This presentation gives the answers for a quiz on writing leads given Professor Linda Austin's JNL-1102 students at the National Management College in Yangon, Myanmar.

1. REVIEW QUIZ 5.2
JNL-1102, Reporting and Writing I
Given July 13, 2015

2. 1. Collect all the
facts.
2. List the 5 Ws
and the H.
3. Prioritize the 5
Ws and the H.
4. Write and
rewrite.
1. Accurate?
2. 30 words or
fewer?
3. Most important
facts 1st?
4. Strong, active
verb?
5. Attribution?
YOUR TURN: REWRITE LEAD
STEPS CHECKLIST
Direct lead

3. QUIZ PROBLEMS -- FAILURE TO:
• Put the most important thing at the beginning of the sentence.
• Be selective. Don’t cram all of the 5 Ws and H into the first
sentence; use only the most important ones.
• Keep the lead to 30 words or fewer.
• Put the when and where elements at the middle or the end of
the sentence. They are rarely the most important thing.
• Avoid proper names. Unless someone is famous, don’t use
their names. Say “An American gallery owner,” not “Meryl
Platt.”
• Put the attribution at the end of the sentence and simplify
titles. Say “a fire official said,” not “Yangon Fire Chief U Kyaw
Soe said.”
• Avoid passive voice UNLESS the WHAT is most important.
“Seventy students were arrested…” not “Police arrested 70
students…”

4. 1. Collect all the
facts.
2. List the 5 Ws
and the H.
3. Prioritize the 5
Ws and the H.
4. Write and
rewrite.
WHO: Yangon firefighters
WHAT: Investigating second
suspicious fire in two years at same
location
WHEN: 5 a.m. Tuesday
WHERE: National Management
College
WHY: “That’s still a mystery, but it
was definitely arson,” said Yangon
Fire Chief U Kyaw Soe, at the scene
of the fire.
HOW: The chief said investigators
found an empty can of gasoline and
burn patterns to suggest the use of
it to start the fire; the fire caused
roughly $35,000 in damage.
4 STEPS: WRITE THE LEAD
STEPS FACTS
Review: Direct lead

5. 1. Accurate?
2. 30 words or
fewer?
3. Most important
facts 1st?
4. Strong, active
verb?
5. Attribution?
Arson is the cause of
the second suspicious
fire in two years at the
National Management
College, a fire official
said Tuesday.
4 STEPS: WRITE THE LEAD
CHECKLIST LEAD
Direct lead

6. 1. Accurate?
2. 30 words or
fewer?
3. Most important
facts 1st?
4. Strong, active
verb?
5. Attribution?
Arsonists set the
second suspicious fire
in two years at the
National Management
College on Tuesday, a
fire official said.
No one was hurt in the 5
a.m. fire, which caused
$35,000 in damage,
Yangon Fire Chief U
Kyaw Soe said.
4 STEPS: WRITE THE LEAD
CHECKLIST LEAD
Direct lead

7. 1. Collect all the
facts.
2. List the 5 Ws
and the H.
3. Prioritize the 5
Ws and the H.
4. Write and
rewrite.
WHO: 117 passengers and six crew
on AirAsia #231 from BGK to RGN
WHAT: All uninjured in emergency
landing when plane skidded to stop.
WHEN: 7:27 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Yangon International
Airport
WHY: The front landing gear would
not retract, according to a
preliminary report.
HOW: When the plane’s belly hit the
runway, it emitted a shower of
sparks that one 4-year-old American
witness said reminded him of the
“4th of July”; the pilot had circled for
three hours to burn fuel.
4 STEPS: WRITE THE LEAD
STEPS FACTS
Review: Direct lead

8. 1. Accurate?
2. 30 words or
fewer?
3. Most important
facts 1st?
4. Strong, active
verb?
5. Attribution?
An AirAsia flight from
Bangkok skidded in an
emergency landing at
Yangon International
Airport Saturday, but all
123 on board were
uninjured.
4 STEPS: WRITE THE LEAD
CHECKLIST LEAD
Direct lead

9. 1. Accurate?
2. 30 words or
fewer?
3. Most important
facts 1st?
4. Strong, active
verb?
5. Attribution?
All 123 on board escaped
injury when an AirAsia
flight from Bangkok
landed on its belly in a
shower of sparks
Saturday at Yangon
International Airport.
The plane’s landing gear
would not retract,
according to a civil
aviation official.
4 STEPS: WRITE THE LEAD
CHECKLIST LEAD
Direct lead

10. 1. Collect all the
facts.
2. List the 5 Ws
and the H.
3. Prioritize the 5
Ws and the H.
4. Write and
rewrite.
WHO: Yangon Regional Parliament
WHAT: voted to authorize a
November vote on a measure that, if
approved, would allow the city to
put fluoride in city water.
WHEN: last night
WHERE: Dagon, Yangon
WHY: a 10-year campaign by a
group that calls itself Citizens for
Public Health that urged the
parliament to put fluoride in the
water.
4 STEPS: WRITE THE LEAD
STEPS FACTS
Review: Direct lead

11. 1. Accurate?
2. 30 words or
fewer?
3. Most important
facts 1st?
4. Strong, active
verb?
5. Attribution?
The Yangon Regional
Parliament will allow
voters to decide in
November whether to put
fluoride in city water.
4 STEPS: WRITE THE LEAD
CHECKLIST LEAD
Direct lead

12. 1. Accurate?
2. 30 words or
fewer?
3. Most important
facts 1st?
4. Strong, active
verb?
5. Attribution?
Yangon voters will decide
in November whether to
put fluoride in the city’s
water.
Fluoride is a chemical that
prevents tooth decay.
The Yangon Regional
Parliament set the vote
last night after a 10-year
campaign by a local
citizens group.
4 STEPS: WRITE THE LEAD
CHECKLIST LEAD
Direct lead

13. QUIZ 5.2: QUESTIONS 4-5
4. What happened last week to the
development projects near
Shwedagon Pagoda?
The government canceled them.
5. What is the date for the national
election this year?
Nov. 8