Lesson 1
Writing Great
Captions
Objectives – In this lesson, you will learn:
How to write quality, informational captions
that identify people and events
How to write informative captions creatively
so people will want to read them
Each year when schools are planning coverage
and how to best write a story, there are always
yearbook staffs who say, “Why do we write body
copy? No one reads it.” While it may be true that
not everyone reads it immediately, people will
read it when they are reminiscing or before a
reunion.
However, you cannot use that same defense
against caption writing. Photos are the largest,
most-seen graphics in the yearbook. If the photo
has stopped the reader, he will read the caption
to know the story.
Captions are small bits of information given to the
reader in digestible chunks. They tell the reader
all the factual information they need to know
about the photo. To make it more personal, they
can include a quote from someone in the photo.
So, all of the good rules you’ve been taught will
still ring true for caption writing. You still need
to attend events, interview those involved and
stick to the facts. Once you know the 5Ws and
H – Who, What, When Where, Why and How –
captions write themselves.
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Taking aim. All captions need to explain the who,
what, when, where, why and how to put the
reader in the moment the photo was taken. In this
case, think about the information for a reader who
does not know the game of water polo. A quote
about what the player was thinking would be a
nice touch as the last sentence.
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WRITING A CAPTION IS AS
EASY AS ABCD!
ATTENTION
GETTER
BASIC
INFO
An attention getter (A) is like a
mini headline. It’s a direct link
from the caption to the photo it
is describing.
Basic information (B) is a
present-tense sentence telling
who is in the photo (name up to
seven people) and what he or
they are doing.
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COMPLIMENTARY
INFO
DIRECT
QUOTE
Complimentary information (C) is
a past-tense sentence telling the
reader something he cannot see
from the photo itself, like how much
money was raised in the fundraiser
or who won the game.
A Direct quote (D) should be a
unique quote from someone in the
photo discussing an aspect of the
event in the photo. This should not
be a fact. Get quotable quotes.
How did the person FEEL?
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Answer the question. In this
case the question is, what
is he doing? The student is
testing electrical boards to
ensure they were safe to
use and would turn on the
light bulb.
KNOW THE DO’S...
• List three to five words that grab the reader’s
attention and link the photo and caption together
• Lead-in states the obvious in an unobvious way
DO
• Include the five Ws and H
• Use a variety of adjectives and adverbs
• Be descriptive
• Use strong, visual specific nouns
• Consider the action before and during the photo
and reaction to the event
• Use colorful, lively, visual action verbs
• Write in present tense, active voice (unless changing
tenses to make it logical)
• Be factual
• Use a variety of sentence patterns
• Identify all people in picture (up to seven)
• Use complete sentences
• Use first and last names
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KNOW THE DON’TS...
• Don’t state the obvious
• Don’t begin leads with names or overuse same lead
pattern
• Don’t use label leads (example: basketball girls, swimmers,
etc.)
DON’T
• Don’t use an excessive amount of –ing verbs
• Avoid “During” to begin your lead as it’s overused
• Don’t use “Pictured/Showed Above,” “Seems/Attempts to”
• Avoid using “to be” verbs
• Don’t use “gag” or joke captions
• Don’t comment or question the action in the picture; you
are telling the reader what happened, not conversing with
him
How does it feel? You probably
know what it is like to stick
your hand inside a pumpkin.
Let your caption help readers
experience what is going on in
the photo, in this case, feeling
the slime like this student did.
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SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
FOR SPORTS CAPTIONS
• Identify both schools’ players and opponents by jersey number
and name
• State position of the player(s)
• Consider plays leading up to the action
• Tell the result or outcome
FOR GROUP SHOTS
(TEAM PHOTOS OR CLUB GROUP PICTURES)
• Begin with name of group
• Identify from left to right, but don’t write that as part of the caption
• Give clear row designation in a different font than text
(CHEERLEADING Front: Name Here, Name Here. Row 2: Name Here,
Name Here. Back: Name Here, Name Here.)
HELPFUL HINTS
• Attend the event and know what you are writing about
• Write the caption as soon as possible after the picture was taken
• Identify everyone in the photo
• Describe what is happening in the exact moment of the photo
• Give your photo a timeframe
• Avoid passive voice
• Don’t add unnecessary phrases such as “left to right” or “pictured
above”
• Check and recheck the spelling of the names and text
• NEVER make up information – it is journalistically wrong!
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ACTIVITY
Your Name:
........................................................................................................................
WRITE THE
CAPTIONS
Here are two photos with background information
provided so you can write the caption. Remember
your ABCDs. Write your caption on the lines provided.
CAPTION 1 – MUSICAL CHAIRS
__ Juniors Jessica Peterson (left) and Mary Lopez (right)
__ Participate in blindfolded musical chairs at the first pep rally of the year
__ It was 97 degrees outside and two people suffered from heat exhaustion
__ This was a competition between the classes
__ Occurred on Sept. 6
__ “I couldn’t see so I sat really quickly on someone and when I looked, it was Mary [my
best friend], so it was the perfect person to sit on. It just stunk I was still out,” Peterson said.
__ “The music ended so quickly. I just sat as quickly as I could. I thought it was so funny
that Jessica ended up on my lap,” Lopez said.
__ The seniors won this event.
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CAPTION 2 – ACTOR
__ Junior Clark Thornton plays a townsman who has
an ailing back.
__ This was the drama department’s production of
Anatomy of Gray.
