Key Skills in English 142
(b) Report based on an eyewitness account Sample eyewitness report
You have witnessed a serious fight which took place on the school premises. Te principal of your school is compiling a report for the Board of Management, which will also be given to the parents of the students involved. You have been asked by the principal to write an eyewitness report of what you saw and heard. Write the text of your report.
Fight in Students’ Locker Room
On Wednesday, the 24th March at approximately 2.00.p.m, I was in the Junior students’ locker room, collecting my books for the afternoon classes.
As I was closing my locker door, I heard somebody shouting outside the door of the room and another person shouting back at them.
A group of students suddenly entered the room and I noticed that one of the boys, Michael Aherne, was holding an open pen-knife in his hand and pointing it at John Roche, who was holding a hurley. Other students who were present included Alan Casey, Niall Corbett and Peter Lynch.
Niall Corbett tried to intervene but was threatened with a blow from the hurley held by John Roche.
I tried to exit the room but could not do so because the door was being blocked by Michael Aherne. Both boys were shouting loudly and threatening to kill each other.
John Roche knocked the pen-knife out of Michael Aherne’s hand with the hurley, but Michael Aherne managed to retrieve it and they
both began to physically attack each other. I saw blood pouring from the side of John Roche’s face and observed him swinging the hurley, which hit Michael Aherne’s head. Alan and Niall tried to break the fight up, while Peter managed to exit the room and ran to call a teacher.
Within minutes, two teachers, Mr O’Connor and Mr Murphy, arrived. They attempted to break up the fight but both boys continued until Mr Murphy grabbed the hurley from John Roche’s hand. John Roche was bleeding badly at this stage. Michael Aherne then threw the pen-knife to the ground and sat on one of the benches with his head leaning against the wall.
Mr O’Connor noticed me and asked me if I had witnessed the entire fight. I told him that I had only witnessed what had taken place in the locker room. He asked me to accompany him to the principal’s office. As I left the locker room, Mr Murphy was phoning for an ambulance, while Alan Casey and Peter Lynch were talking quietly to Michael Aherne. Two other teachers, Ms O’Brien and Mr Burke arrived in the locker room just as I was leaving with Mr O’Connor.
Signed: Patrick Foley
You will notice that the writer of this eyewitness has: l given a logical account of the fight which he witnessed. l not used any exaggeration or dramatic expressions. l not offered any opinion on who was to blame for the fight. l named other witnesses to the fight. l only referred to his own situation in order to explain why he did not leave the room. l written in clear, simple language.
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Unit 4: Literacy
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