CAPTION WRITING Assignment

1. Just like you don’t state your own opinion in a story, you don’t put it in a caption. Let the facts tell the story.
   1. Don’t state the irrelevant.
   2. Don’t editorialize.
   3. Don’t state the obvious.
   4. “to be” verbs
2. 
   Check it and correct it. Captions must be grammatical.
   1. During
   2. headline
   3. lead-in
   4. Grammar
3. 
   Optional part of a caption, often set in bold or bold-italic type.
   1. headline
   2. lead-in
   3. During
   4. Spelling
4. Avoid starting with this word, as it denotes “when”. Just like in stories, the when is rarely the most important thing. Okay to use in moderation in the caption, just not in the beginning.
   1. During
   2. Quotes
   3. Spelling
   4. Verbs
5. Always get a quote from someone in the picture. Make sure the quote is relevant to the story and adds to the information. Use direct quotes and attribute them properly. Use the word said for attribution.
   1. Verbs
   2. Emotion
   3. Quotes
   4. During

5 True/False questions

1. Don’t state the irrelevant. → If it has nothing to do with the story you are telling, leave it out. If it is relevant, include it.

   True        False

2. Don’t make predictions in a caption → Look for more interesting ways to start the caption. Starting with names is the lazy way out.

   True        False

3. Avoid using “this year”. → Avoid using them in a caption. Use action verbs.

   True        False

4. Emotion →
   If you can elicit an emotion–happiness, sadness, anger, etc.–this helps to draw the reader into the story. This is a good thing.

   True        False

5. Verbs →
   Use action verbs, not to be verbs. Say “Ron Smith leaps to a new school record in the long jump during Thursday’s track meet at Bush High School.” Do NOT say “Ron Smith is leaping…” or “Ron Smith leaping to a new school record…”. The caption must be in complete sentences.

   True        False