Skyler Benson

Abby Novak
DJ McGinley-Colman
Amelia Olson
Zombie Apocalypse News Article
GENRE TYPE
NEWS ARTICLE. In an article written by Scholastic.com, news articles cover the
basics of current events. Reviewing several news article from Fox News, NPR, Times,
and the NY Times, all articles contain the same format. Each article includes a headline,
byline, introduction, body and conclusion paragraph(Scholastic.com). They also contain
images with explanations. The length of news articles differs depending upon the topic
and the amount of information the writer wants to convey.
WHY TO WRITE THIS GENRE
The topic chosen involves around a future zombie outbreak. Since the main
objective of a news article is to inform readers, it would be the most useful genre. The
news article will help inform the readers about a current zombie outbreak. The
information provided in the article answers the questions: who, what, when, where, why
and how. Utilizing this genre results in the most effective way to get information across.
USEAGE OF GENRE
Authors of news article use this genre to help inform readers on important current
events. They provide the reader with the answers to who, what, when, where, why and
how. The readers of the articles will differ depending upon the publication. The news
article will be aimed towards general new agencies such as CNN or NBC. This will
result is a large audience.
The writers of each publication uses a formal writing style. This genre is typically
used solely for informational purposes. Utilizing this style it helps get the information to
the reader. In many news articles, authors provide important details in the beginning
paragraph. Authors use this approach because they know most readers will not read
through the whole article. Another approach authors use is a classic essay format. In
this format information is spread throughout the entire article.
READER'S EXPECTATION
The readers of the article will be informed on the outbreak of the zombie
apocalypse. The article will explain when and how the outbreak occurred. It will also
provide information explaining how to survive the outbreak. It will simplify the complex
nature of the situation into easily digestible clear information for the readers.
TEXTS AUDIENCE
Depending on the topic covered by the news article, the audience varies. In a
news article informing a large amount of people about a zombie outbreak, the audience
will be broader. The text audiences will be made up of all ages and sexes.The audience
who are living in the surrounding states of New York.
AUDIENCE OBJECTIVE
The target audience of the article will consist of people in the affected areas of
the outbreak. The secondary audience will be the rest of the world; since the outbreak
will most likely not be contained to just the affected areas.

The audience will expect most of the information to be presented throughout the
entire article. The length of the article will be longer in order to get all the information
across. The readers will want more information since the outbreak is a serious event.
They will want to be well informed.
SO-WHAT FACTOR
The So-What Factor will be inherent in the information itself. When in a crisis of
this magnitude, readers will actively be seeking out information about what to do. This
article will maintain a calm, professional demeanor about the outbreak, while still
mentioning the irony and parallels to the many zombie films in the past. It may take
stories from social media. It also will contain instructions aimed to help readers survive
instead of simply mentioning, which many seeking out this article may be looking for.
STYLE RANGE
The style range of this genre varies depending on the target audience, but most
tend to be semi-formal to give an air of credibility, while still being approachable by the
general populace. With the advent of social media, many news organizations use posts
or videos as anecdotes to make a news story more relatable.
In order to successfully provided the necessary information chuck writing will be
utilized. Since chuck writing is limited to around 100 word, it will help present the
information in an effective way. Most news articles are written in active conversational
using strong verbs and subjects(Starr).
LENGTH OF GENRE
Most news articles are fairly brief, typically not spanning more than a page. This
is mostly due the the sheer volume of articles on a given day and the attention span of
their audience. They try to impart information clearly and quickly using an inverted
pyramid structure, beginning with dense facts and information on the subject and adding
in connections and details to clarify the material later in the article.
PATHOS
The tone of news articles varies greatly on the subject matter. It can be a lighthearted story about a local grandmother selling quilts to support veterans or it can be a
serious look at a major geopolitical issue or natural disaster. This article will lean
towards the latter. The zombie apocalypse will not be without its irony that will be
mentioned, but is intended to be a very serious subject and more aimed at informing
and educating the reader than satire and lugubriousness.
LOGOS
Information in the genre is typically either first hand accounts by journalists or,
more often, through sourcing and filtering of information by leading organizations in
subject. The information given is usually a simplified summary of the source and often
contains direct quotes of important details.
ETHOS
Much of the authors ethos in the genre is derived from the medium. Different
newspapers have journalistic reputations that they try to live up to. The larger the
readership group, the more confidence readers tend to have in the authors. Journalists
also cite many sources. Though note in a MLA format, many times nes articles will not
only use the source material, but opinions and summaries from other organizations and
experts related to the subject material to add to their credibility.
OUTSIDE INFORMATION INTEGRATES

