… Feature defined

Deals with aspects beyond the bare

facts of the news
May inform but the dominant
purpose is to entertain
May have anything under the sun
for its SUBJECT
Has interesting information to tell
It does not simply inform; it
also entertains
It may amuse or evoke
sympathy
It may explain or
supplement the news
While it may explain; yet; it
is opinionated like the
editorial
It is the most varied in
scope, purpose and style
It adds life an zest to any
publication
It deals with anything
factual
It can cover many subjects
under the sun’s glare
It is “a news story written like a piece
of short fiction”
It uses literary devices like color, wit,
humor, dialogue, anecdotes and
emotive words to capture human
interest
It may also instruct, inform and
advise, but its main objective is to
entertain
It is also tagged as the spice of the
school paper
Characteristics
Timeliness / imperishability
Literary Qualities
Length
Any Person (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
The Lead (Novelty)
Freedom of Expression
Creativity
Human Interest
Factual content
Entertainment value
Entirety
Variety of tone and style
Organization
…Q u a l i t i e s
Deals with any topic
Usually entertains more often
than it informs, instructs or
advises
May be long or short as long as it
covers the S adequately and keeps
it interesting to the readers
May be light or serious
depending on its purpose
Could be informal and written in
any form and in style, but is well
organized
May or may not be timely
It begins with a novelty lead
It is written in ascending interest
It is based in facts, though the
writer may use his/her
imagination to play up the
details; it is still anchored on facts
It can be garnished with
adjectives, figures of
speech, dialogue, anecdote,
local color, and idiomatic
expressions
It can be written in any
perspective or point of view
…Kinds
Human interest
Personality sketch
Historical
Analytical
Seasonal
Travelogue
Entertainment
News
Informative
Interpretative
“How-to”…
Personal experience
Unusual
Interview
Sci-tech
Sports
…Elements
oCreativity
oSubjectivity
oInformative
oEntertainment
oUnperishability
 … Steps in writing
• Choose topic which is of your interest
• Limit you subject to just one specific area
• Think of a more interesting angle of the
topic
• Make a tentative title
• Make an outline
• Use appropriate an striking novelty lead
• Garnish article with anecdote, dialogue and
local color
• Use graphic description. Don’t just tell;
show it to the readers via the use of senses
Place direct quotations in the
beginning.
Use simple words and shorter
paragraphs
Avoid being wordy
Make sure the feature article contains
dramatic quality
Give examples to make your article
convincing or easy to understand
Tie ending with opening paragraph
Make a striking title
…Structure
It has an introduction
It has a body
It has a conclusion
It follows any order (ascending…
descending)
It usually begins with a novelty lead

…2 Objectives
To draw the reader into the story
To set the stage for the material to
follow
…Kinds of Novelty Lead
Narrative
Descriptive
Quotation
Question
Teaser
Punch
Astonisher
One-word
Parody
Background
Freak
Contrast
Staccato
…The Body
It observes unity, coherence
and emphasis
It must hold and sustain the
interest of the readers
Its paragraphs are shorter
than those of literary short
stories or novels
It makes use of descriptions,
narrations, figurative
language, idioms, quotes,
surveys, statistics, interviews,
incidents and anecdotes that
give color to the story
Its central theme must be
carried all throughout the story
…The Conclusion
It should have impact
It may be a condensed summary
It may give the salient points in
the story
It may give the highest point of
interest or the most important
fact in the feature
It may end in a thought-
provoking question
It may have a proverb/
quotation as its ending
It may also make suggested
results or significance
It may also take a forecast
It may also deal on repeating a
sentence or referencing on a
given title
…How to write a feature
Choose an interesting subject
Sub-title / sub-topic is required
Give it a tentative title
Prepare your outline
Highlight the important things you
wish to feature
Focus on the main or most
important feature with specific
details
Use devices like…
*Figures of speech
*Idioms
*Quotations
*Local color to give color and
hold readers’ interest
Read as to what you have written
paying attention to what should be
added or omitted
Rewrite your piece
Give a catchy head
or title
Make the final copy
THANK YOU!