feature articles notes
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Explanation:
A feature article is the main news-related article in a magazine that highlights a particular person, place, or event in great detail. Typically, these nonfiction articles dive deeper into a story than regular articles. If you’re in need of some tips on writing a good feature article, get ready to have some fun. You’re going to be developing a human interest story that will appeal to a wide variety of readers.
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Tips on Writing a Good Feature Article
A feature article is the main news-related article in a magazine that highlights a particular person, place, or event in great detail. Typically, these nonfiction articles dive deeper into a story than regular articles. If you’re in need of some tips on writing a good feature article, get ready to have some fun. You’re going to be developing a human interest story that will appeal to a wide variety of readers.
Steps to Writing Feature Articles
Like most articles, a feature story follows a specific format and outline. There will always be a title/headline, deck, introduction, body, and conclusion. A good feature article contextualizes the story so it’s relatable and immediately relevant to the reader. Why should they care? What’s the angle? What direction are you taking?
In a way, a notable feature article will resemble a short story. You want tension and plot, a sense of progression, with some sort of payoff toward the conclusion. Who are the “characters” in your story? What is the central conflict? For more on that, check out Get Creative: How to Write a Short Story. The Headline
The headline or title of the article should grab the readers’ attention quickly so they’ll keep reading. It needs to highlight the general topic of the story. If you’re featuring a person, don’t just use their name as the headline. Include a unique detail that will be uncovered as they read on. For example:
David Young: The Man Who Restored Faith to the Darkest Village in Nepal
2. The Deck
The deck, also known as a subhead or standfirst, is your second chance to entire readers. While the title of the article will pop with a unique angle, the deck consists of one or two short sentences that’ll leave no question in the readers’ minds; they must read this article. It should capture the gist of the story. For example:
For years, the people of Nepal lived under a dark cloud of oppression. That is, until David Young instigated a faith movement that would completely reshape their lives.
3. The Introduction
Your ability to “hook” readers into the story continues in the introductory, or first, paragraph. The introduction should tell the reader why this story is important or worth their time, but in a sort of oblique way. This is your last chance to “hook” a reader before they flip the page or click away.
Be sure to keep your sentences short. Use this as an opportunity to say something attention-grabbing or something that’ll spark the reader’s interest. Always remember - the WHY is important. You establish the tone of your article in the introduction.
4. The Body
The body of the feature should be broken into sections with several headings for easy organization.
This section contains most of the details of the story. It includes names, places, times, and quotes related to the person, event, or organization. The opinions of the writer, those at the location of the story, and experts are presented in the body of the article. This is also the place to include any pictures that illustrate the story, as well as diagrams, charts, and other visual elements.
5. The Conclusion
The conclusion should leave a lasting impression on the reader and provoke some sort of reaction. It should prompt action on the part of the reader, encourage a change of opinion, or encourage the reader to make a decision.