Assignment guidelines

J404 Feature Writing, Fall 2007

Titles

  Magazine articles and free-lance pieces carry titles. The author writes these, and they help to sell a piece. Put a title on every draft – even the early ones. Underneath the title is your byline. Word count and rights being sold are listed at the top right corner.

Citing sources and preparing a contact list:

·         Every article draft must have at least three sources. No article draft with fewer than three sources will be accepted for grading.  A first-person, single-source story is called a confessional; these are difficult to market and rarely have the depth or scope of a developed article. Similarly, a single-source interview story gets stuck at that level: an interview.  Feature stories need to develop their themes by placing them in context and addressing questions of depth and scope. Commentaries need similar depth, in order to be fair and authoritative.

• To respect copyright laws, limit quotations from copyrighted sources to 25 words or less; if you want to quote more, seek permission from the copyright holder.
• Do not attribute information to Website URLs, but instead name the organization or person posting the Website. This person or organizations needs to have some authority in the field; use the Website information to contact a knowledgeable person for an interview.
• Include a source list at the end of every article draft. This should have phone numbers for people, bibliographic information for written documents, and URLs for Websites. Magazines employ fact-checkers who call every source and check every reference and Website. Newspaper copy editors check everything for free-lanced pieces.

·         Because of close personal connections, some people are not appropriate sources for your stories. Do not cite family members, close friends, co-workers, other journalism majors, or employers in your articles. If you are in doubt about using a source, don’t. Or, ask the instructor or publication editor for guidance. The SPJ code of ethics also has helpful guidelines.

Assignment descriptions:

Article ideas

  Bring to class at least five ideas that include specific angles, viable sources, and a sense of forward motion for the storyline. Each needs to be about three sentences long and to show potential for a profile, a general feature or a how-to or service article. These will be used in an in-class exercise. 

The profile and the feature article

  These two ideally work together and can be marketed as a package.  All drafts must have at least three substantial human sources; include a source list with every draft.

   The general feature takes a topic and develops subthemes based on a wide range of interviewing to include a variety of viewpoints.  It presents a dilemma, shows the history and social context, and moves toward resolution.

  The profile shows the impact of this issue on one main character’s life, with some depth of treatment.  The person’s past, current dilemma and future hopes or plans are explored, and people surrounding the key character provide additional context.

Profile, draft 1

  Length: approximately five pages (typed, doublespaced).  The components emphasized for this draft include:

• A feature-style lead (i.e., scene or anecdote showing the theme),
• Development of the main character beyond being just a source,
• Interviews with other people who can develop aspects of the main character’s life,
• Dialogue and description,
• A sense of forward motion, or storyline.

General feature, draft 1

  Length: approximately seven pages (typed, doublespaced). The components emphasized for this draft include:

• A feature-style lead with a scene or anecdote using a definite place
• A paragraph that shows the theme or storyline and the angle
• Development of context, showing the theme or issue across time or geography,
• Several clearly defined subthemes (using subtitles is helpful)
• At least one person who really cares about the topic and is quoted directly, plus at least two other sources.

Query letter and market list

  The query letter is a formal business letter to an editor that proposes a story idea and asks for the assignment to write that story; it is a free-lance writer’s equivalent to the story proposal.

  The market list is a researched list of five or more publications that are likely to be interested in running your story.  To find these, use “Writer’s Market” and Websites for the publications.

  The letter needs to:

• Define the story idea or theme in a clear, enthusiastic manner;
• Describe what sort of story you’re proposing, i.e., a column, a profile, etc.;
• State exactly why the publication’s readers will be drawn to this story;
• Name some of the sources you’ll use, or places that will be described;
• Include visual possibilities such as photos, charts, sidebars, illustrations;
• Tell why you are the perfect person to write this, drawing on your own background with the subject or your writing experience;
• Ask for the assignment;
• Include essential contact information (i.e., phone and e-mail address).

The market list needs to include for each publication any information you’d need to write a new query letter and mail the article, such as:

• The specific editor’s name and title; department within the publication
• Rate of pay and whether it pays on acceptance or on publication
• Rights required or requested
• Mailing address, whether by post or by e-mail submission.

Final drafts of general feature, profile, query letter and market list

  The length of the final drafts depends on what your target publication accepts. Address the query letter to the first market on your list. In the query, be sure to include the title and length of the articles. The query letter and features are now ready to submit to an editor; they should be tailored as a package and be formatted appropriately (i.e., with title, word count, rights, source list). Make this as polished and professional as you can – and mail the query letter! Students have sold articles from the J404 class, and you might, too.

   The components emphasized for both articles include:

• A title;
• Theme and angle,
• Character, with dialogue,
• Place, with description and action,
• Sources that provide scope, context, development,
• Feature-style beginning and ending.

Reflective Piece

  Choose an essay or grouping of commentaries in “Telling True Stories” that deals with an aspect of writing that you find personally challenging and involving. In one page (doublespaced, about 250 words) tell what this issue is, why you chose it, what the authors have to say, and whether you agree, disagree, or can apply their insights. (Do not use pieces already assigned as readings for this class.)

Column or personal essay, draft 1

  The topic for the column is open; it may flow from your earlier articles or be something new; length is three pages.  Avoid topics that have short-lived news angles; the theme developed needs to be as enjoyable to read six weeks or months from now as it is today.  Take a stance and bring in your own experiences, complemented by research that provides context.  Let your own writing style show through, and enjoy being funny, indignant, amused, puzzled, or … all of these.

  The components emphasized for this draft include:

• Theme and angle or stance,
• “Nut graf” showing context, relevance,
• Several anecdotes or subthemes,
• A conclusion suggesting future actions,
• Tone and voice.

Column or personal essay, final draft

  This draft will be a more polished version, with a crisper presentation of your views.  The essential components are the same as for the first draft, but with:

• A two-sided argument,
• Sharply focused beginning and ending,
• One or two specific feature writing techniques.

Persuasive article, draft 1

  This article needs to convince readers of a certain viewpoint or interpretation by presenting well-researched facts, building an argument by placing these in some logical order (deductive, inductive, analogous, etc.), acknowledging the strong opposing arguments, and carrying a convincing tone showing that you, the writer, care about this issue.

  The components for this draft include:

• A clear stance,
• Supporting facts and research,
• Argumentation using some logical ordering,
• Presentation of opposing viewpoints plus explanation of why they’re inadequate,
• A conclusion that urges specific actions.

Persuasive article, final draft

  This article should be ready to submit to a magazine or a newspaper op-ed page. Check your target publication for the desired length and any other guidelines.

   Components for this draft include the same list for the first draft, plus:

• Specific anecdotes showing how the issue affects real people,
• Sharply defined lead and conclusion that relate to each other,

Effective use of tone and voice.