Writing headline
The headlines of news stories are the outline of the story. It communicates a single idea with impact to try to sell the story to the reader and tell them it is a story worth reading. Headlines also help guide readers through a page. Writing headline involves two steps:
- Selecting which details to be used, and
- Phrasing them properly within the space available.
Good headlines, like good sentences, have a subject and predicate (verb), and a direct object. For example: "Flood hits Assam".
Dos
- Draw your headline from information at the top of the story.
- If the story has a punch ending do not give it away in the headline.
- Build your headline around key words
- Build the headlines on words used in the story
- Emphasize the positive unless the story demands the negative.
- Use active verbs.
- Maintain neutrality.
- Follow the rules of grammar.
- Try to arouse the reader's interest.
- Make the headline easy to read.
Don'ts
- Do not use common names in headlines.
- Do not use unnecessary words.
- Do not are double quotation marks in headlines.
Tips on Writing Headlines
Keep headlines simple and direct.
Include a verb when you can.
Avoid using full stops.
Use the active voice.
Use present tense.
Avoid using people’s first names, unless they’re well known by that name.
Use supplementary headlines to explain or lead readers into a story.
Avoid using label headlines.
Avoid words like ‘man’ or ‘woman’ – use descriptive words like ‘axe man’, ‘fire-fighter’, ‘mother’, ‘father’, ‘hero’, ‘painter.’
Avoid repeating words. eg: Govt plea for air terminal for the Games.
Avoid ambiguity.
Avoid using the articles a, an, and, the.
Search for the key words -The best way to write good news headlines is to jot down two or three key words from the story.
Draw on idioms - identify phrases or expressions associated with the story’s theme, eg a story about a professional clown brings these sayings to mind: send in the clowns, class clown, clowning around, act the clown, court jester, put on a happy face.
Use a word with two meanings. eg: He has reservations about hotels.