Guidelines in Headline

Writing
1. Read the story first.
2. Clues to the headline are usually in the lead.
3. Use the shortest word possible.
4. Always have a subject and a verb. The headline
should NOT start with a verb because it will
look like you are giving a command to your
readers.
5. Use historical present tense. This is to prioritize
the immediacy and timeliness of the news. It also
preserves the freshness of the whole article.
6. Delete helping verb if the verb is in the passive
voice.
7. Use infinitives for future events.
8. Do NOT put period at the end of a
headline.
9. Delete articles (a,an,the)
10. Use single quote in headline.
11. Use comma instead of the conjunction
“and”
12. Use the exclamation point sparingly.
13. When you have assertions, and the sources
are given, quotation marks are not needed. A
one-em dash will serve the purpose.
14. Avoid splitting words that naturally go
together.
15. Do not leave a preposition at the end of the
line
16. Use only widely known abbreviations
17. Be positive.
18. Don’t use X-mas for Christmas.
19. Use kickers to attract attention or add
more information into your headlines.
Kickers are short lines, placed above the
headlines and usually underlined.