An Article By Any Other Name…..The Low-Down on Feature Articles

What is a Feature Article?

CreativeDeals with real events, issues, and trendsUnlike news articles, it places emphasis on the people involved rather than on the facts

Written to a specific audienceAuthor writes to persuade readers to adopt his opinion on the topicOrganized with text features

The Various Feature ArticlesHuman InterestPersonalityProcess AnalysisHow to (Skill or Product)Persuasive ArticlePast EventsTechnical/InformativeNews Feature

How can I be creative & engage the reader?

AnecdotesVignettesForeshadowingDescriptionsFlashbacksTablesComparisonsSketches

ExamplesChartsRiddlesSnapshotsPicturesGraphsQuotesReasons/facts

Be Creative with Text

HEADINGS

“Subheadings”

FONTSItalics

Bold printBullets

COLOR ink

The Human-Interest FeatureMost common feature articleReports success in spite of great oddsRecalls tragic predicamentShares continuing struggles supported only by hope and fate.

The Past Events Feature

Might focus on a historical eventMight focus on a historical celebrationStems from library research and serves as a human interest history lesson

The News Feature

A human interest focus on breaking newsAdds personal involvement to what may otherwise be a distant, unimportant event

The Informational FeatureInsightful coverage of topicDetailed information focused on one aspect of a given topicMakes personal connection to the topic and shows “voice”Often refers to research sources

The Personality FeatureResembles a characterizationUsually shows how a person gained recognitionThe main character may be known or unknown but has done something of interest to others

The How-To FeatureProcess analysis articleGives detailed stepsWritten from viewpoint of informed writer to less informed readerUsually takes a do-it-yourself approach

Features of “The Best” Articles

Personal experience with the productProof, along with examples, that this is the best of its kindWhere to get the productCost of the productCatchy title

Identify Topic and Audiences

Choose topicWhy ?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

AnecdotesVignettesComparison/contrastQuotesCharts/graphsSnapshots/sketchesPicturesDescriptionsFactsForeshadowingflashbacks

Organize the Information

HeadlinesCatchy titlesSubheadingsBulletsBold printVarious fonts

Word Process

Column formatSpell checkGrammar checkSources listed at bottom of article

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 J uly 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

State the Purpose of the ArticleDoesn’t necessarily need to appear in the articleDirects 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 LibraryKentucky Virtual Library

CultureGramsEncyclopediasCard CatalogNewspapersMagazines