Download a. What is the cost? b. How is payment made? c. How quickly can it

a. What is the cost?
b. How is payment made?
c. How quickly can it be built?
d. I want to be able to edit all the content.
e. I want all three layout options of: desktop, tablet and Smartphone. In the case of the smartphone the first tab 5W Links & Results can only be displayed.
f. I do not want hosting.
g. All the content is in text but in some cases it’s in columns and there are images. I can supply all the fonts.
The website layout is attached. It has the following:
1
There are 9 tabs. All tabs are singular with no drop down menus except for the last tab Downloads & Other which has 6 drop down menus (see number 4 for more details).
2
In the first tab marked 5W Links & Results there are the following:
-The Template has a one page downloadable Word document. -The Story Links are hyperlinks and will be updated daily. -The Results has a one page downloadable PDF
document that will be updated weekly to
each of the corresponding days.
1
In the tab marked Posters. All of these images represent a downloadable PDF file of one page each. There are approximately 30 Jpeg images that represent each file. The
Jpegs are to be displayed and each must have a number underneath it. Also, each number is to have a hidden counter to let me know how many have been downloaded. They are
not in their correct order and will be re-arranged.
2
In the Downloads & Other tab there are 6 drop down menus.
-The Spelling words drop down will have up to 10 PDF attachments that can be downloaded. Each of these is to also have a hidden counter. I would like it to have this
same layout look as the following link but where there is the colour red I would like the blue RGB 3, 209, 237: http://www.pocketbasics.com/Downloads.html
-The Top 25 newspapers, Tabloid versus broadsheet, and Why is journalism going broke? do not have attachments. They are just text.
-The Movies drop down has up to 12 movies with text and a link to each of the YouTube files. I would like it to look like this:
http://pfauth.com/blogtips/movies-for-journalistsreporter/
Font: Century Gothic 52
Font: Fruitiger 55 Roman 56
Font: Century Gothic Bold 19. Expanded 0.9
Font: Fruitiger Light 14 Font: Fruitiger Bold 14
5W news links courtesy of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
Four news links will be available each weekday to students from Monday 7 October to Friday 1 November 2013.
5W template
Template (NOTE THIS HAS AN ATTACHEMENT)
Story links
Fairy penguin stops in at Fraser Island Greg Inglis thanks fans for their support after being the victim of online racist abuse Former Olympic
swimmer Scott Miller refused bail on drug charges Researchers keen for earlier warning of violent storms
Results
Monday NOTE THIS HAS AN ATTACHEMENT) Tuesday NOTE THIS HAS AN ATTACHEMENT) Wednesday
NOTE THIS HAS AN ATTACHEMENT) Thursday NOTE THIS HAS AN ATTACHEMENT) Friday NOTE THIS
HAS AN ATTACHEMENT)
What is Essay5W?
Essay5W is a free online resource for high school students who want to improve their essay writing skills. This site utilises the news as both a digital teaching
tool and classroom aid.
The Internet now provides students with a platform from which they can learn first hand from professional writers such as journalists. A journalist’s writing
style isn’t by chance—it’s a very prescriptive method and one they’ve spent years perfecting. Essay5W focuses on the Top 3 Tips journalist use when writing
a story, and how these same three tips can benefit students.
Essay5W is an independent site and not associated with any individual media organisation or group. Our primary purpose is to provide extra tuition for
students who are either geographically isolated or of limited financial means.
The site also serves to highlight the importance of free speech and quality journalism, and to educate students that not all news sites are the same.
How 5W can help students
5W stands for who, what, when, where, why. These are the five key components used in news stories, which also happen to be the same five components
needed for essays. If you’ve ever been told, “you haven’t answered the question,” then the chances are you missed one of the key components.
Until recently, newspapers were one dimensional. Consigned to primary school and the “fun activities” lesson, the news was never considered a serious
teaching tool. The Internet has now changed that.
News organisations are the only producers of 5W. What was once a discarded by-product of news is now a highly sought after commodity by those in the
education field. Stripped back most news stories reveal a 5W framework, which is an indispensible aid in teaching essay writing. Laid bare, 5W exposes the
building blocks for good writing.
As a digital application news stories provide students with a fast and effective drill that teaches essay outline. Currently, the only method available for
practising 5W is to write an essay out in full, which is impractical and unachievable on a daily basis.
In the last 40 years the school curriculum has doubled but school hours have remained unchanged. Everyone is under pressure to perform, particularly
teachers who are expected to do more and more with less and less. For them, 5W is an indispensible resource. It teaches students to “answer the question,”
while allowing teachers to focus on other aspects of essay writing such as: style, structure, vocabulary, and conclusion.
Students and journalists have a lot in common
Students and journalists have a lot more in common than you think.
■ Journalist must provide the key facts or 5W components to a story. Students are also asked to do the same when writing an essay.
■ Journalists often write to a deadline and are under pressure to get the story out quickly. Likewise, students are also under pressure to write essays or short
answers within a set timeframe and often under exam conditions.
■ Journalists don't waste words. The more words they use the less room there is to sell advertising, which is why they use several space saving techniques for
keeping their word count down. Similarly, students are also asked to write to a set number of words, e.g. 500, 1000, 1200, 1500 etc.
The Top 3 Tips used by journalists
1. They use the: who, what, when, where, why (5W) technique. This technique guarantees to give the reader all the facts in the shortest possible space.
It’s a guaranteed method for gathering all the details and answering the question.
2. They place the most important noun at the beginning of the sentence (SVO). This clarifies up-front who or what the subject is and doesn’t leave the
reader guessing.
3. They prefer to write in active voice because it’s more direct and uses fewer words than passive voice.
Good newspapers don’t hire bad writers. In fact, good newspapers hire only the best writers. So why not learn from them?
Before you begin
Download the 5W template located in the 5W Links & Results tab. Read one or more of the online news stories and then write what you think are the 5W
components for each story.
Essay5W will publish the results the following day between 8 and 9 am Australian Eastern Standard Time. And yes, we’re holding them back 24
hours so you won’t be tempted to look at the answers while you’re doing the exercises.
