Topic Five (1.5): Facts and opinions

In this topic, you will read about teenagers protesting about climate change and compare the attitude of two journalists reporting on the same event.

Please work through the following sections in your coursebook, completing all listed exercises:

Page 20 – Read the Media studies key words in the orange box at the top of the page. Write down the meaning of each word.
Page 20 – When you read or hear a news story, can you sometimes tell what the attitude and opinions of the reporter are?
Page 20, Exercise 1 – Let’s learn some more vocabulary! Look at the words in the vocabulary box at the bottom of the page. Do you know what they mean? Read the newspaper report. Find the words in the text and use the context to help you understand their meaning. If you are still unsure, look up the meaning in a dictionary. Remember there was a link to a good online dictionary in Topic 1 of this module.
Page 20 – Read the news report again. What impression do you get of what happened? What do you think the attitude of the reporter was to the protesters? Can you pick out any words that reflect the writer’s attitude?
Page 21, Exercise 2 – Read the second article (and look at the meaning of the word ‘petition’ in the vocabulary box). What impression do you get of the journalist who wrote it? Can you pick out any words that reflect the writer’s attitude?

Draw two columns, one for each of the articles on pages 20 and 21. Using the bullet points in Exercise 3, page 21, compare the two accounts. Then, based on the comparisons, write a paragraph about the difference between the articles.

Try this English quiz on media words to help you understand and spell words which describe media texts such as newspapers, magazines, advertisements, brochures and leaflets. You can find the login details here.

Let’s practise articles a/an/the. Complete the text here below with a, an, the or – when no article is needed.
Check your answers here.

Let’s revise the vocabulary and grammar used in the last two lessons. Complete the questionnaire then check what your answers say about you.

If you would like to check your answers to the exercises in this topic, please consult this document here. Download here.
The section with the answers is highlighted in yellow.