chapter four

A summary lead is the opening sentence of a story; it is designed to summarize the story quickly. The book provides four tips helping to accomplish this:

1. be specific as possible
2. avoid backing in
3. be concise
4. use an active voice
   

"Driven schools chief has been given uncommon power to reshape Baltimore's dysfunctional schools to make them work for, not against, the children."~(Baltimore Sun)

I chose this lead because in 22 words the lead is able to provide the subject, location, and action of the story. It catches your attention because of word choice such as "uncommon power" and "dysfunctional" and therefore makes the reader want to continue reading.



"HEALESVILLE, Australia (AP) — Entire towns have been seared off the map by wildfires raging through southeastern Australia, burning people in their homes and cars in the deadliest blaze in the country's history."~(Baltimore Sun)

I found this lead to really draw you into the rest of the article, the fact that people were burned in their cars as they were trying to escape the blazing fire is compelling and heart wrenching.



"WHITTIER, Calif. - The mother of newborn octuplets says she had six embryos implanted in her fertility procedure -- far more than industry guidelines recommend under ordinary circumstances -- and was well aware that multiple births could result."(Baltimore Sun)

I decided this was another strong lead because the story of the woman who had recently had octuplets had been controversaly portrayed in the media and this story provided an update on previous news in the first sentence. By saying the woman was aware of the fact that she could have multiple births despite the fact that she already had 7 children at home.