WRITING A FEATURE
ARTICLE
DUE AT 1:15
• How is a feature article different from a
hard news story?
• List three things that spark your
curiosity and you would like to know
more about.
• List three issues that you feel
passionate about.
How is a feature article different from a
hard news story?
How is a feature article different from a
hard news story?
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It explores an issue in-depth
It is less time sensitive than a hard news story
There is more room for creativity in the writing style
Feature articles are highly descriptive
Feature writing can be the act of chronicling people’s life
experiences.
• It demands an intimacy and interaction in reporting not present in
hard news writing.
• You can take a stance- it does not have to be completely
objective.
It entails more than
gathering information
It is a gathering of scenes. Many feature
writers seek a cinematic approach –
describing or recreating dramatic scenes
through text.
Some types of feature articles
• The “news” feature
(ex. A profile of a community affected by the home foreclosure crisis or a feature about
the slow recovery of Haiti after the earthquake and investigative reporting piece that
breaks a news story)
• The “historical” feature (loosely tied to a newsworthy event –
construction workers unearth old trolley tracks in Manhattan – a story about
outdated modes of public transportation in NYC)
• The “overview” feature (date-rape or underage drinking on
campus, how advertising affects men’s body image, the life of a single mother,
steroid use in college sports – tying statistics to personal stories)
• The “profile” feature (the dance hall party and promoters scene
in Jamaica, Queens, the popular Afghan restaurant in Brooklyn, a child-welfare
nonprofit organization, the Newtown Creek)
What qualities make a good featurewriter?
• Curiosity
• The ability to get along with different
types of people
• Keen observation skills
Feature article ESSENTIALS
• A “hook” – at the beginning of the article
to grab the reader’s attention.
Can be an anecdote, a good quote, a description of a scene:
NO!
It is very important to have clean drinking water.
Many people around the world do not have access
to safe water, and as a result many children get sick,
even die. The water can be in short supply,
dirty and filled with parasites. The World Health
Organization estimates that over 10,000 kids
get sick every day from drinking dirty water.
Some even die.
YES!!
Zoila Andres, a young mother, left the house long before dawn to fetch
water.
She had to trudge through the brush, and dig through the
soil to bring home a bucket of dirty brown water.
She hopes her children won’t get sick from it.
But her children probably will get sick.
Over 10,000 do every single day. Many do not survive.
Successful Feature Writing
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Soft lead
Anecdotes!
Descriptive paragraphs
Narrative structure – character/conflict/resolution
SHOWING not TELLING
Choosing a topic
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What would YOU want to read about?
What are you curious about?
What are you passionate about?
Where is your area of expertise?
Choosing a topic
• Something you can do first-hand
reporting on
-- having access to people to interview
-- being able to observe scenes first- hand
What is your angle?
• How can you tell this story in a way that
hasn’t been told before?
• FIND A SINGLE FOCUS!
single motherhood
alcohol on campus
safe sex
the war in Afghanistan
student-led political movements
• Don’t be afraid to abandon your original
topic for a better one!!
• Over report
• Use your senses
• Use direct observations to make the
story come alive
• Details are indicative of a larger theme
Research methods
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NYT online – free
Government agency websites
Press releases
University website
Periodicals
Reference materials
Feature article examples
• In groups, read aloud the feature article excerpt
you have been given.
• What kind of feature article is it?
• What is the topic? What is the theme? What is the
writer’s angle on the theme?
• How has the author made the topic newsworthy?
• How does the writer engage the audience in the
opening paragraphs?
• Who does the author interview? How do they
incorporate research about the topic?
• Spend about 15 minutes discussing the answers
with your group. Be ready to share with the entire
Feature Article Pitch & Research Plan
Due at the beginning of class on 3/16. You must type and print.
Pitch the timetable for our class. Your final Feature article should be 3-5
pages and will count as your midterm.
Your pitch should be succinct and clear (up to one page).
Write your pitch as a narrative (i.e. For my feature article, I will write
about....). Within your pitch, you must answer the following questions:
What is your topic? What is your theme?
Why did you pick this topic (How does it relate to your life experience,
interests and/or goals)?
What insights will the public gain by reading your feature article (Why is it
important)?
Be prepared to share your idea with the class.
Research Plan
List the resources you plan to use to research your topic?
Write a pitch to your editor (me) for your feature article. Make sure to
choose a topic for which you have access to good sources and a scope that
is achievable in
• The young Egyptian professional could pass for any New York bachelor.
• Dressed in a crisp polo shirt and swathed in cologne, he races his
Nissan Maxima through the rain-slicked streets of Manhattan, late for a
date with a tall brunette. At red lights, he fusses with his hair.
• What sets the bachelor apart from other young men on the make is the
chaperon sitting next to him -- a tall, bearded man in a white robe and
stiff embroidered hat. "I pray that Allah will bring this couple together,"
the man, Sheik Reda Shata, says, clutching his seat belt and urging the
bachelor to slow down.
• Christian singles have coffee hour. Young Jews have JDate. But many
Muslims believe that it is forbidden for an unmarried man and woman to
meet in private. In predominantly Muslim countries, the job of making
introductions and even arranging marriages typically falls to a vast
network of family and friends.