Feature assignment

Features

Your feature should be 1,000 words (include a word count) with photos and include a minimum of four voices. 

Pre-first draft due: Feb. 28 --  First draft due March 28 -- Final draft due: April 2

A feature describes a group of people, place, event, subculture, trend or just about anything you can think of. Should be visual, with concrete, specific language, anecdotes and examples and a lively mix of voices. 

• Write your feature with the idea that you will try to get it published. Don’t include material that will appear “dated” or as if it’s “old news” a few weeks from now. If your feature is about an event that is coming up, mention the date and time of the event high in the story.

• Do NOT lead with a sweeping, unreported generalization; plunge right into the reported material

• Describe/SHOW vs. Tell

• The more reporting, the better. You can’t make up for a lack of reporting by trying to write cleverly. You need several voices, so that you’re not going back to the same source for more than a couple or so paragraphs. Every page should have a lively, dynamic mix of voices – not just one person!

• Eliminate wordiness! Do NOT repeat anything!!

• Paraphrase or rewrite rather than using parentheses/brackets. You should only need to use parentheses once or twice a year – NOT once or twice in a single paper. 

• Keep quotes short so that they have a greater impact. Paraphrase!!

• Don’t jam together, spliced by a comma, two complete and unrelated sentences. For instance, don’t say something like, “Wearing her black moccasins, Jane Doe is a graduate of UMass.” Avoid getting into traps like this by using SVO.