FEATURE WRITING

ERIKA DOMINIQUE M. AQUINO

 Common Misconception about
Feature Writing:
-its format and content are the same as
essay writing.
-it is purely fictional
-everything is driven from feeling or
emotions
 Common Misconception about
Feature Writing:
-dialogues are always present
-easiest writing to write and win
-long passages are sure win technique
Common Questions in Feature Writing
Are FACTS important to Feature
Writing?
Yes. It is one of the important elements in
Feature Writing.
It gives credibility, timeliness, truthfulness and
public awareness.
Common Questions in Feature Writing
Is it fictional or non-fictional in form?
Non-fiction.
Facts are important elements of a
feature article. Therefore, parts of the
article must driven on actual account
and event/issue.
Common Questions in Feature Writing
Are Feature articles always long and
boring?
long but must never be boring
Catching the readers attention from
beginning till the end is the main challenge
to feature writers
Common Questions in Feature Writing
Is there a prescribed length to a
feature article?
None.
It is free writing, therefore length will not be
an issue; as long as the message will not be
compromised, go on.
Common Questions in Feature Writing
How do we insert the facts to our
article?
Gradual and must be coherent
The choice of timing where to attach the facts
is important in feature writing, coherency
must be attained to keep the story going
 Who is a Feature Writer?
One who is updated and well-searched to current
news.
One who is a good storyteller of facts, writing it with
style, mood and tone.
One who exposes reality and significance of events
and issues in a manner of truth, tone for sympathy
and call to action; interpretation for lucidity and the
ambiguous.
 Qualities of a Feature Writer?
Loves new knowledge and researches for truth
Sympathetic and understanding
Loves to read, read, read!
Capable of seeing beneath the surface of ordinary
issues
Critical thinker
Inquisitive for truth
 What is a Feature Story?
Key function is to inform, educate,
humanize, entertain, bring clarification, to
story tell.
Features are written in a more creative way
than writing plain news articles.
It has no formula but combination of styles
are an effective way to write feature articles
 TYPES OF FEATURE WRITING
1. Informative Stories
2. Human Interest Stories
3. News Feature
4. Personal experience
5. Personal sketch
6. Humorous Feature
7. Interpretative Feature
8. Travelogue
9. Reviews
 Informative Feature
Usually based on interview or taken from research
materials.
Possible Topics: Social Issues
Amazon rainforest fires: an environmental catastrophe

Fires are raging across the world’s largest tropical rainforest as farmers, land-
grabbers and loggers torch trees and clear land for crops and gazing. According to
Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research, the number of fires detected by
satellite in the Amazon region this month is the highest since 2010.
The Guardian, 2019
 Human Interest Feature
Deals with minor incidents that may
deserve attention because of dramatic,
humorous, tragic, sensational or odd angles
of the story.
Basically appeals to the emotion.
Based on people, their (life) stories; not
necessarily famous personalities
 Human Interest Feature: Bullying
Unveil the curtain of fear

He’s near, I have to run..

Inside my room, wonders and illusions
passing through the walls of the façade and
crawls past to my chest and pounds my head
screaming for help.
 News Feature
Usually based on a recent event that is of
interest to the public.
Asserting rights to ancestral lands through education
EDUCATION is the Lumads’ “weapon” in their fight for
their rights to their ancestral lands.
 How-to- Feature
Gives information on the process of doing
things and how certain products are made.

The Real Deal: 5 Easy Hacks to Combat Stress

Stress and Anxiety are worth the bustle and
hustle of the everyday problems in life.
 Trend Stories
Document a trend in society

