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Reading an introduction gives you an idea on what a passage will be talking about and in what order. An introduction gives you the gist of what you’ll be reading, which makes the text easier to follow and understand. In articles, the lead sentence (AKA the lede) is the introduction, and tells the reader what to expect. In essays, it’ll be the introductory paragraph, but the main idea of the essay can be simplified into the thesis statement. In this chapter, writers will find out how to make these introductory statements.
Ledes
Ledes
These are the first paragraphs of a newspaper article, and they’re meant to hook readers into reading the article, communicate important points in the article, and to do both of them quickly. Ledes set the tone and claim the writer has regarding a specific issue, and can introduce the mood or subject of the article.
Ledes in Hard News
Ledes in Hard News
They are the whole article distilled into one sentence. In papers, the lede for a hard news article is usually 35-40 words, because ledes are meant to tell the reader the most important information in an article in the quickest way possible. They’re also meant to hook the reader into reading, too.
Doing three things in under forty words might sound daunting, but writing ledes isn’t all that complicated.
For a hard news article, the lede focuses on the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How.
Need a refresher on the differences between Hard and Soft News? Check out the chapter on them here.
Need a refresher on the differences between Hard and Soft News? Check out the chapter on them here.
Examples...
Examples...
Who did it? Who was involved? Who was affected?
What happened? What could happen? What are the specifics?
Where did it happen? Where are other places this news will impact?
When did this happen? When is it going to happen?
Why did it happen? Why will readers care?
How did it happen? How does it work?
Who - the girls’ volleyball team
What - won a competition
Where - at a rival school
When - last weekend
Why - for a yearly tournament
How - through their rigorous training
Lede - Last weekend, the SISC girls' volleyball team won an annual tournament at a rival school after months of rigorous training.
Once the lede has been decided, you have to make sure that your article and its contents stay aligned with your lede, because the hard news lede is reliant on the inverted pyramid structure of hard news.
Ledes in Feature Stories
Ledes in Feature Stories
For more narrative or in-depth feature articles, ledes become more narrative and descriptive. This really fluffs up the interest into reading these kinds of articles, as well as sets the tone for the story.
Writers use this type of lede to open up the article with an anecdote or to add some short exposition. The main idea can be discussed within the first 2-5 paragraphs of the article. The nut graph (also spelled as "the nut graf) is the statement where the writer finally addresses what the article will be about.
In the example given, the nut graph is written in bold.
Edward Wong of The New York Times' Beijing bureau:
"BEIJING — The first sign of trouble was powder in the baby’s urine. Then there was blood. By the time the parents took their son to the hospital, he had no urine at all.
"Kidney stones were the problem, doctors told the parents. The baby died on May 1 in the hospital, just two weeks after the first symptoms appeared. His name was Yi Kaixuan. He was 6 months old.
"The parents filed a lawsuit on Monday in the arid northwest province of Gansu, where the family lives, asking for compensation from Sanlu Group, the maker of the powdered baby formula that Kaixuan had been drinking. It seemed like a clear-cut liability case; since last month, Sanlu has been at the center of China’s biggest contaminated food crisis in years. But as in two other courts dealing with related lawsuits, judges have so far declined to hear the case."
Thesis Statement
Thesis Statement
A thesis statement is a statement that summarizes and introduces the main idea of the essay. It’s often found in the last sentence of an essay’s introduction, and is usually said in one sentence. It makes a claim and immediately answers a question the writer asks.
A thesis statement not only makes it easier for the reader to understand where you’re going with the essay, but it will also simplify the writing process for you. It’s highly encouraged that the order you wrote your arguments in the thesis statement is the order you’ll be writing them in your essay.
Here is a simplified way to make a thesis statement for an opinion/persuasive piece:
Narrow down your scope and recognize what the topic is asking from you.
Example: Schools overpopulation.
Example: Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird.
2. State a Claim
2. State a Claim
Decide where you stand on the issue given or give a claim/position/argument that will be the main point of discussion for this piece.
Example: School populations should be lowered.
Example: Atticus Finch is a model hero.
3. Give the Reasons
3. Give the Reasons
Why are you correct and why should people agree with you? If you were a debater, what are the points and arguments that would support your argument or claim?
Example: Small school populations help build a tight-knit community of learners.
Example: Atticus Finch is brave, fair, and empathic.
3. Put Them Together
3. Put Them Together
Claim + Reasoning = Thesis Statement. Usually, the reasoning is written in the order that it will appear in the essay proper.
Example: Although schools of over a thousand students have flourished in America, it’s shown that smaller school populations help build a tight-knit community of learners, and therefore we should consider limiting school populations to five hundred students.
Example: The character Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird is a model hero because he’s characterized as a man who is brave, fair, and empathic.
NOTE: If you’re a debater, think of the thesis statement as an answer to a motion. “THBT School Population Should Be Lowered.” Being in the Government or Opposition is your stance (are you for or against this motion?), and your reasons are your points and arguments (why the school population should or shouldn’t be lowered).
Summary
Summary
In this short chapter, you found the different ways to start off your article or your written piece! You found out that the lede is a short paragraph that discusses the main points of an article and hooks the reader in in the shortest words possible, and that the thesis statement is both the main idea and outline of an essay. Write on!
Further Resources...
Further Resources...
If you want to take a peek at different kinds of ledes, the website below lists down different examples of them, with sample ledes, too.
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