Does punctuation belong in a headline? You bet! And it has all sorts of useful superpowers there, too. Journalist and writing coach Starshine Roshell shows you how to use periods, question marks, colons, commas, dashes and quotation marks to make your headlines clear, clean, concise -- and even stylish.
- [Voiceover] If you're like me,…and you get crazy excited…when it's time to talk about headline punctuation,…well then, there are exactly two of us in the world.…But, there actually is a great reason…to get giddy about headline punctuation,…and that's the fact that a well-place period,…em dash, colon, or jaunty pair of single quotes,…can make your headline clearer and cleaner.…It can infuse your headline with style and voice.…It can even let you say more in a small space.…Let me show you.…I've mentioned that using a question in your headline…can be a useful tool for engaging readers,…and, obviously, if your headline poses a question,…you need a question mark at the end, like this.…
Has Congress lost their ever-loving minds?…Is binge-watching, in fact, really good for you?…But what about periods?…Do headlines need a period at the end?…Does it violate proper rules of grammar,…and would your grade school teacher be ashamed…if she saw you write a headline with no period at the end?…Here's an example of the same headline…
Author
Starshine Roshell
Released
6/23/2016How do you sum up an entire story in a few words? Starshine shows you how to preview a story, pull out the relevant benefits, and pack them into a pithy headline. Find out how to use style to engage your readers—writing with vibrant, active language, being truthful, and telling readers what they need to know in a timely way. She also stresses the importance of mechanics, showing you how to correctly and effectively use punctuation and capitalization in headlines. Plus, get details on when to write subheads, how to employ keywords for SEO, and the background on headline trends, all with loads of examples along the way.
- Construct attention-grabbing headlines.
- List the four Us of great headlines.
- Name three problems that arise from using long headlines.
- Explain how to use active verbs to enhance a headline.
- Identify trends that are helpful in creating fresh headlines.
- Use proper mechanics to craft grammatically correct headlines.
- Compose a subhead to share additional critical details.
- Summarize the benefits of using strong keywords in headlines.
Skill Level Beginner
Duration
Views
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Introduction
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Welcome1m 9s
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1. Content
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Grab the readers' attention1m 52s
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Make headlines concise2m 16s
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2. Style
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Make headlines engaging2m 32s
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Trends in writing headlines3m 51s
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3. Mechanics
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Capitalization in headlines2m 43s
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How to use subheads3m 21s
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Conclusion
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Next steps1m 49s
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Video: Role of punctuation in headlines