News writing should include straight-foward, consise leads followed by details, quotes that move the story along and proper attribution. Good feature stories use strong, active, descriptive language to appeal directly to the target audience. Good editorials analyze an issue and take a stand - the stronger the better. Photographs should capture the moment, whether sports or news. A photo serves as the reader's window to the event, so it should be entertaining and educational.
Good design means paying attention to function as well as format.
A well-designed newspaper combines photos, headlines, graphics, text, illustrations, color, and other typography devices so pages are attractive and appealing. A winning headline accurately and creatively tells the reader what the story is about without straining too hard to be cute. Except for the layout category, each of the three entries submitted must be from different writers, photographers and artists. Photography entries should also include the original glossy photos. All entries must be published during the current school year in the student newspaper.