yearbook
critique
yearbook
yearbook
critique
critique
school name
school year
publication
EVALUATION SERVICES
“Educating, training and supporting scholastic journalists and their advisers”
The Florida Scholastic Press Association’s purpose is to educate, train and support scholastic
journalism statewide. FSPA, an organization of
more than 200 student publications and broadcast programs, offers a variety of services to assist journalism students and teachers. One is an
evaluation service for publications and broadcast programs.
For many advisers and staffs, asking an outsider to evaluate their publication is not easy.
Egos are fragile. While most of us conceded the
value of constructive criticism, we seldom enjoy
having our “pride and joy,” the publication we’ve
spent countless hours producing, assessed by
someone who didn’t have to endure the long
road to creating the publication.
If they only knew how late we stayed up to meet
out deadline.
They just don’t understand how underfunded we
are.
Well, out of 35 students, seven did the work.
Although we value the merit of a top rating, we
need to remember that awards are not the only
rewards of critiquing service. Some rewards include the following:
•
Positive competitive spirit can service as
a motivator to improve weak areas of publication.
•
Consistent membership and rating can
build a tradition of excellence from one year to
the next.
•
Recognition can enhance a student’s college and career potential and can enhance an
adviser’s professional standing.
ELIGIBILITY FOR JUDGING – All Florida high
school and middle/junior high school publications and broadcast programs that are FSPA
members for the current academic year are eligible for the critique service.
JUDGES – Each year, approximately 30 individuals are judges for the FSPA evaluation service.
Judges are journalism teachers and publication
advisers from other states who are recognized
for their publication programs, college and university journalism professors, college yearbook
advisers and members of the professional media with experience with student publications.
The judge receives the publication, evaluation
forms and directions about judging. The judge
is encouraged to be specific in offering recommendations and to identify strengths, as well as
weaknesses, of the publications reviewed.
RANKING -- Newspapers, magazines, broadcast
programs and yearbooks are evaluated by ranking areas of five categories. The judge then gives
that category a score based on the rankings
within the specific categories. The final score is
determined by averaging each scores from each
category, for example Superior = 5, Excellent =
4, Good = 3, Average = 2, and Needs Improvement = 1. Rankings will be determined by adding the points.
AWARDS – All Florida awards are announced at
the FSPA State Convention banquet each spring,
where staffs will receive award certificates and
plaques. Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Merit certificates will be mailed with scorebook results. All
Florida certificates or plaques not picked up at
the convention will be mailed after the convention.
Yearbook
1
The evaluation is divided into six sections. Each section has a numerical rating ranging from 5 to 1, as shown below:
READER SERVICES – how carefully information is presented to give the reader ease in locating information
CONCEPT – how well the yearbook utilizes the unifying theme
COVERAGE – how well the yearbook covers all areas of school and student life
WRITING – how clearly and interestingly the headlines, captions and body copy are presented
DESIGN - how well students follow design guidelines and utilize design to communicate theme and coverage
PHOTOGRAPHY – how well students produce photos of technical quality and dynamic content
EXPLANATION OF FINAL EVALUATION SYSTEM
Each division in each section is rated a final grade as
•
Superior = 5
•
Excellent = 4
•
Good = 3
•
Average = 2 or
•
Needs Improvement = 1
To the Judges:
• Judges will disregard “Advertisement” if the publication does not include ads and will not penalize a publication’s
rating.
• Judges may annotate in the book both positive and negative elements of the publication so that the staff can
easily recognize the remarks. Therefore, judges may write in your publications.
• Judges will include comments relevant to each division and therefore each section in the space on the pages
provided. In addition, they will include detailed supplementary comments explaining their overall impressions in
the scorebook.
• Judges make sure that all scores are written in pencil in case corrections need to be made.
• Judges may use fractions.
PART ONE: Reader Services
IndexRating _____
• An index is included in the back.
• This section may include eye-catching features such as stories, photos, polls, or graphics that supplement the reference pur
pose of the index.
• Index lists not only every student, faculty member, support staff, and administrator, but also every business advertiser, club
and major topics covered in the yearbook.
OtherRating _____
• Yearbook may include news coverage of local, state, national, and global news.
• Colophon specifically explains details of the production of the yearbook, including fonts, colors, etc.
• A list of yearbook staff members is included, along with their respective positions.
• A contents listing provides main section dividers with initial page numbers.
• Folios are contained on every spread (with easy-to-find page numbers) that provides readers with extra information about the
contents of the spread.
2 Yearbook
Recommendations and Commendations
Average Rating: _____ Rating Guide –Superior (5), Excellent (4), Good (3), Average (2) or Needs Improvement (1)
SPECIAL DISTINCTION: ____________ Why?
PART TWO: Concept
Theme DevelopmentRating _____
• The book uses a unifying concept: a theme, a graphic, a logo, spin-offs or similar devices to achieve an overall impression of
unification.
