NEWSWRITING

The Lead
The lead is the story’s opening sentence or two. In straight news, it tells the most important
facts of the story. In feature article or news feature, it coud be a word, a phrase, a sentence or a
paragraph that attracts and sustain the reader’s interest.

Lead in a news story, particularly in straight news, needs not be too long. As a popular adage
about it says, “A lead should be like a miniskirt, short enough to be attractive, but long enough to cover
the essentials.”

Classification of Lead
1. Summary lead. It answers the five Ws and one H (What, Who, Where, When, Why and How).
The story is presented using the inverted pyramid form where the most important data are in
the first and second paragraph. This is used in the straight news.
2. Novelty lead.It attracts the reader’s attention, arouse his curiousity and sustain his interest. It is
used in writing a news feature or a feature article (see page 75-77 for more examples)

Kinds of Summary Lead

1. What lead – used if the most important angle of the news is the event
Example:
Landslides and floods brought by heavy monsoon rains in Southern Luzon have killed
at least five people, as soldiers on rubber boats rushed food and relief supplies to nearly
200,000 affected residents, officials said yesterday.
2. Who lead – used if the most important angle of the news is the person involved is more significant
than the event
Example:
Mayor Lito Atienza yesterday has urged Manilenos to put up colorful Christmas decors
to promote Manila as destination for best shopping bargains.
3. Where lead – used if the location where the event take place is more significant than the other
aspects of the news
Example:
General Santos City, the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines” will host this year’s 4 th
Mindanao Information Communication Technology Congress on October 22-29, 2005.
4. When lead – seldom used lead because this is only used if the time element is more important than
the other angles of the story
Example:
February 14, 2006 is the deadline for the submission of the nomination forms of the
Metrobank Foundation Search for Outstanding Teachers.
5. Why lead – used if the cause of the event is the most effective angle of the story
Example:
To bring the services of the government at the doorstep of its constituents, the
SangguniangPanlungsod of General Santos City yesterday launched the “City Hall sa
Barangay.”
6. How lead – used if the process or the manner of how the event happen is more important than the
other angles of the news
 Example:
By installing more closed circuit cameras in Manila malls, sending out guards with
dogs and setting up checkpoints police acted on the warning of the senior officials of a
possible terrorists’ major attack in the capital following a ferry bombing in Zamboanga City
that killed 30 people on Monday.

Kinds of Novelty Lead

1. Narrative lead. It draws the reader into the story by allowing him to relate himself with the
character of the story.
Example:
December 1999. With the Y2K scare and end-of-the-millenium jitters hovering in the
air, I found myself in a bookstore for some last minute shopping. I was looking for the
abridged versions of the classics Heidi and the Secret Garden to give to my nieces when I saw
a vaguely familiar title on the shelves: The Lady or The Tiger and Other Stories. As I traced the
embossed title with my right index finger, a particular memory flooded my consciousness.
2. Descriptive lead. It illustrates a mental picture of the subject to the reader. This is effective in
writing a personality sketch.
Example:
The night fell as we descended from the summit of Mount Makiling. Darkness
covered the mountain. The cicadas were sending us off with their choir. While walking, we
couldn’t stop imagining the possible appearance of Maria Makiling who, according to legend,
is the goddess of this mountain. We were expecting her along the trail or under the trees in
her white dress, as we remembered Rizal describing her fabled beauty in one of his books.
The goddess “disappointed” us, however.
3. Quotation lead. This statement uttered by well-known person or celebrity.
Example:
“You stole the presidency, not only once but twice.”
Shouted Susan Roces, widow of Fernando Poe, Jr., during a gathering of the
opposition, denouncing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s alleged vote rigging during the
2004 election.
4. Question lead. A thought-provoking question to capture the interest of the reader and lead
them to find the answer provided by the succeeding details of the article.
Example:
When was the last time I told my father I loved him?
I wish I could tell him a thousand times how much I love him now but he is already
heedless inside his coffin.
5. Teaser. A device to deceive the reader in a jesting manner to arouse his curiosity and gently lead
him into the story. It is generally short, crisp and witty. Riddles are often used and they do not
give the readers any clue on the nature of the story. They are mostly suggestive and humorous.
Example:
Which comes first, the hen or the egg? Well, egg could not be made possible without
the hen. But where does the hen come from?
6. Punch lead. It is short, striking one-sentence lead
Example:
Hungry farmers are selling not only their carabaos, but also their children.
7. Astonisher lead. It uses an exclamatory sentence.
Example:
NSPC 2005 Champion!
 Bold red letters printed on a three-meter long streamer was hung over the gate of
Irineo L. Santiago National High School of Metro Dadiangas when the 2003 issue of their
school paper, AngMetrian, won as overall Best School Paper (Bracket A-Filipino/Secondary)
during the National Schools Press Conference (NSPC) held at Cebu City on February 24-27,
2003
8. One word lead. It uses a very significant word to capture or arouse the interest of the reader.
Example:
BANG!
Sprinters from the different divisions of Region XII zoomed like bullets to the finishing
line in a 100-meter dash during the Cotabato Regional Athletic Association (CRAA) Meet, held
at Antonio C. Acharon Sports and Development Center, Calumpang, General Santos City on
April 1-5, 2005
9. Parody lead. It consists of a parody of a well-known quotation, song, poem, book or movie film
title.
Example”
“You only live once, but if you live it right, once is enough.”
This familiar adage proved true to CharlitoColendrez, a priest who died while rescuing
his parishioners at the height of flooding in Infanta town in Quezon last year for he was
posthumously awarded for his godly bravery.
10. Background lead. It describes an event in which the background overshadows the individuals
who participate in it; often use of stories about carnivals, festivals, dances and others.
Example:
It was like the school was put in a time machine and was led back to the past, when
teachers and students who participated in the culmination program of the BuwanngWika,
gathered in front of the four-story building garbed in old Filipiniana costumes.
11. Freak lead. This kind of unique lead uses typographical effects to enhance its appeal.
Example:
Wanted: Filipino doctors and nurses
This is the appeal of several government-owned hospitals, which face closure due to the
exodus of many Filipino doctors and nurses abroad.
12. Contrast lead. It is used to point up opposites and extremes.
Example:
Four years ago, she fought for the installation of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as president
of the Philippines throught EDSA II Revolution. Today, former President Corazon Cojuangco
Aquino is calling for GMA’s resignation.
13. Staccato lead. This usually consists of a series of words and phrases, punctuated by periods,
commas or dashes.
Example:
Neglected. Denuded. Abused. And abandoned. This is the real picture of our forest
today.