A preview of 'Bagong Maynila'? Isko

Moreno's first week in office

Rappler, 2019
Personality Sketch
Reveals the character of the subject by recounting
the way he talks or acts or what others think of him.
Rody Duterte: The man, the mayor, the president
Can Rodrigo Roa Duterte lead the nation towards promised change?
“Ikaw ang pangulo para sa pagbabago… Sawa na ang bayan ko sa
magnanakaw na tao.”
These are the first lines of folk musician Freddie Aguilar’s song for
President-elect Rodrigo Duterte. It plays inside Duterte’s pick-up
truck one night in Davao City after one of his post-elections late-
night press conferences. Rappler, 2016
Personal Experience
It’s an unusual experience, usually written in the
first person.
What LGBT kids need to hear
This is for the thousands of children who were taught that they are nothing but
abominations, for the kids who are disowned by their parents, for the students
kicked out of schools, for young people harassed in the streets.
“Act like a man.” That was the motto of my high school. Growing up, I was
surrounded by boys who were always eager to prove their masculinity. Some
ended up in fights, others in sports, others in parties, but almost all seemed to
loathe one thing: Being gay. I studied in a school where being labeled a faggot
was an attack on your masculinity, where coming out to your barkada meant
possibly losing your best friend.
Rappler, 2019
Humorous Feature
If one of the more important functions of a
feature story is to entertain, then nothing
entertains more than a story with wit and
humor.
Humor and agony: Best stories from #DiaryOfACommuter
From enduring heavy traffic to struggling inside jampacked
jeepneys, Filipino commuters share their woes on Twitter.
Rappler, 2016
Interpretative Feature
Instructs, informs and clarifies to the reader the
background and significance of social, economic,
political and other problems of everyday life.
After Bangsamoro Law, a bright
yet bumpy path to peace
There will be a fight for the hearts and minds of people in the region
for them to approve of the Bangsamoro Organic Law in a plebiscite.
President Rodrigo Duterte has to convince the political leaders to vote yes.
Rappler, 2018
 Travelogue
An account of one’s travel experience and a vivid
description of the place visited.
New places of interest
Living the Pinoy Spirit: A Manila Travelogue
You say “Long Live!”, here in Manila we shout, “Mabuhay!”.
Want to  try the grandest nomadic experience of a lifetime, where you’ll spot a
treasury of rich culture and history, jam-packed with an amazing set of never-
before-seen natural wonders and where the happiest and friendliest creatures
on the planet exist? Try and visit Manila.
Lorraine, 2014, djaunter.com/manila-travelogue/
 Reviews
This can be done on interesting movies,
books, plays, and other educational
platforms to enhance the child’s learning and
interest.
Movie Review:
Tales of Rafiki: The Roar of a True King
Domalaon, 2018, The Great Herald
 ELEMENTS OF FEATURE WRITING
1. Facts
2. Quotes
3. Description/Meaning
4. Anecdotes
5. Opinions
6. Analysis
7. Call to action
Styles in Writing
Features
Straight & Forward
How writing a biography of Pope Francis
Restored One Writer’s Faith

vs

Faith Restored
Straight & Forward
5 Bayaning Filipina na bumago sa
kasaysayang Filipino

vs

Laban Pinay
Straight & Forward
The Rebirth of Youtube Beauty Pioneer Michelle
Phan

vs

Michelle Phan
The beauty blogger
Witty
The love affair starring three penguins

No other Penguin Ang love triangle sa mundo

ng mga Penguin
 The Contrast
Dreams do come true: How an 80-year old
Grandpa became a model
In fashion runways, we are used to seeing young and fresh-
faced models. However, Deshun Wang can still give these 18-
year-old catwalk heroes a run for their money. Tagged as the
World’s Hottest Grandpa”, all eyes are on him as he becomes
the only 80-year old model on the catwalk.
 Reinventing a saying
May asim pa si lolo: Ang pagtupad sa pangarap ng
tinaguriang “Hottest Grandpa in the World”

Sa hinaba-haba ng kanyang naging prusisyon, sa rampa pa rin

ang kaniyang naging tuloy. Animnapung taong naghintay si
Deshun Wang, 80, bago niya nakamit ang kaniyang inaasam-
asam na pangarap-ang maging isang modelo.
One-Liner
No other Penguin: Ang love triangle sa
mundo ng mga Penguin

Kahit silang mga penguin, nakikiapid din.

