We will cover the rest of materials from the previous week.

Presentations schedule and sign-up sheets

1) Please finalize your topic selection for your individual presentations if you have not done so.

2) Choose the date / week for your presentation, and enter your name and the presentation title / topic into the sign-up sheet below:

Before the seminar: Leads (homework preparation)

The lead, or opening paragraph, is the most important part of a news story. With so many sources of information – newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and the Internet – audiences simply are not willing to read beyond the first paragraph (and even sentence) of a story unless it grabs their interest. A good lead does just that. It gives readers the most important information in a clear, concise and interesting manner. It also establishes the voice and direction of an article, and entices the reader to continue.

Tips for Writing a Lead

1. The Five W’s and H: Before writing a lead, decide which aspect of the story – who, what, when, where, why, how – is most important. You should emphasize those aspects in your lead. Wait to explain less important aspects until the second or third sentence.
2. Conflict: Good stories have conflict. So do many good leads.
3. Specificity: Though you are essentially summarizing information in most leads, try to be specific as possible. If your lead is too broad, it won’t be informative or interesting.
4. Brevity: Readers want to know why the story matters to them and they won’t wait long for the answer. Leads are often one sentence, sometimes two. Generally, they are 25 to 30 words and should rarely be more than 40.
5. Active sentences: Strong verbs will make your lead lively and interesting. Passive constructions, on the other hand, can sound dull and leave out important information, such as the person or thing that caused the action.
6. Audience and context: Take into account what your reader already knows. Remember that in today’s media culture, most readers become aware of breaking news as it happens. If you’re writing for a print publication the next day, your lead should do more than merely regurgitate (repeat) yesterday’s news.
7. Honesty: A lead is an implicit promise to your readers. You must be able to deliver what you promise in your lead.

Task 1: Look at the LEADS ppt. slides below to see some examples.

Task 2: Please start uploading your own relevant and current lead into the DF below (you may include the link to the original story there), ask a follow-up question of two other students, or just comment, and be ready to discuss it in class.

Note: this is one of your continuous tasks and needs to be completed until Week 8 (incl.)