This is the first of a weekly series of Citizen Journalism writing tips to help you in your writing careers. Learn about headlines, intros, writing copy, quotes, investigative journalism, interview etiquette, photos and much more.
This week:
Headlines
It's one of the most difficult things for writers to nail down. Headlines come in all shapes and sizes, from the pithy (Kennedy Released from Hospital) to the verbose (How should a president handle uncertainties or disputes on intelligence?). There is no exact science to creating a perfect headline, but first let's discuss what you should avoid.
DON'T be too short in headlines, because you want to add enough information to catch the reader's eye. "Boy Injured in School" says nothing, so you'd want to add detail such as where it occurred, what injury affected the boy and perhaps how old he is.
DON'T go on too long, so be concise. Imagine reading this headline: "Food crisis hurts consumers, but farmers are also grieving, want subsidies." Do you know what the article is about exactly? Why not get right to the heart of the matter by talking about the farmers? A better headline would be, "Farmers hurt by food supply crisis, request subsidies."
DON'T use ALL CAPS or exclamation marks!! or double "quotes." Instead use 'single' quotes and the only punctuation you should use are colons and commas
DON'T assume everyone knows where or what you're talking about. If you have the Hamilton as the place in the headline, does every reader know that it is in Ontario and Canada? While those details need to be specific, there's no need to explain who Bush or Mugabe is, considering their prominence in news media.
DO use present tense, when possible, although you can use past tense for older stories.
DO be creative so your headlines stand out from the pack.
DO be different than the the other headlines you read on the same story. Why would you want to steal heads when you can create your own gem?
DO spellcheck your headline, which DigitalJournal.com provides.
Got any questions? Comments? Additions?
Check here next week for more tips.
Next tip:
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How to write a good intro or "lead"
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