How a News Article Is Built
Headline, first paragraph, quotes, background — why English news puts the most important information first, and how to use that.
English news is written in a shape called the inverted pyramid: the most important information first, the least important last. Once you know the shape, you can read a news story in thirty seconds or thirty minutes, and choose which.
The headline
Headlines use a compressed grammar of their own:
- Articles are dropped: Minister resigns after report (not The minister).
- Present tense for past events: Fire destroys warehouse (it already happened).
- To + verb means the future: PM to visit Berlin (he will visit).
- A comma can replace "and": Floods hit south, thousands evacuated.
Headlines are not full sentences. Do not try to parse them as one.
The first paragraph does most of the work
The opening paragraph — the lead — usually answers who, what, when, where:
Rail workers (who) will strike for three days (what) from Monday (when) across the north of England (where), their union announced yesterday.
If you read nothing else, read this. Everything below adds detail.
The middle: quotes and attribution
News separates facts from what people say about them. Watch the reporting verbs — they are not neutral:
| Verb | What it signals |
|---|---|
| said | neutral |
| claimed | the writer doubts it |
| admitted | it is bad for the speaker |
| insisted | the speaker is under pressure |
| revealed | it was previously hidden |
The company claimed costs had risen is not the same as The company said costs had risen.
The end: background
The final paragraphs are usually history and context — what happened last year, what happens next. They are the first thing an editor cuts, which tells you how essential they are.
Reading strategically
- Need the gist? Headline + lead.
- Need the argument? Add the quotes.
- Writing about it? Read the background too.
Test yourself
The quiz below uses real news structures. Watch the headline grammar and the reporting verbs.