Let’s begin with looking at what is a Feature article. We will move on to the reasons why Features are so important. We will then take a look at the different types of Features. We will end with how to write one, through an example. 

What is a Feature Article?

When we speak of Feature, we are not referring to cinema. In cinema, when we speak of a feature film, we are talking about the duration of the film. But, when we write a Feature, we are not making a film, are we? So what are we referring to? Most of us use the word feature to talk about our facial features – the nose for example, on our face. In other words, we are talking about something particular among many others, in this case, the nose.
Let’s take another example from photography. When we take up a close-up of our face or an object, we choose to focus on it with intention. For example, it can be a close-up of the Anthers of a flower. It can also be something happening on the road, which draws your attention. Or for instance, you could be emphasizing a particular aspect of a story you are telling your friends.
Now, let’s extend these examples to a Feature Article. A Feature is a sort of macro shot. It is an in-depth article you write about an issue you feel strongly about. It is an article you write when you are familiar with the issue in connection to the broader context. A feature article for instance on college admissions, will focus on those aspects of the process you feel are important.

We get news and stories on Insta, social media, TV, print, and many other platforms, right? As you know, there is a universe of stories out there, and hence, there are an infinite number and kinds of Features. What you choose to write about is your choice. I write a Feature article depending on my own relation to the story. I may also feel that it is the need of the hour to highlight aspects of current issues. For instance, you could write a Feature on Artificial Intelligence. Or it can be a Feature on gender problems, or environmental concerns. You could write a Feature on social upheavals, the impact on the lives of women and family.
These are just a few themes on which to write a Feature. A Feature can even look into a historical theme or an event to provide fresh insights, if that interests you. A Feature in which you spot a trend for instance, would also make a very interesting article. But, such a Feature needs complete understanding of the situation. We cannot spot an emerging trend unless we know what’s happening now. Thus, the key to writing Features is highlighting specific angles of a story. In other words, the key lies in the “why” you want to focus attention on a specific aspect of a particular story. Here, for example, I am writing a Feature on a specific type of writing called Feature. My “why” is to help us understand what is a Feature article, and how to write it.

It sounds rather strange, doesn’t it? Exactly what are we talking about here?

In a sentence, you are writing a Feature because you feel strongly about something. You want to make other people read about it, and feel about it. Haven’t written a Feature before? That’s fine, but if you do want to write it, you must learn everything about the issue. Go to your library, authentic sources on the internet, online libraries, anything is ok. Collect all the information you can. Features are articles based on facts. Your facts must check out always, everywhere, anytime. Once you have done this, you can focus on how to present these facts.

It may appear to you that Feature articles and News articles are the same thing. This can put you off from considering writing a Feature. There’s definitely an overlap. Both these items need verified information. But the most important difference is that Features are not time sensitive like News. A Feature can discuss an aspect along any point on the time axis. A News article is a summary of a current issue. Today’s event will not be important tomorrow or later. News is time sensitive.

Now, a Feature needs first-hand stories. It also needs information many sources and different angles. In this sense, Features are very good companions of News articles. They help to bring different sides of the story. They allow us to view the News as a result of a set of human activities. Features turn News into something we can relate to. It no longer becomes something the machine produced, with no human connection.

Given their variety, Features are useful to highlight issues. You can write them social advocacy, and creating awareness. You can even raise relevant issues for due consideration. 

Why should I write a Feature?

Your ability to write Features can give you a sense of empowerment and agency. In other words, you don’t have to sit and experience the world as it is. You can influence how things happen. You can also draw attention to the human experiences that may not get as much attention as they reserve. Your Feature may also help us to recall and re-focus on something we may have overlooked. Your Feature can demand accountability and ensure its lack is not overlooked.

Right! So far, we have looked at

• What is a Feature,
• How our motives define a Feature,
• How is a Feature different from a News article and,
• Why we write Features, what do we achieve through a Feature article

Before we go further, let’s take a look at the different kinds of Features. We will then go on to how you can write them to make them impactful. As you read on, think that you are writing these Features. This will help you to understand the importance of focusing on one idea while writing a Feature. It will also help you to identify which kind of Feature you may prefer to write. 

Types of Features

The University of Texas at Austin on its University Interscholastic League, mentions the following types of Features on it’s website:

Human interest
Features that focus on the human aspect of say a conflict zone, the results of an election, or a music festival.

Interviews
These Features centre around interviews of famous people. But that is not its defining characteristic. They also include interviews. For instance, with the people in the flood zone of a dam, or school children experiencing the Board Exam. As we can intuit, there are certain overlaps with the human-interest Features here.

