According
to recent studies, nowadays readers become more and more tired of the ordinary
news stories which are almost the same in every newspaper. Surveys prove that people prefer articles
that are written in a more creative manner, that dig deeper and look at issues
and trends while appealing to the human interest of a story. And luckily features were created!
Due to its definition, a feature article is “a newspaper or magazine article that is written
to entertain and inform the reader. It does contain some elements of the short
story and is written with a lead to get the reader's attention and then uses
conversational tone to present the reader with information to evoke an
emotional response”. Undoubtedly, features are popular content elements of
magazines, newspapers, websites, newsletters, blogs, broadcasts, television and
other mass media. Therefore, they present immense opportunities to the best freelance
writers who know how to entertain with their writing.
The main reason why readers prefer to explore
more and more feature stories is because they are colorful, descriptive,
thoughtful and usually include original ideas. The feature’s main aim is not to
report the latest breaking news, but to provide an in-depth look at a subject.
While journalists’ goal is to simply report the news without having enough time
to prepare the background, writers of features have the time and space to cover
the details of the circumstances and even to evoke imagery. That is why,
features are normally longer than the news stories and also neglect the
inverted pyramid writing.
There are many kinds of feature stories that
grab the readers’ attention on a daily basis and Mandy Fritz (2013) divides
them into seven categories:
·
Human Interest: a
story also known as “the story behind the story” are the best-known kind of
features which discuss personal issues in an emotional way, usually through the
experiences the others.
·
Historical Features: a story that reminds people of significant
events while commemorating important dates in history or turning points in our
social, political and cultural development.
·
Profiles: common type of feature that reveals an
individual's lifestyle and character. Its main aim is to expose different sides
of the subject so readers will feel like they know the person discussed.
·
How-To: a
story that helps people learn by telling them how to do something. The writer
explores the subject through personal experience, education, research or
interview with an expert and shares the tips with the readers.
·
News
Features: a story that offers a human-interest view on a hard news
event
·
“The
Best” Features: a story that usually includes the writer's
personal experiences with a certain product. It includes proof and examples
that the product is the best of its kind, as well as, information about where
to get the product and how much it costs. The article usually has a catchy
title.
·
Past
Events Feature: a story that focuses on an historical event
or celebration. The article typically includes research but is NOT an
encyclopedia report. The article serves as a human-interest history lesson.
For
me personally, the most appealing type is How-To features. For example, being
an extremely creative person, I like to read stories that explain how you could
create something only with materials that you have at home.
Fritz, M. (2013, January). “7 Types of Feature Articles”. Retrieved
October 26, 2013 from the Prezi Official Web site:
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