The 5W links will be posted each weekday beginning Monday 7 October and concluding Friday 1 November 2013.
Good luck in your end of year exams!
Note to teachers
Some of the imagery used in Essay5W could be considered juvenile, in particular the bee and egg used in Active Voice. The reasoning behind such usage is
twofold: (a) approximately 65 per cent of the population are visual learners, and (b) grammar is both an exceptionally boring and challenging subject to
teach at the best of times. Therefore, we take the view that a simplistic and visual approach is best when teaching to such a broad group between the ages
of 12 to 18 years.
Also, this website takes a lot from journalism and newspapers. If you intend to use Essay5W as a class resource, we ask that in return you devote a small
amount of time discussing the importance of investigative journalism and its role in society.
To promote class discussion free posters are available in the Posters tab. Additional information can also be found in the News versus Social Media tab.
Where:
The Carlton Hotel, Cannes
Why:
Jewels estimated to be worth about $57 million
ABC/AFP
Europe correspondent Barbara Miller
Original story word count: 405
5W word count: 36 (8%)
Who:
Adolf Hitler, Hideki Tojo and Benito Mussolini
What:
Were the main initiators in causing WWII
When:
From early to late 1930s up to the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939
Where:
Europe, Balkans, China and the Pacific
Why:
Wanted world power and domination of the Third Reich; return of Roman Empire; growth of Asia for raw materials.
ACTIVE VOICE (FEWER WORDS)
PASSIVE VOICE (MORE WORDS)
Australia beat England (3 words used)
England was beaten by Australia (5 words used)
A parent must sign the permission note. (7 words
The permission note must be signed by a parent. (9
How
5W
works
used)
words used)
■ It (who,
must be
delivered
■ The gathering
police aretechnique
involved. whereby the most important information forms the framework of the essay or
5W
what,
when,today.
where, why) is an information
■ Claire
is being
attacked
by mosquitoes.
■ Jack istofinished
the test.
story.
This
information
should
always be strong enough
stand alone;
read in isolation and understood.
■ The rules have been explained.
■ He was asked by the tribunal to attend the hearing.
The
example
the 5W technique.
original
story contained 405 words. The 5W extract shown below contains just 36 words and
■ I am
scaredbelow
of thedemonstrates
dog.
■ WeThe
were
suspended.
represents
only 8% of the original
story, and yet it can be readPRESENT
in isolation
understood—that’s
the magic of 5W, it’s an ingenious technique that works
PAST PARTICIPLE
PAST TENSE
ANDand
FUTURE
TENSE
every
done bitten
time. given known did bit gave knew went wrote
do bite give know go
does bites
doing biting
gone written broken
broke chose rescued asked
write break choose
gives knows
giving knowing
chosen rescued asked
delivered explained finished
rescueask deliver
goes writes
going writing
delivered explained
attacked
explain finish attack
breaks
breaking
Newspapers
have
used
the
5W
technique
for
over
100
years.
And
like
most
good
things
it
came
about
by accident. Long before email was invented people
finished attacked
chooses
choosing rescuing
communicated by telegraph wire, which was an unreliable service that would frequently
cutasks
out. Operators,
anticipating a break in transmission, began
rescues
asking delivering
sending the most important information first, i.e. who, what, when, where, why. It was
such an effective
technique that journalists adopted it and still use it
delivers
explaining
today.
explains
finishing
finishes
attacking
attacks
5W collects the facts
12
BE takes the form of an inverted pyramid
PAST PARTICIPLE
PASSIVE
VOICE
5W
with the most important information
at the
top (beginning of the story), and least important information at the
be
done
be done
bottom
(end of the story).
being
bitten
being bitten
been
given
been given
5W is a summary of all the key facts and important information and is usually found
in the first two or three paragraphs. Even if you only read the first
am of the story, you will still get the key
known
am known
half
points.
are
gone
are gone
is
written
is written
M
o
was
broken
was broken
o
p
were
chosen
were chosen
s
t
r
e
i
a
m
d
p
i
o
n
r
g
t
a
L
n
e
t
a
st important
what who why when
Stop reading
Note: 5W can go in any order and does not
always have to start with “who”.
S
t
5W
can be used in both long and shot responses
5W benefits students enormously because it caters for both long and short responses/answers. During exams you will be required to give a
combination of the two, e.g. several short five line responses in addition to a lengthy essay.
Ess
ays:
Lon
g
resp
ons
es
3-5 lines: Short
responses
In short responses 5W answers the question. In essays,
summary outline within the first two or three
The body of the essay then goes on to provide further
5W also answers the initial question in the
paragraphs—also known as the introduction.
details.
5W is a life skill
5W is a life skill you’ll use at school and when you enter
importance, it ranks as a 10.
the workforce. On a scale of one to 10 of
At school 5W is used to help you establish the facts so
the workforce it is used to write a “one pager,” which is a
you can answer the question. When you enter
summary of an incident, subject or project.
A one pager is easy to write if you know the 5W technique, however if you’re not familiar with it then you will struggle to detail all the necessary
information in the required format. And don’t be misled into believing that Word can do the work for you, because it can’t.
No professional organisation will take you seriously if your writing skills look as if they belong on a Facebook page. How you speak is not how
you write. If your intention is to work in an office or climb the corporate ladder, then you will be expected to have reasonable writing skills. So
take the time to learn 5W, because it really is a skill you’ll use for the rest of your life.
News Apps
There are some news apps that select the story and in some cases condense it for you, which is great if you’re in a rush and don’t have time to
scan the news. But the downside to this is that they are doing the thinking for you; they’re deciding what you see and don’t see.
A news app is an algorithms designed to extract the who, what, when, where, why components from a news story. It sounds pretty impressive but the
reality is it’s a simple technique that you can learn yourself.
