A Layout Analysis of an Article

I chose to analyze the layout of a story from The Advocate, written by Scott Rabalais and printed Friday, the fourth.

First of all, the story is three columns long, and the headline does meet the requirement for length. In fact, the headline is so long that it actually takes up two lines.

Secondly, the names that appear in the story are bold so that if one wanted to scan the article for the people who are in the story, one could easily find each name. Also, there are mini headlines inside the story that separate the different parts of the story.

Third, there is text in the story, bigger in font size than the other lines of text that is placed in the story as a picture would be. It sticks out from the first column and is underlined twice to give it importance. It reads "LSU NOTES," and it is a neat feature because it provides the reader with the opportunity to see right away that this particular story contains little, quick "notes" about the LSU football team.

Lastly, the picture used in the story spans the second and third columns and runs from the top of the story under the headline to three-fourths of the story. The best thing about the picture is that the football player in the picture faces the story and the center of the newspaper itself. Also, the picture is in color, so the reader is drawn to the story because the purple and gold of the player's jersey catches the eye. One negative about the picture is that it appears to be a little grainy.

Overall, the story is laid out well, from the alignment and other minute details to the names in bold font and the color picture.