How to Write a Newspaper Article The 5 Ws and the H The Inverted Pyramid The Lead Line

The 5 Ws and the H Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?

Less important information Inverted Pyramid Summarize the most important information in the first line, called the “lead line” (the 5 Ws and the H) Hooks the reader’s attention The next lines give more information Most important information Less important information -Smaller details

Why Write this Way? Imagine you're telling your best friend that you have just met the love of your life. Chances are you wouldn't start out with boring details like, "I got up at 8 a.m., I showered and got dressed, ate breakfast, brushed my teeth, went to class," then, finally getting to the juicy part, add, " and on the way bumped into this wonderful person I want to spend the rest of my life with." Nope. You'd be all excited, and the first thing you would blurt out to you friend would be, "I've just met the love of my life!" That would be the "lead" of your story. You'd then describe the next most important information: things like what this person is like, why you're nuts about this person, what this person looks like, and so forth. Finally, you'd get around to describing all the little details like exactly what you said and exactly what he or she said, and so forth.

Intro or Introduction The intro or introduction is the first sentence of a news story. The basic requirements of the intro are that it should: Grab the reader's attention Concentrate on the main news point (the 'what') Be short - no longer than 25 words Use active (Dog kills rat) not passive (Rat killed by dog) verbs Be specific and clear Use simple language

Write an Intro Think of your day yesterday. What was the highlight of your day? Write that one event as a lead line. Write all the most important information of that event into one sentence Example: On Tuesday, April 27th, Green Acres staff throws baby shower for two employees, both expecting girls, “showering” them with words of encouragement and gifts.

Review The 5 Ws and the H. The Inverted Pyramid The Intro or Lead Line Newspaper articles must include the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the event. The Inverted Pyramid The most important information comes first The Intro or Lead Line The first sentence that grabs the readers attention and gives the most important information