How to Write a Feature Article
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Definition of a Feature Article
A feature article is an interesting story that provides an in-depth analysis of an event or an individual. Feature stories are regarded as soft news since it provides a creative, funny and interesting story.
In most cases, featured articles are part of stories that tell about human experiences in a more detailed way. This is because a feature article provides stories on an event as well as on an individual.
Thus, a feature article gives the reader an opportunity to understand the interesting parts of the story. In professional writing, especially in a magazine article, the process of writing a feature article can be a highly creative, fun and a very challenging task. However, it is true and worth noting that prior planning and hard work are some of the characteristics of a professional writer who mostly engage in magazine feature article writing. With hard work and innovation, one is able to write a compelling and thought-provoking magazine feature article.
Unlike other articles, a magazine feature article presents interesting news about events or individuals in society and it is based on a narrative model. This means that it has a plot and story characters combined to give a creative piece. You should understand that a magazine feature article is non-fictional and the events depicted are usually true and have really occurred practically in life.
In professional writing, people who write feature articles are required to have high levels of creativity and objectivity in their writing process. This is important in order to build an emotional connection with the readers. The best way and most effective process of building emotional connection with the readers is by talking about common values or the universal aspects of human nature.
One should also understand that feature stories usually provide good news and are mostly written in active voice. This is why they appear lively and entertaining in nature.
The Common Types of Feature Articles
In most cases, a magazine feature article is the main story in the magazine. This is because it usually focuses on a special person or a special place or event and provides detailed analysis about it.
There are various types of feature articles. For example:
types of feature articles
There are articles focusing on human interest, historical, seasonal and profile-based feature articles. There are also current issues and opinion based feature articles, sport feature articles as well as lifestyle and fashion magazine feature articles.
the most common type of a feature article in the Human Interest feature article
Human interest feature article mainly talks about a person in an emotional way. It may indicate someone’s problem and how he or she managed to solve the problem. For example, a good human interest story can be about a student who failed in exams and later managed to pass his exams despite coming from a poor background without reading materials. The main aim of a magazine feature article is to depict people issues and arouse high interest and sympathy among the readers.
7 Tips on Writing a Feature Article
Step 1-Consider a Compelling Story
In professional writing, a feature article is challenging to write. However, effective planning and hard work can help on to write a good feature story that can appear in a magazine feature article section.
One of the tips that one should consider in the process of writing a feature article in a magazine include the consideration of providing a compelling story. This may involve one reading a lot of news to understand the topical issues. After getting the topical issue that require discussion, one should write a professional article in a new and innovative way to attract readers.
Step 2-Do Research
The second simple step that one should take to write an innovative article that can appear in a professional writing scenario is to do some research on the topic. Once the topic is available, one should conduct thorough research and ensure that the topic in question can appear in a magazine feature article anywhere in the world. Researching the topic will allow one to have a high background check on the topic. This can be done online with the currently high availability of the internet and other online models for research. For example, one who is doing a magazine feature article on historical events may have to search online sites dealing with historical events or pay a visit to an archive and get more information.
Step 3-Choose an Interesting Topic
Thirdly, one should also ensure that he consider various topics and decide on one topic to do a professional writing on. For example, one can decide and write about human interests. This is will attract many readers since many people one to learn about things that will impact their life.
Step 4-Consider the Values of the Target Audience or the Readers
Importantly, you should also consider the target audience you are writing to inspire or motivate. You should think and consider the social values of the people who will read the feature article in the magazine. Ask some tough questions, such as what they will think after reading the feature article and how the article will impact their life. In considering the social values of the audience, the writer will be in a position to build an emotional connection with them. This is important since it will arouse the interest and sympathy levels of the reader.
Step 5-Keep an Open Mind
One should also keep an open mind while writing a professional article that will appear on a magazine feature article section. This means that while writing one should consider a national audience. Considering a national audience will allow you to adopt a wide range of perspectives and avoid biasness in the process of professional writing. You should also outline the story and make notes how it will flow ensuring that important points are well illustrated in the article.
Step 6-Put the Story in Context after the Interview
You should also put your story in the context. By putting your story in context, you will give the reader an opportunity to existentially investigate the story deeper. One should also provide accurate data and information in the story. This can only be done through preparing for an interview and asking relevant questions during the interview. In the process of interviewing leaders and experts on a particular field, ensure that you ask questions with breadth and depth viewpoint. You should avoid using too much quotes in every interview and ask questions that prompt more discussions and open communications.
Step 7-Revise and Edit
The final part after writing the first draft of the magazine feature article is to revise and edit it. Effective revising, proofreading and editing skills are usually required in professional writing. Editing is not a mysterious or highly technical process and you should simply read your article word by word to reduce and remove errors. In the process of writing a magazine feature article, one may have typos, grammatical errors, repetitive words, and awkward phrasing and this can be easily avoiding during editing and revising the story. If you edit and revise your story, you will find it easier to identify errors and correct them. There is nothing that make a professional writer happy than finding out that the editor approves your article with only positive comments. It motivates one to write and write and this is the best way to polish your writing skills for magazine feature article sections.
example of a feature article
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