Grasping the correct structure of leads has been a more difficult process than I initially thought. In the first assignment, I found the trouble for me was writing in complete sentences. When I read my leads out loud they sounded really interesting and well written, but when I received the graded version I then realized they were written very poorly and incomplete. I have no doubt that with time I'll be able to get a good hold on writing effective leads.
As I mentioned the big downfall for me in the first lead assignment was writing in complete sentences. It is very easy to get lazy and try to sound convincing and interesting by saying things like, "Police estimate over $8,000 in total losses," which is not a complete sentence. That is definitely a do not.
From what I've learned so far the biggest "do" would be getting the articles most interesting aspects into the lead in a manner that is most effective and interesting. Make sure you are informing the reader of what's to come without packing the lead full of unnecessary information.
While we all progress in this class I feel most of us should have no problem in writing great leads. I again look forward to hearing from all of you and reading what you all have to say.
~Kyle Lovin
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Complete sentences are vital. Your example of "Police estimate over $8000 in total losses" may sound good but...wheres the rest of the info. I had trouble with that when I first began to write for the InkSpot.
ReplyDeleteI am in the same boat! I write a lead down, read it out loud and think that its good, until you think about what is really going on with the lead and there isnt enough information to have it make sense. I guess with time it will be easier!
ReplyDeleteI can completely relate to you when I thought writing leads was going to be simple. That idea sure didn't last long when I actually started to write one. I have the opposite problem of you however. I tend to write so much that my lead would cover two or three complete sentences. There is always a lot of information, and everything seems interesting to me. I'm getting better at slimming things down though.
ReplyDeleteKyle,
ReplyDeleteI very much feel the same way! It's been hard writing good leads and I know that as we do more and more leads, we can only get better with them!
Its only our, what? Second week? We'll be expert writers after this semester! ;)
Alyssa Peterson
Grade: 9.5/10
ReplyDelete• Mistake: Missing apostrophe on "article's"