How to write a feature article with examples

Feature story writing is a type of journalism that goes beyond the standard news report. It tells a complete story, often using real-life examples, to help readers understand a complex issue or event.

While there is no one formula for writing a great feature article, there are some basic steps you can follow to make sure your story is well-written and engaging. In this guide, we will outline the key steps involved in writing a feature article, as well as provide some tips and tricks for making your story stand out.

Contents

What is a feature article?

A feature article is a news story that does more than report the facts of a news event. A feature article appeals to human emotions and is written in a creative, entertaining way while still giving accurate information. The main objective of a feature article is to inform and entertain the reader.

Characteristics of a feature article

Now that we know what a feature story is, let’s explore what characteristics it may have.

A feature article should:

Have a strong opening paragraph that draws the reader in.
Be focused on an individual or individuals.
Have quotes throughout to support narrative and show perspectives.
Use descriptive language which almost gives the appearance of nonfiction.
Address unique ideas, aspects or points of views that are special about a certain individual or event.
Be specific and detailed to make for a better story.
Have elements of humor, surprise, drama, tension and emotion to keep readers engaged.

Different types of feature articles

There are different types of feature articles or stories. Some types are used more frequently than others.

Various examples of types of feature stories include:

Behind the scenes: The reporter gives a glimpse behind the scenes into an industry or company. This is used to give insight into corporate strategy, or provide information that would otherwise be difficult to obtain.
Human interest: The reporter focuses on a person or situation that is interesting, typically because it is unusual or unique.
Instructional: The feature story is intended to help or guide the reader. The story might provide information about how to do something, or might describe a process.
Profiles: A profile tells a story about a person. It might provide background information, or might describe the experiences of the person, as well as their personality and character traits.
Personal: The story is about one person, and how they rose to success. It might also discuss their family life or other personal details.
Thematic: A thematic story tells a larger story than the lives of one person. The thematic article explains an idea, trend, or theory through multiple examples of anecdotes that support each other in illustrating the theme.
Seasonal: A seasonal story looks at a current event or subject through the lens of history.

These are just some examples of what you could write about for your feature article.

Remember that creative writing is all about thinking outside the box! So, think hard about what you’d like to write about – but also consider if there’s enough information available to you and how much effort you’ll need to put into researching it. This might help you narrow down your topic choice to something specific.

Language to use when writing a feature story

Language used when writing a feature story is generally more formal than ordinary language. It is written in complete sentences with correct spelling, capitalization and punctuation.

At the start of a feature story, use an active voice. A good opening sentence tells readers what the story is about with the most important information first. It also presents an interesting idea that makes them want to know more.

How to write a feature article in 5 steps

Since we have defined a feature article and described its characteristics, we need to know how it is written and the elements, which make up a feature article.

Plan and outline your story.
Research and collect information.
Write a catchy heading title.
Select the best structure.
Write and proofread.

Let us now see what each of the step entails:

Step 1: Plan and outline your story.

It is very important plan and outline your feature story before you start writing. This means that it’s important to think about what you want to write, then plan how you can write this text in an interesting way. The main part of the planning is to define your angle and then structure the article in a logical order.

While planning your article, you need to find an angle of your story. Every feature article has a main subject and it also has a secondary subject, which is the ‘angle’. The angle is what you want to write about – it could be something that your readers will find interesting or controversial. Some common ways of making the secondary subject into an angle are, by introducing a character, providing information, including the 5Ws or making a comparison.

Step 2: Research and collect information.

This means that you need to do some research, which helps you with both finding content and thinking about what you want to write about. You can use different texts, images, videos or any other kind of material to create an interesting article. Gathering facts and information is usually easier compared to creating a coherent structure of your article.

To create a research list, you can use different sources which are available to you. These may include books, magazines, newspapers or the internet. You can also use your own experiences and knowledge of topics that interest you. This makes it easier for you to write an article quickly once your deadline is near.

When researching on the internet, you will find that there are many different kinds of research tools. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, Wikipedia is often used because it contains a lot of information on almost any topic. However, the quality of this information varies, so bear in mind that it is not always reliable.