Reasons for Using Novelty Lead

1. To enhance the readability of the newspaper.

2. To arouse the reader’s interest.
3. To add vigor and color to writing.
4. To challenge the ability of the writer.
Editorial Writing

Editorial articles appeal to the intellect. It helps the reader to sift, digest, interpret, evaluate
event or issue and propels him to action. For emphasis, unusually important and sensational are
removed from the editorial page and printed on front page, which customarily reserved for news.

As newspaper’s opinion or stand on timely issues, it must be written objectively. Both sides of
the issue should be deeply understood before deciding which side to take and fight for. It should not be
written only to give opinion, but most of all, to look for evidence to bolster this opinion. Opinion laden
with facts is aimed to effectively convince the readers to side with the newspaper’s principles and move
to action.

Like in writing new stories, a writer must seek the same level of accuracy of opinion pieces by
doing a lot of interviews and research. Keith Woods, a Poynter ethics faculty member, said an informed
responsible opinion pays attention to facts. The consequence of being wrong can be much more
profound than a regular news story because you’ve judged a person or issue.

Erin Kane, a student writer who won a Quill and Scroll International Writing Award for her
editorial about apathy among younger voters for The Catalyst, the student newsmagazine of Wheeler
High School, in Marietta, Ga., added that making judgments about a problematic issue does little if the
author doesn’t offer an alternative. Don’t just complain because people get sick of that. Give a solution
or something you would like to see happen.

Editorial writer expresses group opinion rather than his own. The staff should decide its position
on a particular issue. This is the reason why editorial has no byline, because it represents the opinion or
stand of the staff and not the individual.

Qualities of an Editorial
1. Interesting
2. Clear and effective reasoning and has the power to influence the reader’s opinion.
3. Factual and contains information to support the side it chooses to take.
4. Concise.

Sources of Editorial Topics

1. News. An editorial that is pegged to current event will more likely be read and have an effect.
2. Research. Wide reading, gathering of factual data to back up opinion mulling over the material
must precede the writing.
3. Special occasions.

Kinds of Editorial
1. Editorial of information. It presents only the information about a particular issue.

2. Editorial of interpretation. Though it also gives information, its principal aim is to interpret or
analyze the event, situation or issue to present the facts in a more meaningful and enlightening
perspective to the reader.
 3. Editorial argumentation. It also gives information and interprets action. Its difference, however,
lies on the fact that it takes a stand on controversial issue and gives it reasons in a logical way to
convince reader to side with the newspaper principles.

4. Editorial of criticism. It is similar to editorial of argumentation, but this editorial tries to present
both sides of the issue or the pros and cons of the situation, though the newspaper has its own
side of the issue.

5. Editorial of persuasion. It aims to persuade readers to support a program or plan of action by

enumerating the advantages that could be gained. It also contains a plead for action.

6. Editorial of commendation. It usually commends, praises or pays tribute for the successes,
achievements of public figures like heroes, leaders and other celebrities.

7. Editorial of celebrating special occasion. It highlights the significance of celebrating special

occasions like Independence day, All Saints day, Christmas and New year.

