Lecture 8: Feature Writing Exercises and Samples- ALEXIS JOHN B.

BENEDICTO

FEATURE WRITING EXERCISES-https: //www.scribd.com/document/419348493/ALEXIS-JOHN-B-BENEDICTO-

Characteristics-of-Editorial-Writing

Describe vividly your seatmate in a two-sentence paragraph.

Write a short (at most five paragraphs) feature article about abortion. It doesn’t matter if you are for or against it. What
is important is you remain factual yet entertaining, convincing and informative. Provide your own title. Show your work
to your group mates.

You are the feature editor of your school paper. This morning while you were on your way to school, you saw a Grade 4
pupil helping an old woman cross the street. Fourth year boys, who were playing nearby saw the old woman, but did not
care to help her.

You interviewed the young boy. Now write a feature story about the boy or about the incident. Supply the facts you
gathered from the interview. Remember, you are not writing an editorial. Note also that like an editor, a feature article
is hung on a natural or artificial news peg. Give an interesting and entertaining title.

***
Feature Examples

Topic: Abortion

COME TO me, Mama. Come, touch me and feel my pain. Don’t be afraid now, Mama. You weren’t when you killed me.

Here, touch this… can you feel it now, Mama? The excruciating pain that consumed my helpless body? You inflicted that,
remember?

Look at my body, now a mass of rotting flesh and coagulated blood. The dregs of what was a tiny human body. A body
that was soft with a tiny head, matted with a sheen of baby hair. A tiny body with a tiny heart that pulsated in time with
yours. These were my fingers and ohh!... Here’s my thumb which I sucked while snugly tucked inside you.

You see, I had long lashes just like Dad’s. My sensitive mouth has been just like yours. And here are my ears that heard
your quickening heartbeat when you’re afraid.

I could have been a wonderful child if you’ve let me live.

I could have been baby boy, just what Daddy wanted. A strong, healthy and bubbly bundle in your arms. My
hypersensitiveness would have exasperated you.

Daddy? Hmm… He could have coached me in playing basketball. He’ll be the passer and I am the shooter. I could have
grown into a writer. You would be proud of me because I’m going to join contests.
Mama, see I was alive, but not anymore. So, please let baby brother live. He could also be as wonderful as me. His life
wouldn’t be like mine. A life that never was.

Topic: Abortion

LISTEN TO the cry of the unborn.

Listen carefully and see. He is there—frail, delicate, heart beating with the glorious thump of life. Blood running in his
anemic veins, smooth hands, dainty feet, pink flesh, unseeing eyes all in the protective shell of his mother’s womb. His
soul’s voice cries out in joy as he looks forward to the bountiful harvest he will reap in life. A fresh breath of life; a new
creation carefully molded by the hands of God.

But listen. He is there. Crying out in excruciating pain. He feels the sharp tingle of needles tearing his flesh. His unseeing
eyes roll up. In confusion and rage. His once joyful soul now crying for the need of life. But no one heard him. No one
heeded his call as he plunged into the world of nullity. His last breath reeked of revenge. The unborn was silent.

Listen to the cry of the unborn.

They stare at you and contemplate their sweet revenge.

Look around you. The guilt-ridden eyes of women carrying this burden state back at you. They know their child will not
be able to feel its parts during the first recital. They know she will not be able to play Chinese garter or beat up the boys
next door because she is gone. They are gone. Millions of unborn children are presented with the gift of life only to be
taken away by selfish ambitions.

The burden they carry is their revenge. The guilt that is locked in their hearts is their revenge—the revenge of the
unborn.

Listen to the cry of the unborn.

Their chances in life were selfishly taken away. Their rights as human beings were unjustly abused. Their hearts and
souls yanked out and were swallowed up in a cloud as dark as ebony. They lust for death as revenge but they have no
voice. They cannot scream.

Listen to the cry of the unborn. They need you.

***

Tomorrow
By Pamela Joy Go, AdI-SMCS
· 700 words in 1 hour
· First Prize masterpiece, DSPC 2002
· Theme: Environmental Problems
· No. of participating schools: 25
HEAL the world,
Make if a better place
For you and for me
And the entire human race
There are people dying,
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place
For you and for me

I could only stare at the third-grade pupils as they interpret this Michael Jackson classic for their presentation during the
flag ceremony. They seem to be so full of life, so vibrant. Nothing in this world could seem to break the unbeatable
character they have glowing brightly inside them.

I sigh as my thoughts fall on the degrading society that we are having now. How long will these naïve tots have the
overwhelming spirit in them? How will they manage to smile?

Look around you, human. What do you see? The pressing issues concerning the destruction of Mother Earth is too
real…too hard to ignore.

