Writing Leads

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Writing Leads Rhonda Moore Austin, TX
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10 Clichés of Lead Writing
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10 Clichés of Lead Writing
The move over lead Move over, Steven
Spielberg, here comes Larry Bulansky of Shrub
Oak.
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10 Clichés of Lead Writing
The move over lead Move over, Steven
Spielberg, here comes Larry Bulansky of Shrub
Oak. The came early lead Easter came early
for Irma Blumkin when gang members pelted her
with nine dozen eggs.
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10 Clichés of Lead Writing
The move over lead Move over, Steven
Spielberg, here comes Larry Bulansky of Shrub
Oak. The came early lead Easter came early
for Irma Blumkin when gang members pelted her
with nine dozen eggs. The one word as
paragraph lead Springtime. Baseball.
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10 Clichés of Lead Writing
The move over lead Move over, Steven
Spielberg, here comes Larry Bulansky of Shrub
Oak. The came early lead Easter came early
for Irma Blumkin when gang members pelted her
with nine dozen eggs. The one word as
paragraph lead Springtime. Baseball. The one
word and ah lead Ah, springtime. Ah, baseball.
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10 Clichés of Lead Writing
The move over lead Move over, Steven
Spielberg, here comes Larry Bulansky of Shrub
Oak. The came early lead Easter came early
for Irma Blumkin when gang members pelted her
with nine dozen eggs. The one word as
paragraph lead Springtime. Baseball. The
one word and ah lead Ah, springtime. Ah,
baseball. The eating Baked Alaska in his posh
hotel suite lead Elvis Presley is eating Baked
Alaska in his posh hotel suite.
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10 Clichés of Lead Writing
The quote lead Lets get a few more Baked
Alaskas up here, Elvis Presley hollers from his
posh hotel suite.
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10 Clichés of Lead Writing
The quote lead Lets get a few more Baked
Alaskas up here, Elvis Presley hollers from his
posh hotel suite. The question lead So, just
what is Baked Alaska?
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10 Clichés of Lead Writing
The quote lead Lets get a few more Baked
Alaskas up here, Elvis Presley hollers from his
posh hotel suite. The question lead So, just
what is Baked Alaska? The recipe lead Take a
heaping helping of Fairbanks.
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10 Clichés of Lead Writing
The quote lead Lets get a few more Baked
Alaskas up here, Elvis Presley hollers from his
posh hotel suite. The question lead So, just
what is Baked Alaska? The recipe lead Take a
heaping helping of Fairbanks. The times they
are a-changin lead This week in Purdys, the
times they are a-changin.
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10 Clichés of Lead Writing
The quote lead Lets get a few more Baked
Alaskas up here, Elvis Presley hollers from his
posh hotel suite. The question lead So, just
what is Baked Alaska? The recipe lead Take a
heaping helping of Fairbanks. The times they
are a-changin lead This week in Purdys, the
times they are a-changin. The tis the
season lead Tis the season to think for half a
minute or until we come up with something
original. Mitch Broder Gannett Suburban Newspapers
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Feature Leads What to do instead
Use an anecdote
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Making out on the sofa with a girl he met just
two hours before at a party in Arizona, senior
Rick Sanchez suddenly pulled away. I was
ready, he said. I wanted to know what sex was
like, but something inside stopped me,
literally, right there. When we were kissing,
something clicked in me. It was like, Whats
wrong with me? I dont even know this girl. Ive
only known her for about two hours, and Im ready
to jump in bed with her?! Its a decision
every teenager will face Should I have sex?
Some, like Sanchez, have made the decision to
wait. He plans to keep his virginity until
marriage.
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Feature Leads What to do instead
Use an anecdote Write a narrative
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His horse and his sisters pig need him, so
senior Todd Bowen will soon begin trudging
through mud and water up to his calves to feed
his animals. He sits in his Chrysler minivan at
536 a.m. and comments on the cold rain flooding
the field in front of him What a wonderful
day.
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Feature Leads What to do instead
Use an anecdote Write a narrative Set a
scene
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As she enters the bathroom, sophomore Ann
stops to take a look in the mirror. As she gazes
upon her reflection, she makes a quick decision
and swiftly pulls her hair back. Without
resistance, she slides her finger down her throat
to induce vomiting. After a smooth motion and
routine purging, Ann straightens her clothes and
her hair and returns to her everyday life style.