If you’re reading the news then there’s a reason for that. You’re scanning a cross section of information and targeting what’s relevant only to you. No matter
how good a news app is it’s never going to know you better than you know yourself. The news changes by the minute, the hour and the day, which is why an
app can’t be relied upon to keep you fully informed. They’re good, but they’re not as good a your own brain. And smart people know that the facts of any
news story are usually found within the first two paragraphs. Another thing newspapers can teach you.
It’s worth your time getting a yellow highlighter to see just where 5W is positioned in a news story. Financial papers in particular are the queen bees of the
5W technique. They are up-front, short, sharp and to the point.
Headline:
CANNES JEWEL HEIST
Who:
A thief in the French Riviera
What:
Has pulled off a daring daylight jewellery heist at a diamond exhibition and escaped
When:
Sunday 28 July, 2013
Where:
The Carlton Hotel, Cannes
Why:
Jewels estimated to be worth about $57 million
ABC/AFP
Europe correspondent Barbara Miller
Original story word count: 405
5W word count: 36 (8%)
Who:
Adolf Hitler, Hideki Tojo and Benito Mussolini
What:
Were the main initiators in causing WWII
When:
From early to late 1930s up to the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939
Where:
Europe, Balkans, China and the Pacific
Why:
Wanted world power and domination of the Third Reich; return of Roman Empire; growth of Asia for raw materials.
ACTIVE VOICE (FEWER WORDS)
PASSIVE VOICE (MORE WORDS)
5W teaches
you(3to
answer
Australia
beat England
words
used) the question England was beaten by Australia (5 words used)
AThe
parent
sign the
permission
note.
words
The permission
must
be signed
by that
a parent.
(9 in answering the question. Sometimes
5W must
technique
trains
you to think
in a (7
more
logical manner.
It teaches note
you to
gather
the facts
are needed
used)
you’ll be asked to write a long response and at other timeswords
you’llused)
be limited to one or two paragraphs. Either way, 5W caters for both long and short
■responses.
It must be delivered today.
■ The police are involved.
■ Claire is being attacked by mosquitoes.
■ Jack is finished the test.
Below
is
an
example
history
question
that
demonstrates
5W
used.
■ The rules have been explained.
■ He washow
asked
byisthe
tribunal to attend the hearing.
■Question:
I am scaredWhat
of thewas
dog.the cause of World War
■ We
II? were suspended.
PAST PARTICIPLE
PAST TENSE
PRESENT AND FUTURE TENSE
done
bitten
given
known
did
bit
gave
knew
went
wrote
do bitewhy
give(5W).
know go
does your
bites outline.
doing biting
The first thing you would do is answer: who, what, when, where,
This forms
gone written broken
broke chose rescued asked
write break choose
gives knows
giving knowing
chosen rescued asked
delivered explained finished
rescueask deliver
goes writes
going writing
delivered
explained
finish
attack
breaks
breaking the initial question.
You would
then write allattacked
of the above 5W points into twoexplain
or three
paragraphs,
which would answer
finished attacked
chooses
choosing rescuing
rescues asks
asking delivering
Answer (Essay summary):
delivers
explaining
The main cause of WWII was the desire and ability of Adolf Hitler, in control
of
Nazi
Germany,
explains
finishingto dominate the world.
finishes
attacking
Hitler was allied with Japan’s Prime Minister, Hideki Tojo, who had intensions
of
controlling
the Republic of China for its vast raw materials,
attacks
as well as Italy’s dictator Mussolini, who had ambitions of controlling the Balkans and re-establishing the 12
Roman Empire.
BE
PAST PARTICIPLE
PASSIVE VOICE
Key events that led to the outbreak of war was the July 1937 invasion of China by Japan and the 1939 invasion of Poland on 1 September
be
done
be done
1939.
being
bitten
being bitten
been
given
been given
Essay body
am
known
am known
After answering the initial question, gone
you would then go on to cover the following
points in the body of your essay.
are
are gone
is
written
is written
■ was
Germany’s resentment to the treaty ofbroken
Versailles. Under the treaty Germany had
1) disarm, 2) make substantial territorial concessions, and 3) pay
wastobroken
reparations to certain countries
were
chosen
were chosen
■ In the 1930s the Japanese began a policy of expansion in Asia. They wanted to take over areas that would provide needed raw materials for the economy of
Japan.
■ Mussolini wanted to re-establish the Roman Empire. He sided with Germany because he did not have the military capacity to carry out a long war with France
and the UK.
■ On August 23, 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, which guaranteed that the two countries would not attack
each other. The pact was broken when Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941.
■ The British decelerated war on Germany on 3 September 1939 which automatically committed all countries in the British Empire and colonies, i.e. Australia,
New Zealand, Canada, India, and South Africa.
■ The United States declared war with Japan on 7 December, 1941 at the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
■ The Battle of Singapore was fought in the Pacific when Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore in January 1942.
■ The length of the war was also partly due to the UK refusal to accept Germany’s proposal for peace that would involve accepting Germany's victories in
Eastern and Western Europe
■ On 8 May 1945, the Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.
What is good writing?
It’s hard to explain what good writing is. It’s a combination of many things such as; the presentation of an idea; the argument of why something is good or
bad; the organisation of your thoughts; the language, tone and words used and how it’s all packaged together in well structured sentences and paragraphs.
The best way to hone your writing skill is to practise short responses. Another way is read other writers’ work.
What does good writing look like?
You can’t begin to write well if you don’t know what good writing looks like. Essay writing is a bit like a jigsaw puzzle: you really do want to see the picture
on the box before you start the long process of putting all the pieces together.
If you are in either Year 11 or 12 you should aim to read an essay a day from writers whose work is of a high standard.
The National Times, which is part of Fairfax Media, has over 58,000 essays online. It is an large library of work by leading columnists and contributors from
Australia and the world. They write about a wide range of topics from climate change, education, immigration, human rights, policing, mining, world affairs
and politics.
When reading the essays, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to agree with the writer but do observe their style, how they open the essay,
present the argument and close. Look at their choice of language, words and tone, and how they move effortlessly between paragraphs
What also makes the National Times library ideal is that each essay is on average 1,000 words, which is a similar length to those of students.
