Abstract：English news plays a capital role in the communication for information between east and west，and it can bring us a great deal of latest information from the world covering almost every field in our daily work and life.Therefore，reading English news is becoming a main access to the world information.The article aims to introduce the English news headline and to analyze their definition and functions.

Key Words：English news headline；definition；functions

English news headlines are the windows of news，in one hand a good headline can make a piece of news or an article more wonderful，effect as a finishing touch；on the other hand a good headline can attract readers attention and make they have interests to read the whole news or article.Opposite，a bad headline can not moving the reader and arouse the readers interest. Nowadays in the age of information，media is playing an important role in peoples daily life all around the world.Above all，the headline is the most essential part of English news publications，which indicates what is going to be mainly discussed in the stories.

Whats headline？ It seems like a simple question.If you look it up in a dictionary，the answer is as follows.

1.The title or caption of a newspaper article usually set in a large type.

2.An important or sensational piece of news.Often used in the plural.

3.A line at the head of a page or passage giving information such as the title，author，and page number.Yes，the answer is simple，but headline can never be so simple.While there is no accordant definition of news headline，generally English news headlines are the core piece of English news，revealing the most nuclear message to readers；whats more，headlines are always the most striking point of the total paper，fascinating readers to go through the whole pages.

For newspapers and magazines，headline is always the most important element on a page.It does occupy a prominent position in news for its irreplaceable functions.The newspaper headline tells what，who，where，when and how are about the events.Headline can set up a bridge between the readers and the information the author intend to convey.Whats more，an attractive headline can not only improve the readers understanding of the news but also catch the readers eyes at first sight.

English news headline are very important，if we want to write a good news，we must know how to create a good headline.All in all，at the end of this article，we may safely draw the following conclusions.First，an English news headline is the guideline to readers，and is the most important part of a title.Second，seeing from the structure，English news headlines are generally simple，but not conformed to monotonous styles.Third，as for the content，headlines are succinct but very informative.Last，on the effects，English news headlines give a fresh sense and are always interesting and intriguing.So its always beneficial to people to develop reading English news or magazines into a habit，even when they firstly get stuck.Therefore，to learn and to understand the characteristics of the English titles is also very meaningful.

作者簡介

张瑞（1993.04.03—），女，汉族，甘肃陇南人，研究生在读，西北师范大学。