.

Let's read them together on our other hand.

However, despite this, on the contrary.

In contrast to this.

Well done.

Which formal fronted adverbial is more appropriate to link these two sentences? Let's read the sentences together.

The exhibition includes inventions from all over the world, including watches, musical instruments and counting machines.

Hmm, steam hammers and Richard Stevenson's hydraulic press will be showcased.

Pause the video while you decide whether the formal fronted adverbial should be furthermore or in spite of this.

Well done if you felt that furthermore should be used.

That's because the second sentence added on more items that were being showcased in the Great Exhibition.

So it's adding on another similar idea.

Let's read it all through together.

The exhibition includes inventions from all over the world, including watches, musical instruments and counting machines.

Furthermore, steam hammers and Richard Stevenson's hydraulic press will be showcased.

A fronted adverbial of cause is a sentence starter that explains the cause and the effect of something.

It follows the same rules as the formal fronted adverbial in that it is formal in tone.

It links one sentence to the previous sentence and it starts a sentence and is followed by a comma.

Here's our scaffold.

Let's read this example together.

The Great Exhibition was funded by public donations.

Consequently, members of the public were welcomed and encouraged to attend, so let's start with our cause.

The cause is that the Great Exhibition was funded by public donations.

Our effect is that members of the public were welcomed and encouraged to attend.

So because the Great Exhibition was funded by public donations, members of the public were then welcomed and encouraged to attend the Great Exhibition because their funding had actually paid for the exhibition.

Now the word that is linked, those two, the cause and effect together is consequently, your turn.

Well done.

We could also use, as a result.

Match the words to their definitions.

Pause the video while you do that.

Great work if you spotted that the effect happens because of another event or action and the cause brings about another event or action.

A viewpoint fronted adverbial is a sentence starter that tells the reader the writer's point of view.

A point of view is what someone thinks about a subject or a fact or an opinion.

A writer of a journalistic report wants the reader to find their facts as interesting as they do.

A viewpoint front and adverbial follows some of the same rules.

It is formal in tone, it starts a sentence and is followed by a comma, but a viewpoint fronted adverbial can start a whole new point so it doesn't link back to a previous sentence in the same way as our fronted adverbials of cause and our formal fronted adverbials did.

A viewpoint fronted adverbial can introduce a whole new fact.

We can still use this sentence scaffold.

There are different viewpoint fronted adverbials to use depending on the sentence.

Of significant interest, of particular interest.

Intriguingly, fascinatingly.

Well done.

All of these could be used for very interesting facts.

Impressively, this could be used for facts that make you think 'wow'! Notably.

Significantly.

These are for facts that are important.

Viewpoint fronted adverbials can introduce a brand new fact.

Which of these are viewpoint fronted adverbials? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you spotted that of particular interest and fascinatingly are examples of viewpoint fronted adverbials.

As a result is a fronted adverbial of cause and however is a formal but fronted adverbial.

Let's go back to our list of linguistic features.

So we've talked about journalistic language and fronted adverbials.

Now we're going to talk about relative complex sentences.

Relative complex sentences consist of a main clause and a subordinate clause.

The main clause can be interrupted by a relative clause.

Let's take this example here.

We've got a main clause.

Let's read it together.

The Crystal Palace has been visited by people from all over the world.

And here we've got a relative clause, which is situated in Hyde Park.

Now, if I want to combine these two clauses together, I can have my relative clause breaking into the main clause and interrupting it.

Let's read this together.

The Crystal Palace, which is situated in Hyde Park, has been visited by people from all over the world.

Here we've used the relative pronoun, which.

A relative pronoun is a word that goes at the start of a relative clause.

Let's look at another example where the main clause is interrupted by the relative clause.

Let's read our main clause together.

Prince Albert spent 16 months organising the Great Exhibition.

Our relative clause is, who worked with the British inventor Henry Cole.

Now, our relative clause this time is an extra fact about Prince Albert.

