Feature Writing in Print Media

Feature stories are special human-interest articles that focus on particular people, places and events. Features tell the reader a story. It has a beginning (lead), middle and end. It uses quotes liberally and allows the reader to see the story through detailed description and colourful writing. Feature articles are windows into the human experience, giving more detail and description than a hard news story, which typically relies on the “inverted pyramid” style of writing. 

Features are not meant to deliver the news firsthand. They do contain elements of news, but their main function is to humanize, to add colour, to educate, to entertain, to illuminate. They focus on an event or individual, giving the reader a chance to more fully understand some interesting dimension of that subject. News stories that received public attention often come as features later.

Feature writers seldom use the inverted-pyramid form. Instead, they may write a chronology that builds to a climax at the end, or a narrative, a first-person article about one of their own experiences or a combination of these. Their stories are held together by a thread, and they often end where the lead has started, with a single person or event. The feature writer uses the first two or three paragraphs to set a mood, to arouse readers’ interest, to invite them inside. After the title and opening paragraph has grabbed 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 that intend to pull the reader forward through the story. They are complex narratives that come to life through colourful description, meaningful anecdotes and significant quotes. 

The basic structure of a feature is:

Headline – Introduction – Body – Conclusion 

Objectives of feature writing

1. To Educate: Gather in-depth information on a specific subject and deliver it to the audience.

2. To Explain: Explain why and how a trend started or why is it relevant.

3. To Observe: Conducting study on a topic of relevance.

4. To Analyze: Do background research and cross reference of facts for credible information.

5. To Advise: Provide a viewpoint through the feature in the form of an opinion.

6. To Persuade: Motivate the readers to act for a social cause.