ESOL News Network--How to Write a Lead

"How to...Write a Lead"

The lead (the first sentence or paragraph in a news story) is the most important part of the story. It tells what the story is about (summarizes the story) and tries to capture the readers' interest. A good lead will make the reader want to keep reading.

The lead should not begin with words or phrases like "there is/are/will be", "on Monday", "at a meeting", "recently" or "according to". These words do not help to get the readers' attention quickly.

A lead should be under 30 words and only one or two sentences.

The lead emphasizes only the most important questions: who, what, where, when, why and how. It does not include all the details. For example:

NOT AS GOOD: Jose Medina, 13, a middle school student at Kingsview MS and an honor roll student, was slightly hurt in a car accident at 3:30pm on Friday when returning home with his parents after school.

BETTER: A 13-year old student was seriously hurt on Friday in a car accident while returning home from school with his parents.

The details given in the first example will appear later in the story.

A lead that is a question must be brief, simple and provocative (create an immediate interest and excitement). For example, one question might be: "Why are many ESOL students so close to their grandparents?"

A quotation is not usually used in a lead unless it summarizes the story and is short.

Remember, a lead is short, summarizes the story, and creates interest.

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