UPAR 2017 07 Cutlines

5. Writing Cutlines
ACCURACY – BREVITY – CLARITY

6. Cutlines/Captions
Information that accompanies visual information
products to help meet communication objectives
◦ Explains the content of the image or video
◦ Answers who, what, when, where, why
◦ Summarize
◦ Be Accurate
◦ Names, ranks, equipment, locations, units
◦ Check spelling, grammar and style
◦ Be Brief
◦ Only write what is necessary to tell the story of the image
◦ You can convey a great deal of information in only a few sentences –
don’t use 15 words where five will do
◦ Be Clear
◦ Consider your audience – Construct captions that can be
understood by a nonmilitary reader
CUTLINES ARE REQUIRED

7. Cutlines – Information to Get
Who is in the photo? Who is the subject of the photo?
◦ Ranks, unit names, service
What is in the photo? What is the action taking place?
◦ Use active voice. The subject IS doing something.
◦ Be simple when describing the action
When is the action taking place?
◦ Date, training event
Where is the action taking place?
◦ Geographic location – name of base – facility
Why is the action taking place? Why does it matter?
◦ What is the purpose of the event, exercise or operation depicted?

8. Cutline Structure
Sentence one
◦ Who, what, where and when in the active voice
◦ Sgt. 1st Class David Earle, an Officer Candidate School Instructor
with the1-169th Regiment (Regional Training Institute), Connecticut
Army National Guard, participates in the stress shoot portion of the
2016 State Best Warrior Competition at East Haven Rifle Range, East
Haven, Conn., April 1, 2016.
Following Sentences
◦ Why in the past tense
◦ Any other additional information
◦ “The stress shoot pushes Soldiers to zero and qualify with their
assigned weapon while placed under physical and mental stress.”
◦ ”More than 30 Soldiers of the Connecticut Army National Guard participated in
the 2016 Best Warrior Competition March 31-April 3, 2016.”
Attribution
◦ Who took the photo
◦ (Photo by Maj. Joseph Brooks, 130th Public Affairs Detachment,
Connecticut Army National Guard

9. Cutline Rules
Associated Press style rules apply
Service Member Affiliation
◦ Use “of, assigned to, attached to, or with…” NOT From
No shorthand for units
◦ Alpha Company, 1-102nd Infantry Regiment, Connecticut Army National
Guard
◦ First Company, Governor’s Horse Guard
List units smallest to largest
Do not put kids (under 18) names in captions
Three or less people – full ID for all
Four or more – generalize “Members of…”
◦ Except in the case of a high ranking official or a VIP
Indicate position by using commas following left to right

10. Cutline Rules
Dates
◦ Month Day, Year
◦ March through July – Spell out
◦ Aug. through Feb. – abbreviate
DON’Ts
◦ Use day of the week
◦ Say it happened “on” the date
Locations
◦ Spell out states!

11. Spc. Janira Tadeo, Sgt. 1st
Class Leslie Platt and
Sgt. Joe Rourke, of the
143rd Military Police
Company, Connecticut
Army National Guard,
complete their crew
serve weapon
qualification with the
M240B machine gun at
Ft. Dix, New Jersey, June
1, 2016. The 143rd also
conducted a combat
support field training
exercise while on their
two week annual
training at Ft. Dix.
(Photo by Sgt. Joshua
Quint, 143rd Military
Police Company,
Connecticut Army
National Guard)

12. Brig. Gen. Fran Evon
(left), Assistant
Adjutant General of
the Connecticut
National Guard, and
Maj. Alan Gilman
(right), Commander of
the 6th Recruiting and
Retention Battalion,
Connecticut Army
National Guard, help
the staff cut the ribbon
to officially open the
new downtown
Recruiting Center in
Hartford, Connecticut,
Nov. 9, 2016. Photo by
Ms. Allison Joanis,
State Public Affairs
Office)

13. Spc. Hank Scorpio (left),
assigned to Delta Company
1-102nd Infantry Regiment
and Pvt. Frank Grimes,
assigned to the 1048th
Transportation Company
fight to cross the finish line
during the Army Physical
Fitness Test event of the
2016 State Best Warrior
Competition at Camp
Niantic, Connecticut, April
1, 2016. More than 30
members of the
Connecticut Army National
Guard competed in the
four-day event for the titles
of 2016 Soldier and
Noncommissioned Officer
of the Year. (Photo by Staff
Sgt. Benjamin Simon, Joint
Force Headquarters, Public
Affairs)

14. Col. Frank Detorie (left),
Commander of the 103rd
Air Wing, Connecticut Air
National Guard, provides
Lt. Gen. L. Scott Rice
(right), Director of the
Army National Guard, with
a tour of the newly-
renovated hangar at
Bradley National Guard
Base, East Granby,
Connecticut, Oct. 16,
2016. Since converting to a
C-130H mission, the
Connecticut Air National
Guard has seen many
changes to its facilities in
order to support the
tactical airlift platform.
(Photo by Staff Sgt. Jeremy
Bowcock, 103rd Air Wing
Public Affairs)