| Date post: | 03-Aug-2015 |
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Education |
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Top tips for writing feature articles
• A feature story differs from a straight news story in one respect – its intent.
• A news story provides information about an event, idea or situation. • The feature does a bit more – it may also interpret news, add depth
and colour to a story, instruct or entertain.
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Structure :
1. A catchy – clever – attention grabbing and visually interesting headline!
2. The introduction is one of the most important part – grab the attention of your reader, hook them in. 1. Use drama, emotion, quotations, rhetorical questions,
descriptions, allusions, alliteration and metaphors.
3. The body of the article needs to stick to the ideas or answer any questions raised in the introduction1. Try to maintain an "atmosphere“ / tone / distinctive voice
throughout the writing
4. The conclusion should be written to help the reader remember the article. Use a strong punch-line
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Catchy, visually-interesting headline
this one uses an allusion to Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit
Attention-grabbing “hooks” which set tone and ideas of the article
1st paragraph expands on the main “hook” which sets tone and focus of the article
“time-line” of images – with captions and “hook” heading
“text box” quote pasted into article – a “hook” to grab more attention and can be found in the body of the article
Visually-interesting image/photograph which matches the tone and content of the written text
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Some points to keep in mind:
0Focus on human interest - the tone and emotion you put into the article make it either interesting or boring.
0Be clear about why you are writing the article. Is it to inform, persuade, observe, evaluate, or evoke emotion?
0Write in the active voice. In active writing, people do things. (Passive sentences often have the person doing the action at the end of the sentence or things being done “by” someone).
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For inspiration… check-out other feature articles!
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0Don't rely on the computer spell-checker - especially those with a U.S. dictionary.
0Decide on the ‘tense' of your story at the start and stick to it. Present tense usually works best.
0Avoid lengthy, complex sentences
0Avoid lengthy, complex paragraphs.
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0 Accuracy is important - you can interpret and “embroider” but not lie!
0 Keep your audience clearly in mind - what really matters to them?
0 Avoid to many clichés (“cutting edge”, “world beating”, “revolutionary” ) and sentimental statements - especially at the end of your article.
0 Use anecdotes and direct quotes to tell the story - try not to use too many of your “own” words.
0 Research / consider more than one point-of-view to provide a more complete and balanced report
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Some examples of what feature articles look like…
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Layout of a feature article: template
