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Solutions to Workbook Exercises
1.
consider alternatives. This exercise will help students appreciate the different variations of
the inverted pyramid lead that are available to them.
2.
story can quite easily generate different leads.
3. Answers will obviously vary, so this might be an exercise that you can use as the basis of
a class discussion. Perhaps choose a student volunteer to share a lead for one of the
stories, and then ask other students to share different types of leads for that story. The
point of this exercise is to give students experience writing different kinds of leads.
4. A. a. Who: Drivers and residents.
b. What: Showers drenched the area; drivers were stranded; transformer failed.
c. When: Friday and Saturday.
d. Where: Springfield.
b. What: Arrested a local woman.
c. When: Thursday.
d. Where: Not indicated, although the lack of a dateline indicates it is a local story.
2. What
h. Charging she filed a false report of a rape last month, Springfield police arrested a
local woman Thursday.
C. a. Who: United Way Board of Directors.
b. What: Will announce allocation plans.
c. When: 2 p.m. tomorrow.
2. What
D. a. Who: President Michael Quinn.
b. What: Agreed to reconsider his recommendation.
c. When: Friday.
d. Where: Springfield University.
g.
cheaper rates for students. Written for the local daily, it could be reduced revenues
for the university.)
5. a.
b. A. Who
B. Who
C. Who
D. What
c. D answers four of the six questions in a straightforward manner. A is probably a better
6. a.
b.
c. All three leads work; there is no
d. ients, your check will go
up 5.4 percent in January. The average increase is $31.
7. Sample lead:
8. If your students included the name of the engineering company, make sure that they
checked the Springfield City Directory and used the correct name Gross Co. Engineers.
a. Immediate-identification lead: Duane La Chance, 55, a Springfield pipe fitter, suffered
third-degree burns Tuesday in an electrical accident at the Springfield Municipal
Power Plant, 222 Power Drive.
9. a. Immediate-identification lead: James W. Cunning, 20, of 505 W. Stewart Road, was
injured late Saturday in a two-car accident on U.S. 63 just north of Blue Ridge Road.
10. Singer Sheryl Crow was named yesterday to the Alumni Board at the University of
Missouri.
11. At least 15 people were killed and 175 were injured (date) in a collision between an
12. a. The following sample lead anticipates broadcast coverage of the news conference and
emphasizes the Xiang aspect in order to give the story a fresher angle:
A less fresh lead might be as follows:
Mayor Juanita Williams said yesterday that she would not run for re-election. She
announced at a press conference in Springfield City Hall that she would support
First Ward Council Member Hong Xiang.
b. 1. Who: Mayor Juanita Williams.
2. What: Said she would not run for re-election.
3. When: Yesterday (day of week).
13. a. Advance for city paper:
The Springfield City Council will vote on a proposal to give members of the city
b. Story for campus paper:
The Springfield City Council will consider a noise ordinance (day) as a result of
14. a. Summary lead for the high school newspaper:
The Springfield Board of Education Monday abolished restrictions on personal
appearance and driving to school and toughened the drug policy. The new rules go
into effect (date).
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b.
The Springfield Board of Education Monday night adopted a revised school manual
that loosens restrictions on personal appearance and tightens rules on drug-related
offenses.
c. Multiple-element lead for the high school newspaper:
The Springfield Board of Education Monday abolished restrictions on hair length,
d. Multiple-
The Springfield Board of Education Monday revised its school manual to loosen
restrictions on personal appearance and tighten rules on drug-related offenses. Board
e. r the high school newspaper (see style notes for exercise 13b):
You can let your hair grow, carry a cellphone and drive your car to school beginning
15. a. Summary lead:
The Republican candidate for mayor last night said he has not received any
donations from Main Street merchants, but he refused to reveal the names of donors
until after the election.
b. Multiple-element lead:
Mayoral candidate Jesse Abraham said last night he would widen and improve Main
Street and buy land to build a city park. He also said he had not received any
16. Lead with a twist:
Neighbors Gary Roets, 49, of 6204 Ridge Road, and Duane Craig, 51, of 6206 Ridge
17.
factor for the story. This is not just a story about Terry Woolworth; it is a story about the
larger debate.
18. The lead that answers
sentences result, the lead should be simplified. Writers must make decisions about which
of the seven questions are appropriate for the lead. Websites increasingly are writing
summaries above stories, a device that mimics the inverted pyramid lead.
20. The tweets students write should serve as teasers that will encourage readers to click
through to the story. The shortened URL (using bitly.com or another online URL–
21. Students should notice that the spelling of the name in the exercise is wrong. According to
the Springfield City Directory in the back of the workbook, it is Westenhaver. A sample
story follows.
A bank president and his wife, a local talk-show host, were killed Monday afternoon in
a two-car collision at Ninth and Elm streets.
James Westenhaver, 55, president of Merchants National Bank, and his wife,
43. Police ticketed West for careless and imprudent driving.
West suffered a broken leg and possible concussion. His passenger, Samuel
Blackwater, 32, had two broken arms and a broken nose. Both are employees of the
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22. a.
addresses.
b. Police arrested a man and a woman on burglary charges resulting from a spree of 14
break-ins netting $43,000 in stolen goods. (Note that the lead should not give the
CHALLENGE EXERCISE
23. a. Either as part of the assignment or as part of the discussion after the story has been
written, you may want to have the class list the questions that are unanswered on this
fact sheet. For instance, how many of the 10 that escaped were thoroughbreds? Will
the racing season be postponed? How long? Was the building insured? What was the
dollar loss in horses and building? A sample story follows.
Dan Bucci, assistant general manager of the track, said the only heaters and
electrical outlets were in the tack rooms at the ends of the one-story wooden structure.
In addition to the thoroughbreds, two saddle horses died. Ten horses, including two
that stampeded through the yard with their backs on fire, escaped. Albert Ramos, a
jockey from Miami, Fla., watched as workers cleaned up the area.
b. Students should notice that there is no age given for Ennis, whose name is spelled two
different ways in the workbook exercise. They should verify spellings in the
Springfield Directory. We have found that students often incorrectly switch the names
around in this exercise. A sample story follows.
A Springfield University student died (date) soon after a catamaran on which she and
three fellow students were sailing capsized in the ocean near Daytona Beach. Her three
companions reached safety after swimming for more than six hours to shore.
The four, who did not have life jackets, had spent the previous night clinging to
their catamaran, which had capsized about 5 p.m. Saturday. At dawn, they began
swimming for shore.
Interviewed in the hospital today, Cohen said he was about 20 feet ahead of
Wapniarski when she yelled that a shark had attacked her. Ennis warned Cohen not to
help.
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