__ The production ran Oct. 4, 5 and 6 at 7 p.m. in the
school’s auditorium (unnamed).
__ Debra Christopher, a former student, directed the
play.
__ This program earned the troop four Critic’s Choice
Awards and 10 Best in Show awards at the district
competition.
__ “Being able to play a crazy man was so much fun,” Thornton said.
__ “Through staging, I get to see every actor almost as a unique chess piece, and it’s
the director’s job to play the game with the pieces and play it well,” Christopher said.
__ The setting was Gary, Indiana, in the 1800s.
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CAPTION CHECKLIST
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Now that you’ve written a few captions, swap with a peer. Evaluate and critique each
other’s caption writing. See how much you remembered.
CAPTION 1 – MUSICAL CHAIRS
__ Makes a creative caption/photo connection (Attention getter)
__ Present tense sentence identifies who (everyone in photo) and describes what is
happening in each photo. (Basic info)
__ Past tense sentence takes reader beyond moment of photos. (Complimentary info)
__ Quotes are interesting and not just facts. (Direct quote)
__ Caption is factual.
__ Avoids editorializing, school name, and terms like: this year, apparently, seemingly
__ Written in third person (no you, us, we, our)
__ In active, not passive voice verb. __ Spelling, grammar, and punctuation are correct.
__ Doesn’t begin with name or -ing
__ Overall captions are positive and interesting.
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Lesson 2
Writing Intriguing
Headlines
Objectives – In this lesson, you will learn:
How to write factual headlines that do not
editorialize
How to write creative headlines that will make
people want to look at the spread and read
the story
You know that story you slaved over to make sure
it was just perfect? Remember how many edits you
made? Want someone to just skip right past it? Probably not.
You need a headline that grabs the reader’s attention. It should be creative,
catchy, visual, understandable and powerful. You want the “wow factor” on
each one.
TO GET STARTED, REMEMBER:
Headlines help draw the reader into your spread.
They will grab a reader’s attention and make him
want to stop and read your story.
These days, headlines work with the dominant
photo and the story, not the entire spread’s focus.
Be creative but unique to the year you are writing
about. The headline shouldn’t be so general you
could use it any time.
Legend, William R. Boone High School, Orlando, Fla.
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GUIDELINES TO GET YOU STARTED
• Make sure the headline tells the story
• Be positive; focus on what happened, not what didn’t (but avoid
opinion)
• Be descriptive, but brief
• Use strong, visual-specific nouns
• Use visual action verbs
• Write in present tense, active voice
• Try to have a subject, verb and direct object, but not prepositional
phrases, which often make headlines too long
OK
OK
TEAM SEEKS STATE TITLE
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NOT
TEAM RUNS TOWARD STATE TITLE
NOT OK
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OK
Spend time brainstorming, just like you do for the actual copy:
Is there a clever play on words you can use?
OLE MIStake – Story about the Gators loss to Ole Miss in an error-filled
game
EYE have amoeba – Story about a student who got amoeba in her eye
from swimming in a lake and had to have it treated
Alliteration?
Students spent Saturday saving school – Story about club members
who spend a Saturday cleaning up campus after a storm
Quote?
‘Pray for rain’ – Story about players who practice in 100-degree August
heat and want afternoon relief from the rain – taken from player quote
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TRY TO AVOID
• Articles: a, an, the
• And – replace it with a comma (example: Staff, students choose longer school day)
• Names unless they’re really well known
• Label leads (example: Girls soccer earns title – it’s the girls soccer page, obviously you
aren’t writing about the football team on this spread.)
• Present tense, since headlines are what the story IS about
• Repetition of words, especially key words
• Beginning with a verb – it usually sounds like a command
• Asking questions – headlines provide information about the story’s content
• Periods – they stop a reader. A headline is meant to pull people into the story quickly.
• Omit forms of the verb be – write in active voice
HEADLINE TYPES:
Other types of headline styles include kickers, slammers and hammers.
KICKER – A kicker headline has a word or phrase that labels the topic and leads into the
main headline. The items leading the reader in are usually smaller in font size and weight.
They’re back in the spotlight
JELLY SHOES STEP INTO FASHION WEEK
HAMMER – A hammer headline is the opposite of a kicker. It uses a bold phrase or
word to catch the reader’s attention, the adds more information below.
JELLIN’
Twenty years after their debut, plastic shoes are fashionable again
SLAMMER – A slammer headline uses a boldface word or phrase that leads the reader
into a contrasting main headline. There is usually a colon after the initial words.
JELLY SHOES: STEP INTO FASHION WORLD
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ACTIVITY
Your Name:
........................................................................................................................
I CAN WRITE IT
BETTER
Critique each of the following headlines. What error did the writer make that
should be avoided for a better headline?
1. CALENDAR ANNOUNCED BY SGA FOR HOMECOMING ACTIVITIES
2. ENGLISH TEACHERS INCORPORATE CHANGED IN LANGUAGE ARTS CURRICULUM
3. WIN STATE TITLE
4. BRAVES DEFEATED CONFERENCE RIVAL
5. THE SGA COLLECTED 2500 POUNDS OF CANNED GOOD
6. THOMPSON LEADS TEAM TO VICTORY
7. BOYS BASKETBALL BEATS OPPONENTS
8. GRIDMEN DEFEAT OPPONENTS EASILY
9. CO-CAPTAINS GUIDE THE TEAM TO WINS
10. CAN YOU USE ALL THE NEW TECHNOLOGY?
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