LibGuides: How to Write a News Article: Headlines (2024)
Headlines are becoming increasingly important in the internet age. Not only do they capture the reader's attention, they serve as source material for search engines. Today a reader is just as likely to come across an article by reading a list of search engine results as by scanning a newspaper page.
Headlines should be clear and specific, telling the reader what the story is about, and be interesting enough to draw them into reading the article.
5-10 words at the most
should be accurate and specific
City Council to Cut Taxes doesn't mean the same thing as City Council to Cut Budget
Use present tense and active verbs, but don't start with a verb
Man Skateboards for Homeless
Use infinitive form of verb for future actions
Convention to Create Jobs
Do not use articles - a, an, the
Do not use conjunctions like and - you can substitute a comma
President Declares Peace, Holiday
Should be complete sentences or imply complete sentence
Crackdown on Trafficking doesn't tell you who's doing the trafficking and what kind of trafficking
Avoid repetition - Headlines summarize; they don't repeat the lede.
Headlines should be short and preferably snappy.They should come out of information in the body of the text and not present new information. Headlines are usually not in past tense; a headline about a past event is generally in present tense; one about a future event generally includes to (to meet, to decide, etc.)
Headlines should be short and preferably snappy.They should come out of information in the body of the text and not present new information. Headlines are usually not in past tense; a headline about a past event is generally in present tense; one about a future event generally includes to (to meet, to decide, etc.)
A newspaper article should contain these five main components: a headline, a byline, a lead/lede paragraph, an explanation, and any other additional information. A newspaper article should not include topic or closing sentences.
The headline generally should tell "who" and "what," and perhaps others of the 5 W's. If more than one deck is used, succeed- ing decks give additional facts. (An exception is the headline for a suspended interest feature story. It should suggest what the story is about, but should not reveal the surprise ending.)
Introduction: My name is Corie Satterfield, I am a fancy, perfect, spotless, quaint, fantastic, funny, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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