Informational features
These Features provide in depth information about something or someone. It can be the latest iPhone, or a famous person, or even a process you follow to achieve something.

Personality sketch
These are biographical Features that provide information about someone. For instance, a famous actor, the President of a country or a singer. It can also be any other person whose personality you want to highlight. It could be your grandmother, your animal shelter buddy. It can even be a garage mechanic restoring classic cars, the choice is yours.

And finally we have, Featurettes, which are smaller versions of any kind of Feature.

According to the website of Ohio State Press Books, Features also include:

Profiles
Which are like the Personality sketches.

Round-ups
Features that are like blogs that list information and suggestions from different sources. These sources can be such as how to treat common gardening problems, or the best bargain places in a city.

How-to
Features that are more regulated in that they need to proceed stepwise. Rather like instruction manuals, the language is easy to follow.

Personal Experience
A personal experience of social import can make an excellent Feature. For instance, how the price rise has affected your family. Or how bird populations are declining in the cities. Again, the choice is yours.

True Life drama
A Feature on true-life drama you or someone else has undergone can be very impactful. It can be your experience of a natural disaster. A Feature about witnessing a political moment or any such event can make a really good Feature.

Travel
Travel experiences be a very interesting Feature. For instance, you could highlight the impact of high tourist volumes on the place you visited. Or you write about its historical worth, or the culture specific to the place. These are very like the travel blogs you might come across.

Historical
A historical Feature relies on historical data can be a significant input. for instance, it can enhance environmental studies. It can do so by highlighting the historical evolution of the Deccan Plateau. This in turn, can help in conservation of specific zones, flora and fauna of the Deccan Plateau.

Evergreen
Features about aspects or issues of our lives that are always a part of our conversations. These can be aspects such as food and recipes, sports and films, to name a few.

Seasonal
These Features highlight periodic surges of interest. They talk about festivals, and the seasons. You can write a Seasonal Feature on the times of the year when students seek admissions.

Trend Story
These Features pick up and follow a current story. It does not predict a trend. Your Trend Feature will be about something of importance happening now. For instance, the impact of Twitter, the journey to Mars, or the Ukraine War.

Essay or Opinion
These Features are in-depth. They allow personal opinions or conclusions. You will base these on the information accessed and verified by you. 

As you can see, I have named only a few types of Features. These will allow to get an idea of the wide range of Features you can consider writing. I have done so to focus on what we are discussing here. Some other types of Features we haven’t discussed are Podcasts or Blogs. they are variations of the Features we have discussed. They are non-print modes of Feature. But you will have to follow facts and verifications even for Blogs and Podcasts. Exactly like in the case of all the variations in types of Features that we have mentioned above.

The list is endless. As more and more aspects of human life become the focus, the longer the list will be. As I mentioned, the aspects of our worlds we want to highlight are infinite. They can generate an ever-increasing list of different types of Features. To me, the range is exhilarating, since it gives me the freedom to write a Feature on anything I wish to focus on!

So far, we have covered quite a lot and learnt about the possible kinds of Features that we can write. In the following section, let’s look at an example. Based on it, we will consider writing some of the different kinds of Features.

Do you recall the terrible tragedy that too place in Gujarat in October, 2022?

You will remember that on the 30th of October, 2022, the British-era suspension bridge over the Machchhu River in the city of Morbi in Gujarat, India, collapsed. The collapse caused the deaths of at least 135 people and injured more than 180 others. The accident resulted in legal inquiries. The High Court ruled that criminal oversight as the cause of the accident. Gujarat declared state-level mourning. The case shocked the whole of India. We all experienced the tragedy at a very personal level.

Feature Examples:

Now, we have this item of news. Keeping in mind the kinds of Features we have gone through, what kinds of Features can you write on this one item?

Our minds begin searching for the type of Feature we can write, the minute we ask ourselves the question, right?  Well then, you will also realize that that you can write a wide range of Features depending on your interest such as,

• A human-interest Feature on the citizens of Morbi town who became the victims of the accident
• An informational Feature on the what and why of the collapse of the bridge
• A Feature highlighting the personality sketch of:
  – the bridge constructors
  – the building inspectors who gave the fitness certificates for the bridge
  – the people who sold over 3 thousand tickets to the pedestrians
• Featurettes on the impact of the large number of deaths on different sections of the society of Morbi
• Feature based on profiles of the victims,
• A round-up Feature on the different stages of the protests over the accident
• A how-to Feature on:
  – help people drowning and provide primary first aid
  – provide amenities for public safety
• Feature on the personal experience of the parents who lost members of their families
• Feature highlighting the true-life experience of a survivor
• Travel feature that includes visits to Morbi and the memorial sites for the victims
• Feature on the historical significance of the Morbi bridge
• Feature on the evergreen lack of safe, reliable and affordable leisure activities
• Feature on the Seasonal/periodic events that marks the demise of the victims
• Feature highlighting a trending cultural expressions talking about the Morbi bridge collapse
• Feature expressing your own personal opinion on the collapse of the Morbi bridge

