story’s lead, which is where the headline writer, who won’t have time to
read the entire story anyway, should look to find out what’s news.
Headlines can be creative and fun. Sometimes our favorite headlines
are the ones that break the rules. But for beginners, it’s probably best to
start with a few standard guidelines. Here are some commonly accepted
rules for headline writing:
- Give every headline an action verb: “Candidates debate
issues” - Use present tense for past events: “Club chooses presi-
dent,” not “Club chose president yesterday” - Use an infinitive for future events: “Governor to
sign bill” - Use short, positive words: “Some like it hot: Spring Break
hot spots” - Use a comma for and and a semicolon for a period:
“Learning moves out of school beyond U-High, across
oceans” and “Soccerdogs beat Edison; host Lodi
tomorrow” - Use single quotation marks within a headline: “Critics say
‘malice’ rule puts public safety at risk”
Some rules warn writers about what not to do: - Avoid forms of to be: “Teen boot camp—‘strictly’ a good
idea,” not “Teen boot camp is ‘strictly’ a good idea” - Omit articles (a, an and the): “Habitat workers bring hope
to homeless” - Avoid the use of negatives (no and not): “Athletic depart-
ment too lenient with drug offenders,” instead of
“Athletic department not harsh enough” - Avoid excess abbreviation (one acronym per headline is
probably plenty) - Omit a period at the end of a headline
- Most important, don’t use headlines to express the writ-
er’s opinion
Headlines should tell something specific and newsy. They should not
be mere labels. Watch out, too, for generic headlines that could fit any
of several stories: “Student meeting Wednesday,” “Committee plans
announced” or “Team seeks victory,” for example. These headlines could
be used over and over, but who would read those stories? Create a head-
line to fit one and only one story.
Finally, the headline should reflect the tone of a story. Use a serious
tone for a serious story—for example,
Storm flattens fields, rips roof
For less somber stories, headline writers can enjoy using puns and plays
on words:
Many possible ways to heal heel pain
Designer builds motorcycles wheely well or
It isn’t easy being orange
TYPOGRAPHY, HEADLINES AND INFOGRAPHICS^363