An Article By Any Other
Name…..
The Low-Down on Feature Articles
What is a Feature Article?
Creative
Deals with real
events, issues, and
trends
Unlike news articles,
it places emphasis
on the people
involved rather than
on the facts
Written to a specific
audience
Author writes to
persuade readers to
adopt his opinion on
the topic
Organized with text
features
The Various Feature Articles
Human Interest
Personality
Process Analysis
How to (Skill or
Product)
Persuasive Article
Past Events
Technical/Informative
News Feature
How can I be creative & engage
the reader?
Anecdotes
Vignettes
Foreshadowing
Descriptions
Flashbacks
Tables
Comparisons
Sketches
Examples
Charts
Riddles
Snapshots
Pictures
Graphs
Quotes
Reasons/facts
Be Creative with Text
HEADINGS
“Subheadings”
FONTS
Italics
Bold print
Bullets
COLOR ink
The Human-Interest Feature
Most common feature
article
Reports success in
spite of great odds
Recalls tragic
predicament
Shares continuing
struggles supported
only by hope and fate.
The Past Events Feature
Might focus on a
historical event
Might focus on a
historical celebration
Stems from library
research and serves
as a human interest
history lesson
The News Feature
A human interest
focus on breaking
news
Adds personal
involvement to what
may otherwise be a
distant, unimportant
event
The Informational Feature
Insightful coverage of
topic
Detailed information
focused on one aspect
of a given topic
Makes personal
connection to the topic
and shows “voice”
Often refers to
research sources
The Personality Feature
Resembles a
characterization
Usually shows how a
person gained
recognition
The main character
may be known or
unknown but has
done something of
interest to others
The How-To Feature
Process analysis
article
Gives detailed steps
Written from
viewpoint of
informed writer to
less informed reader
Usually takes a doit-yourself approach
Features of “The Best” Articles
Personal experience with the product
Proof, along with examples, that this is
the best of its kind
Where to get the product
Cost of the product
Catchy title
Identify Topic and Audiences
Choose topic
Why ?
Who would want to
read this article?
Who is the primary
audience?
Analyze the Audience
Does the audience
know anything
about this topic?
What does the
audience need to
learn after reading
the article?
Engage the Reader
These make the article
more interesting
Anecdotes
Vignettes
Comparison/contrast
Quotes
Charts/graphs
Snapshots/sketches
Pictures
Descriptions
Facts
Foreshadowing
flashbacks
Organize the Information
Headlines
Catchy titles
Subheadings
Bullets
Bold print
Various fonts
Word Process
End-of-Year Jobs to
do in the LMC
1) Student aides
straighten and read all
sections.
2) Begin inventory while
school is still in session;
finalize (look for missing
copies, etc.)
3) Overdues for students
and teachers (Beth is
handling this)
4) Assess what teachers
still have magazines
checked out in their
name. Have Meredith
and Suzanne go
through the magazine
routing list to determine
who hasn’t returned a
magazine. Check to
see if the magazine is
filed before notifying
the teacher.
5) Dust/clean all tables,
chairs, and shelving
6) Begin gathering ideas
for a July 2004 book
order (new fiscal
year)—KBA 2004
nominees, Quick Picks,
etc.
7) Clean heads on our
VCR’s
8) Clean/organize our
own office areas—
throw away, etc.
9) Organize graduation
hoods and gowns after
graduation—hang up
and store in designated
area (in collaboration
with Allison)
10)
Follett database
management
 For all students who
failed, go ahead
and put them in the
grade below they
were in this school
year
 Graduate all seniors
who passed
 Promote all students
(make sure
detainees are done
first; make sure you
promote 11th, then
10th, then 9th).
11)
Contact Tim
Maggard before he
deletes his 8th graders.
Have him export his
graduates in patron
maintenance onto a
floppy disk for us by
name, barcode, and
ID.
12)
After locker
cleanout, collect more
library books
Column format
Spell check
Grammar check
Sources listed at
bottom of article
State the Purpose of the Article
Doesn’t necessarily
need to appear in
the article
Directs the writing
of the article
Example: As a concerned citizen of my country, I am
writing a feature article for residents because they need to
know about hazardous household waste and ways to
properly dispose of it.
©1997 Kentucky Writing Program
Gather Information (Research)
John Hardin Virtual Library
Kentucky Virtual Library
CultureGrams
Encyclopedias
Card Catalog
Newspapers
Magazines