THINGS TO REMEMBER
A well-written caption provides the
context for a picture by answering
the who, what, when, where, why
and how.
Caption writing involves interviewing,
prewriting, drafting, rewriting and
editing.
TYPES OF
CAPTIONS
EXPANDED
Captions add one or two sentences to
the first basic sentence to tell a complete
story. The sentence that describes the
action is followed by a sentence that
expands on the moment captured in the
photo. This and subsequent sentences
are written in past tense.
AS EASY AS A, B, C
A — Action Lead-In
B — Basic Information
C — Complementary Information
AS EASY AS A,B,C
C — Complementary
A — Action Lead-In
B — Basic Information
Information
BASIC INFORMATION
just the facts
RESEARCH. Find out the who, what,
where and when.
B — BASIC INFORMATION
Facts from interview
WHO: seniors Bradley Louis, Tal Lovvorn,
Maya Johnson, and Madison Curles
WHAT: compete against the juniors in the
Tug-of-War.
WHERE: gymnasium
WHEN: Spirit Week (the week before
homecoming)
A — ACTION LEAD-IN
List words or phrases that come to mind when
looking at the picture.
• ____________
• ____________
• ____________
• ____________
• ____________
• ____________
A — ACTION LEAD-IN
•
•
•
•
•
Write an attention-getting word or phrase
that links the caption to the picture.
All-Out War
Scheduling
Conflicts
Peers in Fear
1-2-3 PULL
At the End of
Their Rope
B — BASIC INFORMATION
Just the facts
Using first and last names, identify
everyone in the photo (up to five).
• Interview people
in the picture as
well as those
associated with
the activity.
• Accurately
describe the
action in the photo.
B — BASIC INFORMATION
Write now
During Spirit
Week’s Athletic
Battle, seniors
Bradley Louis, Tal
Lovvorn, Maya
Johnson, and
Madison Curles
compete against the
juniors in the Tugof-War.
C — BEYOND BASIC
Keep on writing
Write another sentence that contains
key information, the WHY & HOW.
Write it in PAST tense.
C — COMPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION
Wrap it up
• Expand coverage by going behind the
scenes.
• Dig deeper. Get the inside scoop and
appeal to the intelligent, curious reader.
• Write additional sentences in past tense.
B — BASIC INFORMATION
Write now
The final pull
determined the
overall winners.
Although they had
trouble at first, they
finally pulled through
and won.
+ — ADD A QUOTE
Write now
"Tal and I got on
the front of the rope
to get a good initial
pull," Bradley said.
Final Caption
ALL-OUT WAR. During Spirit Week’s Athletic Battle,
seniors Bradley Louis, Tal Lovvorn, Maya Johnson, and
Madison Curles compete against the juniors in the Tug-of-War
The final pull determined the overall winners. Although they
had trouble at first, they finally pulled through and won. "Tal
and I got on the front of the rope to get a good initial pull,"
Bradley said.
CHECK DETAILS
• Is grade classification included?
• Have you made sure the caption does not
begin with a name?
It’s as simple as A, B, C
A. ACTION LEAD-IN:
B. BASIC INFORMATION:
C. COMPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
QUOTE:
PRACTICE: Try writing a caption for the
next picture.
BASIC
Using the information provided below,
write a BASIC caption in present tense.
WHO:
Sophomore Tristan Dodds and Stinker (aka “Dink”),
a spur-thighed tortoise
WHAT: Tristen feeds her unique pet a vegetarian diet.
Using the information provided below,
write a BASIC caption in present tense.
WHERE:
WHEN:
Dink lives indoors during the winter, in a room of his own. In the summer,
he resides in the backyard.
She got the tortoise after her mother wouldn’t allow her brother to get a lizard.
EXPANDED
Using the information provided below,
write an additional sentence in past tense.
WHY:
She doesn’t have to worry about her pet escaping out of the backyard or
dying of old age. A tortoise lives anywhere from 50 to 150-years-old and
travels at an uncompetitive speed.
HOW:
Although it can be a hassle to take care of him, bathing and feeding him,
Dink is a member of the family.
Consider including a quote in past tense.
QUOTE:
“It would make me upset to lose him. Dink is part of my family, and it would
be weird without him,” Tristan said.
Now that you have all the information, write a 2-3 word
lead-in that will establish a visual/verbal connection.
