| How to Write Leads For Feature Articles |
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| Tuesday, 16 March 2010 | |
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Writing the lead is one of the most important parts if any feature writing. Even in a news story and editorial writing, the lead is always the center of attract when busy people are going to read such a news report, editorial writing or a feature story. But writing a feature article is way too different for news and editorial writing. Same goes in writing a lead. The lead is the first paragraph in your passage. It contains direct and specific information about the issue or topic that you are writing. The lead needs to be written effectively so that you readers can decide properly to read the whole article that you wrote. A strong lead is crucial to a well-written feature. When you turn that page to a specific title, the way the leads usually determines the mood of the article, apart from introducing the subject to the reader. Writers need to learn how to write a better lead. The following reminders will help you on how to write one effectively: When To Write Leads Of course, the majority always answer to write the lead first bore jumping to your article's body. Although, there are some people who are comfortable in writing the lead after they had finish the whole article. That means, they wrote the lead of their article lastly. Most writers always compose the lead first. In fact, I know quite a few who couldn't proceed to composing the rest of the piece until they are able to put a satisfactory one together. It makes sense to write the lead first, as it usually defines how the rest of feature follows. However, it's always a good idea not to restrict yourself in this manner. I have seen so many writers end up paralyzed when they're unable to put a lead together that the work ends up being stalled. In truth, you can write the lead for your feature any time, even after running the rest of it through your proofreading software. Types Of Leads Even leads do have different types and must always know how to determine and use these types of leads into their articles. Most newspaper and magazine features use one of these six different techniques to write leads in their feature articles: 1. Summary leads gives an overview of the subject, answering the basic questions for the reader (who, what, when, where, why, and how) in as succinct a manner as possible. Most of the time, it makes sense to focus on three or less of those questions to keep your opening tight. 2. Salient feature leads put the focus on one particular aspect of the story, giving emphasis to a single specific characteristic of the subject. 3. Case-approach leads use a specific story - one representative example - to illustrate the point of the feature. 4. Suspense leads introduce the feature, but cut it off right before revealing the big news of the piece. The effect is teasing the reader into perusing the rest of the story. About the Author: Keyword Tags: feature articles, features, introduction, Leads |
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