News &Sources
Reporting verbs · reported speech · media literacy
Your level · You are here
Get Talking · Section 1
5 minStart the conversation
Name the three places you actually get most of your news. Are any of them journalism?
What's the last headline you remember? Tell your teacher who reported it and whether you trust the source.
What makes you trust a news source? List three things.
Grammar · Section 2
8–10 minReporting verbs + backshift in reported speech
- When you report what someone SAID, two things change.
- (1) The TENSE shifts back one step ('I am tired' → He said he was tired; 'I have seen it' → She said she had seen it; 'will' → would; 'can' → could).
- (2) Pronouns and time/place words shift to fit YOUR position ('I' → he/she; 'tomorrow' → the next day; 'here' → there).
- The reporting VERB itself carries meaning: 'said' is neutral; 'claimed' suggests doubt; 'admitted' suggests reluctance; 'denied' = said no; 'argued' = made a case; 'warned' = predicted danger; 'pointed out' = stated a fact.
- At B1+, choose the reporting verb that shows your stance.
- NOTE: with universal truths or current situations, you CAN keep the present ('She said the earth is round' / 'He said he lives in Berlin').
She said she had been working from home all month.
The article claimed that screen time had doubled since 2019.
He admitted he hadn't read the source.
Experts warned that misinformation was spreading faster than fact-checks.
She pointed out that the headline didn't match the article.
Question 1.'I am tired,' she said. → Reported:
Question 2.Which verb suggests the speaker DOUBTS the claim?
Question 3.'I haven't read it,' he admitted. Best paraphrase:
Question 4.'Tomorrow' in reported speech usually becomes:
Build the sentence → spot the natural chunks → say it aloud → reply like a real conversation.
1.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
2.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
3.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
4.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
Quick check 1.Choose the most accurate report. Original: 'I didn't see the article.'
Vocabulary · Section 3
5–7 minWords & phrases to learn
Source
where information originally comes from
In context
"Always check the source before you share."
Now try it yourself
Name your most-trusted news source and your least-trusted.
Headline
the title of a news article
In context
"The headline was sensational but the article was reasonable."
Now try it yourself
Describe a recent headline that turned out to be misleading.
Fact-check
verify whether something is true
In context
"I fact-checked the post — it was from 2014, not last week."
Now try it yourself
Walk through how you'd fact-check a viral post.
Misinformation
false info, shared without intent to deceive
In context
"Most misinformation spreads because people don't read past the headline."
Now try it yourself
Distinguish misinformation from disinformation in your own words.
Bias
a slant or unfair preference
In context
"Every outlet has some bias — the question is how transparent they are."
Now try it yourself
Name a news outlet and describe its political bias.
Opinion piece
an article expressing the writer's view, not news
In context
"That wasn't news — it was an opinion piece labelled as analysis."
Now try it yourself
Tell your teacher the last opinion piece you read and what it argued.
Reliable
trustworthy, consistent in accuracy
In context
"Reuters is generally considered a reliable wire source."
Now try it yourself
List three criteria that make a source reliable.
Clickbait
designed to make you click, often misleading
In context
"'You won't BELIEVE what happens next' — pure clickbait."
Now try it yourself
Quote a piece of clickbait you've seen recently.
Pick at least three words from above and use each one in a sentence about your real life. Say each one aloud before you write.
Ask your teacher (or a partner) a question that uses one of today's words. They reply using a different word.
Rank today's words from most to least useful for you this week. Defend your top choice.
Finish: "Honestly, I'd say…" using one of today's words.
Tip: aim to reuse at least two of these words later in the Speaking and Writing tasks.
Tap an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.
Pronunciation · Section 4
3–4 minStressing the reporting verb to signal your stance
Reporting verbs carry your opinion of the speaker. Native users STRESS the reporting verb when it disagrees with neutral 'said'. 'She CLAIMED that…' (raised pitch on CLAIMED) signals doubt; 'He ADMITTED he hadn't read it' (slight pitch drop on ADMITTED) signals reluctance. Practise raising/lowering pitch on the verb so the listener gets your stance before the content arrives.
