Although few textbooks identify this form, it is an obvious structure for many general articles and many sports articles. It differs from the inverted pyramid, but is just as easy to learn.

The key difference between the inverted pyramid and the diamond structure is this: The diamond allows room for historical perspective in the article.

Everything in the inverted pyramid is the immediate past. Saturday’s football games are in Sunday’s newspapers; Sunday’s games are in Monday’s newspapers.

A summary of the growth of baseball, ever since Abner Doubleday “invented” the game, however, would likely be written in the diamond structure, allowing the writer room in the article for the early days of the game.

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A profile of any athlete would likely be written in the diamond format, which allows the writer space in the article for the player’s youth, education, and early playing days-in short, a biography of the player. Lead: in the Present (or in the Immediate Past) the article jumps to:

The inverted pyramid article is usually one “block” of material. The diamond article consists of at least three separate elements: the lead, the body of the story, which begins with “the historical past,” and the end segment.

Unlike the inverted pyramid article, which can be cut from the end toward the middle of the article, the diamond article cannot be cut from the end. The diamond format article has a specific and important end segment. If the diamond article must be cut anywhere, it must be cut carefully somewhere in the middle.

Long profile articles and trend articles and articles that have a rich historical middle may have three or four or as many as eight “or nine subtopics in the middle of the article.

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Writers using the diamond format should make it a practice to outline their articles as carefully and as completely as possible to make sure they have included all key facts, anecdotes, and quotations.

Although many sports feature writers know that the diamond format involves at least three divisions of the article lead-body-end freelancer William B. Hartley believes that article writers should consider four elements in the article.

In “Building the Magazine Article” (The Writer, March 1972), he suggested: “In general the usual magazine article has four basic sections.

Generalizations are notably dangerous, but I would suggest that most successful articles are built with a lead, a statement of theme or intent, the body of the article which supports and advances the theme, and a conclusion.”

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Hartley suggested that “an old nursery rhyme provides a simple illustration of four-element construction”: Jack and Jill went up the hill (Anecdote lead) to fetch a pail of water. (Statement of theme) Jack fell down and broke his crown (Body: the story itself) And Jill came tumbling after. (Conclusion)

The theme section need only be a concise paragraph that summarizes the article. It certainly need not be a major section. It acts simply as a reminder to the reader of what the article is about.

Additionally, if the article begins with a person “A,” then it ends with “A”: if the article begins in the present, it should end in the present; if it begins with a description of scene “X,” it should end with “X” again.

Returning to the same individual, theme, time, or location gives the reader an instinctive sense that the article has come full circle and the writer has completed the story. In some cases, the end segment will offer the reader a glimpse of the future or an educated guess of the future.

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Here is an example of a diamond structure article. This profile, of Kansas City area student athlete Lisa Davies, was published in The Kansas City Star on May 15, 1994, under a two-column headline and subhead:

“I just have to do well on this psychology test,” she repeated, often in concert with yawns. Davies was forced to study past midnight after a whirl-wind Tuesday, which began with morning classes in Oak Grove, continued in Boonville at 1:30 for the Missouri River Valley Conference track and field championships and finished at Adair Park in Independence for an early-evening game in the Greater Kansas City Softball Tour-moment.

We’re talking mileage. In the process, Davies gathered conference titles in the triple jump, high jump and long jump in helping the Panthers bring back the league championship with three points to spare. She later blasted a bases-empty homer in the bottom of the seventh inning, but it didn’t prevent a 5-21oss to Truman. “It was definitely a very stressful day,” she said.

“I didn’t feel right leaving the track team because I could have possibly given them more points had run the 400.But I also would not have felt right not showing up for the Softball game because have a commitment to them. “I’ve always been taught that you honor a commitment no matter the personal sacrifice.”

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This paragraph and the strong sense of dedication and devotion next summarize the has propelled Davies to the highest levels in theme of this article all her endeavors at Oak Grove, whether in the classroom, on the basketball court, in front a volleyball net, on a Softball diamond or floating through the air in track and field competition.

Davies’ selfless commitment and never-tiring work ethic have not gone unnoticed. She was selected The Kansas City Star’s top girl scholar-athlete for 1994.

Statistics help prove how In addition to winning 15 varsity letters in four exceptional she is sports since her freshman year, Davies holds three academic letters for her 3.95 grade- point average on a 4-point scale. She will graduate this year as salutatorian in her class of 109.

Davies also serves as the National Honor Society president and vice president of Interact Club, and she is member of student council.

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Quotations from others- “Lisa is just very self-disciplined, goal-oriented begin to appear in the and motivated,” said Leland Loud, Davies’ article counselor. “To be able to juggle as many things as she does also says a lot about Lisa’s organizational skills. She budgets her time and uses it wisely.

Lisa doesn’t waste time. “She realizes that she has so much time for academics, athletics and extracurricular activities. And she balances it out real well better than most.”

Through this all, Davies manages to be a popular person outside of sports. The consensus at Oak Grove is that Davies is as caring and genuine away from sports as she is fierce and competitive as an athlete.

“Lisa has always been a person could come and talk about anything and no matter what is going on in her life, she will make you feel that your problem or situation is the only one that matters,” said Sarah Munson, a close friend since fifth grade.

And one of the things I’ve always really enjoyed about Lisa is that she is really modest about her accomplishments in sports and in academics. She’s never been like.