Step 3: Write a catchy heading title.

This part of the writing process is probably the most difficult task because you have to draw attention to yourself and your story with a good opening paragraph. This means that it’s important to give the reader some information about what he or she can expect in your article.

A good feature story must have a catchy title and interesting opening paragraphs. A reader should be able to see some of the articles contents in this paragraph, but not too much. It is important to make them wonder what you are telling them about the article while still giving some sort of introduction of what they can expect. This will encourage the reader to read on and not lose interest.

Step 4: Select the best structure.

This means that you need to decide which parts (introduction, body and conclusion) will be included in the text and which information should be mentioned in each part of the article. This depends on what you have found out about yourself, your angle and also something specific you want to put in the article.

Introduction: The introduction should be short and tell your readers what they can expect in the rest of the article. It’s also good not to introduce too many different topics because this confuses your reader.
Body: In the body of the article, you have a chance to expand on each detail you have decided to include in the text. You should mention some details and examples when writing the body paragraphs. The body should be composed of three paragraphs (minimum); each paragraph should attempt to answer one of the questions stated in the introduction (i.e., what, why, how). Each paragraph should start with a topic sentence that sums up the main idea of the paragraph and then have two – six further sentences
Conclusion: In the conclusion, you can say whatever you want to say about your main topic and what your article is about. It’s important that you conclude by tying up all the loose ends and summarizing everything in your written feature story. However, it doesn’t need to be too long or complicated!

Step 5: Write and Proofread.

This step will involve:

Writing the first draft.
Writing the final draft.

First draft: The first draft of any paper is just that: rough, unannotated, and probably full of errors or unclear text. You should write each sentence as an idea comes to you, without stopping to revise anything.

The second draft would be the last, polished version of your work after it’s been revised and proofread.

It is good to start with the most important points of your article first, so it would be a good idea to create an outline of what you want to say. This will help you determine where everything goes in your article and if anything gets left out or if you have to put anything in a different place.

Second draft: Once you have a first draft, it is time to revise your work so that you can convey what you want to say in the clearest possible manner. Work on one paragraph at a time until it is perfect. Then move on to the next one. The order doesn’t matter, but stick with one topic or main idea to avoid confusion.

Proofreading: When you have finished revising your rough draft, it is time to read and correct your work carefully.

The last part of this process means that you need to polish everything that you have written before you publish it on your blog or submit the assignment for grading. This means, for example, that it’s important to check if spelling and punctuation are correct and also if the article flows well.

You also need to make sure that you have incorporated all of the necessary information into your article.

If you are writing a feature article, then there is one more thing that you should do: add pictures and videos if it is practical or possible. If it’s not practical or possible then adding pictures and/or videos isn’t compulsory – but it is advisable.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Now that you know how to write a feature article, get started on your own! Think about what the topic is and why it’s of interest. Consider who will be reading this piece – are they people interested in finance or marketing? Once you have an idea for the kind of information you want to share with readers, start brainstorming some topics. You can use free tools like Google Docs or Evernote to help organize your thoughts while writing so that everything stays organized. You should also draft out the introduction before starting work on any other section of your article. This way you can introduce all important points without missing anything out by accident-or having too many different ideas competing for attention at once. Finally, proofread carefully after finishing the first draft to avoid getting overwhelmed when proofreading your final draft.

Proofreading should be done carefully so you can make sure that all of the sentences are in the correct order, the spelling is correct and there aren’t any grammatical or factual errors. This has been a guide on how to write a feature article, thank you for reading!

Need help writing a feature article?

If you’re a college student who needs help to write a feature article, don’t worry – you’re not alone! At Tutlance, essay writing service, we have online tutors who guide will walk you through each step of the process so that you can write your essay for cheap or feature news article that is both informative and interesting.

You can also hire an essay writer who will help you to create a top quality piece of article writing that you can be proud of.

If you’re a teacher who is looking for an interesting project for your students, consider asking them to write a feature article about a topic they are interested in – it’s a great way to get teenagers excited about writing and hopefully make the process as easy as possible.

How to write a feature article