Tips on How to Write Editorial

1. Know the issue very well.
2. Make sure that it does not go against any fixed policy of the paper.
3. Be sure that the topic is of interest to the reader. Prefer current and controversial issue.
4. Limit your article to only one aspect of your chosen subject.
5. Have a purpose well in mind.
6. Gather sufficient data.
7. Take a stand on controversial issue.
8. Use sound and logical reasoning.
9. Be brief.
10. Write catchy and interesting introduction composes of the news peg and the reaction.
11. Give significant and factual details to bolter your opinion.
12. Use formal language in presenting opinion.
13. Give statistics, if possible.
14. When giving an argument, start from the most significant.
15. Be authoritative, but do not preach.
16. Be impersonal, Use the third person “we” instead of “I” except in direct quotation.
17. Use various devices to catch and keep the reader’s interest, such as:
a. A striking title, which may arouse the reader’s curiosity or suggest the topic
b. A good introduction composed of the news peg and the reaction
c. Illustration in the form of brief narrative.
d. Attribution of authority to support your facts and arguments
e. Analogy
f. Comparison and contrast
18. Tie up your ending with that of the beginning paragraph by suggesting solution, posing a
challenging question, making forecast of outcomes or just a simple summary.
Parts of Editorial
1. Title
Example:
Erroneous textbooks: a bitter pill to our ailing education

2. Introduction. It contains the issue or new peg and the reaction. The newspaper stand should be
established immediately in the beginning paragraph by giving its reaction to the issue or
situation otherwise the article is not an editorial but an essay. An introduction comes in
different forms like a thought provoking question, a quotation relevant to the subject, a striking
statement or narration of the event.
Example:
The expose made by Dr. Antonio Calipjo-Go, an academic supervisor in a private Marian
School in Quezon City, that some of the textbooks used by students are erroneous, create a
gigantic tremor that rocks our academe.

3. Body. It presents the factual details to bolster the opinion or principle of the newspaper on the
given issue. Arguments here are arranged from the most significant to the least significant
ones.
Example:
In “Asya: Noon, Ngayon at saHinaharap,” a 316-page textbook used by the seond year
high school students in AralingPanlipunan, Dr. Calipjo-Go has discovered that it contains 431
errors.

As expected, those in the godly seats of our educational system vehemently denied the
findings of Dr. Calipjo-Go. Even the author of the said book threatened to file a case against the
professor, whose only mistake is his undying concern of saving our educational system from
dooming by bravely coming out and expose the tip of the iceberg of errors of these widely used
textbooks.

After thorough evaluation, however, the Department of Education has found that
indeed, Dr. Calipjo-Go is right. Several textbooks used not only in the public schools, but also in
the private schools are erroneous.

Nobody can deny that textbooks are the “holy bibles” of the students. Majority of those
in the public schools are so dependent on the facts and figures supplied by these books. If they
are fed by erroneous information, these will be implanted into their mind forever. The same will
be handed down to others unless by chance along the way toward higher educational pursuit ,
they will come across with the right information that will invalidate and correct whatever
erroneous information that they have learned from the past.

These textbooks stained with errors are but bitter pills that entangle our youth in the sty
of ignorant. These negate the objective of the government of providing quality education to us,
students.
 4. Conclusion. It presents a solution, plea, advice, command, thought provoking question, forecast
possible effects and quotation relevant to the subject or just a summary.
Example:
The authors, as well as the concerned authorities, who are tasked to evaluate these
books are guilty of thwarting facts and injecting the wrong medication into the minds of the
students. They should be given the dose of their own medicine.

SPORTS WRITING

Sports page is one of the most read section of the newspaper because it is filled with action and
emotion of players who are idolized by sports enthusiasts.

Scope of Sports Articles

Sports page is not only confined on sports news, it also contains other kinds of articles like
features, editorial, editorial columns and editorial cartoon and others.

Qualities of Sports News

1. Basically, it answers the five W’s and one H (What, Who, Where, When, Why and How).
2. It primarily describes the most thrilling and eventful part of the game.
3. It uses more colorful words, adjectives, figures of speech, local color and longer sentences,
which are not commonly used in straight news.
4. It uses special vocabulary called sports lingo.

Kinds of Sports News

1. Advance News. It gives advance information in the coming event.
The following are the expected contents of the advance news:
a. Significance of the game
b. Historical background of the game or event
c. Players and coaches
d. Physical and mental qualities of the athletes
e. Strengths and weaknesses of each player and team based on their previous competitions.
f. Venue of the event.
g. Noteworthy event that could be included in the news
h. Weather that could affect the game
i. Expected viewers
j. Statement of the coaches and athletes

2. Coverage Story. An on the spot news of an actual game or event. It contains important reports
like the following:
a. Outcome – the winner, score of both teams or opponents, draw suspension of the game due
to chaos and others.
b. Significance of the outcome – the prize or the chance to move to the higher level of
competition like the championship game
c. Spectacular parts of the game – how the winner outsmarted the loser, see-sawing scores
and last minute play
d. Comparison of the strength and weakness of the athletes of both teams
 e. Star player
f. Weather
g. Audience/viewers

3. Follow-up sports story. It summarizes the activities of the team. It also analyzes the recently
concluded game like a player, who was injured and the psychological aspects of the players,
chaos on the technicality, statistics and its significance.

4. News based on the records. It is based on the data gathered from authorities or officials of the
game. It could also be a summary of different events almost simultaneously played in an
athletic meet.

Three Ways of Writing the Sports News Lead

Like in the ordinary news, writing the lead in the sports news should be based on angling.
Meaning, the writer should look for the best angle of the game to play up in the lead so the readers will
be drawn to read the sports article. Below are the three ways of writing the lead in sports news:

1. Key play. This is usually used when the best angle of the sports event through the collective
effort of all the members of the winning team.
Example:
MetrianSpikers blasted the defenseless Bula Netters in the volleyball championship
game. 2-0 (25-13 and 25-17), during the Zone III Athletic Association Meet at Mindanao State
University, General Santos City on October 28, 2005.

