Caption Writing 101

 Here are the basics of yearbook caption-writing.

1. Every caption needs to start with a lead-in phrase. This is your mini-headline for your caption; it is designed to grab a Joe Yearbook Reader's attention and let him understand what's going on in the photo in very brief detail. Set off your lead-in from the rest of your caption by putting it in bold.

2. After the lead-in, your caption needs to have one present-tense sentence describing the action in the photo. This is the sentence that captures that photo's moment in time.

BEWARE OF THE PARTICIPLE PHRASE FRAGMENT!!!

wrong-   Mr. Malone sitting at his desk.

correct-  Mr. Malone sits at his desk.


3. Every subsequent sentence (2-3) in your caption should be in past-tense. The reason for this is that the action in the photo has already become a thing of the past once your readers get their yearbook. You write about that action in the proper tense to maintain consistency.

4. Every caption should do a few key things:
- Describe the action taking place in the photo.
- Identify every person in the photo by name and grade, up to 5 people.

 examples: Tierney DeWitt (12) and Mallory DeJong (12)....  

or 

Senior girls Tierney DeWitt and Mallory DeJong...

- Go beyond the photo by providing additional details about the event or program the photo highlights.


Example:



Community Service
Following the heavy summer rains, Zach Howard (11) and ? (?) lend a hand in flood clean-up as part of the CERT program.  CERT stands for ?.  They are also helped fill sand bags and learned important skills to aid in times of crisis.