Writing Leads & Nut Graphs Get the handout: Tips on Writing Your News Story Lead Writing

a good lead or first paragraph for your news story is important, whether your lead is a hard-news or soft lead. Whats the difference? 1. Hard-news leads get right to the point. They give the reader the main facts of the story in a short first paragraph of one to two sentences. One type of hard-news lead is a summary lead. This type of lead gives the reader the main facts of the story. It answers the most important questions regarding the who, what, when, where, why and how of the story. Read a story with a hard-news summary lead. 2. Soft or feature leads are more creative. They tease the reader into the story, where he or she will find out the facts. Read a story that has a soft or feature lead. 3. A nut graph is basically the same thing as a summary lead. If you begin your story with a soft news lead, you will include a nut graph a few paragraphs down in your story to give the reader the basic facts. Here are more details about hard news leads, summary leads and nut graphs: Hard-news Leads Summary Lead Summary lead gets right to the point. Summarizes in the first sentence what the story is all about. Usually one sentence, two at most. Tells who, what, when, where, why and/or how. Answers some, but not all, of these questions. Uses most important factors in the lead. Saves others for second or third paragraph. First and last words of the lead sentence are most important and receive the most emphasis, so choose them carefully. Use active voice rather than passive voice. Soft or Feature Lead Also called delayed leads. Can be several paragraphs long. Takes a little longer to get to the gist of the story. Teases the reader with a descriptive or storytelling approach. Requires use of a nut graph early in the story to give reader the point of the story. Different types: descriptive, anecdotal, narrative, mystery, teaser, question Read more tips about writing soft or feature leads. Nut Graph Is the focus paragraph that explains the point of the story. Included several paragraphs down in a story that uses a soft or feature lead. Its the same as a summary lead, so it is only unecessary if your story does not have a summary lead.