2. Key player. When one or two of the members of the team seem to standout of the rest of the
players that caused the team to win the game, their heroic deed is the best angle to start a
sports news.
Example:
Mark Cornet Terrante grabbed the limelight when his do-or-die three-pointer shot dove
ringless with less than five seconds remaining to lead Lagao National High School to its thrilling
victory, 60-59, against Buayan National High School in a basketball exhibition game yesterday at
Oval Plaza, General Santos City.

3. Analytical way. This is used when the team employs a very spectacular strategy or action that
brings them to victory.
Example:
Banking on nerve-breaking wallops, deadly spikes and tricky placing, Irineo L. Santiago
National High School Spikers dethroned Lagao National High School Netters in the crucial third
set of their volleyball championship game, 3.0 (25-18, 25-22 and 25-19), in the Division Athletic
Association Meet at Antonio Acharon Sports Complex, Calumpang, General Santos City on
December 25, 2005.

Suggested Ways to Gather Data on Sports News

A. Before the Game
1. Know the rules of the game.
2. Know key people – coaches, trainers, players and their weight, height, and position in
the team, experience and others
3. List down their names in full and check the spelling.
 4. If possible, attend practice session.
5. Jot down quotes, anecdotes and other events, which can be included in the sports news.
6. Interview key persons who are involved in the game.
B. During the Actual Game
1. Be at the venue ahead of time.
2. Look for a good working place where you can closely witness the game.
3. Note interesting events before the game.
4. Observe closely and list down the following:
a. the most thrilling part of the game
b. unexpected event like a neophyte who perform excellently
c. humorous event
d. audience’s reactions
e. celebrities or prominent people who witness the game
f. statement of the players, coaches and the audience
C. After the Game
a. Check the accuracy of the score from the officials
b. Interview star player or coach of the winning team. Coach and athlete of the losing
team can also be interviewed.
c. Note audience or viewers’ reactions

Tips on Writing the Sports News

1. Write the story immediately after the event.
2. Be accurate not only with score but also in all other highlights of the game.
3. Include human interest like the personal background of the player.
4. Follow the inverted pyramid structure in presenting the data.
5. Support data with opinion..
6. Use sports lingo but do not overdo it.

Structure of Sports News Coverage

1. The Lead. It summarizes or analyzes the event by giving the significance, the winner, the hero,
the score, the place and time and date when the event happens. It immediately answers the
five W’s and one H.
Example:
Henry Balbon grabbed the limelight as he took his do-or-die three-pointer shot with five
seconds left to carry the Labangal National High School thrilling victory against Irineo L. Santiago
National High School in a basketball exhibition game, 65-64, during the Educators’ Week
celebration at the Oval Plaza Gym, General Santos City on September 30, 2005.
 Novelty lead can also be used in writing sports news, but the second paragraph should answer
the five W’s and one H.
Example:
Who says that height is might in basketball?

Henry Balbon, 5’4 cager of Labangal National High School slammed them wrong when
he grabbed the limelight with his do-or-die three-pointer shot with five seconds left to carry the
Labagal National High School thrilling victory against Irineo L. Santiago National High School in a
basketball exhibition game, 65-64, during the Educators’ Week Celebration at the Oval Plaza,
General Santos City on September 30, 2005.

2. The Body. It contains the plya-by-play account of the game like the following:
a. The most crucial part of the game
b. Star player
c. Writer’s record of the background of athletes and coaches
d. Observation of the number and reactions of the audience or viewers and the weather
condition
e. Celebrities who witness the game
Example:
Watched by a throng of sports enthusiasts with no less than General Santos City Mayor Pedro B.
Acharon, Jr., both teams started slowly as they both ran in the maze of turnovers in the opening salvo.
LabangalNationa High School blasted a 10-run with less than two minutes left to seal the lead,
28-27 as the buzzer sounded in their whirlwind game.
In the second half, ISNHS heated the arena when they zoomed a dizzying 8-2 run choking and
leaving LabNHS gasping for breathe, 59-51.
‘GO! GO! METRIANS!” shouted thousands of euphoric students of ISNHS.
But their euphoria boiled down, when two-timer GenSan Mayor cup MVP Balbon got his
momentum and fired three successive bull’s eye three-pointer shots to turn the score upside down, 60-
59.
Pedro Mejia, switched on the adrelin of his camp by carrying ISNHS on that crucial moment and
tying the game at 62-all with 10 seconds left.
Noel Udalve fished out a foul from beleaguered Glenn Bisnar with seven seconds left and
hardened ISNHS lead, 64-62.
But LabNHS’ hero Balbon shook off the cobwebs and took his do-or-die three-pointer shot that
shattered the rival’s hope of bringing the crown, 65-64.