So, our relative clause needs to interrupt the main clause after the word Prince Albert.

Let's read it together.

Prince Albert, who worked with the British inventor Henry Cole, spent 16 months organising the Great Exhibition.

This time, we've used the relative pronoun, who.

That's because our relative clause is about a person.

This time it was about Prince Albert.

We use the relative pronoun who when our relative clause is about a person and we use the word which when the relative clause is about anything other than a person.

Now join the main and the subordinate relative clause to form a relative complex sentence.

Pause the video while you do that.

Well done everyone.

The exhibition, which opened on the 1st of May, features inventions from all over the world.

Now this brings us on to our final linguistic feature on our list, which is brackets to indicate parenthesis.

Parenthesis is additional information.

It can be removed from a sentence and the sentence would still make sense.

Brackets can be used for parenthesis in non-fiction text as a way to separate the parenthesis from the rest of the sentence.

Exhibition items include a large hydraulic press, carriages and watches.

Here's an example of a sentence we might have in our journalistic report.

Now, if I wanted to add some extra information about my hydraulic press, for example, that it was invented by Robert Stevenson, I could add that into my sentence as parenthesis.

Let's read it together.

Exhibition items include a large hydraulic press invented by Robert Stevenson, carriages and watches.

Now that's great because I've added in parenthesis, but my parenthesis is running into the rest of the sentence.

It's not clear where the sentence, the rest of the sentence ends and the parenthesis begins.

So that's where I need to use my punctuation.

And in a journalistic report, it's appropriate to use brackets to separate the parenthesis from the rest of the sentence.

This makes it now much more clear using the brackets that the parenthesis is additional information added into the sentence for the reader.

Here we've got our brackets to demarcate our parenthesis.

Which of these sentences uses brackets for parenthesis correctly? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you spotted that B was the correct answer.

That's because the parenthesis was organised by Prince Albert.

That's the extra information.

If we were to lift that extra information out of the sentence, it would still make sense on its own.

Let's practise doing that now.

The Great Exhibition opened on the 1st of May.

See how that sentence still makes sense without the parenthesis in it? Now it's time for your task.

You're going to reread the journalistic report and the additional materials, so it's the same report you read for your first task.

Then you're going to answer the four questions on the screen, pause the video while you do that.

Well done everybody.

So three examples of fronted adverbials in the text so they could be formal fronted adverbials, fronted adverbials of cause or viewpoint fronted adverbials.

Any three.

I've written down all of the fronted adverbials that were in the text.

So if you wrote down any of these three, you're correct.

In order to, furthermore, notably, however, of significant note.

One example of a relative clause.

Now remember, it's just the clause.

You didn't need to write the whole sentence.

There were two you could have written down, which has been organised by Henry Cole and Prince Albert, or you could have written who performed a short opening ceremony.

Number three, finding and copy one example of parenthesis demarcated using brackets.

I had loads of examples of this in this journalistic report.

If you wrote down any of these, you are correct.

So 564 metres by 138 metres.

Including counting machines, musical instruments and carriages.

George Jennings, a critically acclaimed author, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

And lastly, one example of journalistic language from the text.

You could have written any of these three, at precisely 10:30am.

It has been reported that, or allegedly.

Well done.

And that now brings us on to the end of our lesson.

Today we've been identifying the features of a journalistic report in preparation for writing about the "Titanic." A journalistic report is a type of nonfiction text.

Its purpose is to inform the audience about a particular event.

Linguistic features are language choices that writers think carefully about.

Linguistic features of journalistic reports include journalistic language, a range of fronted adverbials, relative complex sentences and parenthesis.

Well done everyone.

We really dug into a lot of learning in this lesson today, so I'm really, really impressed with how hard you've worked and hopefully you feel really, really successful and confident in your knowledge now of the purpose, the layout, the audience, and the linguistic features of journalistic reports.

Well done.