Most news stories have a very clear style. They give the main points at the top in the headline and the lead paragraph(s). The body of the story then adds details, statements and comments from people involved in the story, plus any background the writer feels is necessary. This means you get at least three chances to understand the main points of the story. We say at least because some stories have accompanying pictures and captions (text explaining the pictures) as well. Each of the three main parts of the news story (the headline, lead and body) has its own distinctive style and content.
To make it easier for learners as news article readers to understand the main points of the news article, there are certain elements that are common to almost all articles that you will read in the newspaper or find on the Internet. The following list explains the five major components, or parts, of a news article.