Page 164 - Jostens Yearbook_Adviser Guide

A simple editing strategy for Draft One that might help non-writers better identify issues, is to edit with the word PROS WHO KNOW
“perhaps.” Perhaps expresses possibility or uncertainty. By editing with perhaps, students are challenged to find
the aspects of the story that are uncertain and need clarification. They may also choose to edit with the word
“suppose” or “maybe.” All three allow the reader to pose questions to the writer. USING A STYLE GUIDE

For example, Draft One tells the story of how dangerous of a sport football has become. An editor might remark, After the editors and I tired of repeatedly marking the same mistakes on copy and captions,
“Perhaps a student (or students) were injured during the season. Who are they? What happened? What’s their I decided enough was enough and hurriedly created our first writing style guide that we made
story?” Or an editor might say, “Maybe the protective gear isn’t that protective?” This might allow the story to accessible to all the staffers as they worked on spreads the rest of the year. Because we followed
incorporate more information about just what gear athletes have that protects them and how or why does it fail. AP (Associated Press) Style, I included some commonly used rules from there as well as style
particular to our publication (Homecoming or homecoming, titles for teachers and students, etc.).
EDITING FOR CONSISTENCY: USING A STYLE GUIDE
It helped so much that by the beginning of the next school year, I had added more items with the
■ Style guidelines can help keep copy understandable and readers engaged in your writing. editors’ input and shared the list right away. Actually, I taught the list—and that made all the

■ Style guidelines help staffs to establish and promote consistency in the copy throughout the book. difference. It was so important for establishing consistency throughout the book that I created a
For example, create an attribution style. Attribution is how you credit a source with a quote. A standard test over the style sheet, and it was a major grade. I even shared tips via Twitter and Instagram
style for attribution is “Quote,” name said. This places an emphasis first on what was said, then on who said during the days leading up to the test. (Former students who followed me even looked forward
it and finally and least important, the completing word “said.” to seeing those posts and always commented.) For students who didn’t take the test seriously
■ Once established, these rules become the standard by which you give your book a consistent edge. enough and didn’t do well, I always offered a retest. It wasn’t just for a grade—it was crucial for
the success of our publication for them to learn it.

Over the years, the style sheet was a living document that changed according to that particular
staff’s needs. Sometimes, the editors decided they wanted to handle something differently, and
A LITTLE BIT OF YEARBOOK STYLE we’d make sure the style sheet reflected it. The bottom line was consistency. We made it available
as a PDF and emailed it to all staffers as well as printed out hard copies and placed them in a
PROPER ATTRIBUTION OF QUOTES: “This is the first sentence of a quote,” Title Name Name said. “This is the second sentence.” or “This is the first part of the
sentence,” Title Name Name said, “and here is the rest.” Note: it’s Name Name said, not said Name Name, unless you have a long descriptor following the name: “I love table-top file in our classroom—we wanted it to be as easy as possible to use and accessible at
yearbook most of the time,” said yearbook adviser Cindy Todd, who has advised the El Paisano for 16 years. And remember: Each quote gets its own paragraph.
NAMES AND TITLES: Use both first and last name when identifying a subject with a title on first reference. Courtesy titles (Mrs., Mr.) should be avoided and may only all times as staffers worked on spreads. It made the staffers’ jobs easier, proved invaluable for the
be used in quotes. Teachers: English teacher Valerie Taylor; if it’s in quote: Mrs. Taylor. Coaches: head football coach Todd Dodge; if it’s in a quote: Coach Dodge. If
they have a Ph.D., then Dr. precedes their name on the first reference only (Dr. John Carter), afterward use last name only (Carter). Don’t capitalize titles before names,
unless it’s at the beginning of a sentence, ex: senior Jordan Severt, quarterback senior Jordan Severt, band director Kerry Taylor. editors and helped save my sanity. Every staff needs a style guide.
Note: players’ positions are noted before the grade level.
CAPITALIZATION: Use capitals when referring to the official course title: Biology I, World History, but not when the class is used as a description: “My biology class is
doing a lab tomorrow.” Languages are always capitalized (English, Spanish, German, etc.), as are months and days of the week. The names of official school clubs or
groups are capitalized: Student Council, Lady Hornets, Featherduster but not marching band, pep band or yearbook. Homecoming is capitalized if used as a noun, but
not when it’s used as an adjective: homecoming dance. On sports teams, JV is capitalized but not junior varsity; grade level is lowercase: freshman (not freshmen), as
are color teams: red team.
DATES: Spell the names of months if they’re used alone: One of my favorite months is December. If they’re used with a specific date, abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept.,
Oct., Nov. and Dec.: Sept. 30 is one of the best days of the year. As a matter of fact, Sept. 30, 1958, was one of the best days in history. Note how the year is set off by
commas, but don’t use the year unless it’s a year other than the current school year.
TIMES: 9:30 a.m., 10 p.m., noon, midnight
WHO, WHICH AND THAT: Use who when referring to people: The girls who made the varsity soccer team had to be at practice at 7 a.m. That and which refer to
inanimate objects and to animals without a name: that textbook, the dog, which ran on the field. Use that for essential clauses and without clauses: I remember the day
that we met. Use which with nonessential clauses and use commas: The team, which finished last a year ago, is in first place.
Tip: If you can drop the clause and not lose the meaning of your sentence, use which; otherwise use that.
PUNCTUATION RULES
■ No comma before “and” in a series: Yearbook class is stressful, entertaining and fun.
■ Hyphens: When a compound modifier — two or more words that express a single concept — precedes a noun, use a hyphen to link the words unless the words
end in -ly: They are now the first-place team. She has a full-time job. That’s an easily remembered rule.
■ But if the modifiers follow the noun, no hyphens: The team won first place. She works full time.
■ Dashes: Use to denote an abrupt change in thought in a sentence or an emphatic pause: We will have a party next week — if we finish our deadline by Friday.
Use an EM dash and put a space on both sides of it.
■ Ellipsis: Space it as if it’s a word: I have so much to say on this topic, and I could go on and on ... but I won’t.
■ Only one space after a period and between sentences. Use exclamation points sparingly.
■ Do not use the apostrophe after the s in subvarsity girls basketball, varsity boys soccer, etc.
■ Hyphenate cross-country.
■ Italicize all titles of books, plays, songs, etc.
NUMBERS
Generally, zero through nine are spelled out, 10 and above are numerals unless they begin a sentence. However, numerals are always used for:
■ Dollar amounts: Cost for the jackets was $25. Two quarters equal 50 cents.
■ Ages: She was 4 when she moved to Austin. The 4-year-old boy is my nephew. Cindy Todd
■ Dates: July 4 is one of my favorite days. (no 4th!)
■ Measurements: 3 ounces. TAJE Executive Director
■ Scores: The tennis team won the match 11-2.
■ In track: use 3 minutes, 26.1 seconds on first reference in stories; 3:26.1 in subsequent references in stories and for all captions.
■ Distances: use 26-10 1/2 for 26 feet 10 and one-half inches.
■ Spell out percent; don’t use %
Consult the AP Stylebook for uses not listed here and for specific sports references. Handout inspired by Cindy Todd, TAJE, TX.
© 2018 by Jostens, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Westlake High School, TX
164 SECTION 7.5 REVISING AND EDITING