Read good newspapers
Not all news sites are the same. Aggregators’ sites such as Google and Yahoo randomly select news from various sources, however not all those sources are
quality sites. It’s better that you select a reputable site and one where quality journalism is guaranteed. In the Downloads & Other tab is a list of good
newspapers and online news sites from around the world.
SVO – Subject-Verb-Object
English may at times appear jumbled and in no particular order, however it does in fact follow a particular pattern. While there are a couple of variations,
the standard order of a typical English sentence is: SUBJECT–VERB–OBJECT (SVO).
The golden rule is this: The FIRST NOUN or PRONOUN in a sentence takes the position of SUBJECT.
The SUBJECT is THE MOST important position in a sentence. It’s the prime position and indicates to the reader what the sentence is about. Always place
the most important noun or pronoun at the beginning of each sentence.
If you’re in any doubt as to the importance of placing the most important noun/pronoun first then look at the following two examples. Example 1 doesn’t
place the most important noun/pronoun at the beginning of the sentence, Example 2 does. Example 1 is unclear while Example 2 is easy to follow. Read the
highlighted (black) part of each section only.
Example 1
During a major storm on 8 June 2007, the Pasha Bulker ran aground on Nobbys Beach in Newcastle. On 2 July 2007 it was refloated and moved to a safe
location offshore. On 10 December 2007, insurers paid the claim of $1.8 million.
Example 2
The Pasha Bulker ran aground on Nobbys Beach in Newcastle during a major storm on 8 June 2007. It was refloated on 2 July 2007 and moved to a safe
location offshore. The claim of $1.8 million was paid on 10 December 2007, by insurers.
What is SVO?
SVO is the where the SUBJECT comes first, the VERB second and the OBJECT third, e.g. Commandos rescue teenagers.
The subject and object of a sentence can only ever be a noun or pronoun. At times there may be articles, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions
in between SVO, which are all used to provide additional information, but the framework of the sentence is SVO: everything else is secondary.
Note: The object is a second person or thing in the sentence, however not every sentence has an object, but more about that in Active Voice. This section is
more about the subject.
Position! Position! Position!
Let’s talk about the subject: the most important person or thing in the sentence. Everything you talk, write or read about has a subject. It can be the
weather, a person, an animal or an idea. What the subject is doesn’t matter; however, where you position it in a sentence DOES matter. The subject directs
the flow of the sentence. It says to the reader: “Hello, this is what the sentence is all about”.
The subject is only every going to be a NOUN or a PRONOUN. And here is the secret that every good writer knows: a sentence will often have more than one
noun or pronoun. It’s up to you, the writer, to place the most important noun or pronoun at the front of the sentence in the position of subject. You are the
director. You decide who gets top billing and who will be the star of the sentence.
How do you decided which noun or pronoun is the subject?
There is no hard and fast rule on this, but as a general guide it’s whether the noun or pronoun can stand alone and make sense by itself. If you take a
sentence back to basics, its main purpose is to tell you about someone or something; everything else is extra. So, don’t be tempted to put the additional
information before the subject.
In the example below night and ship are the two nouns in the sentence, and only one of them can be the subject (in the first position).
1. On a cold, wet, windy night the ship sank.
2. The ship sank on a cold, wet, windy night.
In Example 1, night is in the position of subject because it’s the first noun in the sentence. However, you have to read seven words before you come to ship,
which is what the sentence is really about.
In Example 2, you only have to read one word before you know what the sentence is about: ship.
Can the subject stand by itself?
1. On a cold, wet, windy night.
2. The ship sank.
In Example 1, night can’t stand by itself because it doesn’t make sense: it needs the word ship and the verb “sank” to make sense. Also night, which is the
subject, is buried at the back of the sentence. It’s never a good idea to have your subject at the back of the sentence as it can confuse the reader as to what
the real point of the sentence is. Therefore, night shouldn’t be in the first position but instead the second position, as it’s additional information and doesn’t
make sense by itself.
In Example 2 ship is in the correct position of being first (subject) and is directly followed by the verb “sank”. The three words make sense; everything else
that follows is additional information.
Don’t lose marks
Your writing style is something you will be marked on. Good writing skills are worth top marks, so learn to write well and clearly. It’s important that you
learn to organise your sentences to flow in a logical fashion. Good sentence structure is needed for clarity and in identifying the subject, which is the
foundation of your sentence.
How well your response reads is an important part in answering the question. Your argument should be clear and well laid out. The reader should always
know what the subject is.
In most cases you should place the most important noun (or pronoun) at the FRONT of the sentence to indicate the subject.
However, don’t stress and think that you have to get the noun (or pronoun) placement right in every sentence, because you don’t. Sometimes dates, for
example, need to go first. The point is you need to be aware of the overall importance of subject placement. You can get away with burying the subject at
the back of the sentence every now and then, and it won’t make any difference to your writing. However, do that over a whole document or essay and it will
make a HUGE difference. The reader will struggle to understand what the subject is and the point you’re trying to make.
Also, keep in mind your style of writing. If it’s creative, then you may want to set a particular scene, e.g. “a cold, wet, wind night” before you announce who
or what the subject is (it might be a creative story). In that case you‘d choose option 1. However, if you were writing a report style essay and with limited
word count then you’d choose option 2; up-front, direct and to the point.
Headline:
CANNES JEWEL HEIST
Who:
A thief in the French Riviera
What:
Has pulled off a daring daylight jewellery heist at a diamond exhibition and escaped
When:
Sunday 28 July, 2013
Where:
The Carlton Hotel, Cannes
Why:
Jewels estimated to be worth about $57 million
ABC/AFP
Europe correspondent Barbara Miller
Original story word count: 405
5W word count: What
36 (8%)
does ‘voice’
Who:
Adolf Hitler, Hideki Tojo and Benito Mussolini
mean?
What:
Were the main initiators in causing WWII
When:
From early
late 1930s the
up to
the invasion
of Poland
on 1don’t
September
Voice
simply means
who’stoperforming
action.
