By: Ms Sabeen Jamil
In a hard news story, the lead should be a full summary of what is to follow. It should incorporate as many of the 5 "W's" of journalism (who, what, where, when and why) as possible.
The inverted pyramid
The inverted pyramid is an anti-narrative structure of writing about events. Instead of starting at the beginning, the inverted pyramid structure demands that you begin with the most important information and that you present information in decreasing order of importance.
History of the style?
Some historians argue that the inverted pyramid form developed in the mid-19th century when news was first being transmitted by telegraph wires. The wires were unreliable so a style of presentation had to be used that would get the most important information out first. The outcome of a battle might be the most important thing that happened during the battle. But rather than writing a narrative that delayed telling what happened until the very end, the journalist had to say it at the beginning of the report. Also it made last minute editing easy.
Lead paragraph
The most important part of an inverted pyramid news story is the lead paragraph. Most lead paragraphs should be one sentence and a maximum of 30 to 35 words. Those are the technical requirements. The content requirement is that it tell the most important piece of information that occurred in the event.
In addition, a lead should contain the main who, what, when and where of the story. And they
- should be direct and simple; they should have the most important information near the beginning of the sentence;
- should not try to tell everything, but they should be good summaries of what the story is about;
- should include specific information -- concrete facts -- about the story;
- should not begin with the when element because this is rarely the most important thing you have to tell the reader;
- should use a strong verb to describe the action;
- should be accurate
The second paragraph
Almost as important as the lead is the second paragraph. The second paragraph is where you develop some idea or piece of information that is in the lead. Remember that you are presenting information in decreasing order of importance. Each new paragraph should present the reader with some new information. But it should be tied to the previous paragraph by the skillful use of transitions. A good approach is to assume that the story might be cut off at any point due to space limitations. Does the story work if the editor only decides to include the first two paragraphs? If not, re-arrange it so that it does.
Leads
- one sentence
- 30-35 words maximum
- lead tells the most important information in the story and gives specific facts
Second paragraph
- expand or develop some idea introduced in the lead
- should not drop the story into a chronological narrative
Attribution
- All major information should be attributed unless it is commonly known or unless the information itself strongly implies the source.
- Don’t dump a string of direct quotations on the reader.
- Direct quotations should be no more than two sentences long.
- Direct quotations and their attribution should be punctuated properly.
Always: Check numbers, dates, locations, titles, etc.
Use same tense throughout the story.
Short paragraphs -- any paragraph more than three sentences is definitely too long; any paragraph that is three sentences is probably too long.
Wordiness -- have you checked for too much verbiage, redundancies, unnecessary repetitions, etc.
Transitions -- use them to tie your paragraphs together. Don’t jump from one subject to another in a new paragraph without giving the reader some warning.
Names -- check them once more to make sure they are spelled correctly.
Stick to one theme which is called peg
