1. Lesson 2 Story Structures
“A newspaper should be the maximum of information, and the minimum of comment.” --Richard Cobden

2. Organizing Your Story
Now with a strong lead, the time has come to develop the rest of your story that includes the most interesting facts!
Choosing the correct structure to benefit your readers is critical to the success of your story!
There are 3 typical structures you will be using as a journalist:
Inverted Pyramid
Storytelling Pattern
Chronological Order Pattern
Also, you might use these patterns together in the same story!

3. Inverted Pyramid
LEAD
Most interesting news stories use this style for many reasons; it benefits:
Hurried readers
Beginning journalists
Headline writers
Page layout editors
Most Important Details
Less important details
Least important details
This style is beneficial to many different people because less time will be spent on the parts of the story that aren’t as important!

4. Storytelling Pattern Lead
This narrative form captures a reader’s interest without being as obvious as the inverted pyramid.
After a beginning, middle, and end, the writer includes a clincher or a kicker which gives the reader something to remember without repeating previous information; a circle kicker returns back to the opening paragraph!
Fact
Clincher
Fact

5. Chronological Pattern
Lead
Though similar to the narrative style, this pattern works very well when a writer is trying to convey critical points of a story!
Foreshadowing
Chronological Storytelling
Climax at End

6. Story Structure Wrap Up
Obviously the type of story structure you choose is based a great deal on the content.
Keep your readers in mind when organizing your information, drafting your story, and finally revising!
This concludes lesson 2 on story structures. Please select the home button to continue the course!