This unit is concerned with our response to information about public affairs. Its aim is to show how written reports of current events vary, and to explore what causes them to vary. It focuses upon the way newspapers report debates in the House of Commons, because this material readily reveals how language is being used to inform a public.
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[1] For this session the class need a collection of newspaper reports printed the day after a major issue has been debated in the House. Working in small groups, each with a selection of reports to work from, the class look for contrasts in the space that has been given to the report, how it is used, and the degree of detail in the reporting. Each group needs a copy of at least three papers, one of which should be The Times, Daily Telegraph or Guardian. Regional papers should be included where possible.

[2] The focus of this session is upon the differences between the reports in these three newspapers and the others. Ask the class for examples of what has been omitted by all the others, and for examples of the ways in which the 'quality' papers make their reports more informative than the others. Then ask the class what considerations seem to govern the selection and presentation of events as between one paper and another, and whether or not there is a gap between report and commentary. They should examine the influence of
(a) the paper's political viewpoint
(b) the range of popular appeal the debate might have
(c) whether or not 'personalities' are involved
(d) whether the topic debated has 'human interest' or 'patriotic appeal'
(e) how these four act together to give the particular bias to any one paper's report and commentary.

[3] This session requires a collection of about four passages from different papers on the same topic. The class should explore these texts in detail and look for the answers to such questions as
(a) what assumptions are made about the reader's knowledge of Parliament?
(b) what assumptions are made about the reader's political knowledge generally?
(c) what values is lie assumed to hold on questions like crime and punishment, wealth, individual freedom of action,     relationships between nations?
(d) how do the reports differ in their syntax and their vocabulary, especially where they are putting over the 'feel'
    of the debate?

Other units which take newspapers as their subject are B5, G3, G4.

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