Writing effective headlines Good headlines Home Assignment list What is needed Potential witness to murder drunk What is needed here Dole and Bush dead even in Kansas polls ID: 240299
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Slide1
Writing Effective Headlines and captionsSlide2
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Writing effective headlines
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Good headlines
Home
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Assignment list
Slide3
What is needed?
Potential witness to murder drunk Slide4
What is needed here?
Dole and Bush dead even in Kansas pollsSlide5
HUH?
Pope plans headacheSlide6
REVISE
Clinic gives
poor free
l
egal adviceSlide7
Is that legal?
S. Florida illegal aliens
cut in half by new lawSlide8
Writing effective headlines: Do’s
Do
Keep it short: 5-7 words ideal Trim any extra words:
a, an, the
Woody High earns high rating from State Slide9
More do’s
Grab reader’s attention
Pitts picks PittSlide10
Do’s
Write in present tense to give readers sense of NOW
EX: Wolverines defeat Indians
If historic event, past tense is acceptable
Ex: Volcano erupted 50 years ago today
If future tense use infinitive rather than
will.
EX: Juniors
to take
PSSA’s in MarchSlide11
More Do’s
Use lively VERBS (no
is, am, are, was, were)
Not:
Valko
is new president
Instead:
Valko
elected president of senior classSlide12
Punctuation
USE only comma, quotation mark and semicolon
Use comma in place of
and
White,
Kyles
win scholarshipSlide13
Punctuation of quotes
Use single quotes
Obama promises ‘No new taxes’Slide14
Exclamation points
Do not use Slide15
Semi colons
Use when period would be used in regular writing
Wolverines pass PSSA’s; students get day offSlide16
Capitalization
AVOID ALL CAP HEADLINES
DIFFICULT TO READ—SHAPES ARE LOST WHEN ALL LETTERS ARE CAPITALIZED
INSTEAD: Capitalize only the first word of the headline and any proper nounsSlide17
Headline styles
This is a centered headlineSlide18
Headline styles
This represents
flush leftSlide19
Headline styles—the hammer head
Hammer head
Big on top, small on the bottom
Top line is usually twice as large as the bottom line;
one line should be set in a contrasting style
Used for important stories where primary headline receives most attention.Slide20
Headline styles—the kicker
This is a kicker or
overline
Main head indented
Used when writer wishes to feature a single word or phrase as the main title and add more specific information in the secondary headline.
Girls basketball clinches section as
Lady Wolverines defeat Penn HillsSlide21
Headline styles—the wicket
The introductory paragraph, which may run several lines long and offer enticing facts—and even quotes leads the reader naturally to the
Main title here
Egyptian military takes over after Egyptians fill the streets of Cairo, cleansing the streets as well as the government as
Mubarik
steps downSlide22
Headlines on web newspapers
Use kicker or wicket
Use subheadings between different sections of long articles
If a small group of people in every Arab country went out and persevered as we did, then that would be the end of all the regimes,” he said, joking that the next Arab summit might be “a coming-out party” for all the ascendant youth leaders.
Bloggers Lead the Way
The Egyptian revolt was years in the making. Ahmed Maher, a 30-year-old civil engineer and a leading organizer of the April 6 Youth Movement, first became engaged in a political movement known as
Kefaya
, or Enough, in about 2005. Mr. Maher and others organized their own brigade, Youth for Change
. Slide23
Captions or cutlines
Check the facts
Be accurate:
spelling of
student, staff names
Position (administrator, etc.)
.Slide24
Captions or cutlines
Avoid the obvious:
don’t use words like “as pictured” “is shown,” and “looks on.”
Homecoming court poses for photoSlide25
Captions or cutlines
Avoid making judgments
Kimberlee
Moore dislikes tomato juiceSlide26
Use descriptions when they will help reader identify persons in photosSlide27
Do’s for writing captions
Use present tense: creates a sense of immediacy
Use commas to set off directions from the captions to the picture: Brandon Sachs, upper left,
Allow for longer captions when more information will help the reader understand the story and the situation.
Conversational language works best. Do not use
cliches
. Write the caption as if you are telling a story.
Use quotes when they workSlide28
Don’ts for writing captions
Don’t try to be funny if the picture is not
Don’t let
cutlines
repeat information that is in the head, deck, or pull quote
Don’t assume you know: ask questions when taking the photoSlide29
If the picture is historic, or a file photo, indicate the date that it was taken
Ex: Mr. Crone (in foreground) marches in 33
rd
Homecoming Parade (2007)Slide30
If the picture is borrowed from another site, you must indicate the site
(
photo courtesy of AP images
)