‘Hey, look what I did.'” “You often have to drag things out of her. Lisa doesn’t ever make other people feel less than her. Come to think of it, she’s actually quite humble about all of her accom­plishments.”

Jim Borland, her math teacher and a longtime friend of the Davies family, said: “Lisa doesn’t flaunt anything, which is another one of her many admirable traits. She’s just like everyone.” Strong background

The historical back- To know Ron Davies and Beverly Davies and ground part of the art- their backgrounds leaves little to wonder clew begins at this sub- about the foundation of their youngest of four head children.

Both Ron and Beverly competed in athletics in college, and both are now educators. Beverly played basketball for Kansas during 1964-68 and now is a teacher in Blue Springs. Ron played football and baseball for Central Missouri State during the 1960s and now is superintendent of East Lynne School, kindergarten-eighth grade, near Harrisonville.

“If young people get anything from their parents, I’m sure Lisa gets a lot from them,” Borland said. “I guess you could say she’s a chip off the old blocks.” But Davies and her parents, who are divorced, said Lisa carved her way independent of their influence.

“My parents didn’t really value one thing over the other,” Davies said. “Their outlook was ‘As long as you work hard and try you’re hardest, then we’ll be happy with whatever you do.’ They made it clear right from the be-ginning that if I didn’t want to play any sports, then great, or if I got all C’s, then great also. “Their only concern was that I worked my hardest.”

Beverly confirms her daughter’s appraisal, but she added that Lisa displayed an uncommon inner drive at an early age that made it easier to let her daughter define her own level of achievement.

“Lisa is a very self-motivated person who has never needed to be pushed at all,” Beverly said. “We never had to push her to study or participate in athletics. Her self-motivation has always pushed her to go above what’s required, which is why she has achieved so highly in so many different areas.”

Beverly, however, also a recalls a brief period in her daughter’s life when achievement did not come easily. She was placed in a low reading group during first grade in Colorado _ and second grade in Alabama.

Beverly Davies attributes it to the family moving around, but by the time she was in the fifth grade and had returned to Oak Grove, Lisa had climbed to the top of her class. “She just kept gaining momentum by the time she reached fourth and fifth grade and we just kept being surprised at how well she did,” Beverly said.

“Watching her grow up and develop into the person she is today has been a lot of fun and enjoyable. Lisa just never ceases to amaze us with the things she can do.” Four years of excellence Oak Grove basketball coach Brad Gaines recalls a tall and scrawny seventh-grader who used to come around during his varsity practices, shooting at one of the vacant baskets.

“When she’d come over we never really said much to each other,” Gaines said. “I’d just give her a ball and lather shoot. I’d be on one end of the court doing my thing, and she’d be at the other end just shooting. “You could tell back then, and even in elementary school, that she was going to be a gifted athlete someday.”

I remember one day Dr. Roger Nelson (Oak Grove principal) and I were watching her shoot from upstairs, and I told him then that he was looking at the next Oak Grove stud. This is Lisa Davies.”

Call Gaines a prophet or a vulture, but Davies roared onto the high school set as a freshman starter in varsity volleyball, basketball and track. She added Softball to her list as a sophomore.

But her basketball draws the most attention and it is basketball that will pay for her education beginning next fall at Southwest Missouri State in Springfield. She passed on offers from Notre Dame, Alabama, Louisiana State, Northwestern, Illinois and Colorado.

Additional details prove during her four years of basketball at Oak what an exceptional Grove the Panthers were 105-15 overall and athlete she is. 32-0 in the MRVC, including an undefeated

Missouri 3A state champion-ship season in 1992. Davies averaged 21.1 points and 11 re­bounds, receiving All-Metro and all-state honors last season.

Davies, who is 5 feet 11, leaves Oak Grove No. 2 on the school’s career rebounding (979) and steals (462) lists And her 1,657 career points rank third.

The volleyball team also went undefeated in the conference since 1990, and it won district titles in 1991 andl993. For her efforts, Davies received All-Metro accolades as a junior and senior.

Finally, in her three-year dual spring seasons, Davies has contributed equally in softball and track. Last season she was All-Metro in softball after hitting 413 with 15RBIs, 16 stolen bases and three home runs. All-Metro teams have not been selected this spring, but she is batting.508, with 27 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.

Also nominated: Ryan Fry, Brandon Rein bold this season set a school record. In track Davies was an All-Metro selection after winning the 3A state championship with a jump of 5 feet, 6 inches.

She also finished second at state in the long jump (18-4 1/2) and third in the 400 meters (57.15) and triple jump. (38-11 3/4). Davies holds the No. 2 spot on The Star’s honor roll in all three jump categories this season, including 5-6 in the high jump.

In her last two years of competition Davies has been All-Metro five times in four different sports, and she has-been recognized twice as an all-state athlete.

“Lisa has no idea of the impact she has had here at Oak Grove, because we push the team concept first-put-ting others before yourself,” Oak Grove Athletic Director Randy McClain said. “But Lisa has been instrumental and monumental in the success of every team she has been a part of.”

Gerri Hirshey article, “Arc of a Diver,” a profile of diver Greg Louganis, is also a classic example of how the diamond structure should be used. This article appeared in the September 22, 1988 issue of Rolling Stone magazine.