Feature Articles

							      Feature Articles

A Way to Share your Opinion About
 Something You’ve Learned With a
Larger Audience Who Needs and/or
         Wants to Know
      Researching a Broad Topic
•   Read
•   Surf the web
•   Interview experts
•   Go on a fieldtrip
•   Watch a filmstrip/video
•   Take notes
        Narrowing the Focus
• Search for what intrigues you about your
  topic.
• Think about what you believe/feel about
  your topic.
• Notice what you find yourself thinking
  about/talking about that you’re researching.
• Write some questions that you can now
  answer or would still like the answer to.
   Considering the Needs of the
            Audience
• Think about what you now know/believe that
  others need to hear about.
• Narrow your research to answering that question.
• Collect facts, stories, quotes, evidence to support
  your focused purpose.
• Decide what to leave out. Remember, writing is
  as much what you leave out as what you put in.
        Organizing your Notes
• Put your notes into categories/groups by thinking
  about what they have in common. (These will be
  your train cars.)
• Arrange those groups by thinking of how your
  audience will best understand your information.
• Decide which order the groups of information
  should be shared.
• Think of transitions for connecting the
  groups/train cars.
          Connecting the Cars
• Line up the train cars/categories in a way that will
  make the most sense to the reader.
• Put cars/categories near each other that are closely
  related.
• Connect the cars with transitions/couplers that
  lead the reader from one thought to another.
• Remember, transitions can come in the middle of
  a category. They don’t always have to be the first
  or last sentences.
           Writing the Lead
• Try several types of leads and then choose
  your favorite: question, story, quote, fact,
  command, comparison, list…
• Choose the one that gets your audience’s
  attention.
• Make sure it lets them know why you’re
  writing. The lead has to indicate your focus
  and be connected to your purpose.
         Writing the Closing
• Be brief.
• Let the reader know that the piece is
  finished.
• Leave the reader with something to think
  about, laugh at, remember…
• You might tie back to something said in the
  lead.
            Writing the Title
• Try several titles and choose your favorite.
• Get your audience’s attention.
• Make sure to indicate the focus.
• Make it narrow, like your purpose. Don’t
  say, “All About Beavers”. Say, “How
  Beavers Bodies are Built for Swimming”.
• Try to be clever and unique.