Eight Types of Leads
Include as many of the 5Ws and H in the lead as possible. When in doubt use the summary lead. Let the content of the
story or interview dictate the style of the lead.
A summary lead condenses the main points of the story into the first paragraph. Answer the 5Ws and H.
A core of experienced seniors, a new league schedule and a home field advantage led the varsity baseball team to its best finish ever. The
team finished with a 17·3 record and claimed league and sectional crowns.
A descriptive lead paints a picture in the reader’s mind with word pictures. It captures the moment verbally like a camera
does visually.
Little talk was heard. Mostly the sound of cleats on the locker room floor broke the near-silence as the players gathered around the list the
freshman baseball coach had taped to the window of his office.
An astonishing lead springs an unexpected idea onto the readers to shock them and grab their interest. It often consists of
a short snappy sentence set off by itself with the other facts in the second paragraph. Do not telegraph emotional response
to readers with exclamation points. Trust the prose to evoke emotion on its own.
You may be dead tomorrow.
That is the consensus of the American Lung Association, which recently launched a new public awareness campaign to stop smoking.
A staccato lead uses a series of short phrases or single words.
Steven and Kayla. Theo and Rudy. Alex and Mallory. Sound familiar? Then consider yourself a rerun junkie.
A parody lead is a play on the words of songs, poems or expressions. To work best, it must be easily recognized.
Take me out to the ballgame. Take me out in the rain. Slipping and sliding and inking in mud at the cold ball game.
A direct quotation lead consists of a person's actual words. This can be used as an easy out to writing a lead, but it is
most effectively used when the quote is truly memorable and when what is said is more striking than the person who made
the statement.
“When I opened my wrapped rose and saw it was the red one. I fainted.”
A rhetorical question lead begins with a question or series of questions, each set off as a separate paragraph. The answer
to the question(s) really is where the story begins.
What do a rose and candy bar, Muzak, a waste management firm and 300 Japanese-made basketballs have in common?
A contrast lead points out opposites or extremes.
Despite the fact that cartoons, movies and comics portray the beginning of school as the return to a type of prison life, ample proof shows
that many students return to their books with a thankful, "It's great to be back.”
CAUTION: Use the parody, direct quotation and rhetorical question lead styles sparingly. These are considered writing
crutches whether you are writing news, essays, or speeches.