Types of Feature Articles

Why This Matters

Feature writing is where journalism meets storytelling, and understanding the different types of feature articles is essential for both analyzing published work and crafting your own. You're being tested on your ability to recognize purpose, structure, and audience engagement—not just to identify a feature type by name, but to understand why a writer chose that form and how it shapes the reader's experience.

Each feature type serves a distinct function: some prioritize emotional connection, others focus on information delivery, and still others aim to persuade or investigate. When you encounter a feature article on an exam or in your own writing assignments, ask yourself: What is this piece trying to accomplish? How does its structure serve that goal? Don't just memorize the names—know what makes each type effective and when to use it.

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People-Centered Features

These feature types put individuals at the center of the narrative. The underlying principle is simple: readers connect with people, not abstractions. By focusing on a specific person or their story, writers create emotional resonance that draws readers into larger themes.

Profile

• Centers on a single individual—their background, achievements, personality, and what makes them significant or compelling to readers
• Requires extensive primary research, including in-depth interviews, observation, and background investigation to build a comprehensive portrait
• Uses narrative techniques to reveal character gradually, allowing readers to feel they've genuinely met the subject

Human Interest

• Prioritizes emotional connection over newsworthiness—these stories evoke empathy through personal struggles, triumphs, or extraordinary circumstances
• Illuminates broader social issues by grounding abstract problems in individual experience (one family's story becomes a lens for understanding systemic challenges)
• Appeals to universal emotions—readers see themselves or their loved ones in the subject's situation

Interview

• Structured around direct conversation—presents the subject's voice through extensive quotations and paraphrased insights
• Reveals personality through dialogue, allowing readers to hear the subject's authentic voice rather than the writer's interpretation
• Requires strong questioning skills—the writer's preparation and follow-up questions determine the depth of revelation

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Analysis and Explanation Features

These types help readers understand the world around them. The core mechanism is context-building: writers synthesize information, identify patterns, and translate complexity into accessible insight.

Trend

• Identifies emerging patterns in society, culture, technology, or behavior before they become obvious to general audiences
• Relies on data and expert sources to establish that a genuine shift is occurring (not just the writer's hunch)
• Projects forward—effective trend pieces help readers anticipate what's coming and why it matters

News Feature

• Combines timeliness with depth—takes a current event and provides the background, context, and human dimension that breaking news lacks
• Answers "why" and "so what" rather than just "who, what, when, where"
• Uses narrative techniques to make current events engaging while maintaining journalistic accuracy

Lifestyle

• Covers daily living topics—health, travel, food, fashion, home, relationships—with an emphasis on practical application
• Blends information with inspiration, helping readers envision how they might enhance their own lives
• Often incorporates personal anecdotes and trends to feel current and relatable rather than like a dry manual

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Service and Evaluation Features

These feature types exist to help readers make decisions or accomplish goals. The underlying principle is reader utility: every element should serve the audience's practical needs.

How-To

• Provides clear, sequential instruction—readers should be able to follow along and achieve a specific outcome
• Anticipates obstacles and questions, including tips, warnings, and alternatives for different situations
• Balances completeness with accessibility—enough detail to be useful, not so much that readers feel overwhelmed

Review

• Evaluates products, services, or creative works (books, films, restaurants, technology) against clear criteria
• Maintains balanced perspective—credible reviews acknowledge both strengths and weaknesses rather than offering pure praise or condemnation
• Serves reader decision-making—the ultimate goal is helping audiences determine whether something is worth their time, money, or attention

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Voice-Driven Features

These types foreground the writer's perspective and personality. The mechanism at work is authorial presence: readers engage not just with the subject matter but with the writer's unique way of seeing and interpreting the world.

Personal Essay

• Reflects the author's own experiences, thoughts, and emotions—the writer is both narrator and subject
• Blends storytelling with introspection, moving between what happened and what it means
• Explores universal themes through specific experience—readers connect because they recognize their own struggles, joys, or questions in the writer's story

Investigative

• Uncovers hidden truths through rigorous research, document analysis, and source cultivation
• Addresses matters of public concern—corruption, injustice, systemic failures, or deception that affects communities
• Demands ethical rigor—accuracy, fairness, and transparency are non-negotiable; the writer's credibility is the foundation of impact

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Which two feature types both center on individuals but differ in whose voice dominates the piece? What determines which format a writer should choose?

2. A magazine wants to cover the rise of remote work. Compare how a trend piece versus a lifestyle piece would approach this topic differently.

3. You're assigned to write about a local restaurant. Under what circumstances would you write a review versus a profile of the chef? What changes in your approach?

4. Both personal essays and human interest pieces create emotional connection with readers. What distinguishes the writer's role in each type?

5. An investigative piece reveals that a company has been polluting local water supplies. If you were assigned a follow-up news feature six months later, what would your piece focus on that the original investigation did not?