What most
students
realise 1939
is that EVERY sentence you write (or speak) is in either active or passive
Where:
Europe,
Balkans,
China
and the Pacific
voice.
That’s right:
EVERY.
SINGLE.
SENTENCE.
And it’s for this reason that you need to be able to tell them apart.
Why:
Wanted world power and domination of the Third Reich; return of Roman Empire; growth of Asia for raw materials.
Active
voice
is
secret
you really want to know about, because
if you
don’t
thenWORDS)
you’re going to be left out of the loop in a big way.
ACTIVE VOICEthe
(FEWER
WORDS)
PASSIVE
VOICE
(MORE
beat England
used)
England
was beaten
used)
InAustralia
a grammarian’s
world (3
all words
the rules
of grammar are equal. In
a journalist’s
worldbyallAustralia
the rules(5ofwords
grammar
are ranked by level of importance from, “Yep, this
rule’s
important
and Ithe
need
to know it,”
to “Nope,
I can forget
that
one”.
A parent
must sign
permission
note.
(7 words
The
permission
note must be signed by a parent. (9
used)
words used)
Active voice gets the Ding! Ding! Ding! in ranking—it’s top of the list. When it’s not used bells go off and the newsroom jumps to attention. Editors come
■ It must be delivered today.
■ The police are involved.
running. So, what’s the big deal and why is it so important?
■ Claire is being attacked by mosquitoes.
■ Jack is finished the test.
rulesdown
haveto
been
explained.
■ He
askedvoice
by the
attendis the
hearing.
It ■allThe
comes
“action”
and who is performing
it. was
In active
thetribunal
subject,towhich
at the
front of the sentence, is performing the action. In passive
■
I
am
scared
of
the
dog.
■
We
were
suspended.
voice the object, which is at the back of the sentence, is performing the action. In passive voice the action gets swapped around from the front of the
PAST PARTICIPLE
PAST TENSE
PRESENT AND FUTURE TENSE
sentence
to the back.
done bitten given known
did bit gave knew went wrote
do bite give know go
gone writtensubject
brokenverb object
broke chose rescued asked
write break choose
chosen rescued asked
delivered explained finished
rescueask deliver
delivered explained
attacked
explain finish attack
finished
attacked
Commandos rescue teenagers (active voice)
performer
(of action)
does bites
gives knows
goes writes
breaks
chooses
rescues asks
delivers
explains
finishes
attacks
doing biting
giving knowing
going writing
breaking
choosing rescuing
asking delivering
explaining
finishing
attacking
12
Teenagers were rescued by commandos (passive voice)
BE
PAST
PARTICIPLE
PASSIVE
VOICE
subject verb object
be
done
be done
being
bitten
being bitten
In active voice the subject and the performer are the SAME. In passive voice the subject and performer are NOT the same. Why is this a problem? The whole
been
given
been given
purpose
of a sentence is to tell you who or
what is performing the action. It answers
the question, what’s going on?
am
known
am known
gone at the front of the sentence. With passive voice you have to go
Inare
active voice you know immediately whogone
or what is performing the action becauseare
they’re
is to the back of the sentence to learnwritten
is written
right
who or what is performing the action. AND
there is a chance the object (performer) can be left out of the sentence
was
broken
was
broken
either by accident or on purpose. When the performer is left off the sentence, you don’t have all the information and you’re left guessing:
were
chosen
were chosen
Teenagers were rescued (passive voice)
subject verb
Politicians are notorious for using passive voice when they want to ignore responsibility, e.g. “mistakes were made”. They don’t always want to say who was
responsible for making the mistakes, except of course when it’s the opposition!
Is it wrong to use passive voice?
No. At times passive voice is the better option. Passive voice is used when the outcome or result is more important than the person or thing who performed
the action. Such as:
■ A cure for cancer has been discovered by doctors. (passive voice)
■ Doctors discover a cure for cancer. (active voice)
The use of passive voice in the above example is the correct choice. A cure for cancer is a significant scientific breakthrough and one that will save lives. In
the first instance, knowing that a cure has been discovered is far more important to the reader than knowing who made the discovery.
Passive voice is often used in scientific reports where the results of the experiments are the focus of attention and not the person who performed them.
Passive voice uses more words
Another important point you need to know is that passive voice uses two extra words for every sentence, which all adds up over a paragraph or page.
Passive voice can be a bit like wearing a pair of gumboots: they’re okay for a short walk but you wouldn’t want to run a marathon in them. Too much passive
voice makes your writing longwinded and laboured, so learn to keep an eye on it.
How can you tell the difference between active and passive voice?
There’s only one way you can tell them apart and it involves some grammar so we’ll try to keep it as simple as possible. The easiest voice to identify is
passive voice, which is the one you want to avoid most of the time.
RULE: Passive voice contains one of the eight forms of the verb ‘be’ plus a past participle. It sounds confusing but it’s not. It’s fairly easy to get your head
around if you learn it in two steps.
Step 1. – Learn to identify ‘be’
The verb ‘be’ is an irregular verb and has EIGHT different forms. Why? No one knows and no one really cares, and the reasons aren’t important right now.
However, what is important is that you can recognise all of the EIGHT different forms of ‘be’ by sight. Learning all EIGHT forms isn’t optional—it’s a must
because ‘be’ is the most important component to passive voice.
The EIGHT forms are: be, being, been, am, are, is, was, were.
There are times when a picture is worth a thousand words and this is one of those times. The image below is a visual tool designed to help you memorise all
of the EIGHT forms. Look at each word as you say it; say the word aloud, and tap or clap as you say each word. And yes, we realise that clapping like an
energetic kindy kid would be soooooo embarrassing and at odds with your carefully maintained image. BUT it’s guaranteed to work and you’ll learn it in 10
minutes or less (and no one needs to see you do this, unless of course you post a selfie).
Step 2. – Look for the –ed ending
First find ‘be’ in the sentence and then look at the word directly to the right of it. If the word is a verb and ends in
It’s that easy.