Tips to begin writing a Feature

I’m sure you by now you understand the demands of writing a Feature. As you will realize once you start writing, the kind of Feature you are writing will need its own kind of language. We call the language specific to each kind of Feature as register. The language of a Human-interest Feature is different from a how-to Feature. Thus, the language you write in, must meet the demand of the particular Feature. For instance, poetic language would be completely inappropriate for an Essay or Opinion. These Features need clear, concise language based on facts. Poetic language will make sense in a Feature on a Personality Sketch or a Featurette. But it will depend on the topic you highlight. 

Be aware of language registers – use them appropriately!

The general understanding is that drab, droll articles are boring. Such articles cannot hold our interest for long. A Feature is not a poem or a novel. The article has to be engaging. Humor (if done properly) can pull the reader in and hold them till the very end. This is where you will need to use creative expressions which will provide the reader with a ‘hook’. You must organize the article in a language and manner that it doesn’t feel cumbersome.

This brings us to our next concern. What should be the manner in which we present the facts or write about them – the stylistics of the text? If we don’t present facts and data in the proper way, it can take attention away from the issue at hand. The language and style of a Feature can very quickly overshadow the human aspect of the Feature. But this is precisely what helps in building empathy for the issue. This in turn, increases the impact value of the feature. so how do we deal with the presentation of the facts and data? 

Well, you could try and use,

· Informal and every-day expressions depending on the topic. This will help to reduce the gap between your Feature and the reader.

· Use different kinds of sentences such as simple, compound and complex sentences. Wherever possible, stay with Direct Speech and the Present Tense.

· Use contractions of words wherever possible. And don’t be afraid to use jargon, but make sure the jargon doesn’t overtake your piece.

· You could try using rhetorical questions though personally speaking, it’s not what I would do. Rhetorical questions are when we speak or write, “don’t you think so?”, “And what do you want to say to that?”, and others like these. They help to continue a conversation. But they are no use in an article where there’s no possibility of talking directly to the reader. 

· Use figurative and emotive expressions. And don’t be afraid of taking a personal position on your topic.

. Avoid flattery and emotional language. Contrary to belief, if you present the facts well, they will have their emotional impact. Facts and data always work! Both at an emotional and at a practical level.

· And finally to repeat, avoid passive sentences. These can lend a desultory tone, distancing the reader from the Feature.

Structure of a Feature Article

Speaking of the organization or the structure of your writing, you can follow these steps:

– Section your Feature into
Introduction,
Body, and
Conclusion.

It would be very useful and for you to begin and follow continue with grid lines so to speak, like,
· The Headline (to identify your topic). It will also help to keep you focused.
· The sub-Headline (to identify the position you might be adopting in relation to your topic). This will answer the question of how and why you are writing about the issue.
· The By-line (to identify yourself) You must take the credit for your Feature, the By-line allows you to do so. More importantly, it demonstrates your confidence. You are not afraid to put your name on what you have written.
· The Hook (a picture or a striking sentence that captures the reader and brings her to you Feature). This will keep the attention of the reader focused on your Feature.
· Introductory paragraph. This is an extended kind of Hook. It will let the reader know what you’re writing about and why, and pique her interest through it.
· Then, you come the body of the Feature. This generally begins at the second or third paragraph. Here, you can start laying out the points introduced in the introduction. In the following paragraphs, deal with these points one by one.
· Add any graphs, data, pictures, and quotations that support your Feature in the body of the article.
· The Conclusion can leave a lasting impression and ensure a loyal following. It can also translate into more assignments for you. The ability to draw precise conclusions based on your writing is an important skill. Do not hesitate to provide some strategic gaps in your conclusion. This question or a proposition invites the reader her own reactions to your Feature. These gaps, questions or propositions allow a human connection with the reader. Connecting people is why we write, and the more connections our Features make, the better for all us.

As a final note, always remember to make your language sensitive to gender, race and class divides. Do not make extravagant claims at any point. Let what you write, declare your position. To do this, your language must be simple, thought-provoking, precise, and well-presented. Your writing style must do justice to your intentionality.