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Major Classifications of Feature
[SOURCE 8]
- News feature - related to
a current event or situation that is of interest to the public.
The news feature seeks out to put the event or situation into
human perspective and help readers to identify, in human terms,
with the story. The news feature may use the delayed lead to
lure the reader into the story, and then get to the point after
several paragraphs, or it may put the lead them in a kicker at
the end.
- Human Interest
feature - a short piece, told in a unique or clever way
that concentrates on an unusual and emotionally appealing
subject. It is not perishable and does not contain any news
information of vital public interest. It dwells on the appeal to
readers about other people or about common area of interest such
as pets, odd things and places, or historical ironies.
- Informative feature - a
story that presents practical information on an interesting
subject. This type takes the readers behind the scenes of an
unusual industry, process or service. Its elements are
unearthing the facts and dressing up these facts.
- Personality profile - a
story that reveals the personality of someone through incidents,
anecdotes and quotes(not through a list of accomplishments,
favorite things or biological facts. It is often referred to as
character sketch. It tackles an in-depth story on an individual
that captures the essence of the person on paper. The subjects
of a personality profile are endless. They could either be
living or dead persons, young or old, ordinary folk or famous
personalities, as long as you have met the person.
- Historical feature - a
story about an interesting aspect of a historical subject
gathered from research and interviews.
- Descriptive feature - a
descriptive account or story of a place, an event, a situation
or a way of life. It takes the reader out there somewhere and
builds a mental picture of a scene he might never be able to
visit in his lifestyle, or it may take him want to go there
after reading the article.
- Personality Interview
article - this should not be confused with the
personality profile and may fall under the category of news
feature. It is necessarily related to a current event or a
situation that is of interest to the public. The personality
interview article seeks to put the event or situation into human
perspective and help readers to identify in human terms, with
story.
- Shared or Personal
experience feature - a story that share
information gained from the writer's firsthand experience in
doing something. One requirement of the personal experience
article is that, the writer must see or perceive something funny
or unique in his experience and be able to tell it
entertainingly. The interest in a personal experience article
depends chiefly upon extraordinary or unique events with which
the account is concerned.
- Narrative feature - they
are essentially factual stories that are told chronologically
from start to finish. Like fiction, they rely upon the unfolding
of episodes for their compelling interest; that is why many
personal experience articles are also narratives. But,
narratives are not necessarily personal experiences.
- How-to-do-it or
Utility feature - a story that
explains how to do something. Its elements are information,
advice and clarity.
- Analysis - a background article aimed at
answering the question, "What's it all about?" when a social
explosion, or a political upheaval, or any momentous event
splashes the headlines.
- Essay-review - critical reviews are usually
analytical in nature and they demand meticulous knowledge and
competent expertise from those who write them. It could be about
a book, a movie or play, a concert, a photo and art exhibit, or
other products of art that is the center of review and the
reason why the review exists.
[SOURCE 8]
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