3. Conclusion. It usually contains quotes from players and coaches, statistics and team standing.
Example:
“They are excellent players, too. Perhaps, we are just lucky to win this game,” said
Balbon, the star of the game.
The scores: LabNHS (65) Balbon 25, Bisnar 16, Leysa 14, Foyunan 6, Martinex 4,
Sarmiento 0, Mission 0, Barte 0, Agustin 0
 INNHS (64) Mejia 22, Udalve 15, Rosios 13, Samilin 8, Espregante 6, Avila 0, Samplidan
0, Yumang 0, Vera 0, Sunggay 0

Assembling all the above given examples of the different parts of the sports news
coverage, the article will run like this:

Henry Balbon grabbed the limelight as he took his do-or-die three-pointer shot with five
seconds left to carry the Labangal National High School thrilling victory against Irineo L. Santiago
National High School in a basketball exhibition game, 65-64, during the Educators’ Week
celebration at the Oval Plaza Gym, General Santos City on September 30, 2005.
Watched by a throng of sports enthusiasts with no less than General Santos City Mayor
Pedro B. Acharon, Jr., both teams started slowly as they both ran in the maze of turnovers in the
opening salvo.
LabangalNationa High School blasted a 10-run with less than two minutes left to seal
the lead, 28-27 as the buzzer sounded in their whirlwind game.
In the second half, ISNHS heated the arena when they zoomed a dizzying 8-2 run choking
and leaving LabNHS gasping for breathe, 59-51. ‘GO! GO! METRIANS!” shouted thousands of
euphoric students of ISNHS.
But their euphoria boiled down, when two-timer GenSan Mayor cup MVP Balbon got his
momentum and fired three successive bull’s eye three-pointer shots to turn the score upside
down, 60-59.
Pedro Mejia, switched on the adrelin of his camp by carrying ISNHS on that crucial
moment and tying the game at 62-all with 10 seconds left.
Noel Udalve fished out a foul from beleaguered Glenn Bisnar with seven seconds left and
hardened ISNHS lead, 64-62.
But LabNHS’ hero Balbon shook off the cobwebs and took his do-or-die three-pointer
shot that shattered the rival’s hope of bringing the crown, 65-64.
“They are excellent players, too. Perhaps, we are just lucky to win this game,” said
Balbon, the star of the game.
The scores: LabNHS (65) Balbon 25, Bisnar 16, Leysa 14, Foyunan 6, Martinex 4,
Sarmiento 0, Mission 0, Barte 0, Agustin 0
INNHS (64) Mejia 22, Udalve 15, Rosios 13, Samilin 8, Espregante 6, Avila 0, Samplidan
0, Yumang 0, Vera 0, Sunggay 0
 COPYREADING AND HEADLINE WRITING
• COPYREADING is another word for editing
• -A copyreader is an editor
- A copyreader is a specialist who improves the news story and makes it worth reading.
- -A copy reader is the guardian between the reporters and the reading public.
Why is copyreading important?

…To help make the newspaper bring accurate information to the reader.

… To save the newspaper from criticism, libel suits, and embarrassment.

Duties of the copyreader:

A. Check the CONTENT

Checks facts, correct errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, usage and organization, correct cases of
editorializing

B. Mark copy. Use Symbols

C. Write the Headline

D. Write Printer’s Directionand Slug

• What is Printer’s Direction?

Example:
2-16TNRI
-means the headline will run across two columns of the page
-stand for the font size to be used
TNRI- refers to the font type - Times New Roman-Italics
The single underline means the headline will be written in one deck.

SLUG IS STOR’Y NAME

…It is used for the purposes of identification and record keeping. It is usually written in a single word.
Ex. Weather-for a weather story
Council- for a council meeting
Drowning-for a story about death by drowning

THE HEADLINE
-Refers to the title of any news story.
-It is the show window of the news.
-A headline writer should strive to flash accurately in a short telegraphic manner the major messages of
the news.
-A headline writer should also master the headline schedule, structure, know font size, and font type

• Functions of Headlines

1. To give the gist of the news

2. To present the news for rapid survey reading

3. To indicate the relative importance of the news

4. To give a pleasing appearance to the news page.

Tips to Headline Writers

1. Read the story for general meaning.

2. Search for Key words on which to base your headline.
3. Clues to the headline are usually in the lead.
Ex. What happened?, how did it happened? Who did what?

Rules in writing the Headlines:

1. Write a headline that is easy to read.

(Subject-predicate)

Ex. Landbank nets P1.4B

2. Avoid using negative verb

Wrong:PTA meeting won’t be held

Right: PTA meeting cancelled

3. Be Specific; avoid generalities

Wrong:Student given scholarship

Right: Salazar wins UP grant

4. Make complete statements; don’t use labels

Wrong: Medalists
Right: 35 medals awarded
 5. Use present tense for past events

Wrong:Senate passed budget

Right: Senate passes budget

6.Use infinitive for future events:
Wrong: Kidapawan will host RSPC
Right: Kidapawan to host RSPC
7. Avoid Splitting
A. A Verb phrase
Wrong: Debaters chosen to
joinspeechfest
Right: Debaters chosen
to join speechfest
B Avoid splitting names that belong together
Wrong: Cruz wins gold
medal
Right: Cruz wins
gold medal
C. Avoid adjective and the noun it modifies
Wrong: 3 Gensan
leaders trade accusations
Right: 3 Gensan leaders
trade accusations
7. Abbreviations:
Wrong: Flores sues Na
pocor
Right: Flores sues Napocor
8. Don’t use articles a, an, the:
Wrong: PGMA revamps the cabinet
Right: PGMA revamps cabinet
9. Use numbers only if important. Write numbers in figures. B-billion and M-million
P4.5B; P1.5M
 Headline Vocabulary:
Gives priority to short words

accord -agreement sked -schedule

allay -to calm vow -pledge
anew -again rule -decide
assail -to attack with arguments foil -thwart, rejected
cite -mention; enumerate bare -reveal, expose
crown -championship rift -disagreement
dip -go down solon -lawmaker, representative
Ex -former hit -attack
grill -investigate slay/kill -murdered
hike -increase
kin -family
ratify -approve; confirm
nab -arrest
okay/ok- approve
News Headline Samples

