Essay for lead for BA Students

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Lead

    Lead is the first and most important paragraph of the news story. Readers will normally judge a story on newspaper by its lead. Busy readers read the lead and understands the news story. It is the gist of a story written in less than 35 words. A lead should induce the readers interest and curiosity.

“The most important sentence in any article is the first one. If it doesn’t induce the reader to proceed   to the second sentence, your article is dead.”

                                                                                 — William Zinsser, On Writing Well

The main function of the lead is not only to introduce the news story but to give the questions of the reader. The good lead answers all important information about the news story.

Types of Lead:

a)      Summary Lead: It is meant to give a quick summary in as few words as possible. It contains most of the 5Ws (who, what, when, where, why) and the H (how).  For hard news a Summary Lead is used.

b)     Special Lead: For soft news Special Lead is used.

c)      Narrative Lead: It is written in two or three paragraphs which is called lead block, telling the main story. The lead block is followed by an explanatory paragraph, called Nut Graph.

The Nut Graph should be placed in the third, fourth or fifth paragraph.

d)     Contrast Lead: The contrast lead compares two opposites. For example, a contrast lead might compare poverty and wealth, stress and relaxation, or the new with the old. The Contrast Lead is effective on hard stories.

e)      Staccato Lead: It is a short burst of phrases that catch instant attention. Staccato is used in television and magazine reporting.

f)       Quotation Lead: This lead features a short, eye-catching quote or remark, usually set-in quotation marks.

g)      Expression Lead: Begins with well – known expression like “Barking dog seldom bite” “Honesty is the best policy”.

h)     Prediction Lead: As the name suggests, stories that are predicting something about the future are called prediction leads. For example: The world will come to an end in 2012 predicted the famous astrologer ….

i)       Direct Address Lead: This lead directly speaks to the reader. It addresses directly as “you”. It enhances the intertest of the reader as it directly talks with them.

 

 

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