In news articles outside information is integrated using APA format style. When
making in text citations using APA the citation is the author-date method (Welcome to
Purdue). News article use interviews, and other stories from different publications to
help provide more evidence to the topic.
PUBLISH THE GENRE
This article will be typical of a normal national news article. It would be published
in a newspaper such as the New York Times or as a web article companion to a story on
a national broadcast network. Due to the severity of the matter it would appear on the
most immediate media source available.
WORK CITED
Errico, Marcus. "Media History Monographs|Online Journal|Journalism and Mass
Communication History: The Evolution of the Summary News Lead." University of
Southern California, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Starr, Douglas P. ""The Best Writing Style for News Is the Inverted Pyramid." Texas A &
M University. Academic Search Premier [EBSCO]. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
"Writing Your Article." Scholastic Teachers. Scholastic, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
"Welcome to the Purdue OWL." Purdue OWL: APA Formatting and Style Guide. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

New York Zombie Outbreak

07/16/2025
New York City, NY
Written by: Amelia Olson, Skyler Benson, Abby Novak, DJ McGinley-Colman

Panic has broken out in New York City. Early Tuesday morning at 3am, a young
man named David Becker escaped from the zombie ward at Decker Hospital downtown.
David is carrying the highly infectious Human Zombism Virus also known as HZV
(Pecos). The virus is transmitted by bodily fluids. The fluids may shared from human to
human contact or human to animal contact. The host animals carrying this infectious
virus are the Brown Haired Rat and Hard Tick.
Following the escape, an interview conducted by Focus Today interviews the
ward supervisor Andrew McDonough. The interview provided information involving
Beckers escape.McDonough explained how Becker was improperly supervised. He
later explained how Becker used medical equipment to breakthrough a window.
McDonough has contacted several authorities to conduct a search for Becker.
McDonough states I am very sorry and now on the proper supervision will be monitored
much better.
Since the escape there have been thirty two new cases of infected individuals,
the largest number in three years, spanning three boroughs. Citizens are fearing a
repeat of the 2019 outbreak that decimated the populations of the West Coast. Social
media accounts are beginning to document small scale riots in Brooklyn and Queens.
Local law enforcement have been called along with the national guard to prevent
property loss and civilian deaths.
After the escape,Outbreak Watcher issued
an state of emergency for the following states;
Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut,
Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The alerts warns
residents of the following states to take caution
when out in public. Residents should be on alert for
any humans showing symptoms such as foaming
at the mouth, pale skin, and blisters, as well as any visible abrasions. They should also
beware of the host animals the Brown Hair Rat and Hard Tick.
In order to survive this zombie outbreak it is recommended to take the safest
survival route, isolation. It is imperative to find a location with ample shelter, water, food
and other supplies because the duration of the outbreak is unknown. To ensure safety,
finding a shelter inside to barricade the windows and doors is crucial.

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2019.
Randy, Mike. Zombie Outbreak Alert. Outbreakwatchers.gov.n.d., Web. 17 July
2025.
Johnson, Kayla. Andrew McDonough Speaks Out. focustoday.com. 15 July
2025. Web.
New York raids after break out.Jack Franklin.Photo.10/20/2025.
Zombic Plague Spreaders. Digital Image.Science of Zombies. n.d. Web 20 Nov 2019.
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