What is Feature Writing?

 Feature stories deal with aspects beyond the bare facts of the news. They may inform but the dominant purpose is to
entertain.
 A feature story may have anything under the sun for its subject.
 A feature story, just like the news story, has interesting information to tell. But the feature story does not simply inform. It
may explain or supplement the news. Yet, while it explain, it is not opinionated like the editorial.
 Of all the articles in a newspaper or magazine, the feature story is the most varied in scope, purpose and style. But
whatever the purpose or style, features add life and zest to any publication.

Qualities of Feature Articles

 It deals with any topic.  It could be formal or informal the details, it is still anchored
 It usually entertains more and written in any form and on facts.
often than it informs, in style, but well organized.  It can be garnished with
instructs or advises.  It may or may not be timely. adjectives, figures of speech,
 It may be long or short as  It begins with a novelty lead. dialogue, anecdote, local
long as it covers the subject  It is written in ascending color, and idiomatic
adequately and keeps it interest. expressions.
interesting to the readers.  It is based on facts. Though  It can be written in the first,
 It may be light or serious, sometimes, the writer uses second or third person.
depending on its purpose. his imagination to play up

Kinds of Feature Story

1. Human Interest Feature  It describes the place and the kind of people
 A story that somehow involves people and their the writer has met during his travel.
troubles, failures and successes. 7. Entertainment Feature
 It appeals to the emotion and readers can relate  Story with wit and humor and aims to entertain
to it, because somehow, it happened to them, the readers not only of the unusual topic, but
too. also in the style of writing and the kind of
2. Personality Feature language used.
 It offers a semi-biographical account of a  It also includes crossword puzzle, maze, and
newsworthy person. others.
 The information usually comes from interview 8. “How-to” Feature
with successful people or celebrity.  Aims to explain a process or how a certain
 Feature writers should prepare questions that product or service is made or rendered.
will shed light on the individual life. 9. Personal Experience Feature
3. Historical Feature  Any unusual experience, usually written in first
 It narrates the evolution of something like the person
name of a particular place, origin of a 10. Interview Feature
celebration and other.  In the form of question and answer with a little
4. Analytical Feature introduction
 It dissects problem, such as school vandalism or 11. Unusual Feature
student cheating and describe how some people  It deals with paranormal beings like witch,
would try to solve the difficulty. ghost, and the like.
5. Seasonal Feature 12. Science and Technology Feature
 It presents new angles on an old angle with  It features anything related to science and
some fresh insights of information. technology.
6. Travelogue

Elements of a Good Feature Story

1. Creativity  The feature story, while lacking in hard news
 Unlike news writing, feature writing allows a value, can constructively inform the reader of a
reporter to create a feature story virtually at situation or aspect of life that may escape
will. coverage in hard news story.
 Although he is expected to observe accuracy, 4. Entertainment
but he is allowed to use his imagination to  The feature is a welcome break in the monopoly
enhance the readability of the story. of nerve-chilling news of murder, scandal,
2. Subjectivity disaster, corruption and controversy, which
 Feature articles can be written in the first comprise much of the hard news.
person, allowing the writer to inject his own 5. Unperishability
thoughts and emotions.  Unlike news that should be written immediately
 Although the writer is also trained in objective to beat deadline, feature writers rarely suffer
reporting, the use of extant facts can be more deadline pressure.
readable, informative and entertaining.  He can still rewrite and improve the quality of
3. Informative the article to the maximum.
Sources of Feature Articles
1. Experience 7. Movies
2. Observation 8. Casual conversation
3. Reading materials like newspapers, books, 9. Travel
magazines and others 10. Tourist spots
4. Special events like anniversaries, holidays 11. Fads
5. Advertisements 12. Interview
6. Speeches and commentaries 13. Imagination

Qualities of a Good Feature Writer

1. Inquisitive
2. Eager to learn
3. Sympathetic towards other people’s feelings
4. Capable of seeing beneath the surface of ordinary event
5. Keen observer
Steps in Writing Feature Articles
1. Choose topic, which you know very well. 9. Place direct quotation in the beginning.
2. Limit your subject to just one specific area. 10. Use simple words and shorter paragraphs.
3. Think of a more interesting and fresh angle of the 11. Avoid being wordy.
topic. 12. Make sure the feature article contains dramatic
4. Make a tentative title. quality.
5. Make an outline. 13. Give examples to make your article convincing or
6. Use appropriate and striking novelty lead. easy to understand.
7. You can garnish your article with anecdote, dialogue 14. Tie up ending with the opening paragraph.
and local color. 15. Make a striking title.
8. Use graphic description. Don’t just tell, show it to the
reader through the use of senses.
Le
Structure of Feature Article ast
Feature story follows the pyramid structure. The details of the story are arranged according Im
po
to the ascending order of importance, from the least important to the most important ones. It begins rta
nt
with a novelty lead. De
Other
tail
Important
s
Details
A. The Lead
Kind of Novelty Lead Secondary Details
1. Narrative Lead
 It draws the reader into the story by allowing him to relate himself with the character of the Primary Details
story.
Example:
It was 9:20 in the evening. The family was watching TV with the house helpers in the sala except me. I locked myself in our
study room because I had to finish my book report, which was due the following morning.
Suddenly, there was a hurried knock on the door. “The twin tower is burning!” said my younger sister. I rushed
downstairs. I can’t believe it. Fear crept inside me. I felt nauseated for I have an uncle whose house is less than a mile away from the
twin towers.

