This week’s assignments were fun for me. I enjoyed creating my own headlines and finding different styles along the way. The most important lessons I took from the PowerPoint and supplemental reading are: be sure to omit forms of the verb to be and articles, and put verbs in present tense. 

Here are two good headlines:

• Woman buys computer, other electronics for $3.70 at Walmart self-checkout, police say
• Texas cop lures injured woman to hospital using can of soda

These headlines are eye-catching and summarize the story into one-sentence very well. The verbs are active and in the present tense. The sentence is specific to the subject. The first headline stresses the message and the attribution is found at the end. The first headline also substitutes a comma for the word “and” then omits articles. The second headline uses a strong verb; the word “lures.” The second headline has a humorous tone.

Here are two bad headlines:

• About Utah: Going good while the going's good
• Murray officer released from hospital after being hit by a car

The first headline is worded weird. It was probably supposed to appear catchy, but the headline doesn’t come across this way to me. The second headline mildly grabs the reader’s attention. There are no strong verbs in this headline. It doesn’t appear to be in present tense. The second headline could have improved with this example: 

• Distracted driver strikes officer directing traffic from a fire

I hope this post helps some of my classmates find interesting stories using headlines!