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- 2. Headline – tells what the story is about Byline – shows who wrote the story Lead – tells the most important facts (5 W’s) Body – contains more information and details Ending – gives something to think about 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
- 3. The inverted pyramid structure simply means placing the most fundamental information in the lead paragraph of the story, and then arranging the remaining details, from most important to least important. Inverted Pyramid
- 4. Most journalists think the news lead is the most important part of the news story. It is an artwork of concise information that captures the gist of a news story in 2 to 3 sentences. Lead Writing To arouse the reader To summarize the story
- 5. Keep leads short. Those with 35 words or less are preferred. Leads limited to one or two sentences are preferred. Avoid starting with ‘when’ or ‘where’ unless the time and place is unusual. Most leads start with ‘who’ or ‘what’. Avoid beginning the lead with “there’ or “this”. In leads about future events, the time and date usually go at the end of the paragraph. Use quotes and questions in leads sparingly. Lead Writing
- 6. In leads about past events, the date of the event usually appears before and after the verb. Sometimes the date comes at the end of the first sentence or paragraph it is a one-sentence lead. The first five to “what happened” makes a better story than the fact that it did. Lead Writing
- 7. Who?- Dr Maria Beluso and Justine Rodriguez presented an award-winning paper at the LC25 Conference, on May 26th. What?- Wearing morally offensive attire was banned by Mount Serenity University by the University Security Management Office (USMO) effective June 25th. Lead Writing
- 8. Where?- In Al Rayyan last night, the Board of Education passed a resolution to ban the wearing of hats in all school district buildings. When?- Last night, the Al Rayyen Board of Education passed a resolution banning all hat wearing in all school district buildings. Lead Writing
- 9. How?- By 8-1 margin last night, the Al Rayyan Board of Education passed a regulation banning hat wearing in all school district buildings. Why?- To provide students with easier access to the web, the University of Doha Science and Technology (UDST) will implement its WiFi Connectivity Project in the second semester of 2024. Lead Writing
- 10. The body of the story explains or clarifies features mentioned in the lead and adds features not found in the lead. The body of the story provides details and backgrounds. Body Construction and Organizations
- 11. Keep paragraphs short. Those limited to 60 words or less or no longer than 10 typeset lines are preferred. Paragraphs limited to one to three sentences are preferred. Each paragraph should contain only one idea. Remember short paragraphs encourage readers to continue reading. Use simple words. Don’t let readers look for a dictionary. Use correct jargon for certain stories. Body Construction and Organizations
- 12. Make sure information introduced or outlined in the lead is covered in the same order in the body of the story. Avoid introducing new information at the end of a story. All aspects of a story should usually be introduced or outlined in the first few paragraphs. Transitions are necessary to show the reader that the writer has a sense of direction. A word, phrase, sentence or paragraph can move the reader from one thought to another. Body Construction and Organizations
- 13. Add attributions of prominent persons Add faculty and students’ reactions Arrange your details in a logical order Before using the acronym of the word or phrase, elaborate it first on the previous sentences In attribution, use the position of the person (other titles may be omitted) Body Construction and Organizations
- 14. When you want to incorporate information that is not directly connected to the main story, but is related, use conjunctive words or conjunctive phrases such as meanwhile, in a related development, in this light, etc. Note: Body Construction and Organizations
- 16. Should be linked to the paragraph before them. The quote, should elaborate on the previous paragraph. Example: Because of an anonymous $25,000 donation, students who ride a school bus to and from school will have access to the Internet during their commute starting March 1. “Giving free Wi-Fi to our students will enable them to do research, read the news or even watch educational videos each day,” Superintendent Kelli Putman said. Direct Quotes
- 17. Should not repeat the transition/lead before them. Example: Principal Jeanette Rother said that several teachers have been reluctant to give assignments that require Internet access. “Several of our teachers have been hesitant about giving homework assignments that would require the Internet,” Rother said. Direct Quotes
- 18. Can be longer than one sentence. Should have attribution after the first sentence of the quote. Do not place two people’s direct quotes next to each other without a transition. Attribution should be: Noun then verb. Example: Correct - senior Bob Rodriguez said. Incorrect - said senior Bob Rodriguez. (unless you have an unusually long title) Direct Quotes
- 19. VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. Hold the story together. Link the paragraphs together. Can be a fact, an indirect quote, or a partial quote. For example - FACT TRANSITION: (Lead) President Barack Obama will speak on Friday to seniors about getting involved in community service work. (Direct Quote)“Seniors will learn a lot about duty and commitment when they hear President Obama,” Principal Ike Sumter said. “We are so excited that he agreed to come.” (Fact Transition) Before becoming president, Obama worked as a community organizer in Chicago. Transitions
