AFTER THE LEAD: "Follow me, please ...

" You have written your lead and it fits the bill, so now what? It is the leader of the story. But every leader has followers. This means that every lead paragraph has to tie in to other paragraphs in the article. If the lead paragraph is the gist, the other paragraphs are the follow-up which support the lead paragraph. Writing articles requires a lot of creativity and talent. But there is also a need for science and logic. There has to be a logical flow to your article; paragraphs cannot be haphazardly thrown about. No, they must follow a systematic rendering of the story-telling process. And in any system there is a perfect automation of well-oiled parts that allow, for example, a car engine to work. In journalism, think of the headline as the model of your car; the lead paragraph as the ignition; and the follow-up paragraphs the pumping of fuel to the engine. The overall cohesiveness of your article will allow your car motion and mobility. The most important of follow-up paragraphs after your lead is the nut graph which is used to explain in greater detail the lead paragraph. It acts as a support, foundation and justification for the lead paragraph. It provides evidence for the information supplied in the lead paragraph and even goes so far as to play devil's advocate by anticipating the readers' questions and answers them before they are asked. While your primary objective as a journalist is to inform the readers of the news and events, you should always remember show, dont tell as a principle approach to article writing. Be descriptive when explaining a scene or situation. In print media, as in broadcast journalism, the trick, is to give the audience the impression that they were there seeing the story unfold. Further on in the article (toward the sixth or seventh paragraph) you will be looking for and executing balance and objectivity in the story. You will provide counter-arguments and counter-opinion to statements made in earlier paragraphs. The nut graph, and subsequent paragraphs, explains why the story is important and why it is of a timely nature. To summarize, according to Poynter Online, the nut graph is important because: It justifies the story by telling readers why they should care. It provides a transition from the lead and explains the lead and its connection to the rest of the story. It often tells readers why the story is timely. It often includes supporting material that helps readers see why the story is important.

The paragraph following the nut-graph must provide support for the nut-graph. Remember, you are writing in inverted pyramid style. While the story progresses along an order of descending importance, each successive paragraph must tie in to the preceding one and also provide transitions and support. Support usually comes in the form of statistics, researched evidence, and/or authoritative sourcing. Overall, remember that logic is key when you write your article things must click and there needs to be a flow of logic to your story. In the most basic terms, the building blocks of any solid article include the lead, supporting or nut graph, background (necessary for depth and tying in to previous events and articles), and attribution of authoritative sources (essentially your proof). Choose quotes that add quality and provide information that is better delivered within quotation marks than paraphrasing. Be very discerning regarding the use of quotes. Basic rules of article structure:
Every submitted article must include a headline and by-line, lead and nut graph. Every news article must comply as effectively as possible with the inverted pyramid style of reporting the most important, most focused, and most upto-date news should be situated at the top. Inverted pyramid is a device first formulated by old printing press editors who ran out of space. They would trim or cut out the bottom paragraph, leaving the rest of the article still relevant, consistent and flowing. The lead paragraph must include the 5Ws + H (How). In certain circumstances, depending on brevity and sentence structure, the When can be covered in a second lead paragraph. The lead paragraph is the most important part of the article, informing the reader what the content is about. It must be focused on one idea, one angle, and one theme. The lead paragraph should never exceed 35 words; it should be succinct, active, up-to-date and support the headline. Do not write long paragraphs, which make the reader work harder to understand what you are saying. Allow the reader a mental breath. Keep paragraphs short and focused on one idea.

Paragraphs should flow into one another. Use transitions to tie one paragraph to another and maintain the articles flow.

Basic rules of sentence structure: Write using the active voice; avoid using the passive as much as possible: Follow the simple rule of subject, verb, and object. Write in American English. Keep your sentences short. Do not use complicated words and phrases; the simpler the sentence the more likely the reader will understand copy. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech to convey an idea. Avoid the use of sayings and adages. Never use a long word if a short one will do the job: Use buy instead of purchase; talk instead of discuss, etc. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or jargon if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

The most important point on that list is proofreading. Give your friends and your peers your articles and have them proofread. Do the stories make sense to them? In conclusion, keep in mind the following points. When writing your articles, make sure you have a dictionary, online and pocket, handy. This will help you when you are stuck explaining a word you do not understand. Write simply. Keep your sentences as clear and short as possible. Do not overcrowd them with unnecessary words. Avoid using adjectives unless describing an accident, wreck, building fire, etc. Read what others have said or written about your topic. If you are writing a profile about Omar Sharif, looking up some things online of what others have written will give you perspective and focus. If you discover later that an interview or quote was unclear, call the interviewee up again and ask them to clarify. This is so their quotes are not misrepresented. They will appreciate you for it. Do spell check. Again and again. Watch your punctuation. If you do not know how to start writing your article, see how others might have approached a similar topic to yours.

 Research the issue, person you are writing about. This is good for profiles, history pieces, international events, art & film, etc. Learn to write headlines. Provide at least three suggested headlines with every article you submit. The more you get used to writing headlines, the more focused your articles will be. Learn to make graphics/picture suggestions when you submit an article. As the author of the article you are in the best position to determine what would go well with your article. Avoid bias and opinion - maintain a neutral voice. Some of your pieces had editorialized statements at the end. Do not state something unless you uncovered it in verifiable and attributable research or were provided that information by a source. In which case, again, it is attributable. Do not add your own interpretation of events. Learn to use transitions. Think of these as bridges between paragraphs and ideas. If you are stuck with something, talk to the editors. Write for your audience. In this case, knowing who your audience is helps you determine how to write an article, how much to explain, etc. Your audience is the AUC community - mostly students. So they will likely require for you to explain difficult issues using simplified language. When you write, assume your audience knows nothing about the issue you are writing about. DO NOT assume they know the issue beforehand and have the necessary background. Always write using an active voice: YES: Reem Khedr, an economics major, wowed the audience with her violin playing. NO: The audience was wowed by Reem Khedr's violin playing. Many of your news stories will be between 300-500 words long. Do not write beyond this point. It will become clutter. Feature stories are 700 words and up.