Lead paragraph

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Lede" redirects here. For other uses, see Lede (disambiguation).

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]

In the journalism industry, particularly in the United States (see News style), the term is spelled "lede". The alternative spelling was invented to differentiate it from the metal lead (pronounced led), which was used in hot metal typesetting.[1] This spelling is absent from almost all print dictionaries, though it has recently begun to appear in some online US dictionaries such as Merriam-Webster.com[2] (though not in any of their print versions) and TheFreeDictionary.com.[3]

In journalism, the lede 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 ledes 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 lede." Most standard news ledes include brief answers to the questions of who, what, why, when, where, and how the key event in the story took place.

Ledes in essays summarize the outline of the argument and conclusion that follows in the main body of the essay. Encyclopedia ledes 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. Ledes or introductions in books vary enormously in length, intent and content.

See also

References

Look up lede in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "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). Retrieved 2012-02-28.  This is a tertiary source that clearly includes information from other sources but does not name them.
  2. ↑ "Lede". Merriam-Webster Online. Chicago, IL, US: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2012 [copyright date]. Retrieved 2012-02-28. 
  3. ↑ "Lede". The Free Dictionary. Huntingdon Valley, PA, US: Farlex. 2012 [copyright date]. 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. 
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.