Key Ingredients for Feature Writing

1. LIST 3 DETAILS THAT YOU FOUND ABOVE THAT HELP THE STORY

• "She was 5-foot-5, 105 pounds. Pretty and petite"
• "his was at the Mayflower, one of Washington’s choicer hotels"
• "It was after 9 on the night before Valentine’s Day when she finally arrived"

2. THERE ARE DETAILS THAT YOU MIGHT NOT INCLUDE IN A REGULAR NEWS STORY, PLEASE LIST AT LEAST 2 OF THEM

• He describes his story about how he paid for the prostitute
• He puts the most important thing at the bottom

3. DO YOU WANT TO KEEP READING?

Yes

4. LIST 3 DESCRIPTIVE DETAILS THAT YOU FOUND ABOVE THAT HELP THE STORY

• "Her ribs and collarbone jutted out"
• "Her black hair was matted, crawling with lice"
• "Rashes and sores pocketed her skin"

5. THERE ARE DETAILS THAT YOU MIGHT NOT INCLUDE IN A REGULAR NEWS STORY, PLEASE LIST AT LEAST 2 OF THEM

• "Except for a swollen diaper."
• "One skinny arm was slung over her face"

6. WHAT CONDITIONS EXIST REGARDING THIS CHILD THAT THE AUTHOR DESCRIBES TO YOU?

"She lay on a torn, moldy mattress on the floor"

7. DO YOU WANT TO KEEP READING?

Yes

8. HOW DOES THE QUOTE HELP THE TRANSITION STATEMENT ABOVE IT?

The quote helps truly show how people felt about what was happening.

9. DO YOU WANT TO KEEP READING?

A little bit

10. LIST 3 DESCRIPTIVE DETAILS THAT YOU FOUND ABOVE THAT HELP THE STORY

• "flames were rushing through the brush toward Zaca Ridge"
• "he Zaca made a run"
• "they were facing a potential monster"

11. THERE ARE DETAILS THAT YOU MIGHT NOT INCLUDE IN A REGULAR NEWS STORY, PLEASE LIST AT LEAST 2 OF THEM

• "Rainfall the previous winter had been among the lowest on record in Southern California"
• "about 15 miles north of Solvang"

12. WHAT WAS THE ANECDOTE THAT THE AUTHOR USED IN THIS STORY?

The anecdote was the story about the ranch hands fixing the water pipe.

13. WHAT WAS THE IRONICAL PART OF THIS STORY IN REGARDS TO HOW THE FIRE STARTED?

They were trying to fix something and it ended up making things worse.

14. DO YOU WANT TO KEEP READING?

No

15. LIST 3 PIECES OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOUND IN THESE 3 PARAGRAPHS

• "A decade ago, the agency spent $307 million on fire suppression"
• "state wildfire spending has shot up 150% in the last decade, to more than $1 billion a year"
• "Congress is considering a separate federal account to cover the cost of catastrophic blazes"

16. WHICH ONE DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST CRUCIAL?

How much the agency is spending on fire suppression

17. DO YOU WANT TO KEEP READING?

No