Consider the following sample leads for impact, word choice, and structure.
MEDFORD, OH – Scissors defeated rock Monday, marking the cutting instrument’s first-ever victory over its longtime nemesis. [14 words] (“Scissors”)
WASHINGTON – President Bush urged Americans on Monday to cut back on unnecessary travel to make up for fuel shortages caused by Hurricane Rita. [22 words] (Pickler)
BALTIMORE – A man was sentenced Tuesday to three years in jail for shooting a civilian police employee in a dispute over a stolen can of Spam more than 30 years ago. [30 words] (AP)
FORT HOOD, Texas – Army Pfc. Lynndie England, whose smiling poses in photos of detainee abuse at Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison made her the face of the scandal, was convicted Monday by a military jury on six of seven counts. [36 words] (Badger)
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Insurgents dragged five Shiite Muslim schoolteachers and their driver into a classroom, lined them against a wall and gunned them down Monday – slayings in Iraq’s notorious Triangle of Death that reflect the enflamed sectarian divisions ahead of a crucial constitutional referendum. [41 words] (Keath)
Homeless, mentally shaken and emotionally disturbed are the last words Uptown native Cody Camacho ever thought he would use to describe himself. But it’s exactly the image that the 23-year-old has faced in the mirror everyday since he finished a tour of duty in Iraq and returned home last year. [50 words] (Caputo)
WORKS CITED
AP. “58-year-old gets 3 years for killing man over can of Spam.” Chicago Sun-Times 38 Sept. 2005: 52.
Badger, T.A. “England guilty in prisoner abuse.” Chicago Sun-Times 27 Sept. 2005: 26.
Caputo, Angela. “‘I’ve been living on a thread.’” Pioneer Press News-Star 14 Sept. 2005: 1+.
Keath, Lee. “Iraqi rebels line 5 teachers against wall and kill them.” Chicago Sun-Times 27 Sept. 2005: 38.
Pickler, Nedra. “Curb excess travel, Bush urges.” Chicago Sun-Times 27 Sept. 2005: 6.
“Scissors defeats rock.” The Onion’s Finest News Reporting. NY: Three Rivers Press, 2000: 4.
Posted by Benjamin at February 23, 2006 01:50 PM