How to write Headlines

1. How to writeHeadlines Material property of the AR Dept. of Education. It may be used for non-profit, educational use only after contacting the ADE DLC at http://dlc.k12.ar.us ER

2. We’ve all written headlines before… “Hey! I can see it now!” you’ve said to your brother. “ ‘Boy drops dead from too much chocolate’. If you don’t quit eating all those Hershey bars, it’s going to be you.”

3. Actually, it’s not difficult to write a headline. There’s just a few rules. • Use downstyle. This means only the first word of the headline and any proper nouns are capitalized. Principal presents award to Coach Smith

4. Headlines are written in present tense. • By writing a headline in present tense, it makes the story appear as if it just happened. Miller wins $10 million prize Not like this: Miller won $10 million prize

5. Headlines need a subject and a verb. • Think of a headline as a sentence, but without many of the words. • A headline such as Homecoming is just a label, it’s not a headline. Instead, write: Homecoming win leads to celebration (subject) (verb) (object)

6. Keep a prepositional phrase together in a headline. • Instead of: Dog bites alien on tender spot Write: Dog bites alien on tender spot (“on” is a preposition)

7. Headlines don’t have hyphens. • Make sure when you write out the headline, the computer doesn’t hyphenate any words. If it does, move the words around. Smith discovers dino- saur remains in wall Smith discovers dinosaur remains

8. A headline doesn’t need a period at the end. • Headlines are not sentences. However, you may use other forms of punctuation in headlines when needed: Did you ever think it would happen? Fort Smith merges two high schools

9. You don’t need the name of the school or the school initials in a headline. • The readers already know the name of your school. Instead, use the headline to tell what happened. Not so good: JHS students picket cafeteria Better: 95% of students picket during lunch

10. Don’t use a, an or the except in special headlines. • Good: Governor awards teacher with honor Bad: The governor awards teacher with an honor • It’s okay to use articles (a, an or the) in a headline such as a hammer or a wicket: The ultimate put-down Seniors name skip day for principal

11. Only use your opinion in a headline for an editorial. • News headlines shouldn’t contain any words that let the reader know what you think of the story. Don’t: We’re better than Fort Smith! Better: Team blows away Fort Smith, 42-0

12. In headlines, use single quote marks. • Don’t: “Angel Baby” really a detective Do: ‘Angel Baby’ really a detective

13. A headline should fill at least ¾ of the white space it occupies. • If a headline is too short for the space, it looks strange. Don’t: Boy wins meet Do: Taylor nabs tournament title

14. Headlines must cover the entire story. • Don’t design a page with a headline over part of the story. • A headline is like a roof of a house: It must cover the whole text. Tornado! School closed for remainder of this year

15. Use a comma in place of ‘and.’ • To save space, use a comma instead of the word ‘and.’ Don’t: Band and choir win awards Do: Band, choir win awards

16. Use a semicolon to separate complete thoughts Don’t: Legislature in session. Future of roads in doubt Do: Legislature in session; future of roads in doubt

17. Use active verbs; omit forms of the verb to be Don’t: Smoking is common, survey shows Do: Survey reveals smoking is common