- 20. Can be a fact, indirect quote or a partial quote. For example - INDIRECT QUOTE TRANSITION: (Lead) President Barack Obama will speak on Friday to seniors abou getting involved in community service work. (Direct Quote)“Seniors will learn a lot about duty and commitment when they hear President Obama,” Principal Ike Sumter said. “We ar so excited that he agreed to come.” (IQ Transition) President Obama said he believes community service is more important than college in building character. Transitions
- 21. Can be fact, indirect quote or a partial quote. For example - PARTIAL QUOTE TRANSITION: (Lead) President Barack Obama will speak on Friday to seniors about getting involved in community service work. (Direct Quote)“Seniors will learn a lot about duty and commitment when they hear President Obama,” Principal Ike Sumter said. “We are so excited that he agreed to come.” (PQ Transition) President Obama said he believes community service is an “extremely valuable lesson” for every teen to have. Transitions
- 22. Use transitional words to help with the flow (as needed): After all, Also, Finally, In addition, However, Otherwise, Then For example: Use parts of the direct quotes to create the transition. And then use the rest of the quote as direct quote. In addition to speaking about community service, Obama plans to talk to students about the importance of voting. NOTE: BE SURE YOU USE THE APPROPRITE TRANSITIONAL WORD. Transitions
- 23. Editorializing - Keep your opinion out of the story. Using first and second person - Keep yourself out of the story. Common error: “our school”. Messy handwriting, poor grammar and spelling Too long paragraphs Misspelling names in the story Trying to use all of the information Need to AVOID
- 24. Eliminate the word "that" whenever possible. Eliminate the "be" verb. Write "she will resign" instead of "she will be resigning." Write in future tense (will) instead of future progressive tense (will be "ing"). Avoid the contractions of he'd and they'd. "He'd" can mean both "he had" and "he would," and "they'd" can mean both "they had" and "they would." Editing
- 25. Always double-check the spelling of names. Make sure numbers match the items listed. Make sure "only" is placed properly in a sentence. The location of "only" can change the meaning of a sentence. Editing
- 26. Read the story out loud to catch awkward sentence constructions. Write. Rewrite. Revise. Rewrite. Revise. Edit. Revise. Edit. Edit. The first version of a story is NOT good enough to go into print. THERE IS NO GREAT WRITING, ONLY GREAT REWRITING. Editing
- 27. When you use a pronoun to refer to a team or a group, the proper pronoun to use is "its," NOT they. Example: The team wants to improve its record. Make sure verbs or other phrases are "parallel" or the same in structure when they appear in stories or lists. Examples: He likes gardening, fishing, and hunting. The fire killed at least 12 persons, injured 60 more, and forced scores of residents to leap from windows. Grammar
- 28. Use Grammarly or any autocorrect system Use THIRD PERSON (she, he, it, its, her, hers, him, his, they, them, their, theirs) in news stories. Only on rare occasions do you use first person (I, mine, we, our, ours) or second person (you, your, yours) in news stories. Use active voice vs. passive voice. The passive voice is formed by using some form of the verb "be" with the past participle of an action verb: is shot, was shot, has been shot, had been shot, may be shot, will be shot. Grammar
- 29. Avoid using the same word twice in a sentence. Count the words in a story's sentences. Sentence length should vary. Stories become dull when sentences are all the same length. Quotation marks go outside commas (,") and periods (."). They go inside semicolons (";) and colons (":). You can use TRANSITION WORDS to show coherence from one paragraph to another. Examples: meanwhile, on the other hand, moreover Other points to consider
- 30. A headline is an abstract sentence A headline will determine the angle of the story Usually, it is only five to ten words It is a complete thought It has a subject and a verb, and often an object Headline Writing
- 31. Be specific, direct, and to the point. Write headlines, not titles. To attract readers To tell the story (in summary) Functions of Headline: Headline Writing
- 32. Limit your headline to maximum of 10 words Use “,” instead of the word “and” Use the present tense of the verb Use the shortest words possible: cop-policeman vs-against nab-arrest up-increase join-participate down-decrease Headline Writing
- 33. Use historical present tense if the verb is in the active verb Avoid the helping verb if the verb is in the passive verb Wrong: Reyes topped editorial tilt Correct: Reyes tops editorial tilt Wrong: Drug pushers are nabbed Correct: Drug pushers nabbed Headline Writing
- 34. Use infinitive verb for future events: Do not use a period at the end of the headline Omit the articles ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ Use single quotes (‘’) instead of double quotes (“”) Provide the source of the quote at the end of the headline Ex: Crackdown on errant bus firms–Enrile Wrong: UDST will enjoy WiFi connectivity Correct: UDST to enjoy WiFi connectivity Headline Writing
- 35. Do not use a person’s surname unless he/she is prominent, use a common noun instead Use specific verbs instead of generalities Just report facts; do not editorialize Wrong: Repe wins nat’l painting tilt Correct: NORSU student wins nat’l painting tilt Wrong: Trader killed Better: Trader stabbed to death Wrong: Pnoy gives an inspiring talk (The word “inspiring’ is an opinion) Headline Writing
- 36. Based on notes Packages vs Lives You will mess up Throw’s (Questions are known) Sign Off’s More emotional, (reporter's face is on camera) Inflections Live Reporting
- 37. Thank you!