SONALI SHAH: Hi I鈥檓 Sonali Shah, and I鈥檓 a journalist who covers sport, and my job is to present information to an audience in a clear and effective way.
Today I鈥檒l be writing a 鈥榥on-chronological鈥 report. Basically I鈥檓 telling a factual story, but I don鈥檛 have to write it in the order in which things happened.
Instead I can arrange the information in a way that will be more interesting to the reader, that鈥檚 why it鈥檚 called 鈥榥on-chronological鈥 writing.
When you are writing a report it鈥檚 always good to have a structure, a plan. We鈥檒l begin with the title, then comes the introduction, then I鈥檒l need to think about the main paragraphs, and I can finish things off with a summary. Now I鈥檝e got a plan which will help me as I write the report.
So first things first, what am I going to call my report? I need a catchy title, something that鈥檚 really going to grab the audience鈥檚 attention. You want them to read the title, and want them to want more information.
Now my story is about the medical tests that footballers have during the transfer window, so I鈥檓 going to keep it really simple and go with a question as my title, 鈥榃hat happens in a football medical?鈥.
Now I need to write an introduction, and this should explain what the story is. Here goes鈥 鈥樷淎 deal鈥檚 been done subject to a medical鈥. These are the words we hear throughout the Premier League transfer window. The fees have been agreed and the personal terms have been sorted, now it鈥檚 time for the final hurdle in negotiations 鈥 a player鈥檚 medical examination.鈥
There, after a few drafts I鈥檝e finished my introduction. Now when you鈥檙e writing it鈥檚 always good to have a few goes at it, to make sure it鈥檚 just right.
Now it鈥檚 time to write my main paragraphs. Now these will be the biggest part of my report, which means I need something to help me write it 鈥 content, which needs to be detailed and informative.
I need facts for my report, and you can get facts from a range of resources. The internet is the most obvious resource, but it鈥檚 also good to talk to people. I went to interview people that knew more about football transfers than I did. Newspapers are also a good resource.
I鈥檓 confident my research is correct and the best I can find, so it鈥檚 time to write my paragraphs.
Now most of your report will be written in the present tense, so you鈥檒l be using words like 鈥業s鈥, 鈥楧oes鈥, or 鈥楬as鈥. But if something has happened in the past, use the past tense, with words like 鈥榃as鈥, 鈥楧id鈥 or 鈥楬ad鈥.
Now remember this is a 鈥榥on-chronological鈥 report, which means you don鈥檛 have to write things in the order that they happened. So for my story, I don鈥檛 need to say 鈥淎 footballer came through the door, and then had his medical test, and then he left鈥. The medical test is the most important thing in the story, so I can actually start with it.
Always think about your audience, who they are, what age they are. So if you are writing for C91热爆鈥檚 Newsround you can use different language than if you were writing for 91热爆 Sport online, which your mums and dads would be reading.
Now my report is almost finished, there鈥檚 just the summary left to write, and the summary should bring together all the key points that have been written in the main report.
When you finish writing your report, it鈥檚 wise to re-read your paragraphs to check for spelling or grammar mistakes. This is known as 鈥榩roof-reading鈥. Even the best journalists can make mistakes so it鈥檚 important to double check your spelling, your punctuation, your grammar. Do your sentences make sense?
The easiest way to double or triple check is by reading your whole report out aloud. Don鈥檛 worry about the funny looks, it鈥檚 more important to get it right.
Now I鈥檓 happy with my report, so all I need to do is press send!
Video summary
91热爆 journalist Sonali Shah explains how writing non-chronological reports requires an understanding of the planning, writing and drafting process.
Sonali takes you through the process from start to finish; identifying the key features of non-chronological writing and emphasising the importance of researching, drafting and proof-reading in her job as a journalist.
She also explains how important it is to engage the reader by using appropriate vocabulary.
This short film is from the 91热爆 series, The Facts About Non-Fiction.
Teacher Notes
Watch this short film together and ask your pupils to consider the following questions:
What is needed to write a good non-chronological report?
What features are required? Can you remember any technical language to describe the features?
When writing a non-chronological report, what format should it take?
As a group, come up with a list of the criteria required to write a successful non-chronological report.
Pupils could then write their own. These could either be related to aspects of the curriculum 鈥 science, geography, history; or pupils could write reports which express their own interests.
This short film will be relevant for teaching English at KS1 and KS2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 1st and 2nd Level in Scotland.
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