If you ever hear anyone yell out in a yearbook room, “I hate orphans!”, it isn’t because they are mean and insensitive. It’s because someone wasn’t following journalistic copy standards.

• An orphan is one word at the bottom of a paragraph or column. It is just hanging out by itself and creates awkward white space that makes it hard for the reader to move to the next paragraph or column.
• The moral of the story: Don’t leave your words all alone. Make sure they have some friends.

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “O” card, go to the “Adviser
Resources” section of www.theyearbookladies.com

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