Name
Advocate
Issue # 1
Online Post Due Date:
Slug
Section:
Draft #
Word Count:
Headline
Byline (By Your First and Last Name)
Your story should have an engaging lead that gets the reader’s attention. It could be a scene-setting/anecdotal lead, a straight summary lead, or a statement/direct quotation lead.
Be sure to identify the 5W’s. Include good quotes from at least three different (relevant, credible, appropriate) people. Cite your sources in the story.
“Please return and indent before inserting quotations, punctuate them correctly by putting a comma at the end of the sentence (inside the quotation marks), and follow them with the appropriate attribution using the person’s full name followed by the word ‘said’ and a period at the end of the attribution,” Advocate adviser Greg Keller said. “If you have already identified the person by first and last name earlier in the story, use only their last name,” Keller added. Always say the person’s name followed by “said,” rather than “said so-and-so.” Example: Larson said. NOT said Larson.
And don’t worry about using “said” every time. It sounds repetitive to you, because you’re writing it. The reader will ignore it. Don’t try to use fancy words to spice it up. Avoid: stated, intoned, uttered, pronounced, recited, etc. It’s okay to use “added” if it’s a second quote by the same person and it’s connected to the previous quote.
Always identify people by first and last name SPELLED CORRECTLY. Check the Student List in the Student and Staff Info Folder that is shared with you in Google Drive. In the body of your Story, include the person’s grade before their name (spelled out, not numbers), and include the person’s job title if it’s a staff member. Example: …senior Angel Tran said. Or… according to associate principal Josh Lupher.
In Stories, use the third person point of view and write in the past tense. Perry ran the ball downfield past the defenders to win the game in the last 3 seconds. Check name spellings again.
EVERY photo needs a caption. Captions/Cutlines for photos must identify the people in the photo by name and grade. Only use numerals for grades. In that case, put them in parentheses after the person’s name, and make sure there is a space between the person’s name and the grade. Example: …MacKenzie Pierson (12) accepts the award for perfect attendance at the Honors Convocation.
Captions/Cutlines should include the 5Ws in the first sentence and should use simple present tense verbs: runs, studies, dribbles, etc. NEVER use -ing verbs in the first sentence of a caption. Click here for a description of caption writing guidelines and examples.
DIRECTIONS: When you include a direction for a caption, indicate which direction (from the caption) the reader should look to see the photo. If the photo is to the left of the caption, write “Left” in bold at the beginning of the caption. Example: (Left) Tessa Wiser (12) works on her social media spread for the Yearbook.
Also be sure to include the Photo Credit at the end of the caption/cutline, and use “Photo by…” if it was a Newspaper, Yearbook, or Photojournalism photographer. Don’t use a colon after the word “by.” Example: Photo by Carson Allen.
If someone who is not in one of our journalism classes gives us a photo to use, we say, “Photo courtesy of….” and include their first and last names. Example: Photo courtesy of Brian Goodbrake.
If you are not sure about something, please ASK! Don’t wait until your deadline date to let editors know that you’re having trouble. Be assertive. Be a self-starter. Solve problems. Get help, and keep working.
Your story is never really “done.” It’s just that time runs out, and we have to publish. Have it finished and ready to print by deadline time, but keep working on it to update and improve it until the last possible moment.
End with three hashtags/pound signs/number signs. This indicates the end of the story. This is especially helpful if your story is printed out. It tells the person reading the draft that there is no more in case pages become separated.
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