Getting Started:

Crafting The
Good Lead
Reporters in order: Coine-Nathalie-Dhara
Parts of the News: About the writing style

Newspaper articles
Requires writing style of the Inverted Triangle (different
from writing a story).
Parts of the News: About the writing style

Inverted Triangle
One of the writing style
most popular and common
in journalism. It uses the
technique formula of 5W’s
and 1H. Presented in
descending order in 3 or
more differentiated levels.
Parts of the News: About the writing style

So, a Lead is found in a news article that is the story’s

opening one-sentence-one-paragraph and written in an
inverted triangle style.
 Parts of the News: Five Basic Parts of Lead
Headline Byline Lead Paragraph

Major details (in Minor details (in

Supporting Supporting
Paragraph) Paragraph)
Parts of the News: Five Basic Parts of Lead

● Headline – Short, attention-getting statement. Capsulizes

the first paragraph.
Parts of the News: Five Basic Parts of Lead

● Byline – Name of the writer or writers of the new article.

Parts of the News: Five Basic Parts of Lead

● Lead Paragraph – Contains major W’s and H and the

most significant answers to it.
Parts of the News: Five Basic Parts of Lead

● Major details (in Supporting Paragraph) – Most

important details. Uses one-sentence-one-paragraph rule.
Parts of the News: Five Basic Parts of Lead

● Minor details (in Supporting Paragraph) – Least

important details (for wider perspective) may be
paraphrased or inject some of them in the major details.
Parts of the News: The Lead

Lead tells most important facts in straight news. But

also in a feature article or news feature which a lead could
be a word, a phrase, a sentence or a paragraph.
Parts of the News: The Lead

With the rules of thumb the lead should not be too long
or too short.

For higher comprehensibility or for reader’s easy

comprehension (American research suggests):
One sentence or one paragraph that contain
17-35 words.
Parts of the News: Major
Classifications of Lead
Grammatical-Beginning Unorthodox lead
Summary Lead
Lead or novelty lead

Still give emphasis on logical

Answers and importance of major details
summarizes most W’s however also equally To attract
and H. Presents most concerned with grammatical reader’s
important data in first structure. To break monotony attention, arouse
and second paragraphs. of summary or conventional curiosity and
lead paragraphs. sustain interest.
Parts of the News: Major Classifications of
Lead
● Summary Lead – Answers 5W’s and 1H right away.
Parts of the News: Major Classifications of
Lead
● Grammatical-Beginning Lead – Answers important
5W’s and 1H which are part of the logical importance of
major details but also is concerned with its grammatical
structures. To break monotony of summary lead
paragraphs.
Parts of the News: Major Classifications of
Lead
● Unorthodox lead or novelty lead – Used to attract
reader’s attention, arouse curiosity and sustain interest.