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Year 4

Writing the quotes paragraph of a journalistic report

I can write the quotes paragraph of a journalistic report.

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Year 4

Writing the quotes paragraph of a journalistic report

I can write the quotes paragraph of a journalistic report.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The quotes section of a journalistic report should begin with an introductory sentence about witnesses.
  2. The sentence preceding reported speech can introduce the witness and provide greater detail about them.
  3. The quote from the witness can be more informal in language and tone than the rest of the paragraph.
  4. A reporting clause can come before or after direct speech.
  5. Inverted commas are used to demarcate speech and a piece of punctuation separates speech from the reporting clause.

Keywords

  • Quotes - exact words or statements taken from a source to support or provide evidence in a piece of writing

  • Direct speech - the term used for a person speaking out loud in a text

  • Reporting clause - a clause that tells the reader who said the speech sentence and how

Common misconception

Children might think that a valuable witness must be able to provide details about the event.

Explain that sometimes quotes from witnesses are used to gain an understanding of impact and can be primarily about emotions or feelings.


To help you plan your year 4 english lesson on: Writing the quotes paragraph of a journalistic report, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Use the Year 4 grammar lessons on the use of relative clauses to support the students in writing a relative complex sentence successfully in this section.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is a quote?
Correct answer: exact words or a statement taken from a source
a summary of what someone said
an important question
Q2.
True or False? Direct speech always comes before the reporting clause.
Correct Answer: false, False
Q3.
Order the following to show the correct order for speech first format.
1 - open inverted commas
2 - speech
3 - comma, exclamation mark or question mark
4 - close inverted commas
5 - reporting clause and full stop
Q4.
Order the following to show the correct order for speech second format.
1 - reporting clause and comma
2 - open inverted commas
3 - speech
4 - full stop, exclamation mark or question mark
5 - close inverted commas
Q5.
Select appropriate synonyms for 'said' that could be used in the reporting clause of direct speech in a journalistic report.
Correct answer: stated
Correct answer: recalled
Correct answer: explained
rambled
chitchatted
Q6.
What kind of word can we include in the reporting clause to describe how the witness spoke or felt?
an adjective
a verb
Correct answer: an adverb
a noun

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Order the following sentences for the beginning of the quotes paragraph.
1 - an introductory sentence about witnesses
2 - a sentence introducing the first witness
3 - reported speech quoting the first witness
Q2.
What is the purpose of a relative clause?
It is used to make writing more interesting.
Correct answer: It embeds greater detail about a noun within the main clause.
It creates a formal tone.
Q3.
Which relative pronoun is used at the beginning of a relative clause that is providing detail about a person?
which
that
Correct answer: who
Q4.
How do the quotes in a journalistic report differ from the rest of the writing?
They are funnier.
They are written in a different tense.
Correct answer: They are more informal in language and tone.
Q5.
Order the following to form a piece of direct speech in speech first format.
1 - "
2 - I was extremely concerned when I heard the screams
3 - ,"
4 - he explained.
Q6.
Order the following to form a piece of direct speech in speech second format.
1 - He regretfully stated
2 - , "
3 - I wish I had said something when I saw the assailant.
4 - "