I dont think my life is any different than
anyone elses, Ann said. I just have an
obsession, Some people are obsessed with money or
material things I am obsessed with weight loss.
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Feature Leads What to do instead
Use an anecdote Write a narrative Set a
scene Use a single instance to illustrate a
larger topic
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On a crisp January morning, the Rev. Ralph
Daniels stood with other members of the Austin
Baptist Ministers Union before a bank of cameras
and demanded Police Chief Stan Knees
resignation, accusing him of failing to curb
officer violence against minorities. That
afternoon, Austin Police Cpl. David Daniels put
on his pressed navy uniform, donned his badge and
gun and began a 10-hour shift on the streets.
Ralph Daniels never wanted his son to become a
cop. David Daniels never wanted to see his
father publicly attack his department and his
boss. Its easy for my father or any citizen
to just say, You should have done this, or you
should have done that, David Daniels said.
Kind of like Monday-morning quarterbacking.
For Austins African American officers, the
recent turbulence between the police and the
citys minority communities - marked by the
shooting deaths of two African Americans by white
officers and statistics showing that officers
stop, search and use force against minorities at
higher rates than whites - has brought a test in
loyalty reconciling the color of their skin and
the color of the uniform they wear to work. Tony
Plohetski Austin American-Statesman
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Feature Leads What to do instead
Use an anecdote Write a narrative Set a
scene Use a single instance to illustrate a
larger topic Use contrast
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As a member of Future Farmers of America,
senior Jake McCreless has killed his share of
chickens. But not on purpose. Jake cant
raise chickens, Gary Adams, agricultural science
and technology instructor and Future Farmers of
America adviser, said. His chickens die. Hes
outstanding with sheep, but Jake McCreless should
never raise another chicken. Jakes lack of
success with chickens is one of the few
unproductive aspects of his life. Since eighth
grade, Jake has been diligently preparing for his
career goal of becoming a veterinarian.
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Feature Leads What to do instead
Use an anecdote Write a narrative Set a
scene Use a single instance to illustrate a
larger topic Use contrast Use description
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Eric Moore leans into the recliner in the
corner of his room, wearing a tie-dyed T-shirt,
smoking a distinguished, carved, wooden pipe, and
waxing philosophical about one of his many
heroes, Frank Zappa. Zappa is, incidentally,
currently playing on the radio, waxing
philosophical about yellow snow. They really
love him in Eastern Europe, you know, Moore
says. They tend to listen to music a little more
seriously over there and pay more attention to
how a song is written. In America, we just
consume. Label that theory number on Whats
Wrong With Society. Moore has a million of them,
and hell be happy to share them all with anyone
who will listen. When in the presence of
someone so intelligent, articulate and
interesting, the question easily comes up Why
did this person drop out of school?
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Interview notes
While working late the Friday before the ILPC
convention, on his last issue as editor, I was
proofing printouts as he made corrections to
pages already edited. Having just finished the
yearbook, my days of staying and working late
were over. So, as I handed him the edited pages,
I asked him, Can I go home now? His reply was,
Yes, youre through. Ill put the corrected
printouts on your desk before I leave for the
evening. As an assistant editor his freshman
year, I was the one to tell him he was through
and could go home. Now, the irony of the
situation is that it has come full circle and
hes telling me I can go home.
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Lead
While working late one night on the newspaper,
adviser Lisa Van Etta was proofing printouts as
her editor, senior Marcelino Benito, made
corrections to pages already edited. As she
handed him the edited pages, she asked, Can I go
home now? Yes, he replied. Youre through.
Ill put the corrected printouts on your desk
before I leave for the evening. As assistant
editor his freshman year, I was the one to tell
him he was through and could go home, Van Etta
said. The irony of the situation is that it has
come full circle, and hes telling me I can go
home.
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Lead continued
Benito, who has been editor of his school
paper, Wingspan, for three years, was named the
National High School Journalist of the Year at
the JEA/NSPA awards ceremony in San Francisco
April 23. He was named the state winner April 9.