OSSLT news report: what changed and how to read one

If you’ve been told to practise writing a news report for the OSSLT, you can stop. Older, paper versions of the test included a news report writing task, but the current online OSSLT doesn’t. Today the news report is one of the four reading selections: you read one and answer questions about it. The only long piece of writing on the test is the opinion essay. This guide explains how the news report works on the test now, how to read one quickly, and gives you a short practice set.

How the news report appears on the OSSLT now

EQAO’s current OSSLT framework lists four reading selections: a real-life narrative, an information paragraph, a dialogue and a news report. For the news report, you answer five selected-response questions and write one short answer about what you read. Together they are worth 10 of the test’s 78 raw points.

The written answer about the news report is the only written reading answer on the test. Trained educators code it from 10 to 30, and a 30 needs accurate, specific and relevant details from the report. The reading questions guide explains every question type and the written answer in detail.

How a news report is built

News reports follow a pattern, and knowing it tells you where to find answers fast:

• Headline: the main idea in a few words. Questions that ask which headline would also fit are testing whether you know the main idea.

• Dateline: the place at the start of the first paragraph, often in capitals.

• Lead: the first paragraph, which usually answers who, what, when, where and sometimes why.

• Body: details in order of importance, with the most important first. Later paragraphs add background.

• Quotes: the words of people involved. Questions often ask what a quote suggests, which is an inference.

How to read a news report on the test

• Read the headline and the lead first, and say the main idea to yourself in one sentence.

• Then read the rest, noting who each quote comes from and what it shows about that person.

• Before you answer each question, find the sentence that supports your answer.

• For questions about quotes, ask what the speaker means, not just what they say.

• Use the built-in tools, such as the highlighter, to mark the lead and the key quotes.

Practice news report

Read the report, then answer the questions. The report and questions are original practice written by Litguide, not EQAO material.

Repair Café Keeps Broken Things Out of the Trash

CEDAR FALLS — A toaster, three lamps and a bicycle with a bent wheel all went home working on Saturday, at the first Repair Café held in the Cedar Falls community centre.

The monthly event pairs residents who have broken household items with volunteers who know how to fix them. Repairs are free, and visitors are asked to stay and watch so they can learn to do the job themselves next time.

Organizer Grace Liu, a retired electrician, started the café after noticing how many small appliances ended up at the curb on garbage day. “Most of these things need one new part or ten minutes with a screwdriver,” she said.

Eleven volunteers took part, including two Grade 11 students from Cedar Falls Secondary School who repaired bicycles. By the end of the afternoon, 34 of the 41 items brought in had been fixed.

Liu says the next event will add a table for mending clothes. “People told us that’s what they need most,” she said. “We just have to find volunteers who can sew.”

1. What happens at a Repair Café?

• A. Residents sell items they no longer need.

• B. Volunteers fix residents’ broken items for free.

• C. Stores collect old appliances for recycling.

• D. Students learn to become electricians.

2. Why does the café ask visitors to stay and watch?

• A. So visitors can pay for the repair.

• B. So the volunteers have an audience.

• C. So visitors can learn to make the repair themselves.

• D. So the community centre stays open longer.

3. Which detail best supports the idea that the first event was a success?

• A. The event was held in the community centre.

• B. Two Grade 11 students fixed bicycles.

• C. Grace Liu is a retired electrician.

• D. 34 of the 41 items brought in were fixed.

4. What does Liu’s last comment suggest about the next event?

• A. It may be cancelled.

• B. Its success depends on finding the right volunteers.

• C. It will only repair clothes.

• D. It will move to the high school.

5. Written answer: What does the report suggest about why Grace Liu started the Repair Café? Use specific details from the news report to support your answer.

Answers explained

• 1. B. The second paragraph says the event “pairs residents who have broken household items with volunteers who know how to fix them” and that repairs are free.

• 2. C. Visitors are asked to stay “so they can learn to do the job themselves next time.”

• 3. D. A result, 34 of 41 items fixed, is the strongest evidence of success. The other choices are true but don’t show how well the event went.

• 4. B. Liu plans a clothes table but says “we just have to find volunteers who can sew,” so the plan depends on finding them. That is an inference from her quote.

5. A strong written answer states the reason in the first sentence, such as wanting to keep fixable things out of the garbage, then supports it with details from the report: the appliances she saw at the curb on garbage day, and her comment that most need only one new part or ten minutes with a screwdriver. It explains how each detail shows her reason.

If your class still uses news report templates

Writing a news report is still a good way to learn how one is built, and the structure above is exactly what helps on the reading questions. For the writing side of the OSSLT, though, put your practice time into the opinion essay: it is worth 20 of the 78 raw points, about a quarter of the test. Try the OSSLT writing prompts and get your writing marked with the free essay grader.

For steady practice in the four to five months before the test, read one news article a week, name the main idea and the 5 Ws, and answer a question about a quote. The online practice test and the printable practice test PDF both include a full news report with every answer explained.