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Im at a lossHelpful Hints for Captions and
Headlines

• Good journalists are never finished writing
• they just run out of time
• Compiled by Stephanie Gillespie
• Hillsboro Senior High School

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Captions

• Cute captions dont cut it.
• Always tell more than the obvious.
• Position the captions to the outside of the
  spread and as close as possible to the pictures
  they identify.
• Two captions may be stackedtry not to do any
  more than that.
• Identify all people pictured if possible
  identify by first and last name.
• Organize your caption so that you dont always
  begin with a persons name.
• Never neglect the importance of caption writing.
  Show your reporting skills by seeking information
  for the caption that shows youve done your job
  thoroughly.
• Supply present tense writing for the action in
  the photo write the rest of the caption in past
  tense.

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Keep captions interesting

• WHO? Tailback Mark Law evaded Turner High
  defenders to snare the game-winning touchdown in
  the season opener.
• WHAT? Locking the ball into his hands, Mark Law
  followed Coach Penrods leadership and scored the
  game-winner against Piper on opening day.
• WHEN? In the first game of the season, Senior
  Mark Law set the pace for a league championship
  with this reception against the Pirates.
• WHERE? In Tate Stadium, Tailback Mark Law hauled
  in the first of fifteen touchdown passes that
  would net him a school record for receptions in a
  season.
• WHY? Attempting to set a record for most
  touchdown receptions, Senior Mark Law hauled in
  his first against Piper in the home opener.
• HOW? Catching a pass the hard way helped Tailback
  Mark Law set a single season scoring record. Law
  managed to pull down fifteen touchdown passes,
  including this one against Piper.

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The ABC of captions

• A for Action-Packed Information
• To capture the readers attention and make them
  want to know more about the photograph as well as
  to establish the relationship between the photo
  and caption requires an action-packed caption
  lead-in.
• This lead-in is one to three words and can be the
  actual introductory words for the first sentence
  of the caption or can be set off as a
  mini-headline for the caption. Caption writers
  should avoid stating the obvious and should
  carefully choose a clever approach and words.
• B for Basic Information
• In the first sentence of the caption, the writer
  should identify the who, what, when, and where of
  the photograph. This identification/description
  should be complete answering readers questions
  concerning the action of the photo.
• Accurate identification using specific names and
  visual nouns as well as strong, action verbs
  should reflect extensive reporting by the writer.
  Write the first sentence in present tense since
  viewers will experience the photo action
  simultaneously with caption reading.
• C for Complementary Information
• Adding dimension to the caption takes a second
  (or third), follow-up sentence which supplies
  readers with the answers to questions not obvious
  in the photo content. Written in past tense since
  it presents after-the-fact facts, this part of
  the caption often focuses on the why and how of
  the content of the photo and clues readers into
  the importance of the action to overall coverage.
  Little-know trivia AND QUOTES, as well as a
  report of the results of the action of the
  photograph, finds its place logically in the
  complementary information.

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The ABC of captions
A for Action-Packed Information
Practice with these captions Rachel Smith, a
senior who is on the equestrian team, gently
sculpts her ideal horse. Jeanne Lee and Ginger
Johnson, juniors, strike their final pose before
pom practice ends. Dreaming about Camelot after
reading The Sword and the Stone, Sophomore Erin
Gannon falls asleep in Mrs. Pat Dunns English
class. Before the baseball game, pitcher Brian
Wolfe practices his famous curve ball which has
made him a dominant force on the team. While
bumping the ball to freshman Maxine Earnest,
Freshman Kerrie Rilley pushes herself to the
limit.
B for Basic Information

• C for Complementary Information

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Story captions or scatterstories are extended
captions that replace regular stories.

• Apply the same ABC method, but add more details
  in the complementary information.
• The most popular way to extend the story is by
  adding quotes from those involved. Let the
  student or teacher take a turn telling the story
  in her own words.
• This short story becomes about the photo rather
  than trying to write a complete story of the
  year piece that becomes predictable and boring.

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10 Ways to Write Caption Leads

• Varying your lead is the key to good caption
  writing. Note the many ways to write the same
  facts in the examples following.
• An Adjective Lead begins with an adjective word
  or phrase describing the subject of the copy.
  Adjective leads provide color and descriptive
  appeal.
• EXAMPLE Sweets, both MMs and appreciative
  looks, leave John Marsh as he sells another box
  of candy to Julie Jones, a sophomore in his
  trigonometry class.

