Feature Article

You will learn how to write 'Feature Articles'
You will review how to report speech
You will review how to write an article introduction

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Article Review

This is a feature article but it also has the added requirement of including two people's interviews.

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The Question

Feature Article: Tone and Register

All feature articles are primarily aiming to entertain and inform. You must judge this balance depending on the question. The tone should be upbeat and can be semi-formal (i.e. you can ask the audience some questions) but it should not be completely informal (i.e. ?!?!?!) and it should not be written in the first person (no: I talked to my friend) instead it can either be written as "we talked to someone" or there is no narrator present at all.

Open Ended

How many paragraphs would you write for this question?

What would every paragraph do?

Reorder

An example of the structure you might select.

• Introduction

• Background

• Interview 1

• Interview 2

• C

1

2

3

4

5

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Introduction

The purpose of an introduction in an article is to orientate (定向) the reader and create the question you are going to answer.

Example: Hong Kong is unique. There is no shortage of reasons why Hong Kong holds such a special place in the hearts of residents and tourists alike. There are the big and obvious: towering skyscrapers, dramatic mountains, and huge ships, but here are also the small quirks that are just as important: Romer’s tree frog, the Hong Kong jumping spider, and the humble fish ball. However, despite all this, if you ask the average person what they first think of when you say “Hong Kong”, there is a good chance they might say ‘The Star Ferry’. But why is this antiquated and impractical ferry so iconic? We decided to ask two people who might just know why!

Labeling

Label the elements of a feature article introduction

Drag labels to their correct position on the image

Statement about topic (keep it short).

Supporting statement.

Examples to support the statement.

Question your article is going to answer

Open Ended

What two things does the introduction do?

Why does it ask a question at the end?

Open Ended

Write the introduction.

Open Ended

Write the introduction.

First background body paragraph

What can you introduce?

In the first body paragraph in a feature article, you should just introduce the topic and some interesting things about it.

Look at the sample on the next slide.

First body paragraph

Famous around the world, the Star Ferry has featured in many films, books, and tv shows. The ferry is now over 100 years old, but has changed little. It transports daily commuters and tourists alike between Central, Wan Chai, and Tsim Sha Tsui. It is an old boat that is still open-air and runs on petrol. The ride takes around 8 minutes and costs approximately 20 HKD. It starts running early in the morning and finishes late at night. The boat is often busy with tourists and there can be long queues. One thing you might not know about the Star Ferry is that sometimes the colour on the boat will change because of advertising. For example, recently there has been a McDonalds ferry. Another interesting fact is that the journey time of the Star Ferry has recently become much shorter due to Victoria Harbour shrinking as land has been reclaimed.

Fill in the Blanks

One thing you m

not know is that

Fill in the Blanks

Another interesting

is that

Open Ended

Write a first body paragraph describing tai chi

Open Ended

Write a body paragraph describing cosplay in Hong Kong.

Open Ended

1. What does 'when he got down on one knee' mean?

2. Why did the writer choose the words 'take a trip into the past'?

Open Ended

What are the five reporting verbs?

Fill in the Blanks

Who is this?

Open Ended

What questions would you ask him?

Open Ended

What answers would he give?

Open Ended

Write a paragraph using his answers!