Transcript How to write headlines

How to write
Headlines
Material property of the AR Dept. of Education. It may be used for non-profit, educational use
only after contacting the ADE DLC at http://dlc.k12.ar.us ER
We’ve all written headlines
before…
“Hey! I can see it now!” you’ve
said to your brother.
“ ‘Boy drops dead from too
much chocolate’. If you don’t
quit eating all those Hershey
bars, it’s going to be you.”
Actually, it’s not difficult to write a
headline. There’s just a few rules.
• Use downstyle. This means only
the first word of the headline and
any proper nouns are capitalized.
Principal presents award
to Coach Smith
Headlines go against the left border.
• Most newspapers use headlines that
are flush left. This means the
headline sits squarely against the
left side of the column, leaving the
lines to run ragged on the right.
Junior runs over teacher with car
Our headlines use sans serif type.
• Because our newspaper is published on
the Web, it’s easier for our readers to
read a sans serif type, such as Arial.
• “Sans serif” means without serifs, or the
little feet that extend from each letter.
Serif – Like this
Sans serif – Like this
Headlines are written in point size.
•
This is 18 point.
• This is 24 point.
• This is 30 point.
• This is 36 point.
• This is 42 point.
• This is 48 point.
•This is 60 point.
Headlines are written in present
tense.
• By writing a headline in present tense,
it makes the story appear as if it just
happened.
Miller wins $10 million prize
Not like this:
Miller won $10 million prize
Headlines need a subject and a verb.
• Think of a headline as a sentence, but
without many of the words.
• A headline such as Homecoming is just
a label, it’s not a headline.
Instead, write:
Homecoming win leads to celebration
(subject)
(verb)
(object)
Keep a prepositional phrase together
in a headline.
• Instead of:
Dog bites alien on
tender spot
Write:
Dog bites alien
on tender spot
(“on” is a preposition)
Headlines don’t have hyphens.
• Make sure when you write out the
headline, the computer doesn’t
hyphenate any words. If it does,
move the words around.
Smith discovers dinosaur remains in wall
Smith discovers
dinosaur remains
A headline doesn’t need a period at
the end.
• Headlines are not sentences. However,
you may use other forms of punctuation
in headlines when needed:
Did you ever think it would happen?
Fort Smith merges two high schools
You don’t need the name of the school
or the school initials in a headline.
• The readers already know the name
of your school. Instead, use the
headline to tell what happened.
Not so good:
JHS students picket cafeteria
Better:
95% of students picket during lunch
Don’t use a, an or the except in special
headlines.
• Good:
Governor awards teacher with honor
Bad:
The governor awards teacher with an honor
• It’s okay to use articles (a, an or the) in a
headline such as a hammer or a wicket:
The ultimate put-down
Seniors name skip day for principal
Only use your opinion in a headline
for an editorial.
• News headlines shouldn’t contain
any words that let the reader know
what you think of the story.
Don’t:
We’re better than Fort Smith!
Better:
Team blows away Fort Smith, 42-0
In headlines, use single quote marks.
• Don’t:
“Angel Baby” really a detective
Do:
‘Angel Baby’ really a detective
A headline should fill at least ¾ of
the white space it occupies.
• If a headline is too short for the
space, it looks strange.
Don’t:
Boy wins meet
Do:
Taylor nabs tournament title
Headlines must cover the entire story.
• Don’t design a page with a headline
over part of the story.
• A headline is like a roof of a house: It
must cover the whole text.
Tornado!
School closed for remainder of this year
Use a comma in place of ‘and.’
• To save space, use a comma
instead of the word ‘and.’
Don’t:
Band and choir win awards
Do:
Band, choir win awards
Use a semicolon to separate complete
thoughts
Don’t:
Legislature in session. Future of roads in doubt
Do:
Legislature in session; future of roads in doubt
Use active verbs; omit forms of the
verb to be
Don’t:
Smoking is common, survey shows
Do:
Survey reveals smoking is common