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10 Ways to Write Caption Leads

• 2. An Adverb Lead begins with an adverb or
  adverbial phrase or clause. Adverb leads provide
  active description in the first few words.
• EXAMPLE Rarely seen without his MMs, John
  Marsh, a trumpet player, sells Julie Jones candy
  to munch on in her fourth-period English class.
  Band members raised 3000 selling candy to
  finance their February trip to New Orleans to
  march in the Mardi Gras parade.

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10 Ways to Write Caption Leads

• 3. A Causal Lead emphasizes the reason or cause
  of the action and begins with such words as
  because or since.
• EXAMPLE Because money was scarce and buses were
  expensive, band members sold 4,200 boxes of MMs
  to finance their February trip to Mardi Gras.
  Contributing to the cause, Julie Jones buys her
  seventh box of chocolate-covered peanuts from top
  salesperson John Marsh.

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10 Ways to Write Caption Leads

• 4. A Gerund Lead begins with a verb ending in
  ing in a noun-like form. Use gerund leads
  sparingly.
• EXAMPLE Raising money for the band trip to New
  Orleans was a between-class activity for the 175
  band members. John Marsh, top salesperson in the
  campaign and first-chair trumpet player, sells
  MMs to Julie Jones, who said she was a regular
  customer supporting the cause with her purchases.

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10 Ways to Write Caption Leads

• 5. An Infinitive Lead uses a verb form along
  with to. Infinitive leads provide action at the
  beginning of the copy.
• EXAMPLE To charter buses to New Orleans, band
  members sold MMs. Trumpet player John Marsh
  sells Julie Jones one of the 4,200 boxes of candy
  that helped send the 175-member band to the
  February Mardi-Gras parades.

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10 Ways to Write Caption Leads

• 6. A Participle Lead begins with a verb ending
  in ing or ed in an adjective phrase. It can
  incorporate both action and description in the
  first word. Use this type sparingly.
• EXAMPLE Selling another box of MMs, John Marsh,
  first-chair trumpet player, reaches his goal of
  top salesperson in the bands candy campaign as
  he sells another box to Julie Jones.

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10 Ways to Write Caption Leads

• 7. A Prepositional Lead begins with a
  prepositional phrase and provides description.
• EXAMPLE With MMs in hand and New Orleans in
  mind, trumpet player John Marsh sells a sweet
  treat to Julie Jones, a sophomore in his Trig
  class. Candy sales financed the bands February
  trip to Mardi Gras.

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10 Ways to Write Caption Leads

• 8. A Proper Noun Lead begins with a proper noun
  or name when that person or thing is the most
  important part of the story. Because proper noun
  leads dont imply action, use them sparingly.
• EXAMPLE John Marsh, who has been in band for
  three years, sells the seventh box of MMs to
  Julie Jones, a sophomore in his Trig class. The
  class sale of candy was one of the most popular
  ways of raising money 32 different groups sold
  11 types of candy during the year.

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10 Ways to Write Caption Leads

• 9. A Temporal Lead features a time element and
  often begins with while, where, as, or
  since.
• EXAMPLE While some band members work hard to
  sell their MMs, top saleperson John Marsh makes
  it look easy with over 300 sales. Julie Jones
  buys her seventh box, one of the 4,200 sold to
  finance the bands trip to march in the Mardi
  Gras parade.

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10 Ways to Write Caption Leads

• 10. A Quotation Lead begins with a quote from
  the subject of the picture. It is good only if
  WHAT was said is more important than anything
  else.
• EXAMPLE My skin may break out, and I may get a
  stomachache before I go, but the trip to New
  Orleans will be worth it, said John Marsh,
  first-chair trumpet player. The bands trip to
  Mardi Gras was funded by the sale of 4,200 boxes
  of MMs. A frequent customer, Julie Jones, buys
  another box from Marsh.

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The interview leads to good caption writing.
Without a solid interview, you have NOTHING to
write about.

• Before writing anything, it all starts with a
  detailed interview that has been prepared in
  advance.
• During the interview, ask follow-up questions and
  write down information accurately.
• After the interview, ask the person to reread the
  statements to verify accuracy, and then have the
  person sign the interview.

