Need to write a Feature Article for a magazine or newspaper but not sure where to start?
This guide includes links to tools and resources that can help you.
A feature article is an article written to dive deeper into a story than a regular article and give more depth to topical events, people or issues.
Feature articles are written by an expert or a journalist. They provide background information on a newsworthy topic as well as the writer's personal slant or experience.
You will find feature articles in newspapers, magazines and online.
A well-written feature article follows a specific format and will include the following:
| Headline | should grab the readers attention and should highlight the general topic of the story |
| Subheading or standfirst | one or two sentences that convince readers they should read on and that capture the gist of the story |
| Introduction | the first paragraph or two should 'hook' the reader and draw them in to the story - this could be a description, a question, a striking or shocking statement, a quote or a narrative. |
| Body of the feature | contains most of the details of the story, statistics, quotes from experts etc and can be broken in to paragraphs |
| Conclusion | should tie everything together and leave a lasting impression on the reader or provoke some sort of reaction. |
Other elements you may wish to include in your Feature Article:
Feature Article Example
A Pocketful of Pennies. Teen Breathe, Issue 13, 10-13.
Use the following tools and resources to help you format your Feature article.
Templates for magazine articles by Canva
This video shows you how to use Google Docs to format a magazine-style article.
Run Time: 5:17 mins
This video includes tips and a guide to writing and "designing" a great feature article
Run Time: 4:00 mins
References
Johnson, L. (2017, February 3). How to Format Google Document as Magazine Style Article [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfCB2zAPh4Q&t=8s
mskrieger. (n.d.). Smart tips for writing a great feature article [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec0IsulAcXw
A Pocketful of Pennies. Teen Breathe, Issue 13, 10-13.
Scholastic. (n.d.). Writing a Newspaper Article. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/writing-newspaper-article/
Cover image credits
Angelova, N. (2019, April 4). [Photograph of a magazine on a bed] [Photograph]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/417kabtPFEU
Kenion, C. (2018, January 17). [Photograph of a magazine display][Photograph]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/cJkVMAKDYl0
Robertson, E. (2017, February 15). [Photograph of a magazine and glasses] [Photograph]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/4hH8MJBQYYE
Thought Catalog. (2018, March 2). Fashion magazine [Phoograph]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/p-th9JVqrkY