Inverted pyramid writing style journalism
Inverted pyramid writing style journalism definition
Inverted pyramid writing style!
The Inverted Pyramid Structure
This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.
Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University.
All rights reserved.
Inverted pyramid writing style journalism
This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.
Introduction
For decades, the “inverted pyramid” structure has been a mainstay of traditional mass media writing.
Following this structure, the “base” of the pyramid—the most fundamental facts—appear at the top of the story, in the lead paragraph. Non-essential information appears in the following paragraphs, or “nut” graphs, in order of importance.
While some media writers are critical of the inverted pyramid structure, it remains one of the most widely used and time tested