Editing Inverted pyramid (journalism) (section)

==Purpose==
Other styles are also used in news writing, including the "anecdotal lead", which begins the story with an eye-catching tale or [[anecdote]] rather than the central facts; and the [[FAQ|Q&A]], or question-and-answer format. The inverted pyramid may also include a "hook" as a kind of prologue, typically a provocative quote, question, or image, to entice the reader into committing to reading the full story.

This format is valued for two reasons. First, readers can leave the story at any point and understand it, even if they do not have all the details. Second, it conducts readers through the details of the story by the end.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

This system also means that information less vital to the reader's understanding comes later in the story, where it is easier to edit out for space or other reasons. This is called "cutting from the bottom."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/735/04/ |title=The Inverted Pyramid Structure |date=2013-04-06 |website=[[Purdue Online Writing Lab]] |access-date=2013-08-26}}</ref> Rather than petering out, a story may end with a "[[News style#Kicker|kicker]]"—a conclusion, perhaps call to action—which comes ''after'' the pyramid. This is particularly common in [[feature style]] articles.