Aim:

(a) To make a critical study of two newspaper reports of the same event.
(b) To consider whether "reporting the facts" can be wholly objective and value-free.

Method:

Logos in several newspapers, and the headlines and lead reports of two daily papers are analysed for their expression of point of view. Choices of vocabulary and grammatical structure are examined in relation to the meanings which they convey.

Aim:

(a) To practise the editorial re-writing of a text.
(b) To summarise the factual content of an incident reported in a text and to consider the problems of objective reporting.
(c) To make a critical reading and analysis of newspaper reports of the same incident.

Method:

The Official Report (Hansard) of an incident in the House of Commons is compared with reports in a daily national newspaper. Features of vocabulary and grammar are identified, which students then apply to the texts. These Activities lead to the students' assessment of the objectivity of the reports.

Aim:

To examine the relationship between the “readability” of texts and choices of vocabulary and grammatical structures in tabloid and broadsheet newspapers.

Method:

Headlines, lead reports and leading articles from three newspapers are analysed. The distinction between core and non-core vocabulary is introduced and applied to the texts; vocabulary is examined for word length in syllables and derivation; simple and complex grammatical structures are related to the concept of “reading ease”.

Aim:

To make a study of the language of tabloid and broadsheet newspapers reporting the first days of the Gulf War, 1991.

Method:

Headlines and selected paragraphs of accompanying reports are analysed and contrasted.