The Dos and Don'ts of Writing Leads

I have learned so much about leads in just the last week and a half through this class. There is so much to think about before writing the lead. I think one of the most important things to keep in mind while writing a lead is the length. No one wants to read a lead that is 50 words long, and contains so much information that you have to read it three times before understanding what it's saying. I know that in my experience, I often find myself rereading the leads in many newspapers because it contains too much information in only two sentences. Concise is the best tool, but not too short because it could then be seen as choppy and dull.
Going along with the idea of rereading leads because of their complexity, I have also found that keeping an elementary grade reading level is crucial. I cannot tell you how many times I have strove to understand complex words and sentences in a lead, and entire article, because the reading level was beyond me. Many people want to know that if they're reading the newspaper, they won't need a dictionary.
And of course, a lead should be gripping. It should contain enough information to draw the reader in, but little enough to entice the reader to keep reading the story. It should highlight the central point of the story, and leave out specific details that can be placed somewhere later on in the article.