FACTUAL RECOUNTS

Writing

News Report

77 killed but no end to short cuts

KUALA LUMPUR: At least 77 people have been killed and 36 injured while attempting to cross KTM Berhad railway lines over the past two years.Over the first 10 months of this year alone, 17 people died and another 12 were injured.

The numbers appear grim but KTMB president Dr Aminuddin Adnan said these tragedies had not deterred the public from trespassing on railway lines.

Commenting on the fiery collision between a Sabah Railway Department train and an oil tanker at an illegal crossing in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, that injured 12 people on Monday, Aminuddin said KTMB had done its best to stop trespassers by building fences and overhead bridges, but to no avail.He said more than 50 illegal crossings were used by pedestrians and another 30 by motorists along railway lines in Pahang, Kelantan, Malacca and Johor.

He admitted that part of the problem was because many of the older tracks had yet to be upgraded and did not have fencing. This was especially so in remote areas or places near jungles. “The trespassers are those from the surrounding communities, who are used to crossing the tracks.

A student crossing a railway line at Kampung Dalam, Palekbang in Tumpat, Kelantan yesterday. — NST picture by Zaman Huri Isa

News Report

Doctors remove jelly soil from toddler

Ifti Ilya Farhana Mohd Khairuddin recuperating at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital in Kuantan yesterday with her mother, Siti Aisyah Yusof, by her side. — NST picture by Khairulmizan Yahya

KUANTAN: A 15-month-old toddler underwent a two-hour operation at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital (HTAA) here on Tuesday to remove a "jelly soil" the size of a ping pong ball which she had accidentally swallowed a few days earlier. Ifti Ilya Farhana Mohd Khairuddin was admitted to hospital after she had high fever and vomited a jelly soil the size of a marble on Monday night. During the surgery, doctors removed a second jelly soil which had blocked her intestine.

Her mother Siti Aisyah Yusof, 27, said she was shocked to see the jelly soil that was removed from her daughter's stomach.

She believed that her daughter had swallowed the jelly soil which came with packet of snacks bought at a shop near her home in Taman Seri Mahkota, near here, on Oct 26.

"We had sent her to the hospital earlier but the X-ray results did not show anything peculiar. However, we decided to send her to the hospital again after she vomited the first jelly soil. Doctors were then able to trace the second ball inside her," said Siti Aisyah at HTAA yesterday.

She hoped the authorities would take action against the manufacturer for putting the jelly soil in food snacks.

In August, the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry banned the sale of jelly or crystal soil after seven toddlers underwent operations as a result of swallowing the substance used as a soil substitute for indoor plants.

The jelly, which is around 0.5cm in diameter, can expand to about six times its size when soaked, and blocks intestinal walls when swallowed. It is often mistaken for a toy or food because of its bright colour, small size and malleable texture.

Features in a News Article

Headline OrientationEventsCommentaryPhoto and Caption

Headlines

CatchyCatches interests of readersClear and conciseUse of action verbs

Creating Headlines - Playing with words

Have fun writing your headlines

Kids make nutritious snacks

SAFETY EXPERTS SAY SCHOOL BUSPASSENGERS SHOULD BE BELTED

STOLEN PAINTING FOUND BY TREE

Creating Headlines - Puns

Funny Headline using puns A word in a sentence that can have two

meanings.

"Sew What?" ask Clothes Manufacturers

Sleepless Knights at Haunted Castle

Witch Halloween Costume Is For You?

Orientation

Introduces the story

Tells you:

who, where, what, when

What’s News?

Headline

Action verb

Involved a bus

A woman died

accident

Victim was a pedestrian

Organisational Structure

An old woman was run over by a bus this morning at Yishun.

The horrific accident saw the bus run over the head of Mdm Huang Shu Hong (age 60), killing her on the spot.According to witnesses, an SMRT bus 858 was turning right at the junction when it somehow hit Mdm Huang.The bus driver was said to have escaped from the scene after theaccident, which happened at about 9.20am at the junction of Yishun Ave 2 and Yishun Central 1. Reporters managed to contact the bus driver, who had apparently escaped back to Malaysia.The man explained that he had been working in Singapore for two years and has never encountered something like this.He said, "I was very scared at the time, my head was a blank and I only thought to get away. I'm coming back to give myself up now."When reporters arrived at the scene of the accident, a large pool of blood, locks of hair and a pair of crushed spectacles were seen lying on the road amidst scattered vegetables and joss sticks.Mdm Huang is believed to have been returning home from the nearby market when she was hit by the bus. Mdm Huang's husband also arrived shortly after he was informed of the accident by a neighbour.

The man broke down upon seeing his wife's remains on the road.

orientation

events

commentary

Who, What, When, Where

An old woman was run over by a bus

this morning at Yishun.

Who? What?

When?Where?

For a Change

Work in you groups to change the headline – ‘Bus crushes woman’s head’ .

Work in your group to change the orientation of the story.

Post your responses on our class blog under ‘For a Change’.

Any Comments?

In your groups, read articles A, B and C on the class blog under each article name.

Comment as a group on the headline and orientation of each article.

Your comments should say if the headlines are able to capture readers’ attention or if they are clear and concise, etc.

Your comments should also say if the orientation provides the necessary information readers need.

You may give your suggestions for improvement.Post your group’s responses.

Making Headlines

There are 3 scenarios.Each group is tasked to make a headline and

an orientation for 1 scenario according to the instruction given on your class blog.

Post your group’s responses.

Your Post

You will now work individually.Read the scenario given on the class blog

under ‘Your Post’.Provide a headline and an orientation for

your news report.Post your individual response.

Let’s recap!

Factual Recount

Tells about a series of events that happened in the past.

Speaker/Writer not necessarily involved in the events.

Generally found in:Newspaper reportsHistorical eventsNews Broadcast

Organisational Structure

Orientation

Events

Commentary

Grammatical Features

Third person pronounsPassive voiceMainly past and past perfect tensesUse of indirect speechConnectors to with time and sequenceUse of conjunctions

Other Features

VocabularyIn factual recounts, some technical vocabulary

may be used (depending on topic).

Looking forward to read your

posts!