Head Matter
Headlines
Headlines should state what the article is about and why it matters.
- Be specific.
- Avoid ambiguity and intrigue.
- Prefer statements to questions.
Good: “Why Most Internal LLM Projects Stall After the Pilot” Bad: “Thoughts on AI”
A headline that promises more than the article delivers is a form of dishonesty.
Format
Use the Oxford Debate Union motion format: “This House Believes That…” followed by a declarative claim. The title proper — the claim itself — should also function as a standalone headline without the prefix.
Example:
- Full: This House Believes That Our Language of Authorship Is Unprepared for What Is Already Here
- Standalone headline: Our Language of Authorship Is Unprepared for What Is Already Here
Principles
- Frame a belief, not a topic. The title should express a position someone could disagree with. “AI and Authorship” is a topic. “Our Language of Authorship Is Unprepared for What Is Already Here” is a claim.
- Encode the argument’s structure, not just its subject. The best titles compress the article’s central mechanism into a single phrase. If the piece argues that a naming failure causes a policy failure, the title should express that causal chain, not just gesture at the domain.
- Prefer assertion over question. Questions defer; assertions commit. The format demands it.
- Clarity over cleverness. A headline that requires the reader to have already read the piece in order to understand it has failed. Wit is welcome; opacity is not.
- Avoid starting with “The”. It weakens the opening. Rephrase to begin with a stronger word — a possessive (“Our”), a noun with no article (“Authorship”), or a declarative construction.
- Avoid “The real question is not X but Y” and similar AI-prose clichés. Rewrite with direct assertion or a single decisive framing.
- Keep it short enough to scan, long enough to be precise. One clause is too blunt; three is too ornate. Aim for a single sentence with internal tension — a claim that contains its own friction.
Standfirsts
Function
The standfirst sits between the title and the body. It does three things in sequence: establishes the current state, identifies the gap or failure, and signals the consequence. It should make the reader feel the piece is already underway before they reach the first paragraph.
Structure
Use a two-sentence format:
- Sentence one: status shift. State what has changed or what is now true. This should feel concrete and slightly ahead of conventional wisdom.
- Sentence two: gap and consequence. Identify what is missing or broken, then land on a human or institutional cost.
Example:
AI is becoming a writing partner, not just a writing tool. But we have no language for that collaboration — and institutions are already enforcing rules they cannot define.
Principles
- Escalate across the two sentences. The first should reframe; the second should raise stakes. Don’t let both sentences sit at the same altitude.
- End on consequence, not description. “We have no word for this” is description. “Institutions are already enforcing rules they cannot define” is consequence. Always close on the latter.
- Mirror the tone of the piece. If the article is declarative and precise, the standfirst should be too. Don’t oversell with drama the piece delivers with evidence.
- Don’t preview the argument’s solution. The standfirst sells the problem. The piece earns the answer.
- No wind-up. Do not begin with “In an era of…”, “As we enter a new age of…”, “It’s time to ask…”, or “The rise of X has forced us to confront Y.” These are the written equivalent of clearing your throat before speaking. Begin with a claim that is already moving. If the standfirst needs a warm-up sentence, the first sentence is not strong enough.
- The “already underway” test. Read the standfirst alone. Does it feel like the piece has already started, or like the piece is about to start? If the latter, the standfirst is a preamble, not an opening.