Features

Features go into more depth than news, and allow the writer freedom to choose style and topic. They always involve some research, and usually going out to meet people and […]

Features go into more depth than news, and allow the writer freedom to choose style and topic. They always involve some research, and usually going out to meet people and do things.

Tab features can loosely be divided into various types. This list should help you understand the different things you can do:

1. The experience
Examples: Tab Tries study drugs, all body wax , initiations
It’s easy: go out and do something, take a few pictures and tell us how it felt, smelled and tasted.

2. The guide
Examples: A-Z for Freshers, places to have sex on campus, Fit Freshers, nightlife blog
Even if it’s funny, the guide feature should give some information. These articles tend to be broken up into bits, rather than written in continuous prose. For example, Fit Freshers would include a photo and a short profile of each fresher.

3. Profile/interview
Examples: My week: the Vice-Chancellor, local heroes
There are loads of interesting characters on campus: kebab men, Big Issue sellers, groundsmen, bus drivers… Ask them the questions everyone else wants to ask, and remember to get a picture!

4. The issue
Examples: dodgy landlords, drug use, student escorts
These features explore an issue, speaking to people affected and telling the reader about something. It might answer a question – for example, why has a certain hall become the poshest one? They can be light-hearted or serious and they don’t have to follow the same formula – for drug use you could use swabs to test bathrooms for evidence of drug use.

What readers want in a feature:

  • Relevance to students’ lives. They don’t want stuff on the Eurozone crisis or Mexican drug wars.
  • Entertainment value. If you’re writing something ‘funny’, it has to be really funny.
  • Thought provocation. Sparking debate on a subject is brilliant. If you can get people commenting on the site and sharing it on Facebook, then you’ve done well.
  • Reporting. Don’t confuse a feature with an opinion piece – it needs to involve the author doing something or talking to people.
More
The Tab Journalism