2.  ; Writing effective headlines | Good headlines Home | Assignment listWriting effective headlinesGood headlines HomeAssignment list 

3. Potential witness to murder drunk

4.  Dole and Bush dead even in Kansas polls

5. Pope plans headache

6. Clinic gives poor free legal advice

7. S. Florida illegal aliens cut in half by new law

8. Do Keep it short: 5- 7 words ideal Trim any extra words: a, an, the  Woody High earns high rating from State

9. Grab reader’s attention Pitts picks Pitt

10.  Write in present tense to give readers sense of NOW EX: Wolverines defeat Indians  If historic event, past tense is acceptable Ex: Volcano erupted 50 years ago today  If future tense use infinitive rather than will. EX: Juniors to take PSSA’s in March

11. Use lively VERBS (no is, am, are, was, were) Not: Valko is new president Instead: Valko elected president of senior class

12.  USE only comma, quotation mark and semicolon Use comma in place of and White, Kyles win scholarship

13.  Use single quotes  Obama promises ‘No new taxes’

14.  Do not use

15.  Use when period would be used in regular writing  Wolverines pass PSSA’s; students get day off

16. AVOID ALL CAP HEADLINES  DIFFICULT TO READ—SHAPES ARE LOST WHEN ALL LETTERS ARE CAPITALIZED  INSTEAD: Capitalize only the first word of the headline and any proper nouns

17. This is a centered headline

18. This represents flush left

19. Hammer head Big on top, small on the bottom  Top line is usually twice as large as the bottom line;  one line should be set in a contrasting style  Used for important stories where primary headline receives most attention.

20. This is a kicker or overline Main head indented Used when writer wishes to feature a single word or phrase as the main title and add more specific information in the secondary headline. Girls basketball clinches section as Lady Wolverines defeat Penn Hills

21. The introductory paragraph, which may run several lines long and offer enticing facts—and even quotes leads the reader naturally to the Main title here Egyptian military takes over after Egyptians fill the streets of Cairo, cleansing the streets as well as the government as Mubarik steps down

22.  Use kicker or wicket  Use subheadings between different sections of long articles If a small group of people in every Arab country went out and persevered as we did, then that would be the end of all the regimes,” he said, joking that the next Arab summit might be “a coming-out party” for all the ascendant youth leaders. Bloggers Lead the Way The Egyptian revolt was years in the making. Ahmed Maher, a 30-year-old civil engineer and a leading organizer of the April 6 Youth Movement, first became engaged in a political movement known as Kefaya, or Enough, in about 2005. Mr. Maher and others organized their own brigade, Youth for Change.Kefaya

23.  Check the facts  Be accurate: 1. spelling of student, staff names 2. Position (administrator, etc.) 3..

24. Avoid the obvious: don’t use words like “as pictured” “is shown,” and “looks on.” Homecoming court poses for photo

25. Captions or cutlines Avoid making judgments Kimberlee Moore dislikes tomato juice

26. Use descriptions when they will help reader identify persons in photos

27.  Use present tense: creates a sense of immediacy  Use commas to set off directions from the captions to the picture: Brandon Sachs, upper left,  Allow for longer captions when more information will help the reader understand the story and the situation.  Conversational language works best. Do not use cliches. Write the caption as if you are telling a story.  Use quotes when they work

28.  Don’t try to be funny if the picture is not  Don’t let cutlines repeat information that is in the head, deck, or pull quote  Don’t assume you know: ask questions when taking the photo

29. Ex: Mr. Crone (in foreground) marches in 33 rd Homecoming Parade (2007)

30. ( photo courtesy of AP images )