1. Writing Effective Headlines Notes

2. Headlines Gone Bad! Grandmother of eight makes hole in one Students return to ground zero high Deaf mute gets new hearing in killing Scientists spot plant outside solar system Iraqi head seeks arms Farmer bill dies in house House passes gas tax onto Senate Blind woman gets new kidney from dad she hasn’t seen in years

3. More Headlines Gone Bad! Animal movements banned 1.6 million Cherokees recalled Study offers another reason to get Pap tests: researchers Reserves, National Guard: Who can keep them straight? Death causes loneliness, feeling of isolation Something went wrong in jet crash, experts say Psychics predict world didn’t end yesterday Never withhold Herpes infection from loved one

4. Headline Do’s and Don’ts Do Don’t Read the article, to understand the purpose / and main idea. Give the most general, overall focus / summary of the story. Remember that the headline may be the only reason the reader decides to read the story. Limit the number of words – 6 to 10, generally. Use strong, active verbs (in the present tense). Express a complete thought. Substitute a comma for the word "and." Make it grammatically correct. Mislead the reader about the content of the article. Put a period at the end. Use names (unless well recognized). Use abbreviations or slang. Trivialize a serious story w/ a pun or other type of word play. Repeat words on the same page. (common on sports pages) Capitalize every word. Use “a,” “an” or “the” Write headlines that could have more than one interpretation

5. Subheading Goes underneath the primary headline, but before your by-line. Used to convey an additional idea of a story Also called a “subhead” Optional (use only if needed)

6. Try and fix these… (hints underneath each) New curriculum offers opportunities and concerns and Why smart men marry smart women obviously! Kid-challenged alleged carjacker caught huh? Write three new headlines for each!