News & opinion

A longer article built to entertain and engage, not just report facts.

To keep you reading — it hooks and entertains even while informing.

A first line that grabs you: a surprising claim, a scene, or a question.

The teaser line under the headline summing up the article's appeal.

A hook opening, a distinctive voice, and vivid anecdotes/detail.

Name it (funny, warm, opinionated) and say what it does to the reader.

Little stories make ideas concrete and human, so they land and stick.

‘How does it keep me reading?’ — analyse the craft, not just the facts.

A feature entertains with voice and craft; a news report delivers facts plainly.

Retelling the content instead of analysing how it entertains the reader.

To inform quickly and factually, key facts first.

News structure: most important facts first, then detail and background.

Who, what, where, when, why — packed into a news opening.

To sound reliable and balanced; but the choice of whom to quote carries a slant.

In which fact comes first, the verbs/adjectives chosen, and whose quotes appear.

‘Axe’ sounds violent and sudden; ‘end’ sounds routine — the verb steers feeling.

‘Which facts came first, and what words were chosen?’

The line naming who wrote the article.

News delivers facts fast and plainly; a feature entertains with voice and craft.

Treating news as ‘just facts’ and missing the slant in order, wording and quotes.

A newspaper's official, unsigned opinion arguing a clear stance.

The whole paper — an authoritative ‘we’, not a named writer.

A report informs neutrally; an editorial takes a side and argues to persuade.

A clear stance, a confident ‘we’ voice, and rhetorical devices (loaded words, contrast, questions).

To press the reader toward agreement without stating it outright.

Adds strong emotion and moral judgement, steering how the reader feels.

With a call to action or a judgement — demanding change or delivering a verdict.

‘What is its line, and how does it push me to agree?’

It speaks for a whole paper, so the opinion sounds authoritative and shared.

Summarising the issue instead of analysing how the piece argues its stance.

One named writer's personal, argued view on a topic, in a paper, magazine or website.

To persuade you round to the writer's view, or to make you think — often to provoke.

The publication's regular readers, who often half-share its outlook.

The personality a writer performs on the page — witty, angry, warm.

A short personal story; it grounds the argument in real life.

Saying the opposite of what you mean, to mock.

Any of: first-person voice, anecdote-to-argument, humour/sarcasm, hyperbole, rhetorical questions.

No — it's proudly one-sided; the point is the writer's take.

Link the voice and tone to how they persuade, and find the argument beneath.

It makes the writer likeable and pulls the reader onto their side.

A text that reveals a person through their own words, shaped by an interviewer.

Through the subject's word choice and tone — how they say things.

They steer the subject; a pointed question sets up a revealing answer.

How quotes are selected, ordered and annotated to shape the portrait.

Question-and-answer form, the interviewer's angle, and self-revealing word choice.

The chosen detail colours how the reader reads the reply.

Evasion — the passive phrasing dodges personal blame.

‘What do their words reveal, and how did the question and framing shape them?’

No — quotes are selected and framed; read them as a shaped portrait.

Taking the subject's words at face value and ignoring the interviewer's framing.

A text that gives a verdict on something and helps the reader decide.

To judge — is it any good? — and back it with evidence.

So the verdict is earned with specific reasons, not just ‘I liked it’.

They entertain as they judge; the witty voice is half the appeal.

A clear verdict, evidence for it, and a lively voice that guides the reader.

Show how it both judges (evidence) and entertains (voice) at once.

‘What's the verdict, and how is it proved and performed?’

Decide — is this worth their time or money?

A review can criticise honestly; an advert only ever sells.

Saying only whether the reviewer liked it, not how the verdict is proved and performed.