Lead paragraph

A lead, or lede paragraph in literature is the opening paragraph of an article, essay, news story or book chapter. Often called the lead, it usually occurs together with the headline or title. It precedes the main body of the article, and it gives the reader the main idea of the story. In both spellings, the word rhymes with the word need.[1]

Spelling

In the journalism industry's news style, particularly in the United States, the term is often spelled "lede", to differentiate it from the metal lead (pronounced lehd), which was used in hot metal typesetting.[1] This spelling may be found in online US dictionaries such as Merriam-Webster.com[2] (though not in their print versions) and TheFreeDictionary.com.[3]

Other introductions

In journalism, the lead paragraph should not be confused with the standfirst (UK), rider, kicker, bank head(line), or subhead (US). These terms refer to an introductory or summary line or brief paragraph, located immediately above or below the headline, and typographically distinct from the body of the article.[4]

Types

Journalistic leads emphasize grabbing the attention of the reader.[5] In journalism, the failure to mention the most important, interesting or attention-grabbing elements of a story in the first paragraph is sometimes called "burying the lead", which is discouraged with the catch phrase "Don't bury the lead!". Most standard news leads include brief answers to the questions of who, what, why, when, where, and how the key event in the story took place.

Leads in essays summarize the outline of the argument and conclusion that follows in the main body of the essay. Encyclopedia leads tend to define the subject matter as well as emphasize the interesting points of the article. Features and general articles in magazines tend to be somewhere between journalistic and encyclopedian in style and often lack a distinct lead paragraph entirely. Leads or introductions in books vary enormously in length, intent and content.

See also

References

Look up lede in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  1. 1 2 "Carol" (author unidentifiable) (November 28, 2000). "The Mavens' Word of the Day: lede". RandomHouse.com. New York City, NY, US: Random House/Bertelsmann. "Maven's Word of the Day" blog (defunct as of 2012). Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-28. This tertiary source reuses information from other sources but does not name them.
  2. ↑ "Lede". Merriam-Webster Online. Chicago, IL, US: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  3. ↑ "Lede". The Free Dictionary. Huntingdon Valley, PA, US: Farlex. 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  4. ↑ "Standfirst". Double-Tongued Dictionary. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  5. ↑ Peha & Lester (2006). Be a Writer: Your Guide to the Writing Life!: Proven Tips and Powerful Techniques to Help Young Writers Get Started. Leverage Factory. p. 125.
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