- • She CLAIMED↗ she had read the whole report.
- • He ADMITTED↘ he'd only seen the headline.
- • The expert WARNED↗ the trend was accelerating.
- • She POINTED OUT↘ that the data was three years old.
Reading · Section 5
8–10 minHow to read the news without losing your mind
The volume of news available to a person in 2026 is, in any meaningful sense, infinite. Your job is not to consume it all — that's impossible — but to develop a fast filter that protects your attention from clickbait and your beliefs from misinformation.
Three habits do most of the work. First, always check the SOURCE before the story. A claim from Reuters, the BBC, or AP is structurally more reliable than the same claim posted by an account you've never heard of. Second, separate NEWS from OPINION. Opinion pieces are valuable, but they argue a position — they don't report events. Most outlets label them clearly; many readers ignore the label. Third, when something makes you angry or excited, slow down before you share. That emotional spike is exactly what clickbait is designed to produce, and sharing under that spike is how misinformation spreads.
And the boring final rule: read past the headline. Editors write headlines to win clicks, not to summarise stories. The article almost always says something more measured than the headline implies.
Question 1.Why does the text say you should slow down when a headline makes you angry or excited?
Question 2.What does the text say about opinion pieces?
Question 3.What does the author imply when they say 'editors write headlines to win clicks, not to summarise stories'?
Question 4.What is the author's overall stance towards news consumption?
Q1.The text says headlines usually summarise stories accurately.
Q2.Opinion pieces argue a position rather than report events.
Listening · Section 6
8–10 minA radio interview about media literacy
Listening audio
Tap play to listen. Replay as many times as you need.
Show transcript
Presenter:Dr Hassan, welcome. You've been studying how people consume news online. What did your latest study find?
Dr Hassan:Thanks for having me. The headline finding is uncomfortable. We found that around 60% of people who share a news article on social media haven't actually read past the headline.
Presenter:Sixty percent? That's striking. Some critics have claimed your sample wasn't representative — how do you respond to that?
Dr Hassan:It's a fair challenge. I'd point out that we replicated across three countries and got the same pattern. So I'd argue the effect is real, even if the exact percentage shifts.
Presenter:And you've warned this is fuelling misinformation. Why specifically?
Dr Hassan:Because headlines are written to win clicks, not to summarise. When a headline overstates a story and 60% of sharers never read the article, the overstatement is what spreads. The accurate, boring article inside reaches almost no one.
Presenter:What did your participants say when you asked WHY they shared without reading?
Dr Hassan:Most admitted they didn't have time. A few claimed the headline was enough. The honest minority said they shared because it confirmed something they already believed.
Presenter:So what's the practical fix?
Dr Hassan:Twitter and Facebook have both tested a prompt — 'You haven't opened this article, are you sure you want to share?' — and reported a measurable drop in sharing of low-quality content. A small piece of friction goes a long way.
Presenter:Friction beats willpower again. Dr Hassan, thank you.
Question 1.How did Dr Hassan respond to critics who said his sample wasn't representative?
Question 2.What reason did the 'honest minority' in Dr Hassan's study give for sharing without reading?
Question 3.What does Dr Hassan imply by saying 'a small piece of friction goes a long way'?
Question 4.What does the presenter mean when he ends with 'Friction beats willpower again'?
Exam tip · Section 7
5 minWriting — Cambridge FCE Part 2 (article / review of an issue)
Task
Write a 140–190 word article for an English-language student magazine titled 'Three things I do before I share a news story.' Use at least 4 reporting verbs and 5 lesson vocabulary items.