–ed then you have passive voice. Bingo!
Unfortunately, not all verbs end in –ed. Regular verbs do (which are most verbs), however irregular verbs don’t. There are about 200 irregular
verbs that don’t end in –ed. For example: bitten, caught, driven, eaten, found, given, led, made, put, swum, written etc. (The downloads section has a
complete list of irregular verbs showing past tense and past participle if you’re interested.)
For the purposes of learning passive voice you can pretty much get away with just knowing that if the verb next to ‘be’ is in the past tense then it’s passive
Headline:
CANNES JEWEL HEIST
Who:
A thief in the French Riviera
What:
Has pulled off a daring daylight jewellery heist at a diamond exhibition and escaped
When:
Sunday 28 July, 2013
Where:
The Carlton Hotel, Cannes
Why:
Jewels estimated to be worth about $57 million
ABC/AFP
Europe correspondent Barbara Miller
Original story word count: 405
5W word count: 36 (8%)
Who:
Adolf Hitler, Hideki Tojo and Benito Mussolini
What:
Were the main initiators in causing WWII
When:
From early to late 1930s up to the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939
Where:
Europe, Balkans, China and the Pacific
Why:
Wanted world power and domination of the Third Reich; return of Roman Empire; growth of Asia for raw materials.
ACTIVE VOICE (FEWER WORDS)
PASSIVE VOICE (MORE WORDS)
Australia beat England (3 words used)
England was beaten by Australia (5 words used)
A parent must sign the permission note. (7 words
The permission note must be signed by a parent.
used)
words used)
■ It must be delivered today.
■ The police are involved.
■ Claire is being attacked by mosquitoes.
■ Jack is finished the test.
voice.
■ The rules have been explained.
■ He was asked by the tribunal to attend the hearing.
■ I am scared of the dog.
■ We were suspended.
PAST PARTICIPLE
done bitten given known
gone written broken
chosen rescued asked
delivered explained
finished attacked
PAST TENSE
did bit gave knew went wrote
broke chose rescued asked
delivered explained finished
attacked
PRESENT AND FUTURE TENSE
do bite give know go
does bites
write break choose
gives knows
rescueask deliver
goes writes
explain finish attack
breaks
chooses
rescues asks
delivers
explains
finishes
attacks
(9
doing biting
giving knowing
going writing
breaking
choosing rescuing
asking delivering
explaining
finishing
attacking
12
BE
be
being
been
am
are
is
was
were
PAST PARTICIPLE
done
bitten
given
known
gone
written
broken
chosen
PASSIVE VOICE
be done
being bitten
been given
am known
are gone
is written
was broken
were chosen
The hard and fast rule of passive voice
Trying to learn the endings for over 200 irregular verbs may prove quite a task. The easiest solution is to learn all EIGHT forms of ‘be’ and then look to the
right of ‘be’. If the word next to ‘be’ is a verb and is in the past tense then the odds are you’re looking at passive voice. It really is that simple.
Step 1. Look for ‘be’ in any one of its EIGHT forms (be, being, been, am, are, is, was, were). Be is ALWAYS a component of passive voice.
Step 2. Is another VERB DIRECTLY TO THE RIGHT OF BE? Is that verb showing past tense? Does it end in –ed?
■ The suspect was questioned by police ■ He is known to police.
regular verb irregular verb
It’s not passive voice when …
The verb next to ‘be’ is in PRESENT tense and ends in –ing.
■ You are driving me nuts! (active voice) ■ I am being driven nuts (passive voice)
Remember: for passive voice the verb next to be MUST be showing the past.
What’s the difference between past tense and past participle?
Past tense and past participle are both in the past. The difference is that one started and finished before the other began. It’s a bit like breakfast and
lunch—one comes before the other.
Imagine it’s a school day, it’s 3pm and time to go home. Then think back to breakfast and lunch, you’ve eaten both of them already, right? That means
they’re both in the past. You finished your breakfast before you ate your lunch. That’s how past tense and past participle work, you finished one thing
(breakfast) before you started the other (lunch).
Verbs show tense. And “tense” is just another word for “time”. Past tense and past particle are little signals in the language that give us clues as to when
(and how far back) something happened.
Past participle is
further back in
time than past
tense. Think of
past participle as
being the
breakfast and past
tense the lunch.
REGULAR
VERBS
Headline:
CANNES JEWEL HEIST
Who:
A thief in the French Riviera
What:
Has pulled off a daring daylight jewellery heist at a diamond exhibition and escaped
When:
Sunday 28 July, 2013
Where:
The Carlton Hotel, Cannes
Why:
Jewels estimated to be worth about $57 million
ABC/AFP
Europe correspondent Barbara Miller
Original story word count: 405
5W word count: 36 (8%)
Who:
Adolf Hitler, Hideki Tojo and Benito Mussolini
What:
Were the main initiators in causing WWII
When:
From early to late 1930s up to the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939
Where:
Europe, Balkans, China and the Pacific
Why:
Wanted world power and domination of the Third Reich; return of Roman Empire; growth of Asia for raw materials.
ACTIVE VOICE (FEWER WORDS)
PASSIVE VOICE (MORE WORDS)
Australia beat England (3 words used)
England was beaten by Australia (5 words used)
A parent must sign the permission note. (7 words
The permission note must be signed by a parent.
used)
words used)
■ It must be delivered today.
■ The police are involved.
■ Claire is being attacked by mosquitoes.
■ Jack is finished the test.
■ The rules have been explained.
■ He was asked by the tribunal to attend the hearing.
■ I am scared of the dog.
■ We were suspended.
PAST PARTICIPLE
done bitten given known
gone written broken
chosen rescued asked
PAST TENSE
did bit gave knew went wrote
broke chose rescued asked
delivered explained finished
PRESENT AND FUTURE TENSE
do bite give know go
does bites
write break choose
gives knows
rescueask deliver
goes writes
(9
doing biting
giving knowing
going writing
IRREGULAR VERBS
Past Participle & Past
Past Participle & Past Tense
Tense are the SAME (
are DIFFERENT WORDS
end in –ed)
Passive Voice—here’s a visual
=
IMPORTANT POINT:
When grammar books
dictionaries refer to ‘be’
they are referring to ALL
EIGHT FORMS and not
‘be’. For example, if you
up ‘are’ and ‘was’ in the
dictionary it will tell you
‘be’.
