Headline vs. Lead

When writing an article, the lead is the most important sentence.  This sentence is what makes or breaks the article.  If a person is not hooked by the lead, then they will not continue to read the article and the story simples becomes a filler of empty words on a page. It is very important that as a writer you know the significant difference between a headline and a lead. A head line is also meant to catch the readers eye, but it does not give nearly as much information about the article and it is not a complete sentence. As for a lead, however, the writer must be sure to answer the "who, what, when, where, why and how" of the story.  It is very important for you as a writer to be able to know the difference between the headline and the lead to better inform your reader about the information presented.

Revision is Your Best Friend, So Make Your Best Friend Revise

No matter how great of a writer you are, there is always room for improvement. Revising your writing is an essential step towards becoming a good writer.  After making an outline and organizing exactly how you want to present information to your reader, you must then go back and reread what you wrote to be absolutely sure you said what you wanted to.  One helpful tip get your "bang for your buck" in revising is to read your material out loud. I've learned that what is written on paper has a tendency to be much more confusing once you actually say it out loud. It is also extremely important to have others read your writing before you publish it.  Even if you understand what you are trying to say, it may be very confusing for fresh eyes. You, as a writer, may also find that you have not given enough background information and have your reader lost after the first paragraph. The people reading your writing will not continue through the entirety of the article if it is confusing; why publish something if it isn't going to be read? To avoid the tragedy of an unread article, do yourself a favor and make sure it's worth reading.

The Fabulous Five Sentence Fail-Safe Structure

We have spent the past four weeks in COMM 160 testing and revising numerous writing methods in order to create a formula create a perfect hard hitting news article.  Little did we know that in as little as five sentences we could create a fail-proof news story with each key part of the article could be presented to the reader in just one sentence.  The first sentence is, of course, the lead.  The lead presents just enough information to get across the point of the story in an eye-catching manner, but leaves the necessary room for expansion.  The second sentence, the "Support Sentence," is where the writer can then back up the lead with addition context. Sentence three and four are questionably the most important sentences in the whole article.  In this portion, you are responsible for introducing a quote and the speaker of the quote. This information helps the reader understand why the whole article is relevant.  The writer obviously feels that the article he or she is writing is important but by adding in quotes from an outsider, it shows the reader that the news being presented is something that will affect others. The last sentence of the article gives background information that ties the entire article together and answers any lingering questions the reader may have. This simple formula gives all the necessary information to produce a well-published article for the world to enjoy.

How to Improve News Writing

Clear transitions throughout your article is very important.  As a writer, you must be able to present new ideas to your reader smoothly and without confusion. In order to introduce a new topic, you must include a sentence that binds the ideas of each paragraph together.  This clear transition is just as important when introducing a quote for your article. In order to present a quote into your article without confusion, you must first introduce the person who said the quote in a way that is directly linked to the information being presented.
It is also very important to take note that news writing is extremely different than creative writing.  A key point to remember with news writing is that less it more. Flowery language is in no way necessary to present a good story to the public.  It is always best to just say what you mean is a clear, concise way for the reader to understand.

Gender Inequality Shown Through Language

After reading the article “Why Sexist Language Matters” by Sheryyl Kleinman, it brought my attention to how often I use “male generics.”  It’s no secret that our language is primarily male-dominant, but after reading the article I realized that I use the phrase “you guys” multiple times on a daily basis without even realizing how one could argue it reflects gender inequality in our society.  Kleinman points out that subconsciously using phrases such as these reinforces the message that men are superior to women.  Because this message is subconsciously in the male brain, it ultimately reflects why males treat females as their “lesser” in society.

Although most of Kleinman’s points of view were easy to agree with, some of her points were arguable.  Her article goes on to state that women enjoy being placed in the same category as men, such as in phrases of “you guys” and “freshmen,” because women want to be included in a more superior group with men.  I completely disagree with this opinion.  I, for one, use the phrase “you guys” without even thinking about.  I will walk into my suite after classes and address my three female roommates as “guys” and I am in no way trying to increase their superiority to be on the same level as a men.  I think that over time, this language has become a more casual way of addressing a group of people and feeling comfortable conversing with them; and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. 

The Importance of a Good Lead

While looking through a newspaper, it is easy to overlook the importance of a strong lead.  As a reader, the first sentence of every news article is crucial in deciphering whether or not we continue with the article, although we tend not to realize it.  Only when we are writing a lead do we notice the importance of strategically placing the information to attract the reader and keep the readers attention.  In ideally 18 to 20 words, the writer must try to tell the reader the "five Ws and one H" of the article: who, what, when, where, why and how.  This layout of each article is commonly seen in the structure of an inverted triangle, revealing an overview of the article in the beginning and increasing in detail as the story continues.  The most important thing to remember about a lead is that it needs to be written in full sentences.  Leads are not headlines and need to contain all parts of a proper sentence.

"Me" vs. "I"

In our most recent COMM 160 session, a fellow student taught us when it is correct to use "I" and when it is correct to use "me."  This problem is most commonly seen in sentences because both "I" and "me" are first-person singular pronouns people use to refer to themselves.  My classmate taught us that "I" is correct to use when it is the subject pronoun used for the person doing the verb. "Me", on the other hand, is the object pronoun used as the object, or receiver, of the action of the verb.  While this definition is very helpful, it is not realistic that a person will be able to think about this mid-sentence and know which word is correct.  Therefore, she taught us a little trick to help us choose the correct word.  When confronted with the problem of "I" vs. "me", simply take out the other person in the sentence and see which word would be correct.  For example, if the sentence were "He sang to Jill and (me/I)", it would be correct to say "He sang to Jill and me." If you took out Jill, the sentence would then read, "He sang to me" which would be correct, not "He sang to I."