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Writing The Lead

The document discusses different types of leads used in news writing. It defines a lead as the introductory paragraph of a news story that captures the essence of the story in the opening sentences. The document outlines the conventional or summary lead, which answers the basic questions of who, what, when, where, why and how. It also discusses the grammatical beginning lead and novelty lead, providing examples of different structures that can be used such as prepositional phrases, clauses, quotations and questions. The goal of a strong lead is to quickly engage the reader by summarizing the most essential details of the news story.

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Xion Xedrick Tinio
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30 views

Writing The Lead

The document discusses different types of leads used in news writing. It defines a lead as the introductory paragraph of a news story that captures the essence of the story in the opening sentences. The document outlines the conventional or summary lead, which answers the basic questions of who, what, when, where, why and how. It also discusses the grammatical beginning lead and novelty lead, providing examples of different structures that can be used such as prepositional phrases, clauses, quotations and questions. The goal of a strong lead is to quickly engage the reader by summarizing the most essential details of the news story.

Uploaded by

Xion Xedrick Tinio
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WRITING THE

LEAD
What is a Lead?

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The lead is typically followed by
additional paragraphs that provide
more details and context about the
story. The structure of a
newspaper article often follows an
"inverted pyramid" style, where
the most important and relevant
information is presented at the
beginning (in the lead), and the
article then proceeds to provide
additional information and
background in descending order
of importance.
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Kinds of Lead
a. Conventional or Summary Lead
b. Grammatical beginning lead
c. Novelty lead

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Conventional or Summary Lead
This kind of lead used in straight news answers right away all or any of the 5 W’s and/or the H. It may be one
of the following:

 WHO lead – Used when the person involved is more prominent that what he does or what happens to him.

 WHAT lead – Used when the event or what took place is more important than the person involved in the
story.

 WHERE lead – Used when the place is unique and no prominent person is involved.

 WHEN lead – Rarely used as the reader presumes the story to be timely. However, this lead is useful
when speaking of deadlines, holidays, and important dates.

 WHY lead – Used when the reason is more prominent or unique than what happens.

 HOW lead – Used when the manner, mode, means, or method of achieving the story is the unnatural way.
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Grammatical
beginning lead
 Some examples of these grammatical beginning leads are:
a. Prepositional phrase lead – The phrase is introduced by a preposition.
b. Infinitive phrase lead – It begins with the sign of the infinitive to plus the main
verb.
c. Participial phrase lead – It is introduced by the present or past participle form of
the verb
d. Gerundial Phrase lead – It is introduced by a gerund (a verbal noun ending in
ing)
e. Clause lead – The lead begins with a clause which may either be independent
or subordinate; or may either be a noun or an adjectival or adverbial clause.

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Novelty lead
 Astonisher lead – Uses an interjection or an exclamatory
sentence.
 Contrast lead – Describes two extremes or opposites for
emphasis. The sharper the contrast, the more effective the lead
will be.
 Epigram lead – Opens by quoting a common expression, verse, or
epigram, at least familiar in the locality.
 Picture lead – Describes a person, a place, or an event, at the
same time creating a mental picture of the subject matter in the
mind of the reader.
 Background lead – Similar to the picture lead except that it
describes the setting which may be more prominent than the
characters and the events.
 Descriptive lead – Used when comparatively few descriptive words
can vividly formulate an imagery.
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 Parody lead – Consists of a parody of a well-known song, poem, lines, etc.

 Punch lead – A short, forceful word or expression.

 One word lead – (self-explanatory)

 Quotation lead – Consists of the speaker’s direct words which are very
striking and which are usually quoted from a speech, a public address, or an
interview.

 Question lead – An answer to a question which is the basis of the news story.

 This will be known Aug. 8 after the final screening to be held at the PNU Gym
and Performing Arts Center.
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Thank you

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