LEAD-IN:
BASIC INFORMATION:
COMPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
QUOTE:
VARY LEAD-INS
EXAMPLES
Adjective
Real crowd pleasers, the drum line performs “Martian Mambo”
before the Westlake game.
Adverb
Colorfully dressed as aliens, the drum line performs “Martian
Mambo” before the Westlake game.
Infinitive
To engage the crowd before the Westlake game, the drum line
performs “Martian Mambo” in alien attire.
Prepositional
Before the Westlake game, the drum line performs “Martian
Mambo” in alien attire.
Participle
Dressed as aliens, the drum line performs "Martian Mambo"
before the Westlake game.
VARY LEAD-INS
EXAMPLES
Participle (continued)
Playing the "Martian Mambo," the drum line, dressed in alien
attire, warms up the pre-game crowd.
Causal
Since the half-time show had a "Star Wars" theme, the drum
line previewed the performance for the pre-game crowd with the
"Martian Mambo."
Conditional
If the drum line performed their pre-game warm-up in alien
attire, the Band Boosters promised the percussionists five extra
large pizzas.
Gerund
Playing the “Martian Mambo” challenged drummers because
the routine had multiple reach-over movements that complicated
the percussionists' sticking.
CAPTION WRITING TIPS
• Do not editorialize.
•
•
•
•
•
Go, Team!
Congratulations Lady Viks!
We love our players
Go out and support the Vikings
We have the best marching band ever
• Avoid clichés or trite wording that describe
actions with feelings, such as happily rejoices,
jumps with joy, claps with glee, etc.
It’s as simple as A, B, C
A. ACTION LEAD-IN:
B. BASIC INFORMATION:
C. COMPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
QUOTE:
PRACTICE: Try writing a caption for the
next picture.
Using the information provided below,
write a BASIC caption in present tense.
WHO:
Sophomore Tristan Dodds and Stinker (aka “Dink”), a
spur-thighed tortoise
WHAT: Tristan feeds her unique pet a vegetarian diet.
WHERE:
Dink lives indoors during the winter, in a room of
his own. In the summer, he resides in the
backyard.
WHEN:
She got the tortoise after her mother wouldn’t allow
her brother to get a lizard.
WHY:
She doesn’t have to worry about her pet escaping out of the backyard or
dying of old age. A tortoise lives anywhere from 50 to 150-years-old and
travels at an uncompetitive speed.
HOW:
Although it can be a hassle to take care of him, bathing and feeding him,
Dink is a member of the family.
QUOTE:
“It would make me upset to lose him. Dink is part of my family, and it would
be weird without him,” Tristan said.
Who: Sydney Turnbow,
sophomore (Lady of the Lake),
Brennan McFarland, senior (Sir
Galahad)
What: Act I of “Spamalot,”
Turnbow sings “It Goes On and
On and On” to McFarland
When: Thursday, January 30, 2014
Where: Performance Arts Center,
McKinney HS
Why: Last year, they did “Sweeney
Todd” which was really dark. They
wanted to do something a little
lighter, the total opposite.
How: Sydney’s mom made all the
costumes for the play including
seven for Sydney and more than
100 for the rest of the cast.
Quote: “My favorite dress was the trick dress,”
Sydney said. “It was a blue dress with Velcro
sides, so when it was ripped off there was a
wedding dress. King Arthur asks me to marry
him and I say, ‘I thought you’d never ask.’
I’m like, I’m ready, I got this.”
CAPTION WRITING TIPS
Sports captions
• Include the following:
– The play’s outcome (when appropriate)
– The names of all players from all teams in the
photo
– Uniform or jersey numbers in parentheses for
all players
• If you do not have organized sports, cover
sports clubs & individual sports.
CAPTION WRITING TIPS
Sports captions
DIVIDE & CONQUER.
Before a match against St.
Thomas Aquinas, senior
Parker Johnson practices
his serves. Since the team
grew to 47 members from
20, the players were split
into two practice areas.
“Aquinas hadn’t showed up
yet, so we were just
messing around,” Johnson
said. “We went undefeated
against Aquinas, not losing
a single match.”
CAPTION WRITING TIPS
Sports captions
• In secondary information include:
– Statistics about the team
– Statistics about the player
– Information about the season
– Details about previous games played
against the opponent.
– Avoid relating the final score.