Upgrading Vocabulary and Phrasing (Newspaper Reports)

Upgrading my Language

Y9 English

Multiple Choice

Which sentence would fit best in a newspaper article?

• PM 2.5 can be very dangerous to the old and vulnerable.

• PM 2.5 can be highly dangerous to the old and vulnerable.

There are many words that we can use as an alternative to 'very'

e.g. highly, particularly, seriously

Multiple Choice

Which sentence would fit best in a newspaper article?

• More floods and forest fires occur as trees are cut down.

• The likelihood of flooding and forest fires occurring increases as trees are cut down.

When we are describing problems, there are many ways we can say 'they may get worse' which can give our writing a more sophisticated tone.

e.g. an increased likelihood of... , a greater risk of... , a higher chance of etc.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence would give your newspaper article a more sophisticated tone?

• It was fortunate that there were no serious injuries.

• We were lucky that there were no serious injuries.

Cleft sentences (made from It + was + noun / adjective + that) often feature in more sophisticated language. They help us to put a particular focus on a word e.g. fortunate.

Pronouns such as 'we' would only usually be found when quoting direct speech in a newspaper article, or in an opinion piece.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence would fit best in a newspaper article?

• It is well-known that deforestation has lots of bad effects.

• It is well-known that deforestation has a number of adverse effects.

'lots of' diminishes the authoritative tone that we are looking for when writing a newspaper story

Alternatives include: a number of, a wealth of, a profusion of etc.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence would fit best in a newspaper article?

• Residents are in shock after witnessing a horrific fall.

• Residents are very shocked after witnessing a horrific fall.

The phrase 'in shock' creates a more sophisticated tone than 'very shocked'

Telling us 1) that is it often best to avoid using 'very' when we have an alternative and 2) that prepositional phrases such as 'in shock' can make a notable improvement to our writing. Have you used any phrases with 'in' in your writing?