School intensifies reading proficiency test

DepEd, Habitat to build housing for teachers
Math can prevent violence
Regional STEP Skills Competition
Cobeng wins table setting championship title
NSPC 2007
Reveille is country’s third best school paper
Educator’s Assembly
Stakeholders tapped to improve quality of education
Nobel Price for 2007
Scientist develop “knock out” genes technique
4 campus writers shine
in division presscon

School acquires more PC’s;

gears towards computer lab rehab

LNHS to pilot tech-voc education

City Charter Anniversary
Gensan celebrates Tuna Festival;
floats take center stage

LNHS initiates responsible parenthood seminar

PaskosaGensan 2007
City to turn into under-the-sea wonderland
GSC wins outstanding road safety award
KagandahanGensan
Clean-up day in barangays set
PNOY to focus on modernizing
RP education system
 IMPROVE YOUR STYE

Pump up your creativity, use Literature, Imagination, Folklore and Experience to

replenish your creative well and inspire your fiction. Already you can hear how each would
interpret the song, making it his or her unique style. The plot doesn’t change from singer to
singer; we know that persistent little arachnid will get washed out the spout yet eventually
triumph over adversity. The style then is determined by the singer’s tone of voice, which
notes are emphasized, the tempo, the background music. A writer has to do all the same
things to establish style – but with words.

Narrative Voice: Hit the high notes

“It isn’t what she said, it’s the way she said it.” You’re developing it between the
narrator and the reader. Whether you want the reader to like, dislike, admire or loathe the
narrator, it is most important for the reader to be compelled by him. This is achieved by
creating a very specific narrative voice through the tone.

Third-person-limited POV (in which we’re focused only on one character’s perspective)
is trickier because we’re not inside a character’s head, thereby removing some of the
confessional intimacy. Then why use it? Because first person can be too intimate, its effect
can be achieved by contrasting the way the narrator thinks about the world with the way the
reader sees that the described world actually is. Third-person-limited gives us just enough
distance that we can better trust the narrator’s perspective.

Her son was studying Catherine as she stood at their kitchen window. She felt him.
He’d been doing it more and more often, idly and with no special intensity, she thought, but
with a kind of dreamy stare. She knew that sort of study, when you sit with your chin on
your palms, your elbows on the kitchen table, looking at something, at the thing itself, for
certain, and also looking through it. She tipped the roasting chicken and looked down,
considering her son behind her, the way he must have been looking at and into and past his
mother. He’s looking at the rest of his life, she thought. I’m a ghost at the center of the
prospect.
 This is wonderful example of creating many effects through narrative voice:

1. The focus is on the connection between Catherine and her son (“She felt
him.”)
2. The conflict is her awareness of how his attitude toward her is changing,
evolving (“He’d been doing it more and more often”). such a change can be
frightening, which establishes the stakes: mother losing the relationship
with her maturing son.
3. It indicates that what he’s doing is something she’s done herself (“She knew
that sort of study”), ei- ther in a past relationship or recently.
4. She is an insightful and articulate woman (“He’s looking at the rest of his
life, she thought. I’m a ghost at the center of the prospect.”) That phrase –
“a ghost at the center of the prospect” – is poetic, a rich, yet scary image
that distills her apprehension.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was
the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the
season of Light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of
despair, we had everything before us, we had everything before us, we had nothing before
us, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present
period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted upon being received, for good or evil, in
the superlative degree of comparison only.

Here we have a narrative voice that has a wisdom about the world, and the reader
trusts that this voice will continue to comment on events and put them in perspective. In this
POV, the intimacy is formed with a narrator who isn’t really part of the story, but whom we
trust.

Descriptive Texture: The emperor’s new clothes

Descriptive texture is what transforms mere information into a multidimensional

world. It’s the difference between telling the reader about an event and creating the world
so that the reader experiences the event for himself. Minimalism (which is highly selective
about which details are included) and favor a rich, denser style (which uses sensual
descriptions and lots of metaphors). Most writers fall somewhere between this spectrum. It’s
important to select the style that you most enjoy reading yourself.
 Beginning writers often make the mistake of overdescribing or underdescribing.
Overdescribing can occur because the writer sees a descriptive passage as a chance to show
off her talent, to dazzle the reader. But, the actual effect is to stop the story dead by
distracting the reader from the characters. Description is a tool to enhance the story, the
same as a frame enhances a painting. If the frame is too ornate or large, it overshadows the
painting.

The craggy, mist-shrouded mountains erupted out of the fetid jungle like the jagged
tail of a slumbering dragon guarding the tropical paradise as if it were Eden itself.

If that made you gag, you have good instincts. There are so many adjectives in that
description that the average reader can’t hold on to them all as he finally stumbles past the
period of that sentence.

