Please note:

1. Please send your article to yp@scmp.com, along with high-res photos with captions.

What you need to know about filing text for Young Post:

1. Everything must be written in an MS Word document, or in the case of pictures, attached to the document.

2. Do not add any fancy layout to the body of the text. The story text must not be coloured, indented or contain pictures or tables. If you wish these to be included make a note <insert table1 here> in the text and mark it in red. Put the corresponding table at the bottom of the text, using the same label.

3. In the subject line of your email, put your school’s name and the name of the section you're writing for: Roll Call, Sport, Art, Academics, Activity, Student, and Reporters Club. If you're unsure where your story should go, name it appropriately to help us to decide where the story might run.

4. The first thing on your paper is your name, as you wish it to appear in the byline. Put your name, school name and contact details at the top of each word document. (Follow the style of the form below for convenience). Do not turn it into a page heading because it is not captured when the story is transferred into the system.

5. Next, tell us where the photos are. Even if they are attached to the email, tell us they are attached to the email.

6. Tell us who took the photos. If the photos are given by an agency, pleast note that in your copy.

7. Before the body of the story, Give us photo captions with names/numbers which correspond to the photos you will send. eg. Image 2: At the rugby match yesterday were (from left) John Smith, Joe Leung Kwai-yan, David Lam Ho-on, Kibble Chang Ho-ching, Heidi McCleod and coach Jayvee Khan. Photographer: James Wong Chun-on (student)

8. In the first sentence of the story, tell us what happened: Michael Tsang Wai-in, 14, of Shatin College broke the all-Hong Kong record for the Under-16 100 metres at Tseung Kwan O sports ground on Saturday.

9. By the end of the second paragraph, you should have answered the who, what, why, when, where and how of the story.

10. Next, put in the best quote you have from the whole story.

11. Then create a quote-detail sandwich until you are done.

12. Before you send your work in, check that you have spelled all the proper nouns (names, places, school names etc) correctly.

Here is a form to make it easier:

Name: (full name of the person writing the story eg. Mandy Ma Man-yi; Mrs Smith is not sufficient)

 _______________________________________________

Designation of person writing the story: eg. Form 4 student, Diocesan Girls’ School

_______________________________________

Contact details of person who can answer queries on the story (eg. the sports coach, the supervisor):

Phone: ________________________     Email:___________________________

Contact details of person who can answer queries about the PHOTOGRAPHS of the story:

Phone: ________________________     Email:___________________________

Are there images included in your story? (Please circle)

Yes                  No

School name:

___________________________________

Event name: (eg. Interschool rugby match against Creative Secondary School)

___________________________________

Date of event (DD/MM/YY):
___________________________________

Time of start and finish: (eg. 8am-10am)

___________________________________

Event venue/location (eg. Sydney, Australia; Shatin College sports field):

___________________________________

Score for sports matches (eg. Shatin College 11 - DGS 6):

___________________________________

Highlights (eg. Tries scored by Shatin College by (student’s name, age and form) converted by (student’s name, age and form):

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Photo Check:

Photographs don’t have to be a nightmare. Here are some general guidelines:

• All photos must have captions which will be written in the text file.

• All photos must tell us who took the picture or who gave you the picture.

• If there are five people or fewer in the photograph, we need all their names, captioned from left to right.

• Don't spam us with loads of photos. You have the power to decide which are the best and send only those. Five good photos are really a maximum, but feel free to indicate if there are more, as we might want to do a gallery.

What makes a good picture:

Pictures can define a story and attract a reader’s attention. But they need to be a certain kind of picture. What we look for in good pictures:

• Only a few people in the shot – large group pictures are static and don’t work for newspapers and online.

• Action. Rather than ask someone to stand still to have their picture taken, get them to do something and photograph them while they’re doing it. Often you can ask them to use their hands to explain something to you and that way you will get a range of expressions to photograph.

• A clean background – pictures taken against a solid background, like a plainly painted wall, always look better than those taken with random strangers or equipment behind the subject.

• We need both vertical and horizontal shots for stories.

• Think about what the story is about and what the picture will say about it, and try to select the best picture for that.

Copy start:

Story goes in here

COPY END

A final thought:

While we will try to accommodate all schools, in reality this is not possible as space and time are limited.