Whether it’s spelled lead or lede, it is the foundation of stories. The lead gives the reader the sense of the story to follow and is often considered the most important part of the story.

“If the writer cannot grab the attention of the readers in the first one or two paragraphs, he or she will lose them,” Susan Skalicky said.

Skalicky is an English teacher and journalism adviser at Bismarck Public Schools in Bismarck, North Dakota.

“People are busy and time is priceless,” Skalicky said. “The writer cannot waste words. They all need to purposefully draw the reader into the story. The lead is a great way to do that.”

“Many, many people do not read beyond the first few words,”Gerri Berendzen said. “So that makes the lead particularly important.”

Gerri Berendzen is a visiting assistant professor at the Missouri School of Journalism. Professor Berendzen also works as the Knight visiting news editor at the Columbia Missourian.

Berendzen said the lead should answer the traditional questions: who, what, where and when.

“But you can also look at it this way — what makes this story worth reading? Why is it news?” Berendzen said.  “The answers to those question should be the information in the lead.”

In addition to telling the most important information, Berendzen said leads should use vibrant words and active verbs.

To combat a writer’s slump, Berendzen suggests journalists put their notes down. Instead, pull someone over and actually tell them the story.

“If your best friend was sitting next to you, how would you “tell” them the story,” Berendzen said. “Make it a conversation.”

If a journalist has writer’s block, both Skalicky and Berendzen suggest immediately writing the rest of the article before coming back to the lead.

“Sometimes, the best bet is to just start writing,” Berendzen said. “Pick the story up anywhere. Then go back and a lot of times the lead will become clear.”

For more tips and tricks on lead writing, check out other SchoolJournalism.org resources on news writing or The New York Times Campus Weblines on writing the lead.