What is a Feature Article?

A feature article is a persuasive text that expresses an opinion, informs the reader about a subject, and is enjoyable to read. Feature articles differ from many other news articles because they share a general perspective on a subject instead of reporting news about a particular situation. This makes feature articles last longer, as they’re less likely to lose relevance as time passes.

Feature articles can differ widely, appearing in many forms. For example, opinion pieces on current issues, interviews, human interest stories, and personal reflections on current events. In addition, they can appear in different places, including newspapers, blogs, websites, magazines, and newsletters.

How to Write a Feature Article

Here are the steps you may go through when writing and planning your feature article.

  1. Decide what topic you’re writing about and form an opinion on it. Persuasive texts are about convincing your reader to see an issue/subject from your point of view, so the first step is identifying what this is.
  2. Think about who your target audience is. Once you’ve identified your ideal demographic, this can help shape the tone of your writing and the way you approach your article.
  3. Research the facts. Collect interesting data, statistics, and information that helps to support your opinion. These will help make your article informative and convincing by making it more credible.
  4. Plan your article. Using a feature article template can help with this. Map out some key points you want to make and order them, so they will build your argument as your audience reads.
  5. Write your article. The best way to start your article is with something catchy and interesting. Anecdotes are a great and natural way to use your experience to bring a reader into your writing.
  6. Expand on each of your points. These will form the body of your feature article. After you’ve hooked the reader with your introduction, you can get into the nitty-gritty. Use persuasive language features such as emotive language, statistics, rhetorical questions, facts, quotes, direct addresses, and inclusive pronouns to engage your audience and make your argument relatable.
  7. Conclude by reiterating your opinion. Don’t mention anything new in the conclusion, but summarise your argument. Try leaving readers with something to think about, like a question, or remind them why your perspective is so important.

What are feature article headlines?

A feature headline is the title of your feature article, which is the perfect opportunity to hook your reader and summarise your article. These headlines are usually written in large block letters to make them stand out on the front page of your newspaper.

How to write a headline for a feature article

Do you want to learn more about how to write a headline for a feature article? An article headline is essential in writing an entertaining and exciting feature article. Your feature headline should hook your reader and summarise why your article is necessary and why they should read it.

To help your students develop a good headline for their feature article, why not ask them to pretend that they are talking to their friends? How would they sum up the most exciting part of their story? You should also remember to keep the words simple, and avoid superlatives, focus on what’s most interesting about your topic. And emotive language. Great headlines give you an edge and convince your audience to read and respond to your copy. So if you or your class are struggling to nail those catchy headlines, try these simple tricks and tips.

  • Try writing your feature article first and coming back to your headline later. By starting your feature writing with the article first, you will be able to understand the direction and essential factors of the story. This direction should help you to write the most concise, catchy, and accurate feature article headline.
  • Use numbers and statistics to catch your reader’s attention. There’s a reason why so many journalists and writers use numbers in their headlines – it works. Listing numbers or quoting short statistics is also a great way to make your writing seem more factual or authoritative.
  • Use the ‘what,’ ‘why,’ ‘when,’ and ‘how’ questions to summarise the necessary information in your article.
  • Talk to your readers directly by using questions. When putting the question in a headline should be something that your audience wants to know.

Examples of good feature article headlines

  1. A boy finds a stash of Roman gold coins in the local park.
  2. A girl from your local area is chosen for the Team GB Gymnastic team at the 2020 Olympics.
  3. A giraffe escapes from a zoo and goes down the road into the supermarket car park.
  4. Five hundred dogs and their owners do a 5 km run and raise thousands for charity.
  5. A bridge in a local town falls into the river, causing chaos in the city.

More Tips for Writing Feature Articles

  • Don’t be afraid to use humor. This can make your writing more engaging.
  • The language for a feature article can be formal or informal, and you can use the first-person point of view.
  • Anticipate what counterarguments people may have to your arguments. Don’t shy away from these. Identify them in your writing and talk about why you disagree.
  • Use data from reliable sources wherever you can. This will help people see that you’ve researched your topic and give them some solid facts to consider your opinions.
  • The show, don’t tell – wherever you can. People are more likely to resonate with an opinion if they conclude themselves by being guided there instead of being told what to think.
  • Use other writing tools to help your general written communication skills, vocabulary, and sentence structures.
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