Passive Voice
Headline:
CANNES JEWEL HEIST
Who:
A thief in the French Riviera
What:
Has pulled off a daring daylight jewellery heist at a diamond exhibition and escaped
When:
Sunday 28 July, 2013
Where:
The Carlton Hotel, Cannes
and
Why:
Jewels estimated to be worth about $57 million
ABC/AFP
Europe correspondent Barbara Miller
Original story word count: 405
5W word count: 36 (8%)
Who:
Adolf Hitler, Hideki Tojo and Benito Mussolini
just
What:
Were the main initiators in causing WWII
look
When:
From early to late 1930s up to the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939
it’s
Where:
Europe, Balkans, China and the Pacific
Why:
Wanted world power and domination of the Third Reich; return of Roman Empire; growth of Asia for raw materials.
ACTIVE VOICE (FEWER WORDS)
PASSIVE VOICE (MORE WORDS)
Grammarians love to
joke
Australia beat England (3 words used)
England was beaten by Australia (5 words used)
with students by point to ‘is’ and calling it ‘be’. They know it’s confusing but think it’s hilarious (yep, we think grammarians are pretty weird too).
A parent must sign the permission note. (7 words
The permission note must be signed by a parent. (9
used)
words used)
Passive voice can ■cost
you
marks
It must be delivered today.
■ The police are involved.
■ Claire
is being
attacked
by mosquitoes.
■ Jack
is finished
test. to do so. However, for students care needs to be taken
Journalists can swap between
active
and passive
voice
in the blink of an eye
because
they’rethe
trained
rules
beentoexplained.
■ He
asked by
the tribunal
to attend
the hearing.
when using passive voice.■IfThe
you’re
nothave
trained
use passive voice then you
canwas
accidently
leave
out important
information
and not answer the question.
■ I am make
scaredand
of the
■ Wewhen
wereyou
suspended.
It’s a common mistake students
onedog.
that costs marks. So, be careful
use passive voice and make sure you include ALL the necessary
PAST PARTICIPLE
PAST TENSE
PRESENT
ANDJack
FUTURE
TENSE the test. Remember, you must always
information, e.g. I was shocked
(by what?). I was shocked
by his behaviour. Jack is finished
(what?).
is finished
done bitten given known
did bit gave knew went wrote
do bite give know go
does bites
doing biting
answer the question.
gone written broken
broke chose rescued asked
chosen rescued asked
delivered explained finished
delivered
explained
attacked
verbs have different
endings?
finished attacked
write break choose
rescueask deliver
explain finish attack
gives knows
giving knowing
goes writes
going writing
breaks
breaking
Why do irregular
chooses
choosing rescuing
What’s the point of past tense and past participle? When it comes to regular verbs nothing really, as they’re both
the asks
same and
all end
in either –d or –ed.
rescues
asking
delivering
explaining
However, irregular verbs are different. Past tense and past participle verbs are completely different words anddelivers
at times don’t even
look similar. So, why are
explains
finishing
they different?
finishes
attacking
Without getting into a deep and meaningful lesson on the origin of the language (but we will), English has borrowed
attacksa lot of words from other countries.
Long before England went on to invade and colonise half the world (and leave them with the thrilling game of cricket), it was itself invaded by other
12
BE
PAST
PARTICIPLE
PASSIVE
VOICE
countries.
be
done
am
known
be done
The original speakers of Old
English were the Jutes, Angles and Saxons
in the
fifth and sixth centuries. The new invaders
being
bitten who invaded and conquered Britain
being
bitten
spoke Germanic (a type ofbeen
German) and Norse (Danish). The Danes
loved England so much that Cnut, thebeen
Danish
king ruled England from 1014 to 1035.
given
given
am known
The invaders brought with them hundreds of news words and many of which are still used today (although the spelling has changed): abide, above, anger,
are
gone
are gone
awake, bag, ball, bark, berserk,
choose,
egg,
die,
if,
in,
it,
husband,
kiss,
knife,
knot,
laugh,
mistake,
of,
on,
quick,
read, reindeer, ride, rotten, say, see, they,
is
written
is written
them, their, Thursday, troll,
up,
us.
was
broken
was broken
were invaded and they brought Latin words
chosen
were chosen
In 1066 the Normans (French)
and thousands of French words, particularly
words associated with food. For example,
the names of several animals are English when they are alive—ox, cow, calf, sheep, swine, boar, deer—but French when they are dead and served up on a
table—beef, veal, mutton, pork, bacon, brawn, venison. (The French rock when it comes to euphemisms.)
So, back to verb tense… this is the reason why not all verbs end in –d or –ed, because they’re from other languages. And as annoying as it is, there’s nothing
we can do to change it as the dictionaries are already printed. You just have to know that some verbs end in –ed and others don’t.
News versus Social Media
Right now, there is quite a lot of discussion in the media as to whether or not you should pay for news. It’s a discussion worth having and one that will affect
all of us one way or another because news is very much a part of our world.
You pay for magazines and books so why should newspapers be any different? Would you work for free? Would your parents work for free? Should
teachers, nurses, doctors, police, and commandos work for free? The answer is no. Most people can’t afford to work for nothing so why should journalists?
To understand why you should pay for news you first need to understand the difference between quality news and social media because the two aren’t the
same. Quality news isn’t a sound bite on Twitter, nor is it a vacuous (empty) comment on Facebook. And it’s definitely not a daily blog on the environmental
issues affecting the Baw Baw frog. Quality news is investigative journalism. It’s about holding those in authority accountable to you and me—the general
public.
A story that may take you only five minutes to read may have taken a journalist five days, five weeks or five months to research and write. That’s what
investigative journalism does—it investigates, and to provide this service requires time and money.
