1. Headlines
Writing Basics

2. 1-line-headline
Bricklayers engage in mortar combat

3. 2-line-headline
Backers hot for chili
as U.S. official food

4. 3-line-headline
Mosquitos
biting into
holiday fun

5. Hammer - main/secondary headline
Standing tall
5’-4” guard rises to challenge of leading Tigers

6. Tripod - main/secondary headline
Police play game
of cat and mouse
with illegal racers
Driven to destruction

7. Kicker - main/secondary headline
Nolan Ryan makes smooth transition to job
helping oversee state’s parks, wildlife areas
Whole new ballgame

8. What kind of headline is this?
Dress code approved
Policy mostly affects girls, critics say

9. Helpful hint Make the tone fit the content.
Serious story, serious headline.
Funny story, funny headline.

10. Helpful hint
Be objective. Do not editorialize.

11. Helpful hints Make it sound natural, like something you would say.
Avoid awkward constructions.
No SAT words.

12. Helpful hint Keep all parts of a verb on the same line.
Big surprise: Perry will
run for governor again
George Bush will
attend Mensa meeting
purely as spectator

13. Helpful hint Put modifiers and words modified on the same line.
Fire guts Fred Astaire
Dance Studio, 2 injured

14. Helpful hint Do not end a line with a preposition.
Baseball team ready for
playoff game, coach says
No love lost between
Longhorns, Sooners

15. Helpful hint No articles. Use a comma to replace “and.”
Heat wave blisters California, Texas

16. Helpful hint Avoid clichés. Swimmers dive into season
Golfers swing into action
Exchange students say ‘Hasta la Vista’
Math Club multiplies
Football team tackles opposition

17. Helpful hint
Do not repeat key words or phrases from the main headline into the secondary headline.
Pocket lasers banned
Authorities ban laser pointers
Instead:
Principal cites injuries, class disruptions

18. Helpful hint • The main headline should never be
dependent on a kicker or other secondary
headline.
If health care bill passes, death panels
will determine the cost of treating elderly
No details exist, but Limbaugh says it could happen

19. Helpful hint
Don’t pad headlines with school initials or dates. Also, avoid initials and abbreviations in headlines.
Too vague…
2012 MHS FFA plans
to hold annual rodeo
More specific…
Willie Nelson to appear
at FFA rodeo Saturday

20. Helpful hint Be clever when you can. Puns make good main heads.
Take ‘meowt’
to the cat show
Annual festival of felines begins today
Band itching for practice
as soon as mosquitoes killed

21. Helpful hint
Headlines do not use end mark punctuation.

22. Helpful hint
Avoid initials or abbreviations, unless the initials are instantly recognizable.

23. Helpful hint
Alliteration in headlines should be used sparingly and in appropriate situations.
Acceptable:
New Planetary Puzzlers
A distant, oversize world causes cosmic confusion

24. Helpful hint
Use a thesaurus. Headline writers must have at their disposal enough synonyms to plug in and out of the headline to make the count.
New Planetary Puzzlers
A distant, oversize world causes cosmic confusion

25. One/two/three-lines mean “main idea”
Write a 2-line headline with a count of per line.
In hopes of raising awareness, the Advanced Placement biology classes will present a slideshow on global warming and climate change at 7 p.m. Thursday in the school’s theater.
“I think most people are unaware,” senor Tiffani Loft said. “We want to educate students and the public and give them tips on how they can help.”
AP biology teacher Freida Bailey suggested the presentation after her students voiced frustration over the public’s ignorance of climate change.
(more stuff about free food)

26. One/two/three-lines mean “main idea”
In hopes of raising awareness, the Advanced Placement biology classes will present a slideshow on global warming and climate change at 7 p.m. Thursday in the school’s theater.
“I think most people are unaware,” senor Tiffani Loft said. “We want to educate students and the public and give them tips on how they can help.”
AP biology teacher Freida Bailey suggested the presentation after her students voiced frustration over the public’s ignorance of climate change.
(more stuff about free food)
2-line with each line 26-32
Class hopes to promote awareness
with global warming slideshow

27. Clever headline
When geometry teacher Robin Hester found out she was pregnant, she was ecstatic.
“My husband and I had been trying for three years,” she said. “We pretty much gave up.”
Then the even bigger news followed. She was pregnant with quintuplets.
(due July 4)
1-line main 9-18 and 1 line secondary 26-32

28. Clever headline Do the math
When geometry teacher Robin Hester found out she was pregnant, she was ecstatic.
“My husband and I had been trying for three years,” she said. “We pretty much gave up.”
Then the even bigger news followed. She was pregnant with quintuplets.
(due July 4)
1-line main 9-18 and 1 line secondary 26-32
Do the math
Hester expecting quintuplets

29. Practice
Responding to the economic downturn and falling enrollment figures, the School Board voted to close 21st Century Academy and Howard Middle School. The vote comes after months of indecision among administrators and school board members and heated criticism from parents.
1-line headline counting 21-27

30. Practice Board closes 2 schools
Responding to the economic downturn and falling enrollment figures, the School Board voted to close 21st Century Academy and Howard Middle School. The vote comes after months of indecision among administrators and school board members and heated criticism from parents.
1-line headline counting 21-27
Board closes 2 schools

31. Practice
Senior Mike Gee won the state championship in mathematics at the Texas Math/Science Coaches Association state convention in San Antonio last weekend. Gee also took second place in number sense and third place in calculator applications.
Gee, who has accepted a full scholarship to Stanford University next year, said he owes his success to coach Dudley Smith.
“I never really liked math that much before I took his AP Calculus class,” Gee said. “But he makes it interesting and fun.”
Smith said Gee is being too modest.
“Mike is a math whiz,” he said.
1-line main counting 8-15
with a 1-line secondary counting 24-30

32. Practice
Senior Mike Gee won the state championship in mathematics at the Texas Math/Science Coaches Association state convention in San Antonio last weekend. Gee also took second place in number sense and third place in calculator applications.
Gee, who has accepted a full scholarship to Stanford University next year, said he owes his success to coach Dudley Smith.
1-line main counting 8-15
with a 1-line secondary counting 24-30
Gee, whiz
Senior wins state math title