Writing Headlines

Key Concepts 0 What is a headline? 0 What should a headline look like? 0 What are the different types of headlines?

What is a headline? 0 The headline’s job is to lure the reader into the story. 0 Must do this honestly—can’t put something in the headline that’s not in the story.

Types of headlines: 0 Centered 0 Flush-left/ragged-right—rests squarely against the left side of the column. 0 Hammer Head—usually the top line is twice as large as the bottom line 0 Kicker—one secondary line over the primary headline 0 Wicket—several line of type, up to six are used as a sort of superlead or introduction.

Something to avoid 0 ALL-CAP HEADLINES!!!!!—Should be avoided because they are difficult to read.

Writing do’s and don’ts 0 Headline writing is telegraphic—extra words are left out (i.e., “a,” “an,” “the”) 0 Written in present tense 0 Usually only uses three punctuation marks: comma, quotation mark, and semicolon

Activity 0 Read the following three articles. Come up with a headline for each using the guidelines we just talked about.