It’s easy to forget that not all news is produced instantly when it’s delivered to us 24/7. Pictures of meteorites falling to earth in far-flung Russia and which
are beamed across the planet are instant. However, a camera on a car dashboard that happens to capture such an event is not in the same league as
Watergate. What is Watergate? Watergate was one of the most famous pieces of investigative journalism ever carried out. It brought down a president.
Watergate
On 17 June, 1972 five men were arrested for breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in
Washington, USA. At the time a handful of newspapers reported the break-in but nothing more. Two journalists from The Washington Post Bob Woodward
and Carl Bernstein were intrigued as to what the five men were doing there in the first place. They began to dig around and ask questions. “Why were men
in masks and rubber gloves, with walkie-talkies, in the DNC headquarters at 2:00 in the morning? Who were they? What were they doing? What did they
want?”
Woodward and Bernstein uncovered information suggesting that senior people in the FBI, CIA and White House knew the reason for the break-in and
attempted to cover it up.
The scandal eventually led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon, on 9 August, 1974. The scandal also resulted in the jailing of 43 people, including
dozens of Nixon's top administration officials.
It was two years from the initial break-in to President Nixon’s resignation. During that time Woodward and Bernstein spent tens of thousands of hours
researching and interviewing witnesses, and during that period The Washington Post’s owner, Katherine Graham, continued to support their work and pay
their salaries.
ICAC Investigation in NSW
Watergate happened over 40 years ago so why is it relevant now? Well, good journalists are still asking questions and investigating corruption. Currently in
New South Wales the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is investigating the alleged corruption of a previous government minister, Eddie
Obeid.
The Sydney Morning Herald was instrumental in bringing about the ICAC inquiry. Journalists at The Sydney Morning Herald questioned how it was possible
that a government minister, who earns $130,540 a year, could afford to pay $8.5 million for a waterfront mansion. And was it just a coincidence that Mr
Obeid stood to make as much as $100 million from land he bought just months before the government announced it would open a coal mine on that same
land. The public deserved the right to know if Mr Obeid had inside information.
Health Services Union (HSU) Investigation
In 2012 another newspaper, The Australian relentlessly pursued the Health Services Union (HSU) and its national president, Michael Williamson, over
alleged corruption. The HSU represents many of the less well-off workers in the hospital sector: cleaners, kitchen hands and aged-care workers.
The Australian questioned the employment of Mr William’s and in particular his wife who earned $384,625 from the HSU for doing filing and administrative
work. An inquiry was held which found more than $20 million of questionable payments were made to suppliers without any form of tendering or contract.
It is also alleged Mr Williamson engaged in cronyism (jobs for friends) and nepotism (jobs for family) in his 15year administration of the branch, handing out
contracts to suppliers in which he, his business associates, and members of his family obtained a personal benefit. The inquiry shamed the Prime Minister,
Julia Gillard, into stating, “I am especially angry for those
low-paid workers in our hospitals whose hard-earned union dues, millions of dollars, have gone to line the pockets of greedy manipulators who betrayed
their trust.”
The Leveson Inquiry UK
The British newspaper The Guardian persistently pursued the truth and cover-up of the phone-hacking scandal involving the tabloid newspaper the News of
the World, which was caught hacking into the phones of murdered school-girl Milly Dowler, members of the British Royal Family, politicians and celebrities.
The Guardian’s reporting and investigation of the scandal forced the British prime minister David Cameron to announce on 13 July 2011, a public inquiry into
the conduct of the News of the Word. Several employees of the newspaper including the chief executive Rebekah Brooks along with the commissioner of
London’s Metropolitan Police resigned and were arrested. The News of the World was forced to close after advertisers boycotted the newspaper.
Since 1992 over 900 journalist have been killed around the world
Investigative journalism is an honourable profession. It can also be quite dangerous. The Committee to Protect Journalism reports that 995 journalist have
been killed since 1992 and over 232 are in prison.
Every year around the world hundreds of journalists are killed, harassed, or imprisoned for reporting the truth.
Journalism plays a vital role in the balance of power between a government and its people. When a country's journalists are silenced, its people are silenced.
In a democratic society journalists provide the public with information that assists them to make informed decisions on important issues such as the
economy, environment, education, health, government, and many other social topics.
Countries that don’t have a free press are countries without a democracy. Corruption, fear, intimidation and violence flourishes in those societies where
journalists are prevented from reporting the truth.
Investigative journalism benefits all of us
We all have a vested interest in quality journalism. Good newspapers aren’t afraid to question politicians, governments and large corporations—that’s
freedom of speech and the foundation of democracy: it’s our right to question. However, most of us don’t have the time, resources, or ability to question
those in authority, which is why newspapers do it on our behalf. Good newspapers are relentless in their quest for the truth. As Bill Clinton once said, “never
pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel”.
There are many free news sites on the internet with some of the biggest being Google and Yahoo. Google in particular is not a news producer but a news
“aggregator,” which means it collects the news from other websites. Google doesn’t produce the news nor does it employ journalists.
Aggregators have no interest in you, your family or what happens in your city or community. Newspapers do. Newspapers will always protect the interests
of individuals and the community in which they live—aggregators won’t.
Right now, that probably isn’t much of a concern to you, but in time it will be. Quality journalism is an insurance policy against corruption. It holds those in
authority accountable to you and me—the general public. And this is the reason why we must pay for news: it protects all of us.
I disapprove with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. — Voltaire
Posters
Start a class conversation.
1234
5
67
8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22
23
24 25
26
Top 25 newspapers
down menus for this tab
Spelling words and other downloads
Tabloid versus broadsheet
Why is journalism going broke?
Movies about investigative journalism
Contact details
NOTE:
The tab marked “Movies about investigative journalism” has 12 movies and is to present in the same style and format as in the link below. I have
the links and text ready but the layout must show the YouTube screen.
http://pfauth.com/blogtips/movies-for-journalists-reporter/
吀漀瀀•_••••••••••••