In this exercise, we were looking to do basic ledes that simply sum up the bare minimum people need to know about a story's end result and ultimate outcome. And I'm happy to say many of you did at least pretty well in accomplishing that goal.
Like here:
Two children died in a house fire Saturday evening in East Lansing.
Is it very simple? Yes. Is it the gist of the story? Yes. It works. This one builds on it alittle bit, by adding a bit of critical extra detail:
Two children were killed in an East Lansing house fire Saturday evening after smoke detectors failed to sound due to dead batteries.
Here's another strong one:
Nearly one-third of women who attend graduate school after marriage end up divorcees, according to a recent study done at the University of Florida.
In that lede, a key detail is picked out and emphasized. Next is this:
A family of three was hospitalized with only minor injuries after a train struck their SUV at a Michigan Avenue crossing, police said.
You get end result and what happened in the first place. You know everything you absolutely need to know about this story; the rest is the details.
This next lede builds upon the last lede by adding an interesting additional detail:
No one was seriously injured when a train struck a car carrying a family of three, including a pregnant mother, on Michigan Avenue on Monday evening.
Which ones do you like the best? And why?
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