Summary Leads

 

DEFINITION OF A SUMMARY LEAD:

           

            A summary lead usually is shorter in length and is always at the beginning of a news article. It quickly covers only the important aspects of the story, such as the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How of an event/issues. Usually, the lead will explain to the reader, the “ending result” of a new event/issue. Sometimes though, the purpose of a lead is to introduce the newest updated information on an event/issue that is already ongoing and in the public eye. When writing a summary lead, one must always remember to be as specific as possible in order to get to the point, and always try to introduce the subject right away in order to avoid backing in. Always use an active voice, making the reader understand that the subject of the story is performing or causing the action that is taking place.

 

 

EXAMPLES OF A SUMMARY LEAD:

 

a.     “Ty Wigginton doesn't care where he ends up on the baseball diamond, he just wants to be out there - and that attitude and flexibility is what persuaded the Orioles to make Wigginton their newest acquisition in an increasingly busy offseason”. – The Baltimore Sun, Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec, 4-Feb, 2009.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-sp.orioles04feb04,0,6371034.story

 

I chose this story for two reasons, one because there is a huge following for the Baltimore Orioles Baseball team and it’s nice to see professional sports figures play a game because they love it, not because of the money involved…although $6M is a huge “chunk of change.” Connolly and Zrebiec do a great job of pointing out the subject of the story immediately (Ty Wigginton), they also got straight to the point, and let us (the reader) know exactly what is going on, or what is going to happen; they did it using an active voice, which draws the readers attention in right away.

 

 

 

b.     “Some 60 million years ago, well after the demise of the dinosaurs, a giant relative of today’s boa constrictors, weighing more than a ton and measuring 42 feet long, hunted crocodiles in rain-washed tropical forests in northern South America, according to a new fossil discovery”. – New York Times, Andrew Revkin, 4-Feb, 2009.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/science/earth/05snake.html?_r=1&ref=science

 

This article drew in my attention mainly because I love learning about new discoveries and science and nature. This isn’t the best lead in my opinion, and not my favorite example of a lead, which bring me to the next reason why I chose this article. Although the author does make it so the reader knows the subject (snakes), he does not do a great job of getting straight to the point and showing us (the reader) what the focus of the story will be (new found fossil), he also does not use an active voice in this lead, meaning he (the author) doesn’t make me fell when I’m reading it as if this action just occurred.

 

 

 

c.      “With U.S. auto sales falling near a 27-year low, the Senate gave its approval yesterday to a proposal by Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski to provide tax breaks to purchasers of new cars and light trucks”. – The Baltimore Sun, Paul West, 4-Feb, 2009

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.autos04feb04,0,1452177.story

 

Personally, this article is not too interesting to me but I chose it because the economic downfall of our country is a huge concern right now…for all of us. This article again is clear in who the subject is (Sen. Barbara Mikulski), and what action she is accomplishing or performing. The way the start the lead is also interesting to me, just within those first couple words, “falling near a 27-year low”, I was immediately drawn to it.