Page 38 - Jostens Yearbook_Adviser Guide

BY THE NUMBERS

A yearbook should cover information in the
following areas:
The paper ladder should hang in a visible place
■ Student Life—25–35% of Coverage: in the yearbook room. Many schools mark each page CHRONOLOGICAL 2.3
Activities in and out of school that affect on the ladder diagonally corner to corner when it
reader’s lives (interests, trends, has been proofed and again when it has been COVERAGE
music, travel). submitted, creating an X on the page to indicate
that it is complete.
■ Academics—15–20% of Coverage:
Activities that involve the work of being
a student. With chronological organization, the yearbook staff is taking
■ Sports—15–20% of Coverage: Before, photos, gathering stories and creating spreads as events unfold.
during and after game season coverage. The yearbook, and hence the ladder, are organized to reflect the
■ People—25–30% of Coverage: Student, cadence of the school year rather than being organized by topic.
faculty and staff portraits and personality This helps meet publisher deadlines, leading to livelier yearbook
feature stories.
coverage and less stress.
■ Organizations—10–15% of Coverage:
Day-to-day activities emphasizing club
membership and actions.

An adviser might breakdown a 124-page book
as follows:
■ Student life: 24 pages (12 spreads)

■ Academics: 16 pages (8 spreads)
■ Sports: 16 pages (8 spreads)

■ Organizations: 10 pages (5 spreads)
A well organized ladder diagram
■ People: 18 pages (9 spreads)

■ Reference (index): 6 pages (3 spreads, allows you to look at the entire
Reference (club/group pics): 8 pages project as a whole, then break it
(4 spreads)
into manageable chunks.
■ Sales/Advertisements: 10 pages
(5 spreads)
■ Theme related (section openers, title, staff,
opening/closing): 16 pages (8 spreads)

From there, the staff team can brainstorm what
to cover. Glenbrook South High School, IL
EXAMPLE: Of the eight sports spreads, one
goes to football, one to boys basketball, one to
girls soccer, one to volleyball, and so on.

GETTING STARTED 39