Animal Farm Newspaper
Create a newspaper that could be published by the pigs on Animal Farm. Your newspaper should mimic the writing style and design of real newspapers. Your articles could touch on important events in the novel such as The Battle of Windmill, the executions and the rumoured crimes of Snowball. Remember that your newspaper should be thinly disguised propaganda, promoting the idea that Napoleon is a good and just leader.
WRITING NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
Newspaper articles are written in clear, direct language. They always start with a short, punchy, attention-grabbing headline. These headlines often use alliteration.
The first paragraph of a hard news article is called the intro or lead. The lead is usually less than twenty five words, giving an overview of the event or story. The lead will often explain WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY. When people read newspapers, they often only read the first few paragraphs which means that all the important information must come first.
Newspaper articles have short paragraphs and often incorporate quotations from those people involved in the incident. Think about what people at the game might have said about the game. When writing a quote in a newspaper article, always put the attribution – the ‘he said’ bit – after the quote.
Your paragraphs should be indented. The paragraphs in newspaper articles are usually very short. Remember that newspaper articles do not have conclusions, once you have written all of the important information, you simply stop.
PASSIVE VS ACTIVE VOICE
Every sentence has a subject. The subject of a sentence is the person or thing that does something. In an active sentence, the subject does something. In a passive sentence, the target of their action takes the position of the subject. The passive voice is awkward and unnecessarily wordy. Avoid it.
Here are some examples:
Active: John looked at the train.
Passive: The train was looked at by John.
Active: Sean wrote in his workbook.
Passive: The workbook was written in by Sean.
Active: Steven bought a car.
Passive: The car was bought by Steven.
ACTIVITY
Rewrite these passive sentences as active.
1. Every week, the garbage is taken out by John.
2. Tomorrow, the house will be painted by Aaron.
3. The car will be cleaned by James.
4. The shopping was bought by Kate.
SAMPLE ARTICLE
Animals celebrate the life of Boxer
The life of Boxer, the hardworking carthorse who died recently, was recognised in a special speech delivered by Comrade Napoleon at last Sunday’s meeting.
“Boxer was an inspiration to us all,” Comrade Napoleon said, wiping a tear from his eye. “All the animals on Animal Farm should aspire to work as hard and selflessly as he did.”
Comrade Napoleon went on to explain how Boxer’s motto, “Comrade Napoleon is always right”, would help support them through difficult times.
Squealer also stepped forward to give his harrowing account of Boxer’s final hours.
“Myself and Napoleon, who were perhaps closer to Boxer than anyone on the farm, spent hours by his deathbed and watched with heart wrenching sorrow as he drifted away. With his last breath, he whispered that nothing would give him greater consolation than the knowledge we would complete the windmill! He implored you to work harder than ever before and to follow Napoleon with unquestioned loyalty!”
After the meeting, Squealer said that those spreading the wicked rumour that Boxer had been taken away by a horse slaughterer would be punished for their wicked lies. “It was a simple misunderstanding,” he explained. “The van that took Boxer away had recently been purchased by a respected veterinarian who needed the truck to transport large animals in desperate need of medical attention. He simply hadn’t got around to painting over the original name.”
In a generous gesture, Comrade Napoleon purchased an expensive wreath which was put on display in the farmyard garden.
OTHER IDEAS
Of course, your newspaper might include other articles like social pages, a special editorial from Squealer or Napoleon, ‘World News’ that explains the atrocities committed on neighbouring farms.