The huge forest fires that terrorize countless of species, both here and abroad. The perennial garbage problem that
embraces the government like a cold pack of harsh ice. The dwindling population of all sorts of mammals and
reptiles…the endangered species. The red list is getting longer and longer. Soon, I doubt if we’ll ever be able to keep
track of all the creatures that have disappeared from the face of the earth forever.

Yes, we want to escape from these enigmas. We really want to. But listen. It’s also we who are keeping ourselves
chained to the enslaving powers of material riches. We are blinded by the glitter of gold every time we cut down trees.

However, there are better realities in this issue our ancient mentality should just think about. The contemporary
ambience of people all over the world getting more humane, more environment-friendly, more real is embracing us. Any
maybe, just maybe, we could start from here.

A year ago, I came across this Reader’s Digest article that suggested a different view of this dilemma. While countless
others would rather stick to the old, hopeless sense of presenting these inevitable facts, the article examined the
optimism that, surprisingly, never left us.

We still have a chance. At least, that’s what the article said. People are becoming civilized. We are no longer a heartless
breed of warm bodies out for nothing but earthly wealth. Through time, we have evolved to be persons with some
sense. And Mother Earth is pretty much depending on it. Her whole life, her whole existence is actually relying on this
so-called sensitivity that we are starting to acquire.

These are not made-up facts, ladies and gentlemen. No, this isn’t escapism. We are not merely creating this news for the
sake of lessening the parables that grasp us by the throat. This is reality.

And this is where we could start. Instead of being a wet blanket, why not take a positive paradigm shift? This maybe is
the breakthrough we have been waiting for. And this could take us somewhere in renovating our home, to say the least.
Yes, the predicaments around us are more than enough to last us a lifetime. There’s no way they’ll be solved the
moment we put our acts together. They may not even be solved in the entire life of this generation. They may not even
be solved at all. But let us begin. Let us start now.

In John F. Kennedy’s words, “United there’s little we cannot do. Divided, there’s little we can do.” If we hold hands now,
if we open our hearts to one another and disregard those barriers that keep us from being who we truly are, then
maybe we could still hang on to life.

As I watch the children hold hands and dance about the stage, I recognize in their eyes what we almost lost—hope. The
smiles pasted on their innocent faces spell a promise that there will be a tomorrow. And that tomorrow will surely be
better.

Tomorrow, the world will be healed.

Tomorrow, the world will be a better place.
For you and for me and the entire human race.

***
Lathalaing naglalarawan (Description)

Pagdalaw sa Lawa ng Bulusan

Ni Perlegio Paderes
Mataas na Paaralan ng Samar
Unang Gantimpala, NSPC 1993

KUNG sinasabing ang pluma ay higit ha pakapangyarihan kaysa anumang snadata, sa pluma man ay may higit pang
makapangyarihan. Ito ang ganda ng kalikasan.

Kahanga-hanga, makapitlag-puso, makalangit, kapita-pitagan at walang pinag-iwan sa isang tunay na paraiso. Ito ang
Lawa ng Bulusan, lawa para sa sinumang nilalang na ibig mapag-isa upang lasapin ang biyaya ng tunay na katahimikan sa
buhay o dili naman kaya’y upang lunasan ang hapdi ng puso sa pamamagitan ng walang sawang pagmasid sa mapang-
aliw at masaganang kagandahan ng buong pusong inihain ng kalikasan.

Sa aking nasaksihan sa una kong pagdalaw sa lawang ito na matatagpuan sa dakong timog silangan ng lalawigang
Sorsogon na may apatnapu’t limang kilometro mula sa punong bayan ay ang mga sumusunod:

Isang likas na daan o pilapil na maaring mapagdaanan na tuloy-tuloy sa buong paligid. Sa pampang naman ito ay
nakapalibot ang malilin na punong-kahoy na pawing nangayuko at animo’y nahihiyang nagbubulungan.

Sa paligid pa rin ay ang mgaburol na siyang nagsisilbing muog sa sinuman o anumang ibig magsamantala sa walang batik
na kagandahan nito. Sa libis naman ng burol ay para-parang inihasik and naglalakihan at nag-papaligsahang mga
magagandang bulaklak.

Tunay na kawili-wili at kahanga-hanga. Ang malamig na simoy nghangin ay nakapagpapadama na waring ang buhay ay
walang katapusan. Ito ang mga pangunahing katangian ng lawa ng Bulusan na may labing anim na hektarya ang lawak at
may tatlumpu’t dalawang metro ang lalim. Ang lawa ay tatlong daan at animnapu’t limang taong gulang na. Ito’y
maaaring marating sa pamamagitan ng bus o anumang sasakyang pangkalsada sa loob ng may humigit-kumulang sa
dalawa at kalahating oras.