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The photo log leads to a good interview.

• Before taking a picture, note the who, what,
  where, when of the event.
• During the event, write down information
  accurately about the details of the event
  including the action before and after the photo
  was taken.
• After the event, follow up by deleting blurry or
  unusable photos and crossing them off on the log.

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Lets talk headlines

• Leave space for headline design when templates
  are made.
• Publicly display some fonts to be used in
  headlines to maintain section consistency.
• Allow variations in design and font in order to
  have the best headline possible.
• Wait until the page is nearly finished to write
  and design the headline.

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Lets talk headlines

• A top 10 guide to writing good headlines
• Write in the present tense. Use active verbs.
• Put the key words of the story in the main head.
• Get the most important story element in the
  headline. Headlines should tell readers what
  happened and why the news is important to
  readers.
• Avoid puns, but be clever.
• Be accurate.
• Be interesting and inviting. Headlines should be
  an advertisement for the story, but they should
  never be so cute that they fail to instantly tell
  the news.
• Be creative. Headlines can and should creatively
  convey a mood or emotion when appropriate, but
  they must always tell the news in clear and
  direct fashion.
• Don't pirate the lead of the story or give away
  the ending. Stealing the lead means repeating it
  almost verbatim. You do want to make sure the
  headline matches the tone of the story.
• Rarely (almost never) use short, verb-less labels
  as main heads for news stories. They fail to tell
  the news.
• Avoid headlinese. Make headlines conversational.
• By Sue Burzynski of The Detroit News for No
  Train, No Gain on the web.

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Headlines Words have power

• Headlines are like poetry. Every word must be
  more powerful since there are so few words.
• Headlines must be researched in two ways
• 1. old yearbooks to avoid duplicating headlines
  from previous years and
• 2. the internet or other resources to come up
  with a word bank of powerful, visual words that
  pertain to the subject.

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Headlines Words have power

• Try www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus to find
  synonyms, antonyms, and related words. The simple
  format is direct and easy-to-follow.
• The related words are probably going to be the
  most useful for writing headlines.
• Another great resource is www.thesaurus.com.

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Headlines Words have power

• Now is the time to use all of those poetic
  devices you learned in English class through the
  years.
• Techniques like alliteration, assonance,
  onomatopoeia, rhyme, simile, metaphor, imagery,
  and personification should be used.
• Consider verbing words to come up with fresh
  phrasing.
• Be aware of potential double-meanings in
  headlines.
• Make accuracy your number one priority, followed
  by creativity.

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Headlines Words have power

• Use the TACT Test
• Taste-Attractiveness-Clarity-Truth
• (Ask these questions of each headline)1. Is it
  in good taste? Anything offensive in any way? Can
  anything be taken a wrong way?2. Does it attract
  the reader's attention? How can it be improved
  without sacrificing accuracy?3. Does it
  communicate clearly, quickly? Any confusion? Any
  odd words, double meanings?4. Is it accurate,
  true? Proper words used? Is the thrust of
  subject-verb true?5. A single "NO" above is a
  veto. One "No" vote represents thousands of
  readers. Start over rethink the headline from
  the beginning.
• From No Train, No Gain Training for Newspaper
  Journalists at http//www.notrain-nogain.org/trai
  n/res/copyd/man.asp

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Headlines Design gives powerful words the
spotlight

• Make important words stand out in size, font,
  and/or color.
• Most designs should have no more than two or
  three fonts.
• Keep unimportant words like an, an, the, of,
  etc. in the background.
• DO NOT capitalize every word in the headline. For
  the most part, headlines should read like
  sentences and include a verb. If the main part of
  the headline doesnt have a verb, add a
  sub-headline that does have a verb.

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Headlines Design shines a spotlight
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Headlines Design shines a spotlight
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Headlines Design shines a spotlight
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Headlines Design shines a spotlight
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Headlines Design shines a spotlight
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Headlines Design shines a spotlight
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Headlines Design shines a spotlight
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Headlines Design shines a spotlight
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Headlines Design shines a spotlight
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Headlines Design shines a spotlight
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Headlines Design shines a spotlight
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Headlines Design shines a spotlight
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Headlines Design shines a spotlight
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Headlines Design shines a spotlight
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Headlines Design shines a spotlight