JOURNALISM: A Guide to Writing Stories

Elements of the Basic News Story

1. Lead:
-This is the hook that tells the reader what the story is about, and includes who, what, when,
where, why. (Shorter leads of fewer than 35 words are preferable)
-A good lead entices the reader to continue reading
-In a hard-news story, the lead is usually written in one sentence (first sentence of the story)
and gives the most important information about the event. This is often called a summary
lead. However, a news story can have a soft lead, which is more creative and descriptive.
2. Backup for the Lead
-The lead should be supported with facts, quotes, and statements that substantiate the
information in the lead.
3. Nut Graph
-The nut graph is a sentence/paragraph that states the focus or the main point of the story.
-It should tell in a nutshell what the story is about and why it is newsworthy.
-In a hard-news story with a summary lead, the lead contains the focus, so you do NOT need a
separate nut graph.
-When the lead takes a softer, more creative approach to the lead and does not immediately
explain the main points of the story, the nut graph is a separate paragraph.
-The nut graph should be placed high in the story (third-fifth paragraph).
4. Lead Quote
-The first quote that backs up the lead is called the lead quote. It is usually the strongest
quote in the story and it supports the concept in the lead without repeating the same wording.
-Make sure to attribute quotes to proper sources.
5. Background
-Is there any history or background the reader needs in order to understand how a problem or
action occurred?
6. Impact
-Whenever possible, the writer should explain how the news affects the readers. The impact
sentence or paragraph should answer these questions:
*What is the significance of the story?
*What in the story makes the reader care?
-Not all stories can show a direct impact on readers, but they should all have a clear paragraph
explaining the reason for the story.
7. Elaboration
-Supporting points related to the main issue constitute elaboration. These can be statements,
quotes or more detail to explain what happened, how, and why the problem or action occurred.
8. Ending
-The most common type of ending includes one of these elements:
*Future action (statement or quote that summarizes previous information)
*More elaboration
-Avoid summary endings that repeat what you have already said.