CS EDUCATION CENTRE

ENGLISH IGCSE
NEWSPAPER REPORT NOTES

Rescuers find trapped student caver alive

Eight Swiss potholers trapped in a cave in eastern France by rising water
were found alive yesterday. Rescue teams were preparing to work through
the night to bring them to the surface.
Known as Bief-du-Paraud, the cave, which runs for 415 yards but only
about 20 feet below the surface, is normally considered a beginner-level
site for potholers.
The expedition had been part of a project for the students to develop their
ability to face challenges.
Inexperienced, poorly equipped and with one of the group being partially
blind, the students were initially given little chance of survival.
The potholers had entered the long narrow cave on Wednesday despite
warnings from local people to stay away because rain in recent weeks had
made the area dangerous.
Hope for survival of the three women and five men students and a
teacher in their twenties had been fading when they were found before
midday by a driver who swam through a narrow passage to reach a
chimney where they had taken refuge.
The diver had discovered them crouched in the corridor above the water
level 75 yards into the cave at Goumois in the Doubs department, 30
miles from the Swiss border. They had been trapped there for nearly 40
hours by sudden flooding on Wednesday.
Distraught relatives who had gathered at the site gave a cheer when news
of their discovery was announced. The group was expected to be brought
out through a hole being drilled into a chimney where they had taken
refuge.
Rescuers were pumping water from the cave to avert flood danger from
heavy rains over the past 24 hours. Two divers, one of whom is a doctor,
where spending the night with the students in the chimney. They brought
them food and water and heating appliance.
The group took refuge in a dry spot in a chimney, Eric Zipper, technical
adviser informed. They are in good shape considering their ordeal. They
are hungry and a little weak. They have very little food left, but they are in
good spirits. There was no panic. They had a little light because they had
rationed their batteries.
Local potholing experts described the expedition as foolhardy, given the
dangerous prevailing conditions. They were equipped only with walking
shoes, jeans and anoraks, M. Zipper said.
Markus Braendle, director of the Social Workers College of Zurich, where
most of the students came from, asserted: I am so happy this nightmare
is over.
The French authorities are expected to start a legal inquiry into the
conduct of the groups leader, a normal practice in such incidents.

Assessment
1. Newspaper reports are often confused with reports written to the
principal or some other authority or personnel.
2. A newspaper report always begins with a heading, a more precise or an
accurate term is a HEADLINE, as we have here in the above example.
(See my Format of newspaper report for details). Other reports would
begin with a subject stating what the report is about or they may have
no subject at all (depending how the examiner demands the candidate
to open his/her report. Also see my example on report writing for a
better understanding).
3. Some newspaper reports also have a sub-headings either immediately
after the headlines or somewhere in between the text. Those are just to
reiterate certain points or draw the attention of the readers on certain
matters. There isnt any here.
4. You would have noticed from the above example that unlike other
accounts of events, newspaper reports generally follow this pattern as
written below.
5. The first paragraph or the first few sentences state the summary of
the recent event you are writing about. This would include answers
to the questions of Who?What?When?Where? relevant to the event. It
in actual summarizes the facts about what happened.
6. The report proceeds with answering the queries of How and Why?
it happened at a stretch of a few short interlinked paragraphs. The
report expands in covering the background details of the story or
event. In the above example it is written in six short paragraphs.
7. Then it further returns to the immediate situation i.e. to proceed
towards the description of what is happening now. Here it is described
in two paragraphs: 7 and 8.
8. The next step is to record the responses of those involved. This
includes the official statements by the authorities involved. E.g. here
we have statements given by a technical adviser, a local potholing
 expert and the director of the Social Workers College of Zurich, all
illustrated in three separate paragraphs.
9. In the end, the report looks ahead to the near future as we have
in the last paragraph above.
10. This report is adapted from The Times, 19 May 2001, therefore, the
word count is approximately 470 words, perhaps as required. In that
respect, students may cut short the explanation part where they have
to describe about the background of the event to keep within the word
limit of 200-300 words as demanded in the GCE O-level examination
English Paper 1- directed writing.
11. The language is kept simple yet very precise using Standard English
readable for a general audience. Short and compound sentences are
linked with and, so, but.
12. There are short paragraphs some even consisting of one sentence.
13. Direct Speech is added to give an authentic touch to the report. In
the examination the candidate may have to assume certain situations.
14. In the reported speech the verbs should not be repeated. There
should be variety of verbs introduced e.g. asserted, confirmed, said.
15. Vocabulary should be kept sensational to give a sense of drama.
This should not be confused with using emotions. Remember! Reports
should not have any emotional response or personal views of the
reporter, or any direct address to the reader. In the above example the
drama has been kept intact by using words inexperienced, poorly
equipped, partially blind, Hope for survival had been fading etc.
16. Good luck!