Chapter 4:Yearbook WritingInterviewing, Captions, Headlines, and Body Copy

essential for any good writer

Interviewing

Two Types of Questions• Closed-ended• Can be answered with a yes or no or one or two words• Do not invite discussion, opinions, or elaboration by

interviewee• Often puts the interviewer’s opinion into the interviewee’s

mouth

• Open-ended• Answered with more than one word response• Requires elaboration by interviewee• Typically begin with “how?” or “why?”

• Why do you want to use open-ended questions in your interviews?

Points to Remember with Questions• Concentrate on human interest aspects of the

group• Ask questions that make interviewee think• The better the questions, the better the quotes • Put yourself in a reader’s shoes—what would a

reader care about? What will readers forget as they age?

• Use lots of HOW and WHY questions…describe for me…tell me more about…

• Be prepared to ask follow up questions

Interview Essentials• Complete your beat sheet prior to the interview• This includes creating questions for the faculty advisor/coach

• Schedule a time to meet with the faculty advisor first• After you’ve talked with the teacher, then design questions

for the students involved in the club, sport, or class• Set up a time to meet with the student leaders• Then prepare your survey questions for all members• Remind students to complete your survey• DO NOT BE LATE TO OR MISS AN INTERVIEW APPOINTMENT!• Doing so will hurt your reputation, the reputation of the staff, make

people not want to buy a yearbook, and negatively impact your grade

• Dress appropriately• Say “thank you”

Interview Pointers• Do not ever just say, “Give me a quote.”• Do not just limit yourself to your pre-written questions• Ask interviewee permission to voice record the interview• Ask follow up questions, so that you can obtain specifics• Always do your research before going to the interview• Don’t go to the interview not knowing anything about the group or the

interviewee

• Don’t be afraid to ask for more explanation• Don’t be afraid to ask for time to write down what is said• Give the interviewee time to answer your question honestly• When possible conduct the interview face-to-face• Try to have a conversation, not a firing squad of questions

from interview to body copy

Writing Your Story

Transition – Interview to Writing• Write your first draft as soon as you can after the

interview• Make sure you have completed all of your

interviews• Remember you’re writing to express not impress• It’s your job to find and relate the details to the

reader• Most students spend about three minutes or less

reading copy• Don’t forget the memories…not just the facts• Avoid clichés • Pick out your best quotes to use in the story

Organization• Lead (p. 57)

• 25 words or less• Must pull reader in – make her want to read second

sentence• 3-4 Catchy Words• Sensory descriptive sentence• Unusual, though-provoking question• Interesting quote

• Body (p. 58)• Show depth and attention to detail• Use a transition – quote – transition format• Cover all sides of the group/story• Use familiar words not fancy ones

• Conclusion (p. 59)• Don’t write about future• Resist praising the team, sport, or club• Not an “essay” conclusion

Style and Grammar• Use past tense• Active voice• Third person• No editorializing, jokes, or sarcasm• Don’t use “THIS YEAR”• Use lots of quotes• Be short, concise, and to the point• Use Subject-Verb-Object sentences• Use section colors so student names in stories stand

out• Focus on VOICE from the 6-Traits• Use 12 point font• Use Mr. Greg Molzahn first and then Molzahn thereafter• Use senior Sarah Peters first and then Peters thereafter

• Do not use apostrophes in boys and girls• Boys swimming and diving• Girls cross country

• Use “said” for quote attribution• Use “stated” if you read the quote someplace first

and it wasn’t directly spoken to you• Use other active verbs if and only if they are

100% appropriate• Don’t say, “when asked” or “in response to…”• It is acceptable to fix grammatical errors in

quotes/statements• Use quotation marks• Periods and commas = inside “ ”• ! and ? can go inside or outside “ ”• Start body copy with drop cap (2 lines deep)• Full justification

most read text in the yearbook

Captions

Photo Stories – the new caption• Tell the reader more than what is visible• Include quotes from people within the photo• Give additional background about people and

action in picture• Helps to take notes while you’re taking pictures• Formula• First sentence = lead• Second sentence = background info about picture• Third sentence = quote directly connected to the people

in picture

Caption DO’s• Answer the 5W’s and an H• Use present tense• Use active verbs and descriptive nouns• Use people’s first and last names• Identify everyone even if they are not students• Follow same title and class rules as body copy• Use 10 point font• Learn how to spell the four grade levels –

freshman vs. men and sophomores

Caption DON’Ts• Don’t begin with names, grade in school, or

prepositions• Don’t use “be” verbs• Don’t use gag captions, jokes, sarcasm, or inside

jokes• Don’t mention the photographer or the camera or

smiling• Don’t editorialize• Don’t talk to the picture or the people within it• Don’t repeat information that is elsewhere on the

page• Don’t identify names of non-students• Don’t use “left to right” – we already read that

way

they state more than the obvious

Headlines

Headline 101• They should draw readers into looking at and

reading the page• Should be specific and positive• Do more than just label the page• Should do more than state the obvious• Don’t use A, An, The, And (use comma in place of

“and”)• Should tie into one of the photographs (dominant

one?)• Typically 2-5 words in length• Can be a play on words• Should have a main and secondary headline• Try to tie it back to the yearbook theme

Headline 102• Use Present tense• Don’t use it to fill up white space• Select typefaces that complement each other• Use strong, active verbs (don’t use “be” verbs)• Avoid abbreviations

happy homework

Practice

Write captions for these pictures…

Write Headlines for these pages…• Football team making it to the state championship

game• Teacher of the year• Freshmen Mentor Program• Basketball player sets a state all-time points

record• Tech Ed students build race car that won at state

fair

Write a 20-Sentence story about…• New Teachers at CHS