Types of Feature Articles

Feature Articles are not just dry facts; it provides story and information from a unique angle.

TYPES OF FEATURE ARTICLES

1. Profiles / Interviews

2. Humorous Reflections

3. Personal Experiences / Anecdotes

4. On-Line Articles

5. Background info on lead, national and international events

6. Human Interest

STRUCTURE

TITLE LEAD BODY CONCLUSION

Grabs the readers'attention Provokes readers' interest with an unusual statement Statistics, quotes, facts, anecdotes. Names of places Restatement course of action

Highlights main idea Provides necessary background info facts, anecdotes. Names of places Call to action

Creates a relationship between writer

LANGUAGE AND STYLE

1. A personal tone through the use of informal, colloquial and first person narrative.

2. Use of relevant jargon to add authenticity to the information and opinion.

3. FACTS to validate the writer's viewpoint

4. Use of exaggeration and generalizations to add humor.

5. Use of rhetorical questions to involve the readers.

6. Anecdotes to hold the readers' attention.

7. Emotive words to evoke a personal response in the reader.

8. Effective use of imagery and description to engage readers imagination.

9. Use of direct quotes to personalize the topic

DON'T FORGET:

-Research

-Write well

-Entertain

- Be authoritative

- Be insightful

EXAMPLES:

Of Beauty & Victory: The 'Major, Major'Way

John Arvin N. Buenaagua

Body of a goddess.

Face of an angel.

Pride and honor of a queen emerging.

Amazing how she walked with all beauty and dignity in the midst of all the sham and drudgery her people have been facing. "I am one of them and proud,". She must have thought to herself as she paraded down the aisle, in front of the millions of people gazing upon her majesty and dazzled by her grace. When she smiled and waved, the universe conspired to make that moment hers. For a brief matter of moments, the world was hers for the taking.

A goddess of beauty indeed, her name is Venus Raj.

Growing up in the miniscule town of Bato, Camarines Sur, it is a wonder how a girl brought up from a less- fortunate family would have such a dream as representing her country in a pageant dominated by the elite. From assisting her older sister in her own share of beauty contests, she went on to winning a number of them herself. She used to walk the fields of a locality almost unheard of to treading a stage full of glamour and fame. Surely the "Ms. Universe" title must have been more of mere formality to her, for the reward she truly craved for was the applause and the favor of her people supporting her, and she got it without so much effort.

She was like a butterfly breaking out of her cocoon, surpassing the tragic realities she had to face before the night of her dreams. She lost a friend, Melody Gersbach, who died in a car accident. It must have been bittersweet, how she smiled at the millions of people in the midst of her mourning, knowing that not one of them was her best friend. Still, she stood out of the many other delegates, entering the top five contestants for her friend and for her people.

She earned the glory, she must have utterred in her mind. There's no stopping her now. And yet not one night in the stream of time is perfect, it was a blunder how she missed the opportunity of answering fluently a "major, major" question. Still, while her weaknesses were exposed, she smiled and waved humbly, without a hint of remorse. She didn't fight months for her to retrived her crown just to be let down by a mere question. At last, there she stood. Shining amongst the five most beautiful women in the universe. All the criticisms and inquisitions she would be facing must not spoil the evening. She had given her best . She had done her part. And her beauty and words would not erase her " major, major" mark in the hearts and minds of the ever-loving supporters, the Filipino people.

More than a virtual farmland

John Arvin N. Buenaagua

Point.

Click.

Point.

Click.

In a matter of seconds, I could have plown a whole field. In a matter of minutes, I could have tilled a land, planted my crops and waited for them to grow. In a matter of hours, I could have finished collecting my harvest, and later I would again enjoy my virtual life as a virtual farmer virtually farming my virtual farmland.

How I wish reality was just as easy for the real farmers. I sit in front of my screen wondering. Trying to picture them scurrying about below the sun's dry heat, plowing, planting and harvesting for dear life's sake. Here I am spending countless hours and money's worth of load so I could till a land that wouldn't even bring me anything in return, while they are there dying in their labor so they could sow crops for measly amount of coins.

What on earth am I doing?

As unfortunate as it may seem, most of the real farmers are slightly the same as me: tilling a virtual land that doesn't even belong to them. Their reasons and years of thriving and exhausting themselves are often taken for granted by the