Headline Writing Intro

It’s all

in your head

UIL Headline Writing

Alyssa Boehringer,UIL Journalism Director

Presentation by Bobby Hawthorne, Jeanne Acton, Alyssa Boehringer and Jolene Taylor

The
headline
contest

Six stories with six headlines

30 minutes (about 5 min per story)

Count parameters

It’s all about quick thinking and
creativity

What’s in a good headline?

Don’t editorialize.

Serious story > serious headline.
Silly story > silly headline.

Be objective

make tone fit content

We want people to read more.

include specifics that tell the
reader if they want to read
the story.

Facts, names, numbers,
anything must be correct.
Double check spelling.

sell the story

Tell the facts

be accurate

Will have a 1-, 2- or 3-deck
headline.

Usually has a main headline
that can be creative with a
secondary headline that
explains the story.

Straight news

Feature

Two types of
stories you’ll see

Story 2 — Write: 2-line headline with each line counting 26-32

Seniors will receive a new class rank Friday after the district discovered an error in
the system that tabulates GPA.
“When we got our final class rank notification, something didn’t look right,” senior
Johnathan Dharamraj said. “I went from No. 6 in the class to No. 7. And I’m positive I
was supposed to be 6. It just wasn’t what I thought it would be.”
Dharamraj calculated his GPA manually and went to tell registrar Joanie Morgan that
the report was incorrect.
“Johnathan showed me his calculations,” Morgan said. “For some reason, the
system added extra courses to his schedule that were shown as ‘incomplete.’ This
brought down his GPA. I had never seen it do anything like that before.”
Morgan then realized the system had wrongly calculated more than 120 seniors’
grades in the final class rank report.
“I hope it doesn’t cause too many more problems,” she said. “At least I hope the
top 10 in the class don’t move around too much more.”

Story 2 — Write: 2-line headline with each line counting 26-32

Seniors will receive a new class rank Friday after the district discovered an
error in the system that tabulates GPA.
“When we got our final class rank notification, something didn’t look right,” senior
Johnathan Dharamraj said. “I went from No. 6 in the class to No. 7. And I’m positive I
was supposed to be 6. It just wasn’t what I thought it would be.”
Dharamraj calculated his GPA manually and went to tell registrar Joanie Morgan that
the report was incorrect.
“Johnathan showed me his calculations,” Morgan said. “For some reason, the
system added extra courses to his schedule that were shown as ‘incomplete.’ This
brought down his GPA. I had never seen it do anything like that before.”
Morgan then realized the system had wrongly calculated more than 120 seniors’
grades in the final class rank report.
“I hope it doesn’t cause too many more problems,” she said. “At least I hope the
top 10 in the class don’t move around too much more.”

things
to know

don’t go over count

don’t split infinitives

don’t duplicate words

don’t use articles (a, the)

Do not end a headline with a period

Avoid names unless they are easily recognizable

use single quotes in headlines

try to summarize the story and eliminate
unnecessary words

Story 2 — Write: 2-line headline with each line counting 26-32

The district will recalculate students’ grades and class ranks - 62
because a student found an error in how they were calculating grades. - 69

Stay in count

Stay in count

Julia Montgomery, Lindale HS

4A state champion

the
feature
stories

You’ll have a main headline and a
secondary headline

the main headline can be creative

the secondary headline is a
separate thought entirely. they do
not connect.

Story 5 — Write: 1-line main headline counting 14-20 and a
2-line secondary headline counting 20-26

Junior Ellie Lantos sits on the floor of her closet to work, but she’s not there to fold laundry. For the past
year, Lantos has been writing poetry on the walls of her closet. On April 29, those words will be published
in a book.
“I started writing in my closet last year, and in August I realized I probably had enough solid pieces that I
wanted them to become available for the world,” Lantos said. “The poems are mainly about my life and
some of the struggles I’ve had but also about some of the things I really love — like sunflowers, pizza and
writing.”
Lantos raised half the money to publish her book of poetry, and her parents agreed to contribute the
other half as a birthday present when she turned 17.
“She was almost finished with everything by the time she shared her work with me,” Lantos’ mother, Rose
Lantos, said. “I’m so proud of her for using her writing as a skill to not only process her own emotions but
also to share her voice with the world. I’m ready to buy my own copy as soon as it comes out.”
The poetry collection, titled “Wall About Me,” will be on Amazon for $7.99.
“I’m excited for people I know and even people I’ve never met to see a small piece of me,” Lantos said.
“If we ever move out of this house, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. Maybe my closet will be worth
something one day.”

Stay in count

Stay in count

Kinds of headlines

Dr. Seuss, man of rhyme and reason, dies at 87

1-line headline

Look at the tense...

Kinds of headlines

Halloween scares up snow
across much of Panhandle

2-line headline

Kinds of headlines

Pianist keeps
city’s singers
in good tune

3-line headline

Kinds of headlines

Fiddling with success

Junior to release album Friday

main/secondary

headline
tips

be as specific as possible.
get to the heart of the news.

School board discusses items
at heated Tuesday meeting

(not good)

headline
tips

2 board members walk out
over budget argument

(better, more specific)

headline
tips

Try to put the subject and verb on the
same line. Keep adjectives and nouns
together. Keep infinitives together.

District offers
free vaccinations
to limit absences

(notice phrases on the same line,
especially tricky with short lines)

headline
tips

Try to put the subject and verb on the
same line. Keep adjectives and nouns
together. Keep infinitives together.

Fire guts Fred Astaire
Dance Studio, 2 injured

(not good)

headline
tips

Try to put the subject and verb on the
same line. Keep adjectives and nouns
together. Keep infinitives, prepositional
phrases together.

Baseball team ready for
playoff game, coach says

(not good)

headline
tips

don’t use the name of your school or
too many initials or unneeded dates

2024 MHS FFA helps
with annual WCC event

(too vague)

headline
tips

avoid be verbs and linking verbs. use
present or future tense.

Seniors will prank
Friday pep rally

Seniors to prank
Friday pep rally

headline
tips

No articles. (a, an, the)

Junior makes the science
finals in D.C.

Junior makes science finals in
D.C.

headline
tips

Use a comma instead of and.

Heat wave blisters California, Texas

headline
tips

avoid overused Clichés

Swimmers dive into season

Golfers swing into action

Math Club multiplies

Football team tackles opposition

headline
tips

do not repeat key words and phrases
from the main to the secondary.

Pocket lasers banned
Authorities ban laser pointers

Pocket lasers banned
Principal cites injuries,
class disruptions

headline
tips

avoid headline-ese

Bball team destroys West in finals

Senior play to continue thru Easter

Principal to dance at Friday nite game

headline
tips

use active voice

Yuck:
Obstacle course was run
in record time by senior

Better:
Senior sets record
on obstacle course

headline
tips

Can separate two sentences with a
semicolon.

Seniors fill principal’s office with frogs;
juniors leave ducks in counselors’ area

(not the best)

Oopsies

Bears capture playoff birth

Forecasters call for weather Monday

Missippi’s literacy program
shows improvement

Be sure to eat
right before surgery

How to win

Don’t split phrases. Leave
articles out. Single quotes.

If you can’t finish a headline, go
on to the next one and come
back to it.

follow those rules

Use time wisely

Do not go over or under count
on any headline. Draw the lines
so the judges can see.

Make sure you get the news in
the headline. Don’t be
distracted by cleverness.

A clever feature headline can
set you apart from the rest

Counting counts

Tell the facts

Do be clever though

Let’s talk about
judging headlines

It’s all in
your head

Alyssa Boehringer
UIL Journalism Director /ILPC Director
[e-mail]