Transcript Rules for Headline Writing - Home

Rules for Headline
Writing
Basic rules for writing
captivating, correct
headlines.
Material property of the AR Dept. of Education Distance Learning Center. It may be used for nonprofit, educational use only after contacting the ADE DLC at http://dlc.k12.ar.us ER
Use fact-filled secondary
heads and eye-opening primary
heads.
Use contrasting type styles
between primary and secondary
heads: bold and italic, for
example
Do not split an infinitive or
prepositional phrase from one
line to the next.
Don’t split a word with a hyphen
from one line to the next.
There should not be any
opinions in a news headline.
Do not split a proper name
from one line to another.
There should not be
information in the headline that
is not in the story.
Don’t split a verb phrase,
prepositional phrase or
infinitive phrase from one line
to another.
Omit the articles a, an and the.
Use numerals rather than
spelled out number names
Don’t abbreviate unless the
readers will understand.
Avoid passive forms of the
verb “to be”.
Headline should use simple
construction: Subject, verb,
direct object.
Primary head should be tied to
the main photo if there is one.
Avoid using the name of the
school or mascot in the
headlines.
Avoid stating the obvious. Tell
the reader something new.
Do not include the “when” in the
headline.
Do not repeat key words from
one part of the headline to the
other.
Use literary techniques such as
alliteration, puns, satire if
appropriate.
Quotes make great secondary
heads, but not primary
headlines.
Avoid abbreviations in a
headline. Use initials only if
your readers will know what
they stand for.
Write in present tense if the
event has already happened.
Write in future tense or use
infinitive (to + verb) to show
that something will happen in
the future.
Use “can” or “may” instead of
“will.” Predictions change.
Primary headlines do not
necessarily have to have a
subject and verb – if there is a
secondary headline included.
Secondary headlines should
always have a subject and a
verb.
Keep capitalization to a
minimum. Headlines are written
in downstyle.
Keep punctuation to a minimum.
Use single quotes instead of
doubles. Use a comma instead
of word ‘and.’ Use a colon
instead of word ‘said.’
When writing multi-line headlines:
•Keep verb phrases on the same line
•Keep adjectives and the words they
modify on the same line
•Keep adverbs and the words they
modify on the same line
When writing multi-line headlines:
•Keep prepositional phrases on the
same line
•Keep words that go together on the
same line
•A line of a headline cannot end with
a hyphen