Sports Captions

• Writing sports captions is the same as writing other captions, except the sportswriter must do the following:–Learn the particulars of the game

–Know the jargon associated with the sport

Group effort

• Work in teams of 2-4 sportswriters

• Sports caption writing is aided by having an athlete working with you

What you need• Photo

• Information sheet

Just the facts• Using first and last names,

identify everyone in the photo, including opponents

• Identify athletes by designations specific to the sport (outfielder, center, guard, etc.)

Just the facts• Interview people in the picture• Interview people associated

with the activity: managers, trainers, coaches, fans

• Find out what happened before, during and after the action pictured

Write Now• Describe the action

using present tense

• Include all relevant information– Names and

positions of players (jersey #)

– Significance of the action

Write NowArkansas forward Michael Williams (#31) dunks over Kentucky defenders Cedric Dickson (#10) and George Johnson (#21).

Keep on Writing• Include additional

information

• Do not use the name of your school or mascot unless it is needed to eliminate confusion

Keep on WritingForward Michael Williams (#31) dunks over Kentucky defenders Cedric Dickson (#10) and George Johnson (#21), putting the Razorbacks up by two points just before the half.

Keep on Writing• Write an additional

sentence in past tense that includes key information not readily apparent from the picture

Keep on WritingForward Michael Williams (#31) dunks over Kentucky defenders Cedric Dickson (#10) and George Johnson (#21), putting the Razorbacks up by two points just before the half. Williams posted a career high 32 points.

Take the Lead• Write an attention getting word or phrase that links the caption to the picture

Take the LeadAfter catching an alley-oop pass

Making his point

Slammin’

Write TightEdit caption- Is there too much or too little information?- Are there redundancies?- Are verb tenses correct?

Final DraftAlley-oop! Forward Michael Williams (#31) dunks over Kentucky defenders Cedric Dickson (#10) and George Johnson (#21), putting the Razorbacks up by two points just before the half. Williams posted a career high 32 points.