Nut graph

Common card · No. 410492

In the structure of written articles in journalism, the nut graph or nut graf (short for "nutshell paragraph") is a paragraph following the lede, or opening paragraph, that explains the context of the news or other story "in a nutshell". In the case of a two-paragraph extended lede, the nut graph follows those two, as needed; hence, the nut graph is generally the second or third paragraph following a journalistic lede. In many news stories, the essential facts of a story are included in the lede, a story's opening paragraph of 2-3 sentences. Good ledes answer the Five Ws and H—who, what, when, where, why, and how—as quickly as possible, so as to not lose audience attention. Ledes crafted to capture attention in their brevity may fail to fully encompass the Five Ws and H, and generally cannot fully establish the context of the story; completing coverage of the story essentials and contextualizing it then becomes the purpose of the nut graph. As Zamith notes, the nut graphcontextualize...

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