• The theme is relevant to the school year
• The unifying concept appears on elements such as the cover (front and/or back), the end sheets, the title page, an opening/ closing section and divider spreads.
• The unifying concept is simple, clear and well-conceived, easily identifiable and relevant to the student readers.
• The photographs carefully advance the concepts in quality, contrast, variety and content.
• The copy reinforces the unifying concept.
OrganizationRating _____
• The table of contents should appear at or near the front of the book.
• All sections have accurate page numbers.
• The title page includes all the pertinent information which identifies the school..
• Title page design reflects the theme development using graphic or font treatments
• Cover includes school name (either on front cover or spine), school year, volume number and theme.
Recommendations and Commendations
Average Rating: _____ Rating Guide –Superior (5), Excellent (4), Good (3), Average (2) or Needs Improvement (1)
SPECIAL DISTINCTION: ____________ Why?
Yearbook
3
PART THREE: Coverage
SectionsRating _____
• Individually distinct, divided by coverage areas, such as sports, academics, student, life, people, clubs, etc.
• If sections are not divided traditionally (see above), all areas of the school, including academics, clubs, people (including faculty
and staff ), sports, and students’ outside-of-school lives, still receive coverage.
Student LifeRating ____
• Traditional school activities, such as homecoming, dances, school events, etc., are covered
• Photos are candid, not posed, and highlight a wide variety of activities.
• Coverage strives for realistic coverage of teen interests, but is careful in its treatment of controversial issues.
• Routine coverage are enlivened with unique angles or approaches.
• Photos, quotes, and graphics strive to include all types of students, not just those who will already be in the yearbook several
other places.
PeopleRating _____
• Coverage attracts the reader’s interest through feature coverage
• Coverage is accomplished through secondary coverage options, such as infographics, sidebars, first-person features, or spe
cialized topic coverage.
• Obvious effort is made to include a fair representation of the total student body, their interests and activities in the school,
including administration and support staff, positions/courses taught
Academics/ CurriculumRating ____
• Coverage includes all facets and grade levels of academics, in and outside of the classroom.
• Section avoids photos of students just sitting in their desks or a teacher standing lecturing. Emphasis is on students in learning
activities.
• A wide variety of students in quotes and photos is included.
OrganizationsRating _____
• Stories do more than define the purpose of each organization. It focuses on organizations’ activities, using a features approach.
• Group photos of organization members are included somewhere in the yearbook. Faces are identifiable and identification of
members is consistent.
• Careful research is shown through interviews and quotes.
Sports Rating _____
• A complete sports overview, including women’s sports, JV and freshman sports, intramural sports (if school has this), and indi
vidual sports is given.
• Photos show actual sports events, practices and playoffs avoiding posed or mechanical photography.
• Coverage goes beyond the obvious to show team accomplishments, struggles and triumphs during the school year. A com
plete scoreboard for each sport is included.
• Photos are cropped effectively. In action shots. The ball has been left in the photo to provide the proper context for the action.
• Photos contain reactions and emotions during significant events.
• A group shot is included somewhere in the yearbook with consistent identification of the group’s name and students’ names.
Advertising (Optional)Rating _____
• Ads are appropriate and appealing with attractive and creative design.
• Personal ads are appropriate for the audience.
• Staff has been careful not to place ads of like businesses beside or near each other.
4 Yearbook
Recommendations and Commendations
Average Rating: _____ Rating Guide –Superior (5), Excellent (4), Good (3), Average (2) or Needs Improvement (1)
SPECIAL DISTINCTION: ____________ Why?
PART FOUR: Writing
General PrinciplesRating _____
• Style is consistent no matter which rule book is followed
• Careful proofreading is evident by avoiding typos, punctuation errors and inaccurate story details
• Copy space is filled
• Clichés and nonessential phrases are avoided.
• Leads are dynamic and concise, grabbing readers’ attention
• Editorializing is avoided.
• Stories include good, relevant and colorful student quotes.
• Attribution of quotes follows correct journalistic style (quote first, attribution second).
• “Said” is the only word used in attribution unless the situation demands another verb
• Features are written in the past tense, in active voice and generally third person.
• Writing is the obvious result of interviewing
• Avoid use of school name, mascot, current year.
• Students are identified by first and last name and grade; faculty are identified by first and last name and position (English
teacher Susan Smith), avoiding Mr., Mrs., Ms.
• Stories make logical use of transitions to avoid stacking quotes on top of each other
CaptionsRating _____
• Captions are usually more than one sentence with the first sentence in the present tense and subsequent sentences in the past describing the photo specifically or a 4-part capton (lead- present- past- quote).
• Captions provide the reader with information not obvious in photo. May incorporate direct or indirect quotations.
