1. Writing for Publications Ms. Dombrow
Feature Articles
Writing for Publications
Ms. Dombrow

2. What is a feature article?
A feature story is an article that is not meant to report breaking news but instead takes an in-depth look at issues behind a news story, often concentrating on background events, persons or circumstances.
What is a feature article?

3. Components of a Features Article
Feature stories place a greater emphasis on facts that have human interest.
Features put people in the story; they make the reader think and care.
Components of a Features Article

4. Angle- a way of looking at the subject of your article
You may write about anyone or anything in a feature article as long as you have a unique angle.
Make your readers look at that subject in a new way
Finding an Angle

5. Finding an Angle Example: Subject of Article: Tom Jury
You don’t want to write a list of everything about him and his life. That could be boring. Instead, pick one aspect of him/his life that you think readers will relate to or find interesting.
Angle: Jury’s experience travelling to China for 2 weeks in 2013.
This is relevant to the Lake Shore community because Tom is a student, but also because many other students are considering travelling to China.
Finding an Angle

6. Finding an Angle Example: Subject of Article: Kay Sumner
You don’t want to write a list of everything about her and her life. That could be boring. Instead, pick one aspect of her/her life that you think readers will relate to or find interesting.
Angle: Sumner’s experience as a transfer student to Lake Shore
This is relevant to the Lake Shore community because Kay is a student, but also because many other students have transferred or may decide to transfer within their high school career.
Finding an Angle

7. News Articles vs. Feature Articles
Timeliness- deals with current event and must be published soon
Timeless- can usually be published anytime
Follows inverted pyramid structure
Has a more narrative format with a definite beginning, middle & end
Stresses the 5Ws and 1H
Does not necessarily have 5Ws and 1H; delves deep into subject, giving a lot of details
Reader can read 1-2 paragraphs and understand topic
Reader must read entire article to really understand the subject
News Articles vs. Feature Articles

8. Leads in Feature Articles
A feature lead doesn't have to have the who, what, where, when and why in the very first paragraph, the way a hard-news lead does. Instead, a feature lead can use description or an anecdote to set up the story. And a feature lead can run for several paragraphs instead of just one.
Think of the lead as more of an “attention getter” from your other English classes. Feature leads must introduce your subject and your angle in an interesting way.
Leads in Feature Articles

9. Here’s a Pulitzer Prize winning example by Andrea Elliott of “The New York Times”:
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.
Sample Features Lead

10. The nutgraf (in a nutshell paragraph) is where the feature writer lays out for the reader exactly what the story is all about.
It usually follows the first few paragraphs of the scene-setting or story-telling the writer has done.
A nutgraf can be a single paragraph or more.
Nutgraf

11. Sample Nutgraf Continued from the Andrea Elliott article:
"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.
In Brooklyn, there is Mr. Shata.
Week after week, Muslims embark on dates with him in tow. Mr. Shata, the imam of a Bay Ridge mosque, juggles some 550 "marriage candidates," from a gold-toothed electrician to a professor at Columbia University. The meetings often unfold on the green velour couch of his office, or over a meal at his favorite Yemeni restaurant on Atlantic Avenue.
Sample Nutgraf

12. Sample Nutgraf Continued
So now we know – this is the story of a Brooklyn imam who helps bring young Muslim couples together for marriage. Elliott could just as easily have written the story with a hard-news lead like this:
An imam based in Brooklyn says he works as a chaperone with hundreds of young Muslims in an effort to bring them together for marriage.
That’s certainly quicker. But it’s not nearly as interesting as Elliott’s descriptive, well-crafted approach.
Sample Nutgraf Continued

13. Continuing your Feature
Let the story unfold naturally.
The conclusion should pack a punch. Give us something interesting!
An easy way to end your article is to pick a particularly poignant quotation about the subject.
Continuing your Feature

14. Do NOT
Tell the reader what to do. Example: “So the next time you’re walking down Main Street, stop in at Bagel Junction…” Nobody likes to be ordered around.
Knowingly use a cliché. Example: “Actions speak louder than words.”
Use the first-person singular (“I,” “me”) or plural (“we,” “us” “our”), unless it’s a first- person story. Example: don’t write “He knows more about movies than anyone I’ve ever met…” even if it’s true. The article isn’t about you!
Caution