CSS Journalism and Mass Communication chapter 3: Journalism skills MCQs with answers

By Team Megalecture · Updated 4 Nov 2026

73 exam-style questions on Journalism skills, each with the answer and a short explanation. Ten of them are below to try. The chapter test draws ten fresh questions each time and is marked the moment you finish, with your score by topic.

73 questions · 4 topics · 10 per test

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What chapter 3 covers

Ten Journalism skills questions with answers

Try each one, then open the answer. These ten stay the same; the test draws new ones every time.

1. A feature story often opens with

  1. A
    a descriptive lead
  2. B
    a summary of the five Ws
  3. C
    a list of sources
  4. D
    an apology
Show answer

Answer: A. Features commonly begin with a scene, anecdote or description that draws the reader in, unlike news stories, which begin with a summary lead.

2. A report the next day on the number of injured in yesterday's train crash and on the inquiry ordered is a

  1. A
    follow-up story
  2. B
    feature
  3. C
    editorial
  4. D
    obituary
Show answer

Answer: A. A follow-up carries later developments of a story already published.

3. The first paragraph of a news story, summarising its most important facts, is called the

  1. A
    byline
  2. B
    dateline
  3. C
    lead
  4. D
    slug
Show answer

Answer: C. The lead (intro) gives the essence of the story. A byline names the writer and a dateline gives place and date.

4. Headlines for news events that have just happened are normally written in the

  1. A
    past perfect tense
  2. B
    present tense
  3. C
    future perfect tense
  4. D
    past continuous tense
Show answer

Answer: B. Headlines use the present tense to give immediacy, as in 'Minister opens hospital'.

5. Before an interview, a reporter should first

  1. A
    agree to print whatever is said
  2. B
    write the final story in advance
  3. C
    research the subject and plan questions
  4. D
    promise to show the subject the draft
Show answer

Answer: C. Good interviews depend on preparation: knowing the subject's background and having a plan of questions. The other practices weaken the reporter's independence.

6. The newspaper's title, set in its own design at the top of page one, is called the

  1. A
    byline
  2. B
    caption
  3. C
    deck
  4. D
    nameplate
Show answer

Answer: D. The nameplate (flag) is the title of the paper in its own lettering and design at the top of page one. A byline names a writer and a deck is a secondary headline.

7. News writing favours short sentences and plain words because the reader

  1. A
    is always a child
  2. B
    dislikes accurate facts
  3. C
    reads quickly and seldom re-reads
  4. D
    has no interest in details
Show answer

Answer: C. Readers scan the news, so clear and short writing is the best way to be understood at first reading.

8. Placing a large picture on one side of a page and a heavy block of text on the other, to avoid a lopsided look, applies the principle of

  1. A
    kerning
  2. B
    balance
  3. C
    bleed
  4. D
    justification
Show answer

Answer: B. Balance spreads the visual weight of the elements so that the page does not look heavy on one side.

9. Broadcast copy should be written

  1. A
    for the eye, in long literary sentences
  2. B
    in the passive voice, as a rule
  3. C
    in headline-style fragments only
  4. D
    for the ear, in conversational style
Show answer

Answer: D. Listeners hear the copy once, so it must be easy to follow when spoken aloud.

10. A newspaper digitally removes a person from a news photograph to improve its look. This is

  1. A
    a breach of photojournalism ethics
  2. B
    normal cropping
  3. C
    acceptable colour correction
  4. D
    a standard caption practice
Show answer

Answer: A. Removing or adding people changes the truth of the record, which news photography must not do. Cropping only trims the edges of a picture.

Start the chapter testAbout the CSS Journalism and Mass Communication test

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Ways to practise this chapter

Journalism skills: questions students ask

How many Journalism skills MCQs are there?

73, each with the answer and a short explanation, across 4 topics: News: values, sources and structure, Reporting, interviewing and writing, Editing, headlines, layout and photojournalism, Broadcast journalism. Every chapter test draws ten of them, so you can take it many times.

Is the CSS Journalism and Mass Communication chapter 3 test free?

Yes. The test, the answers and the explanations are free and need no sign-up. Sign in only if you want your scores kept across devices.

How is the chapter test marked?

The moment you press Finish: your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and the ones you got wrong saved in My mistakes to retry.

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