Think no one reads yearbook stories? You’re not alone — I used to feel the same way in my first few years putting yearbooks together.
Focusing solely on photos felt like a creative rebellion against the mentor who guided me through my school’s media team. Sure, a picture’s worth a thousand words — but by adding writing to your yearbook pages, you give names to faces, meaning to moments, and context to memories.
Copy as Design
Good content drives great design. If you’re planning to include more written content in your yearbook, now’s the time to explore how copy can elevate your layout and storytelling.
Yearbook creator Holly McCallum includes the principal’s letters alongside community highlights, weaving her involvement through photos and written insights. (Treering Theme used: “Stick Together” — similar templates available in Easy Yearbooks.)
Headlines
Headlines help tie each spread back to the yearbook’s theme. Instead of simply labelling a page “Robotics,” push for something more meaningful. The font, weight, colour and placement of a headline should work together — just like your dominant photo — to set the tone.
Captions and Stories
While not every topic needs a full article, nearly every photo deserves a caption. Think of captions as entry-level storytelling. Compare a layout with just captions to one that includes a short story — you’ll immediately feel the difference.
Captions should sit close to the photos they describe. Meanwhile, stories can connect to the headline and subheadings, enriching the spread’s message.
How to Introduce Writing to Your Yearbook
Writing doesn’t need to feel daunting — especially for students who are more visually inclined. Start small. Use the “easy +1” method: begin with something simple, get comfortable with it, then add another layer.
1. Introduce a Question of the Day (QOTD)
Ask your yearbook team to interview four students per day with questions like:
- How do you relax after school?
- Which lunchbox snacks will you never outgrow?
- What’s your go-to study tip before exams?
Start with friends, then branch out. No repeats until everyone’s been asked. You can track this using a Google Form, a BOLO (Be On the Lookout) board, or a shared class list.
If six students each interview four people a day, you’ll add 120 unique student voices to your yearbook in just one week. These can be used as Q&As in the portrait section or woven into spreads across sport, the arts and student life.
2. Practice Interviewing Weekly
Repetition builds confidence. Take time to teach and practise interviewing in class:
- Share sample interviews and ask students to write missing questions.
- Pair up students to create mini-bios.
- Invite a teacher for a group interview activity.
- Reverse engineer the interview structure from a magazine article.
3. Get Out and Ask Great Questions
The quality of a yearbook interview depends on the quality of the questions. Tailor questions using the five common topic areas: definition, comparison, relationship, circumstance and testimony.
Then get out there — run group interviews with classes, clubs, or teams during breaks. You’ll often get better responses when people bounce off each other. That dynamic energy translates into better writing.
4. Start Small and Build Over Time
Remember: easy +1.
If your yearbook currently includes no writing, start with basic captions. Play with sentence structure. In year two, add expanded captions. In year three, add short stories. By year four, you might be including student profiles and feature writing. You don’t need to do it all at once. Tell your school’s story in a way that works for your team and your community.