• Captions identify every recognizable person in the photo except when impractical; usually fewer than six giving first and last
name and grade.
• Group captions are consistent in their designation of the location of a student (Front row: Row 2, Row 3, Back Row OR Bottom
row, Row 2, Row 3, Top row)
• Captions attempt to answer five W’s and H and So What.
• Photo credits should be uniform.
HeadlinesRating _____
• Conform to style with strong action verbs and avoidance of “to be” verbs
• Headlines are dynamic so that it logically leads the reader into the copy.
• Headlines are carefully proofread to avoid unclear language, misspellings, and grammatical errors.
• Standard headlines contain a verb, stated or implied, and are written in the present or future tense.
• Headline style is consistent regarding which words are capitalized.
• Kickers and decks are used effectively
Yearbook
5
Recommendations and Commendations
Average Rating: _____ Rating Guide –Superior (5), Excellent (4), Good (3), Average (2) or Needs Improvement (1)
SPECIAL DISTINCTION: ____________ Why?
PART FIVE: Design
LayoutRating _____
• Layouts contain a clean, uncluttered appearance
• Facing pages are linked.
• Graphics unify or separate elements without overpowering the spread.
• Margins are consistent and sufficient. The use of white space, both internal and external, help create contrast and showcase
design. Trapped white space is avoided.
TypographyRating ____
• Body, alternative copy and caption typeface and size should remain consistent throughout the book.
• Headline styles (ups, down, centered, flush left, etc.) must be consistent.
• Careful selection of font doesn’t interfere with readability.
• Staff members are careful not to mix too many typefaces on the same spread.
GraphicsRating _____
• Reverses, screen and boxes do not interfere with legibility of copy or overpower the page.
• Boxes, screens and reverses are used consistently
• White space is used as an effective graphic element to guide reader’s attention to the focus of the spread
• Staff is not afraid to experiment with design they’ve seen in publications or other sources, but should adapt these designs to
suit their coverage and thematic goals
Advertising (Optional)Rating ____
• Advertising is localized to student market and shows student participation in community.
• Ads for similar businesses (like florists or banks) are not placed near each other
• Ad borders enhance the message of the ad rather than distract
• Ads should try to make use of student photos to promote the merchant when requested
• Internal margins are consistent, and external margins should be used to frame the spread
• Camera-ready ads from businesses are run without distortion
• High quality photos and artwork is used
6 Yearbook
Recommendations and Commendations
Average Rating: _____ Rating Guide –Superior (5), Excellent (4), Good (3), Average (2) or Needs Improvement (1)
SPECIAL DISTINCTION: ____________ Why?
PART SIX: Photography
Technical QualityRating _____
• Photos have appropriate contrast where whites are not gray, and there is a definite variation of gradations between gray and
black.
• Photos are in focus and make good use of depth-of-focus.
• Photos are not flopped so that numbers or the writing hand is reversed.
• Distortion is avoided.
• Lighting is correct, and the photographer avoided shooting into the sun or window.
• Photos avoided pixilation due to inappropriate resolution.
• Non-traditional treatment of photos, such as cut-out backgrounds (COB), vignettes, ghosting, etc., is used effectively.
ContentRating _____
• Posed photos are avoided, including students looking directly at the camera.
• Photos strive to capture emotion, especially surprise, laughter, determination or sadness.
• Sports photos include key elements – the ball, racket, golf club, etc.
• Cropping is not done at major joints.
• Excessive ground or sky, as well as any other unnecessary background distraction, is eliminated.
• Photographers strive for the unique.
Recommendations and Commendations
Average Rating: _____ Rating Guide –Superior, Excellent, Good, Average, or Needs Improvement
SPECIAL DISTINCTION: ____________ Why?
Yearbook 7
Judge’s Summary Comments
Judge’s signature (optional)
Final Rating
Each division in each category is rated as SUPERIOR (5 points), EXCELLENT (4 points), GOOD (3 points), AVERAGE (2
points), or NEEDS IMPROVEMENT (1 point).
Judges will include overall comments for each section for both strengths and weaknesses. Specific references will
be included. In addition, they will conclude with comments to explain their overall impressions. “Special Distinction”
may be awarded to a publication for a category the judge feels excels.
Publications will be awarded one of the following ratings based on the total points of each category:
Part One:
Reader Services
Rating _____
Special Distinction: _____
Part Two:
Concept
Rating _____
Special Distinction: _____
Part Three:
Coverage
Rating _____
Special Distinction: _____
Part Four:
Writing
Rating _____
Special Distinction: _____
Part Five:
Design
Rating _____
Special Distinction: _____
Part Six:
Photography
Rating _____
Special Distinction: _____
_____ All Florida (30-27) _____ Gold (26-24) _____ Silver (23-21) _____ Bronze (20-18) _____ Merit (17-0)
____ Number of Special Distinctions