Avel-COVID19-Mass Comm-FEATURE WRITING
COVID – 19 SIT@HOME
INTEL DEV. CLASS
ND MASS COMMUNICATION.
FEATURE WRITING
AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTION
BY
Committee of Intellectuals [CoI]
@
INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE CENTER [INTEL CENTER]
DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION
COURSE TITLE: FEATURE WRITING
1a. Define feature writing
Feature writing is writing and reporting which answers the questions: what was it like? and / or “what does it mean?. A feature story provides a reader with the flavor of an event or the nature of a person, not just the facts of what happened or to whom it happened. It carries its reader beyond the events and leads him to an understanding of them.
Goldean (2009:14) Defines feature writing as vivid, sensational writing which appeals to the emotions of the readers.
b. List and explain five (5) ways in which “news” is different from features write-up.
Differences between
Feature and News
| 1. | Feature write ups last longer than news stories. | News stories have no enough room to breath, i.e. it is strictly time conscious. |
| 2. | Wide use of quotes and dialogue: A feature write up has the luxury of more space for quotes, and even including snatches of dialogue where two or more people may be talking. | News stores will of course, include quotes, but there are usually fewer of them. |
| 3. | Feature writing involves in-depth and wide range of write ups. | News stories are not lengthy in write ups. |
| 4. | Feature writing involves narrative techniques. | News stories answer the SWS & H and nothing more. |
(2) Enumerate the qualities a feature writer must possess.
(1) A nose for news: A good journalist must have nose for news. This range from the ability to recognize that a particular information can be made of interest to readers, viewers or listeners.
(2) Love for writing: A good feature writer must unavoidably love the art of writing. A feature writer must be such a person that enjoys the pains that go with the process of writing from planning to the final draft. Also, he must be someone who is not satisfied with even the final draft until it is taken to the press.
(3) Resourcefulness: A good feature writer is resourceful. By resourcefulness, I mean he is good at finding ways of improving himself and improving the quality of his writing.
A resourceful feature writer consistently solves problems arising or that may arise from the beat.
- Sound Educational and professional background: A good feature writer must have gone to the universities or polytechnic to acquire this knowledge for the purpose of professionalism.
2b. Mention and explain ways you can source information for a feature article.
- Past feature write ups: You can source for vital information from the past, in order to enhance your feature stores.
- Personal opinion and experience can be of relevant use.
- Interviews: Information can be sourced as well by sourcing for information from your interviewees.
- Internet can also be of good source for feature write ups.
4. Explain in detail five (5) uses of illustrations (pictures, maps etc.) in feature writing.
- It helps in putting a long wider write up in a succinct form by giving a picture of the matter of discuss.
- Pictures help to communicate in feature writing to the illiterate. The picture explains better to those who are not educated.
- When writing instructional feature, the showcase of pictures also aid the teaching process.
- Historical events or developments are quite common. They are also useful in juxtaposing the past and the present, helping to root the reader in a shared history, showing of that person’s picture will help to achieve all this.
- It also helps in summarizing a verbose writing in a concise form by the help of pictures.
