Transcript File

Headlines
Writing Basics
1-line-headline
Bricklayers engage in mortar combat
2-line-headline
Backers hot for chili
as U.S. official food
3-line-headline
Mosquitos
biting into
holiday fun
Hammer - main/secondary headline
(We also call this a main headline/subheadline combo.)
Standing tall
5’-4” guard rises to challenge of leading Tigers
Tripod - main/secondary headline
Driven to destruction Police play game
of cat and mouse
with illegal racers
Kicker - main/secondary headline
Nolan Ryan makes smooth transition to job
helping oversee state’s parks, wildlife areas
Whole new ballgame
What kind of headline is this?
Dress code approved
Policy mostly affects girls, critics say
Helpful hint
•
Make the tone fit the content.
o Serious story, serious headline.
o Funny story, funny headline.
Helpful hint
•
Be objective. Do not editorialize.
Helpful hints
•
•
•
Make it sound natural, like something you
would say.
Avoid awkward constructions.
No SAT words.
Helpful hint
•
Keep all parts of a verb on the same line.
Big surprise: Perry will
run for governor again
George Bush will
attend Mensa meeting
purely as spectator
Helpful hint
•
Put modifiers and words modified
on the same line.
Fire guts Fred Astaire
Dance Studio, 2 injured
Helpful hint
•
Do not end a line with a preposition.
Baseball team ready for
playoff game, coach says
No love lost between
Longhorns, Sooners
Helpful hint
•
No articles. Use a comma to replace “and.”
Heat wave blisters California, Texas
Helpful hint
•
Avoid clichés.
Swimmers dive into season
Golfers swing into action
Exchange students say ‘Hasta la Vista’
Math Club multiplies
Football team tackles opposition
Helpful hint
•
Do not repeat key words or phrases
from the main headline into the secondary
headline.
Pocket lasers banned
Authorities ban laser pointers
Instead:
Pocket lasers banned
Principal cites injuries, class disruptions
Helpful hint
• The main headline should never be
dependent on a kicker or other secondary
headline.
If health care bill passes, death panels
will determine the cost of treating elderly
No details exist, but Limbaugh says it could happen
Helpful hint
•
Don’t pad headlines with school initials or dates. Also,
avoid initials and abbreviations in headlines.
Too vague…
2012 MHS FFA plans
to hold annual rodeo
More specific…
Willie Nelson to appear
at FFA rodeo Saturday
Helpful hint
•
Be clever when you can. Puns make good main heads.
Take ‘meowt’
to the cat show
Annual festival of felines begins today
Band itching for practice
as soon as mosquitoes killed
Helpful hint
•
Headlines do not use end mark punctuation.
Helpful hint
•
Avoid initials or abbreviations unless the
initials are instantly recognizable.
Helpful hint
•
Alliteration in headlines should be used
sparingly and in appropriate situations.
Acceptable:
New Planetary Puzzlers
A distant, oversize world causes cosmic confusion
Helpful hint
•
Use a thesaurus. Headline writers must have
at their disposal enough synonyms to plug in
and out of the headline to make the count.
New Planetary Puzzlers
A distant, oversize world causes cosmic confusion
One/two/three-lines mean “main idea”
PRACTICE: Write a 2-line headline with a count of 2632 per line. (That means 26-32 characters, including
spaces. Think of only composing a 26-32 character
tweet.)
In hopes of raising awareness, the Advanced Placement biology
classes will present a slideshow on global warming and climate
change at 7 p.m. Thursday in the school’s theater.
“I think most people are unaware,” senor Tiffani Loft said. “We
want to educate students and the public and give them tips on how
they can help.”
AP biology teacher Freida Bailey suggested the presentation
after her students voiced frustration over the public’s ignorance of
climate change.
(more stuff about free food)
One/two/three-lines mean “main idea”
In hopes of raising awareness, the Advanced Placement biology
classes will present a slideshow on global warming and climate
change at 7 p.m. Thursday in the school’s theater.
“I think most people are unaware,” senor Tiffani Loft said. “We
want to educate students and the public and give them tips on how
they can help.”
AP biology teacher Freida Bailey suggested the presentation
after her students voiced frustration over the public’s ignorance of
climate change.
(more stuff about free food)
Possible answers:
2-line with each line 26-32 characters (including spaces)
Class hopes to promote awareness
with global warming slideshow
Clever headline
When geometry teacher Robin Hester found out she was
pregnant, she was ecstatic.
“My husband and I had been trying for three years,” she said.
“We pretty much gave up.”
Then the even bigger news followed. She was pregnant with
quintuplets.
(due July 4)
PRACTICE: Write a 1-line main (9-18 count) and 1-line secondary (26-32
count)
Clever headline
When geometry teacher Robin Hester found out she was
pregnant, she was ecstatic.
“My husband and I had been trying for three years,” she said.
“We pretty much gave up.”
Then the even bigger news followed. She was pregnant with
quintuplets.
(due July 4)
Possible answer:
1-line main 9-18 and 1 line secondary 26-32
Do the math
Hester expecting quintuplets
PRACTICE
Responding to the economic downturn and falling enrollment
figures, the School Board voted to close 21st Century Academy and
Howard Middle School. The vote comes after months of indecision
among administrators and school board members and heated
criticism from parents.
1-line headline counting 21-27
Possible answer
Responding to the economic downturn and falling enrollment
figures, the School Board voted to close 21st Century Academy and
Howard Middle School. The vote comes after months of indecision
among administrators and school board members and heated
criticism from parents.
1-line headline counting 21-27
Board closes 2 schools
PRACTICE
Senior Mike Gee won the state championship in mathematics at
the Texas Math/Science Coaches Association state convention in
San Antonio last weekend. Gee also took second place in number
sense and third place in calculator applications.
Gee, who has accepted a full scholarship to Stanford University
next year, said he owes his success to coach Dudley Smith.
“I never really liked math that much before I took his AP
Calculus class,” Gee said. “But he makes it interesting and fun.”
Smith said Gee is being too modest.
“Mike is a math whiz,” he said.
1-line main counting 8-15
with a 1-line secondary counting 24-30
Possible answer
Senior Mike Gee won the state championship in mathematics at
the Texas Math/Science Coaches Association state convention in
San Antonio last weekend. Gee also took second place in number
sense and third place in calculator applications.
Gee, who has accepted a full scholarship to Stanford University
next year, said he owes his success to coach Dudley Smith.
1-line main counting 8-15
with a 1-line secondary counting 24-30
Gee, whiz
Senior wins state math title