Strategy
Article tasks reward (1) a TITLE-MATCHING opening hook (don't restate the question — re-angle it), (2) a clear STRUCTURE (three things = three short paragraphs or a tight list with commentary), (3) DIRECT ADDRESS to the reader ('you'll have seen', 'next time you scroll'), (4) RANGE — at this level examiners want reporting verbs and varied tenses, not just 'said'. End with a call to the reader, not a summary.
Example
You've probably shared an article today that you haven't actually read. Don't worry — researchers have admitted most of us do it. Here are three small habits that have changed how I read news. First, I check the source. A claim from Reuters and the same claim from an unknown account aren't the same thing. Second, I look for the 'OPINION' label — opinion pieces argue a position, they don't report events. Third, if a headline makes me furious or thrilled, I slow down. That's exactly the reaction clickbait is engineered to produce, and sharing in that moment is how misinformation spreads. None of this takes long. Next time you reach to retweet, just open the article first.
Practice · Section 8
8–10 minFill in the blank
Question 1.She ____ that she had been working from home all year.
Question 2.He ____ he hadn't read the source.
Question 3.The headline was pure ____ — the article was reasonable.
Question 4.Always check the ____ before you share.
Question 5.Experts ____ that misinformation spreads faster than fact-checks.
There isn't one "right" answer — write a natural version, then compare with the model.
Q1.Report this in reported speech with backshift: 'I have read the article.'
Q2.Report a doubtful claim using 'claimed'.
Q3.Use 'pointed out' to report a fact.
Q4.Use 'warned' to report a prediction.
Writing · Section 9
5 minPut it in writing
Your task
Write a 130–160 word summary of a real news story you've read this week. Use at least 5 reporting verbs (said, claimed, admitted, pointed out, warned, argued, reported) and name the source clearly. Distinguish fact from opinion.
Your answer
Your work saves automatically0 words
Show model answer
The Guardian reported this week that screen time among UK teenagers has risen for the fifth year in a row. The article cited an Ofcom study which found that 13–15-year-olds now spend an average of nearly five hours a day on phones, mostly on short-video apps. One researcher warned that the trend was correlated with rising anxiety, though she pointed out that correlation is not causation. A spokesperson from a major platform claimed their wellbeing tools were working, but parents quoted in the piece argued the tools were easy to bypass. The article admitted that no single intervention had measurably reduced overall screen time at scale. The most useful line, for me, was buried near the end: the strongest predictor of lower teen screen time wasn't an app — it was a parent who modelled the same behaviour themselves.
Speaking · Section 10
10–15 minMake it a real conversation
Role-play with your teacher (or a partner): you've both seen the same viral news story and you disagree about whether to trust it. Discuss the source, the headline, the bias, and what would change your mind. Use at least 5 reporting verbs and 4 vocabulary items.
Useful phrases
- • The article claimed that…
- • I'd point out that…
- • The source admitted that…
- • Experts warned that…
- • What would change your mind?
Speaking reflection & notes
Your work saves automatically0 words
- ADid you see that thing about screen time doubling?
- B_______________
- AThe headline made it sound like a crisis.
- B_______________
- AI almost shared it. Glad I didn't.
- B_______________
Homework · Section 11
Take-homeTake it home
Pick one news story you've shared in the past month. Re-read it and write 5 sentences using reported speech with varied reporting verbs.
Listen to a 5-minute BBC news clip. Note 5 reporting verbs used and what each implies about the speaker's stance.
Record a 90-second voice note explaining your personal fact-check process.
Homework notes
Your work saves automatically0 words
Recap · Section 12
2–3 minWhat you've learned
- Reported speech: tenses shift back one step, pronouns and time markers adjust.
- Reporting verbs carry stance: said (neutral), claimed (doubtful), admitted (reluctant), pointed out (factual), warned (predictive).
- Read past the headline; separate news from opinion; check the source.
- Misinformation spreads through emotional spikes — slow down before sharing.
- Friction beats willpower: a 'have you opened this?' prompt cuts low-quality sharing.