One-Liner
The elderly gay Filipinos who perform in
drag to survive

For Manila’s Golden Gays, drag is

both a means of survival and a
glimmer of hope.
Rhyming
Isang ngiti mula sa Aling Masungit

Mahahawi ang Kurtina at lalabas

doon si Maring.
(Del Rosario, 2018 Unang Mensahero)
 The Backgrounder
No resume, no cover letter-
Instagram scored the job
Clark Walker didn’t want to be a doctor. He thought he did- at
least for a while. But by the time his fourth year as a pre-med
student at Utah State University rolled around, he had hit a
wall.
Each sit-in surgery and exam, and the lifestyle, culture and work
that came with it never felt right,never left like him. So he
dropped out.
Roughly, two years later, he’s working as a barber in New York,
 The Teaser
New doctor’s baptism of fire: Emergency delivery
at the backseat of a car
It was a lazy Saturday morning for Mikko
Manalastas. And he, like every med student who
had just passed the board exams, was feeling chill.
Little did the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public
Health graduate know at that time that something
special was about to happen.
 Combination
Destiny? Woman marries American guy who
donated a Christmas Box to her 14 years ago
A lot of people are skeptical about destined love, as
they believe that is us who create our own path.
However, destiny apparently favors some people,
just like what happened to American Tyrel Wolfe
and Filipina wife, Joana.
And it all began with a shoebox.
 Combination
Fallen “Heroes”: OFWs turned
hungry and homeless
It is said that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are the
modern heroes. But as these 2 former OFWs will tell you,
heroes don’t always succeed.
Eugene Asio and Arthur Villeta waited for 3 hours in
Liwasang Bonifacio for their breakfast. Their benefactor for
that day was a religious group. They enjoy every bit of their
meal because they are not sure when they can eat again.
 Search for
information
Matutong mag-research.
Ang impormasyon ay hinahanap at hindi kusang lumalapit.

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Read!
Magbasa ng mga gawa ng mga sikat o idolo
mong journalists gaya nila Jessica Soho at Karen
Davila. O ‘di naman kaya ay magbasa sa diyaryo ng
mga feature articles ng mga contributors na gaya
nina Lucy Torres-Gomez at Jim Paredes.

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 Talk to people
Mag-interview at makisalamuha.
Minsan ang mga interesting na kwento ay ang buhay mismo ng isang tao.

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Gamitin ang sariling karanasan para mas mapaganda ang iyong kwento.
Kapag mas nakaka-relate ka, mas may puso ang istorya.

Use your own

experience

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 Take note of
your ideas
Huwag hahayaan ang sarili na makalimot ng ideya.

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 Think locally

Ano na ba ang nangyayari sa sarili mong baranggay? Sa San Jose del Monte? Sa
buong Bulacan? Sa Pilipinas?

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Ano na ang nangyayari sa ibang bansa at paano mo ito makukumpara sa nangyayari
sa iyong bansa?

explore

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Think outside the box
Gamitin ang iyong imahinasyon.

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 Looking ahead
Magtanong-tanong sa mga taong involved sa
issue. Ano nga ba ang sa tingin nilang
susunod na mangyayari?

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 Look for a
different angle
Madalas na laman ng balita kung paano naging
mayor ng Davao si President Duterte at kung paano
ito makakaapekto sa pamumuno niya sa Pilipinas.
Bakit hindi mo naman tignan kung sino siya bilang
ama sa kanyang mga anak at kung paano nito
sinasalamin kung sino siya bilang ama ng bansa?

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Madalas itong ginagawa sa mga topic o isyu tulad ng Martial Law at ng pagkamatay ni
Ninoy Aquino.

Figure out something new from an old

subject

ARCHIVE

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 TIPS ON:

How to write
faster

RADiaz
Know your audience

Identify questions
you need to answer
in your article

Identify what your

story is about – in a
nutshell

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More TIPS!
Take notes

Identify your focus

Offer a fresh perspective

Write with your heart

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Most important tip!

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Read! Read!
Read!

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NSPC Theme: Empowering
communities through Campus
Journalism