Students take notes during headline writing workshop in Fisk Hall at Northwestern.

NHSI Journalism students practice their headline writing skills every time they write articles. Above, two students work on articles in Fisk Hall's computer labs.

“Dewey Defeats Truman,” the Chicago Tribune wrote in its November 3, 1948 edition.  The editors had composed this front page headline before the results of the election between Harry S. Truman and Thomas E. Dewey were released.  The page is cited frequently as one of the most famous bloopers in headline history.

Instructors Jacqueline Chmielnicki and Amy Lee used this and other bloopers to teach headline writing to journalism students at the National High School Institute Journalism. 

“We tried to make it more fun, and we taught it from many different perspectives,” Chmielnicki said. 

Jasmine Atwell, of Boynton Beach, Fla., said she learned most from that headlines can attract a reader's attention. She liked the sample headlines that Chmielnicki and Lee shared with the class.    

“There are some creative ways to grab the reader’s attention,” she said.  “It has to be catchy because that’s how people decide if they want to read that article.”

Students learned what not to do when writing headlines.  They also learned practical tips for writing headlines. 

Chmielnicki and Lee taught students the formula for writing headlines – subject, verb, object – and then asked students to write headlines for different articles.  The instructors also incorporated student participation to make the workshop interesting.

“I liked it because it was interactive, and we got to write our own headlines instead of just discussing them,” Alix Cohen, of Weston, Fla., said. 

Chmielnicki said headline writing is an important skill to master. “If [students] can boil [their articles] down to a headline, it will help them focus on the most important parts,” Chmielnicki said. 

The workshop helped students practice concise writing – a skill necessary for journalism writing. 

“It’s important for students to learn how to write headlines because if they’re not copy editors, they may need to help out a staff member write a headline or two,” Cohen said.