CraftNo. 86

The inverted pyramid

Borrowed from journalism, the inverted pyramid puts the most important information first, followed by supporting details, then background context. Online readers are ruthless scanners – many will only read the first paragraph. Give them the essential message immediately, so that every reader gets the core point regardless of where they stop reading. This structure is ideal for web pages, news-style content, press releases and any format where attention is scarce.

See also: Unbury the lede; Front-loading; F-shaped pattern

Try this

Take your current draft and move the final sentence to the very top. Does the piece still make sense? If so, you were probably burying your lede.

Try it on your copy

Paste a line. Rewrite it using The inverted pyramid.

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Related tactics

Craft

Unbury the lede

To ‘bury the lede’ is a classic journalistic sin that involves hiding the story’s salient details under multiple paragraphs of preamble.

Craft

Front-loading

Make the keywords unmissable.

Craft

F-shaped pattern

Can you organise your words to accommodate people who scan the material in an F-shaped pattern?

Ideas

Take it further

Run a ten-minute sprint with The inverted pyramid as your prompt. Free, with no sign-in: it stays on your device.

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