Underdescribing also can be detrimental to the story.

Big mountains were on the other side of the jungle.

Snooze. Words like big are relative, so the reader doesn’t have anything with which to
compare the size of the mountains. The verb “were” is passive, making the mountains seem
bland and diminutive.

How do you know when to elaborate on description? When the person or object being
described has an impact on the characters, affects them or affects how the reader is meant
to persive them, then you elaborate. For example, if the mountains described above are
mentioned merely as a passing landmark and have no further role in the story, just tell us
they’re there and move on. But if they appear as a means of showing how insignificant the
characters are in the larger natural world in order that the characters gain a new perspective
on their lives, then elaborate.

Describing characters is another chance to define your style. But the same rules apply:
Develop description only toward the end of achieving the desired impact.

He was tall, tall even sitting down. His long legs comfortable in expensive wool, the
trousers of a boy who had been on ships, jets; who owned a horse, perhaps; who knew Latin
– what didn’t he know? – somebody made up, like a kid in a play with a beautiful mother and
a handsome father, who took his breakfast from sideboard, and picked, even at fourteen and
fifteen and sixteen, his mail from silver plate. He would have hobbies – stamps, stars, things
lovely dead. He wore a sport coat, brown as wood, thick as heavy bark. The buttons were
leather buds. His shoes seemed carved from horses’ saddles, gunstocks. His clothes has
grown once in a nature… His eyes had skies in them. His yellow hair swirled on his head like
a crayoned sun.

He sees the boy as some sort of god-figure, and so the description is filled with
imagined characteristics to imply that. Don’t be afraid to try to tell your story a few different
ways before you find the style that works for you.

Feature Writing

Feature articles are hard to define because they have so many forms and subjects.

Forms: narrative stories, poems, essays, tales, anecdotes.

Subjects: love, hatred, jealousy, emotions, war, friendship, and other human forms of experiences.

Divisions of Feature Articles:

1. Journalistic-- fact-based
2. Literary--fictitious
Characteristics:

1. Variety of subject matter

2. Variety of tones
3. Variety of form and style
4. Well-organized
5. Strikes keynotes in a first sentence
6. May or may not be timely
Feature thrives in:

1. Color
2. Fancy
3. Wit, humor
4. Anecdotes
5. Quotations
Types of Feature Articles:

1. News Feature (Journalistic)

2. Informative Feature
3. How-to-Articles
4. Personality Sketches
5. Personal Experiences
6. Human Interest Stories
7. Humorous Feature
Types of Feature Leads:
 1. Summary lead
2. Punch lead- ex. Farmers in CotabatoProvince are not only selling their carabaos but also their
children.
3. Descriptive lead
4. Narrative lead
5. Contrast
6. Question
7. Direct Address
8. Teasers-- Where do women have the curliest hair. In Africa, of course. Or is it?
Feature Endings:

1. Summary ending
2. Climax ending
3. Stinger
4. Narrative ending
5. Question ending

BUILDING BETTER SENTENCES

As writers, we can’t ignore sentences. The sentence is the most important unit in the English
language; without it, our stories simply cannot be told.

All our characters sound alike. Worse still, there is no music in our language. The
prose is stilted. Chopped into fragments. It’s helpful to know what our sentences are doing
and how we can nudge them in the right direction.

Listen to the music

“The ear writes my poems, not the mind,” Prose writers, too, often speak of the
important role the ear plays in the writing and revision process. Some writers claim to hear an
inner voice that dictates the rhythms, diction and tone of their language. Others focus on the
interplay among words or on lyrical cadences that makes for stunning, musical prose.

One way to tune our sentences is to listen to the sounds of individual words. When
possible, these sounds should reinforce the imagistic and emotional content of our sentence.
For instance, rippleis probably not the best word to use in a sentence about the weight of
loneliness. Not only does ripple mean something slight; it sounds slight. The short I is a
bantam-weight vowel, the lightest, most childlike sound in our language. A more weighty
choice would be a word like stone or root or nobody. Is there a vowel more heavy or sad than
the long o? It hollows out the mouth intones the deepest sorrow.
 And their ending sounds make strong final impressions. The t of root supplies an
abrupt ending, while the n of stone remains before our eyes and deep in our throats,
providing weight and texture to reinforce the feeling of heaviness. In contrast, the ending
sounds of ripple slide easily into one another.

Just as singers vary the tone of a musical phrase by prolonging it, shortening it,
pitching it higher or lower, making it louder or softer, or changing its sound color (breathy,
harsh, resonant, liquid), writers vary the tone of passages by the way sounds they choose and
by the way they “sing” these sounds.

From the first word on, a subliminal music plays beneath Poe’s words. I imagine an
oboe or a bass cello, its tomes mournfully forlorn. This feeling of foreboding is accomplished
partly through the use of deep vowel sounds: whole, autumn, soundless, clouds. Taken
together, the vowels intone a dark music that is made even darker by Poe’s repetition of
heavy initial consonants: dull, dark, day, dreary.

But individual words alone, however musically apt, cannot make our sentences sing.
We also need an underlying rhythm, a musical line playing beneath our words. The rhythm of
Poe’s opening sentence is accomplished through short, stopped phrases, each comma striking
like a gong foretelling doom. We are slowed by each phrase, as Poe’s language draws us, step
by step, toward the gloom that awaits us.

