How to write leads exercises Summary leads Soft

How to write leads exercises

Summary leads & Soft leads A cricket-loving teenager from Jharkhand has been named as India’s youngest millionaire. • News story: A cricket-loving teenager from Jharkhand has been named as India’s youngest millionaire. • Feature: Geeky and monosyllabic, India’s youngest millionaire seems more interested in how many test-match hundreds M S Dhoni made than in discussing his fortune.

Comprehensibility Which is acceptable as lead for a murder news? • Police have launched a murder hunt after a wife found her husband dead in the bath. • It was a fine, sunny day in suburban Madivala as happily married Mihira Sharma returned home from her weekly shopping trip to M G Road….

Simplicity, crispness, and straight forward in nature Which is acceptable as lead? • A jilted lover electrified his rival’s car in an attempt to gain revenge. Or • Because he wanted to get revenge, a jilted lover electrified his rival’s car.

Be dramatic and grab the readers’ attention Which lead is likely to hook the reader? And why? • A madman with an axe terrorised a Whitefield housing estate last night. Or • After an incident on a Whitefield housing estate last night, residents finally decided to call the police.

News is factual Which lead sounds credible? Why? • The government’s decision to introduce student loans is a disaster, a top university vice-chancellor claimed last night. Or • The government’s decision to introduce student loans is a disaster.

Maintaining balance Which is a balanced lead? • Residents say teenagers belonging to the youth club are responsible for the vandalism. But youngsters claim the problems are being caused by gangs from other estates in the city. Or • Teenagers from the youth club are responsible for vandalism on a housing estate.

Writing leads/intros • It’s an attention grabbing device. • Highlights either the most dramatic, important, interesting or unusual part of the story. • Intros tend to be contrived – they don’t begin at the beginning but, instead, pull out the most dramatic, exciting, important or unusual part of the story. • A well-constructed story will later explain, justify and expand on the intro.

“This-is-too-much” leads • But don't pack all the information into your leads: DON’T write like this: • A man who lost part of his middle finger when it was sliced off by a windscreen-wiper blade on the homecoming bus carrying the 1996 All-Ireland senior hurling championship was given the benefit of the Probation Act when he appeared at Gorey District Court on Friday. • A Birmingham father chased away a city teenager who saw the man’s daughter attacking a fourteen-year-old girl who was later stabbed to death, it was alleged in court.