Inverted pyramid news article plan

The ‘inverted pyramid’ ensures journalists plan a news story with the key facts at the top of the story. This was originally designed so that editors could easily cut stories from the bottom when articles would not fit in a newspaper. This structure is still widely used and taught to journalism students.

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Project name

Headline or title

Lede.

A catchy opening couple of lines to grab the reader's attention.

Nut graf.

A comprehensive summary of the entire story's content; the purpose or argument of the story condensed into a single paragraph.

Quote.

A quote from a key player that summarises or illustrates your nut graf.

Body.

The actual story, usually told chronologically (this is usually around 80 percent of the story.)

Kicker.

A final paragraph of summary, often an anecdote or quote.

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