There was music from my neighbor’s house through the summer nights. In his blue
gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne
and the starts …

… The last swimmers have come in from the beach now and are dressing upstairs; the
cars from New York are parked five deep at the drive, and already the halls and salons and
verandas are gaudy with primary colors and hairs shorn in strange new ways and shawls
beyond the dreams of Castile. The bar is in full swing and floating rounds of cocktails
permeate the garden outside until the air is alive with chatter and laughter and casual
innuendo and introductions forgotten on the spot and enthusiastic meetings between women
who never knew each other’s names.

Like the liquid movement of the partygoers, Fitzgerald’s long, languid rhythms rise and fall
seamlessly. Unlike Poe’s syntax, which trudges in fits and starts, Fitzgerald’s continues
breathlessly to the end of the passage. As you review your sentences and stories, don’t just
look at the words. Listen to their musical pitch, color and volume. Did you use soft, soothing
consonants in one description and harshs, cacophonous consonants in another? Did you use
deep-toned, solemn vowels in one section of dialogue and high-pitched vowels in another?
Sense of Character

The sentence style we use signals to our readers how to navigate our story’s
landscape. We are lulled by the rhythms of Thurbers’ sentences. We revel in his brilliantly
tuned sentences.

A rule we are quite happy Jamaica Kincaid breaks in her stunning one-sentence story
“Girl.”

A narrator who uses formal, parallel syntax may well be a clear, careful thinker who
keeps her emotional distance; a narrator who zigzags through his sentences, backing up to
interrupt himself, may be signaling indecision or insecurity; a character whose ideas flow
unceasingly one into the other reveals the stream of his rapidly flowing consciousness.

Even when we’re using third-person narration, we can still suggest a character’s
personality, life circumstances and emotional landscape by the cadences, syntax and diction
of our sentences.

Sleep, pick, eat,pick, pray … Bed, field, tables, field, church. Bed. Field. Table: a
hollow gallop of wooden bowls on a wooden table. Field. Church: a chase through dark
woods and climbing vines, barefoot behind her grandmother … Bed. Field. Table. Field …

By cycling and recycling the same words through recurring staccato rhythms, Greene
mimics the internal rhythms of her character’s thoughts, revealing the weight of Fanny’s
weariness and the monotony of her days.

Spice up your Sentences

The sentences in our stories – their lengths, grammatical structures and sounds
qualities – affects not only our story’s tone, style and character development. They also
affect how tension is created and sustained and how the plot unfolds. To keep our plot line
taut, we need active, direct, energetic sentences that move the action along. But even quick-
on-th-trigger prose cannot sustain itself indefinitely. Language that continues without pause
or variation ceases to hold a reader’s attention; it is the change in the rhythm that is
important. To maintain suspense, we must alternate between scene and summary, showing
and telling, and between braking and accelerating.

Slow. Withhold. Delay. All techniques for increasing tension. One of the most obvious
ways to slow the pace of a story is to use short sentences, directives or fragments. Another
method is to use short paragraphs, a visual pause for the eye.
 One moment the window was empty, a dark square – and the next this strange new
woman was standing against the sill. Her appearance was as sudden as if a blind had been
snaped up.

There she stood exactly in the centre of her little theatre of sashes and sill and
darkness beyond. One expected her to bow. He backed away from his own window like a
thief.

Sansom’s use of short paragraphs increases the stop-and-start feeling of the moment,
increasing tension by the use of halt and delay. This technique is like striptease; what we get
is precisely what we must wait patiently, or impatiently, to learn.

Even a single sentence can create tension if you withhold its climatic information until
the end. By reversing the order of your syntax, beginning with the wind and the moon and
saving the clincher, “he kissed her,” for last, you can keep the reader guessing.

Another way to slow your story’s pace is to change the verb tense of the telling.
Although it’s usually best to be consistent with your verb tense, a well-orchestrated switch
can heighten tension. Present tense, though it contributes to a feeling of immediacy, can
actually prolong a scene. “She sits at the window,” gives the impression of prolonged action
because it emphasizes the process rather than the completed event. A present tense action
is, by definition, an action in process, so the reader expects to be led through the process.

Writing in the present tense may also slow you down, making you more conscious of
the sentences forming in your ear and on the page of your story-in-progress. In return for your
attention to their needs, your sentences will reward you by shaping your narrative style,
revealing characters’ inner and outer landscapes, maintaining dramatic tension, and tuning
your story to the most effective musical key. Perhaps it’s what your characters are saying
rather than how they’re saying it.

Can you up the ante?

The simplest fictional formula is situation, complication and (ir) resolution. Many
times we get stories where the complication feels like part of an emerging problem the
character must face, rather than an additional factor that will make a resolution tougher.
Other times the complication just isn’t complicated enough, or there isn’t enough at stake.
Try intensifying an existing complication, or toss in one or two more for good measure!

When all else fails, why not try a “Sidecar” approach?

The vase could become a subplot, which could complicate things if the girlfriend
thinks he should do something different from what he’s inclined.
Greater complexity means greater reader interest. So tweak away!