News Item (Concept - Example)

Level: English for Senior High School
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Explanation

Social Function	To inform readers, listeners, or viewers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important.
Generic Structure	Newsworthy Event(s): recounts the event in summary form. Background Events: elaborate what happened, to whom, in what circumstances. Sources: comments by participants in, witnesses to and authorities expert on the event.
Significant Lexicogrammatical Features	Short, telegraphic information about story captured in headline. Use of Material Processes to retell the event (in the text below, many of the Material Processes are nominalised. Use of projecting Verbal Processes in Sources stage. Focus on Circumstances (e.g. mostly within Qualifiers).

Example

Read the text below attentively.

Seven Killed in Accident on Jalan Sultan

Seven people were killed in a collision between a bus, a car and a truck at 10:35 p.m. on Jalan Sultan last night.

The dead were all passengers in the car. Police believe the car may have been trying to overtake the  bus when it was struck by a truck coming from the opposite direction. The driver of the car may not have been using his lights, as the truck driver said he did not see the car approaching.

The police said the car should not have been trying to pass the bus, since overtaking is not allowed on Jalan Sultan. In addition, the police reported that the car - a small Japanese car - should not have been carrying more than five people. The names of the victims are not yet known.

Source: www.thejakartapost.com