Ibig ba ninyong dumalaw doon? Kayo’y malugod na inaanyayahan at buong pusong tatanggapin ng mapang-akit na
lawang nakahimlay sa tuktok ng higanteng bulkan.

***
Human Interest Feature Article

George, he’s a hero!

By Emilyn Martinez

IT IS “natural” for women to be lavanderas if that is the best thing that they can do for a living, but have you heard of a
guy who does laundry to support his family? Well, there is such an unusual guy in our school.

George Francis, a 17-year-old junior, has taken on the difficult responsibility of providing for his little sister and brother.
He is father and mother to them, since both his parents are deceased. His three other sisters have their own families.
Fortunately, his youngest brother is cared for by an aunt.

To be able to feed his siblings and send them to school, George does the laundry of a family in Moriones. Saturdays, he
washes their week’s laundry and Sundays, he earns them, a backbreaking job that assures him P400 a week. And for
school days, at 5 p.m., when his classes are over, he cleans the house of his amo for a monthly wage of P500. In one
month, he earns a total of P2,100 which he says is enough for their food, daily baon and monthly rent of P300.

“I’ve been doing this for three years now,” he says. “Mahirap, pero nasanay na ako (It’s hard but I’m already used to it).”
Despite his work, he manages to get good grades. And although he has so much to do, he does his share of the
housework because he doesn’t want to tire out his brother and sister “I want them to concentrate on their studies,” he
says.

George Francis is only one of our many students who must struggle daily in order to survive. If Rhona Mahilom, the girl
from Negros who saved her younger sisters and brothers when their house caught fire, is a hero, George is a hero for
saving his sister and brother from starvation, for giving them a home and family to afford them the security they badly
need in their formative years.

George’s touching story serves as an inspiration to us. We give you, George, a big round of applause. We are proud of
you and may your tribe increase.
 How To Write a Feature Story

Popular content of print, electronic and Internet media

What Are Feature Stories?

 Feature stories are human-interest articles that focus on particular
people, places and events.

 Feature stories are journalistic, researched, descriptive, colorful,

thoughtful, reflective, thorough writing about original ideas.

 Feature stories cover topics in depth, going further than mere hard news
coverage by amplifying and explaining the most interesting and
important elements of a situation or occurrence.

 Feature stories are popular content elements of newspapers, magazines, blogs, websites, newsletters, television
broadcasts and other mass media.
While journalists reporting late-breaking hard news doesn't have enough preparation time and copy length to include
much background and description, writers of features have the space and time to evoke imagery in their stories and fill
in the details of the circumstances and atmosphere.
 A feature story is not meant to report the latest breaking news, but rather an in-depth look at a subject.

 Feature articles range from the news feature that provides sidebar background to a current event hard news
story, to a relatively timeless story that has natural human interest.

 Features generally are longer than hard-news articles because the feature penetrates deeper into its subject,
expanding on the details rather than trying to concentrate on a few important key points.

 In hard news stories, often referred to as inverted pyramid style, the reporter makes the point, sets the tone,
and frames the issue in the first paragraph or two.

 In a feature story, on the other hand, the writer has the time and space to develop the theme, but sometimes
postpones the main point until the end. The whole story does not have to be encapsulated in the lead.
Typical types

There are many kinds of feature stories. Here are some popular types:
 Human Interest: The best-known kind of feature story is the human-interest story that discusses issues through
the experiences of another.

 Profiles: A very common type of feature is the profile that reveals an individual's character and lifestyle. The
profile exposes different facets of the subject so readers will feel they know the person.
  How-To: These articles help people learn by telling them how to do something. The writer learns about the topic
through education, experience, research or interviews with experts.

 Historical Features: These features commemorate important dates in history or turning points in our social,
political and cultural development. They offer a useful juxtaposition of then and now. Historical features take
the reader back to revisit an event and issues surrounding it. A variation is the this date in history short feature,
which reminds people of significant events on a particular date.

 Seasonal Themes: Stories about holidays and the change of seasons address matters at specific times of a year.
For instance, they cover life milestones, social, political and cultural cycles, and business cycles.

 Behind the Scenes: Inside views of unusual occupations, issues, and events give readers a feeling of penetrating
the inner circle or being a mouse in a corner. Readers like feeling privy to unusual details and well kept secrets
about procedures or activities they might not ordinarily be exposed to or allowed to participate in.
Non-fiction stories

Feature stories are journalistic reports. They are not opinion essays or editorials. They should not be confused with
creative writing or works of fiction.
 The writer's opinions and attitudes are not important to the story.