2. Descriptive Lead
 It illustrates a mental picture of the subject to the reader.
 This is effective in writing a personality sketch
Example:
From behind a closed door came the frantic buzz of excited insect. Then, something else came squeezing out – the
nauseating stench of rotting flesh. Suddenly, the door opened and in front of me, stood a large cage covered in wire mesh. The buzz
rose to high-pitched, zinging, whine, and inside the cage a cloud of blowflies rose into the air, leaving behind a lump of what
appeared to be white meat. Then, I saw the whiteness moving and realized the flesh was covered by a carpet of maggots.

3. Quotation Lead
 This statement uttered by the well-known speaker or person
Example:
“We should strive for academic excellence.”
This was the challenge posed by Ellana A. Abedin, principal of Irineo L. Santiago National High School of Metro Dadiangas to
the curriculum heads, department heads, master teachers and teachers with special assignment in a meeting, September 16, 2004.

4. Question Lead
 A thought-provoking question to capture the interest of the reader and lead them to find the answer provided by the
succeeding details of the article
Example:
How will you know that money is real or fake?

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 A device to deceive the reader in a jesting manner to arouse his curiosity and gently lead him into the story.
  It is generally short, crisp and witty.
 Riddles are often used and they do not give the readers any clue on the nature of the story.
 They are mostly suggestive and humorous.
Example:
Where do women grow their curliest hair? Of course, it’s in Africa. But is it?

6. Punch Lead
 It is short, striking one-sentence lead
Example:
A man, who attempted thrice to die by hanging, finally died of cardiac arrest.

7. Astonisher Lead
 It uses an exclamatory sentence.
Example:
Olympic performance!
Twelve SPED pupils were among the 500 yellow, blue, red, brown and black belter who competed in the National Poomse
Competition at the Ninoy Aquino stadium, July 23, 2001.

8. One Word Lead

 It uses a very significant word to capture the interest of the reader.
Example:
“Khorosho!”
Replied Dennis Tito, the first tourist to the outer space, when asked by a ground comptroller of what he felt inside the
Soyus-TM capsule. It is the Russian word for “great”.

9. Parody Lead
 It consists of a parody of well-known quotation, song, poem, book or movie film title.
Example:
“Morn mri as mri as da win mru…”
This was the line of the song I heard from a very beautiful lady, who almost broke not only my eardrum, but also my
lovestruck heart

10. Freak Lead

 This kind of unique lead uses typographical effects to enhance appeal.
Example:
For sale: a kidney
Ruben Tocal, 28, resident of Taguig and father of seven children said yesterday that he was forced to sell his kidney to
provide his family a bright future.

11. Background Lead

 It describes an event in which the background overshadows the individuals who participate in it; often use for stories about
carnivals, festivals, dances and others.
Example:
Irineo L. Santiago National High School of Metro Dadiangas was transformed into a barangay fiesta of the old days, when
the Supreme Student Government officers hung banderitas and placed buntings in the surrounding during the 1 st Metrian
Festival.

12. Contrast Lead

 It is used to point up opposites and extremes.
Example:
In the 1960’s, a ten-centavo coin was already a treasure. Today, nobody wants to give it a second glance on the ground.

13. Staccato Lead

 It consists of a series of words or phrases punctuated by period, commas or dashes.
Example:
Terrorism. Insurgency. Corruption. Too much political bickering. And uncontrolled oil price hike. These are but few of the
maladies that crippled our economy.

B. The Body
 After you have finished writing the lead, you are now ready to organize your materials and develop the body of your story.
 Development of the story is sometimes the most difficult of all, because it involves the arrangement of the story materials
in a manner that will sustain or hold the reader’s interest and flow smoothly from the introduction to the end.

C. The Ending
Types of Feature Ending
1. The Summary Ending
 The summary ending simply ties up the loose ends of the story and points back to the lead.
Example:
With a contented sigh, the great man closed his eyes in death fully aware that he did what he had to do.
 2. Climax
 It stops at the point where the outcome of the story is clear.
Example:
When the song ended, Rosanna stood petrified in the midst of a thunderous ovation. In her heart, she knew she
had finally arrived.

3. The Stinger
 A startling, surprising ending that jolts the reader.
 The writer uses the body of the story to set up for the unexpected conclusion.
 The stinger ending is similar to the modern movie trend where the “good guy” loses out the “bad guys”.
Example:
Ramon, the shy, lovable Ramon, who couldn’t hurt a fly turned out to be the ruthless, vicious rapist wanted by
law in five provinces.

4. Un-ending
 It is open-ended, leaves reader to speculate on the ultimate conclusion.
Example:
And so the Operation OPLAN X ended on a limbo. The police were positive that Bungisngis was the brain behind
the murder syndicate. But they had no shred of evidence against him.

Other Types of Feature Ending

1. A thought-provoking question
Example:
If we are not going to save our seas for our children’s future, who would? And if we are going to start it now,
when is the right time?
Title: Our Seas, Our Life

2. A Proverb
Example:
Indeed, I have proven to myself what I believe is true from the very start of my nerve-breaking climb to where I am now
that “Behind the dark clouds, the sun is still shining.”
Title: Survivor

3. Suggested results or significance

Example:
So, take a hearty bite for a healthier you.
Title: Banana Mania

4. A forecast
Example:
Someday if we will keep on selfishly denuding the dwindling forest of our Mother Earth, we will be wallowing in the
midst of water, for all the continents will be devoured by ocean brought about by global warming.
Title: Reforesting the Future

5. A quotation
Example:
As one unknown philosopher put it, “We can never be great unless we are good and we can never be good until we are
godly.”
Title: Building a Culture of Excellence with Integrity

6. A repetition of a sentence or a reference to the title

Example:
Mama, see, I was alive but not anymore. So, please let my baby brother live. He could also be as wonderful as me. His life
wouldn’t be like mine – a life that never was.
Title: A Life that Never Was