{"id":2204,"date":"2021-10-26T12:00:37","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T12:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2021\/10\/26\/nut-grafs-seven-steps-to-score-a-winning-story-structure\/"},"modified":"2024-10-29T18:56:57","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T18:56:57","slug":"nut-grafs-seven-steps-to-score-a-winning-story-structure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2021\/10\/26\/nut-grafs-seven-steps-to-score-a-winning-story-structure\/","title":{"rendered":"Nut grafs: Seven steps to score a winning story structure"},"content":{"rendered":"    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Oh, the nut graf. I had to mentally brace myself to write about it. After all these years, it\u2019s still the hardest thing I write. I tell students that all the time. I want them to know it\u2019s not just them.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>Here\u2019s an outline of how I teach it in Reporting 1 at the University of Oregon. It requires me to go back a bit because I start setting this up early in the term, and it goes in pieces:<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p><strong>First, I use seven questions,<\/strong>&nbsp;not five Ws, for news story writing, and I divide them into two columns:<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-list mb-4 list max-w-screen-full mx-auto pl-5 \">\n            \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Basic questions: Who? What? Where? When?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Big-picture questions: Why? How? SO WHAT? (Yes, it\u2019s in all caps. Often in a different color dry-erase marker, too.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p><strong>Second, we do summary (AP) ledes<\/strong>, and my definition of a good one is this: The one-sentence summary lede provides the answer to one big-picture question. In sports, this means that you don\u2019t just give the score and who won, but HOW they won or WHY it matters.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-spacer mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"block block-legacy-page-blocks legacy-page-blocks  \">\n\n    <h2 class=\"legacy-page-blocks-subhead\">Other posts on teaching the summary nut<\/h2>\n\n    <div class=\" legacy-page-blocks-text\">\n            <p><a href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/stories\/nut-grafs-getting-to-the-heart-of-the-story\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Start with a three-word theme statement<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/stories\/nut-grafs-or-graphs-how-five-sentences-can-help-a-writer-focus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Five sentences that focus a story<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/stories\/nut-grafs-learning-from-literature-music-movie-trailers-and-the-bones-of-stories\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nut grafs in literature, music and movie trailers<\/a><\/p>\n\n    <\/div>\n\t\n<\/div>    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-spacer mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>I use sports as an entry, even with non-sportsy students, because I have examples that are really easy to see. That\u2019s because sports writers frequently write through, updating a game story, so you get two versions of the same story with different ledes. Then we transition to non-sports stories, both newspaper and magazine.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/1986\/02\/17\/covering-the-cops\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Calvin Trillin\u2019s profile of Edna Buchanan<\/a>&nbsp;works super well; it\u2019s literally a lede about a lede, and there\u2019s a very clear establishing section. Also, this moves into ethics of police reporting. But I digress.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p><strong>Third, feature ledes.<\/strong>&nbsp;An excellent feature lede, I teach, explains, illuminates or helps the reader picture the answer to a big-picture question. That might be an overstatement, but it\u2019s an excellent tool for Reporting 1, and you can see how strong feature ledes set up the themes of the story.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-image mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"425\" height=\"279\" src=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1_ihej4o82Km4jqUs9QdNkQQ-e1635261132161.jpg\" alt=\"Former sports reporter Lori Shontz with a student\" class=\"wp-image-8964\" style=\"width:300px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1_ihej4o82Km4jqUs9QdNkQQ-e1635261132161.jpg 425w, https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/03\/1_ihej4o82Km4jqUs9QdNkQQ-e1635261132161-300x197.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 425px) 100vw, 425px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lori Shontz with a student<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p><strong>Fourth, nut graf.<\/strong>&nbsp;I use my friend and colleague&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lisaheyamoto.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lisa Heyamoto<\/a>\u2019s formula: nut graf = transition + summary lede. Again, that\u2019s not 100 percent perfect, but it gives beginning students a sense of structure. You need to get from your lede to your nut graf, and that\u2019s a transition. So be mindful about what that looks like. And again, that summary lede part of the nut graf answers a big-picture question. So here you\u2019re giving readers why the story matters. I actually use a phrase I heard in a workshop:&nbsp;<em>Why I invited you to this party\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-heading   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Complete the sentence, again and again<\/h2>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>That\u2019s the hard-core structural part, and we break down writing in class to see it in action. I just love doing that. I\u2019ve also taken my own byline off a profile I did that is really well reported and quite well written, but doesn\u2019t really have a strong nut graf, and it hurts the piece. I have students look for it, and they have to guess, and then I tell them it\u2019s mine \ud83d\ude42 We edit together. Oh, if only I had that one back. Again, I digress \u2026<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>We also talk more big-picture, and I give them the technique I use. I open a file, put my byline on it so I feel like I\u2019ve accomplished something, and then I type:&nbsp;<em>\u201cThis is a story about \u2026.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;And I type and finish the sentence over and over, with a return and a space after each, until I get specific enough that I\u2019ve got it. This helps me get from topic to story, to find the action and the movement.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>That is probably way more than needed, but I love thinking about this and am always trying to improve. Teaching has made me so much better at structure, I swear.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p>***<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-classic mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n    <div class=\"  core-block\">\n        <div class=\"block block--core block--core-paragraph mb-5   max-w-screen-full mx-auto\">\n            \n<p><em><strong>Lori Shontz<\/strong>&nbsp;spent 25 years covering sports, women\u2019s issues and higher education. She now teaches journalism at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communications.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A sports journalist now teaches college students how to build a story from the basics up and find the hard-to-hit nut<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"topics":[],"authors":[319],"issue":[],"class_list":["post-2204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essays-on-craft","authors-lori-shontz"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Nut grafs: Seven steps to score a winning story structure - Nieman Storyboard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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