 The writer keeps herself or himself out of the story.

 Writing in the third person helps maintain the necessary distance.

Telling stories

Hard news stories report very timely events that have just occurred. Feature stories, on the other hand, are soft
news because they are not as timely, not as swiftly reported. Feature writers have the extra time to complete
background research, interviews and observation for their stories.

Here are some suggestions for polishing feature writing skills and developing an eye for feature story ideas.
 Feature stories give readers information in a pleasing, entertaining format that highlights an issue by describing
the people, places, events and ideas that shape it.

 Feature stories are really more like nonfiction short stories than hard news stories.

 While there should a news peg for the existence of a story at a particular time, the immediacy of the event is
secondary in a feature story. In fact, sometimes there is no immediate event.

 The power of a feature story lies in its ability to amplify the focus on an issue through first-rate story telling,
irony, humor, human appeal, atmosphere and colorful details.

 Features have a clear beginning, middle and end and are longer than hard-news stories.
Gathering data

Journalists use three tools to gather information for stories: observation, interview and background research.
After completing these, the writer brings the story to life through colorful description, meaningful anecdotes and
significant quotes.
 These elements are obtained when interviewing and observing by jotting down everything encountered –
smells, noises, colors, textures, emotions, details seen and heard in the surroundings.

 The journalist keeps an open mind while interviewing subjects and researching sources.

 The writer avoids steering the story or imposing personal ideas on the sources.

 The writer avoids deciding on the theme of the story until sufficient information has been gathered to show a
direction or point of view.
Story format

The information on a feature is organized differently from hard news stories. Sometimes a writer uses several
paragraphs of copy at the outset to engage the reader before getting on with the main elements of the story.

After the title and opening paragraph grab a reader, narrative hooks are used to persuade the reader to continue
reading. These hooks are attractive story elements such as action, mystery, drama or appealing characters intended to
pull the reader forward through the story. They are complex narratives that come to life through colorful description,
meaningful anecdotes and significant quotes.
 In hard news stories, the reporter makes the point, sets the tone, and frames the issue in the first paragraph or
two.

 In feature stories, the whole story does not have to be encapsulated in an inverted pyramid lead. The writer can
develop the storyline in a variety of ways and choose to postpone the main point until later in the copy or even
the end.
A writer can choose to tell the story out of order to engage the reader's interest.
 A story could begin with a dramatic moment and, once the reader is curious, the story could flash back to the
history needed to understand it.

 A story-within-a-story could be used with a narrator in the outer story telling the inner story to satisfy the
curiosity of readers.

 A storyline could alert readers that the story began in a way that seemed ordinary, but they must follow it to
understand what happened eventually.
As with any news reporting, feature stories are subject to the journalistic standards of accuracy, fairness and precision.
The quality of a story is judged on its content, organization and mechanics.

Feature writers use The Associated Press Stylebook for correct journalistic style.

How long are these articles?

 Newspaper features often are 500 to 2500 words in length.

 Magazine features usually are 500 to 5,000 words.

  Features on websites and blogs generally range from 250–2500 words, but hard drive spaces are relatively
inexpensive, so the length could vary dramatically through the use of non-linear hyperlinking of content.

 Any medium might use a shorter or a longer story than usual, depending on its perceived value.

 Attention spans seem to grow ever shorter so brevity is valued. More than ever, all writing today needs to be
clear and concise.
Illustrations

Every story is illustrated, usually with one or more photographs, but the art can be drawings, paintings, sketches, video
or machinima, colorful graphs and charts, or other creative expressions depending on the medium for which the feature
is packaged for dissemination.

Is this just for print journalists?

As newspapers and other print media face stiffer competition today from Internet news media, more feature stories are
published because they can be more engaging to read. Wire services, such as the Associated Press and Reuters, which
once distributed mostly hard news, now send feature stories to members.

Public relations professionals frequently write feature articles. For instance, a company newsletter story profiling
employees voluntarily helping the local community could benefit employees and their families as well as the firm's
stakeholders. Or a profile of a corporate CEO could be released to the media when the firm makes news.

Broadcast journalists use human interest stories, profiles, historical pieces, seasonal packages, behind the scenes
revelations and even how-to descriptions. These can be seen and heard everywhere in television and radio news.

A typical television news package includes an edited set of video clips for a story narrated by a reporter following a
written script. Unlike a magazine article, for example, the TV feature story also will have audio, video, graphics and video
effects. A news anchor with an over-the-shoulder graphic will be seen reading a lead-in introduction before the package
is aired and concluding the story with additional information called a tag.