Look up 2 feature stories. Analyze how it’s written and explain the type of structure, interviews carried out, quotes and ending.
Rewrite the story with a different introduction (2-3 paras).
____________________________________________________________________
Feature Story 1: Malaysian crafter sells crochet portraits to make ends meet during Covid-19
Structure
The news structure of feature story 1 is diamond style. The journalist did not start the story with the most crucial information, but with personal or specific info about Norlisa’s photocopying business affected during the pandemic and she had to find a way which ends up using her crocheting skills to supplement the family’s income. This head draws the readers to the story because it can provoke the curiosity of readers to know how Norlisa coped with the pandemic by shifting to a new job and what is interesting about the job.
Interviews
The journalist carried out an interview with the featured person in the article, Norlisa. He or she focused more on the difficulties faced by Norlisa during the pandemic, how she learned needlework like crochet, knitting and embroidery, why she insisted on learning these skills and the process of crocheting or knitting. The journalist focused more on the impact of the pandemic and how she took advantage of e-learning platforms to build on her needlework skills.
Quotes
The feeling, expression and experience sharing of Norlisa that can provoke the readers’ emotions are written in quotes by the journalist. By including the quotes, the readers can feel the emotions and struggles of the featured person. The percentage of quotes in this article is less because the journalist only included quotes in some crucial information that can help in engaging the readers’ interests.
Ending
This story ends with a circle technique-looping back to the beginning to reprise the scene in which Norlisa took the leap of faith with an open mind to learn digital crochet when she faced problems in the pandemic. The journalist pulled back to the bravery of Norlisa who was willing to venture into a new business which was a big gamble. Then, the story ended with a good and impactful quote, “If you never test the waters, you will never know if you will sink or swim.”. This quote is powerful to leave a strong impression to the reader after reading this feature.
Rewrite the Introduction
The introduction can be rewritten into an inverted pyramid style by putting the crucial information and the 5Ws1H of the story in the lead. The information about Norlisa successfully getting her name into the Malaysia Book of Records is important to grab the reader’s attention to read the whole story. Then, it is continued with more information about Norlisa and her background.
A needlework enthusiast based in Kuala Lumpur, who initially crocheters to supplement the family’s income during movement control orders, successfully got her name into the Malaysia Book of Records for crocheting the largest digital crochet portrait last May.
The digital crochet portrait designed by Norlisa, measuring 6.5ft (2m) by 4.8ft (1.49m), features Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar and Johor Permaisuri Raja Zarith Sofiah Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah during their coronation in 2015.
Since MCO, Norlisa has crocheted 24 photo portraits of famous Malaysians, for example, badminton icon Datuk Lee Chong Wei, former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Muhyiddin Yassin and Malaysian astronaut Datuk Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor in two years.
The decision of making a breakthrough to learn digital crochet which is something new was made when Norlisa’s small printing business, owned by her husband and her, took a beating during the MCO.
|
Feature Story 2: How this award-winning author stumbled onto writing
Structure
The journalist makes use of the hourglass style for the news structure of feature story 2. At the beginning, the story begins with some important facts such as Shih-Li Kow’s crafted stories that can immediately transport readers to a poignant and meditative journey and also her books address crucial issues. Then, the story switches to a chronological account of how everything started when she attended the Silverfish Writing Programme that sparked her love for writing.
Interviews
The featured person in this story, Shih-Li Kow, was interviewed. The journalist focused more on her starting point on how she fell in love with writing, her writing process of thinking ideas, plotting, writing drafts, her own way and style of writing and what makes her successful today when interviewing her. The journalist stressed more on the experience of the writer herself during the interview.
Quotes
In this article, the journalist included a lot of quotes in almost every two paragraphs. The quotes were used to emphasize or elaborate on the key points before them. The quotes from Shih-Li Kow can help to give more colours and descriptions to the main information in the story.
Ending
The ending of this article wraps up the story and comes back to the content that is related to the lead which is about the beauty and value of writing. The whole story ends with a quote by Kow on what writing means to her. The last quotes of the article which is “Then, just inch forward; that’s all we can do, as practitioners of a craft.” is powerful and inspirational to motivate the readers and triggers readers’ emotions on the persistence of this successful writer. It is a strong ending for a feature.
Rewrite the Introduction
The introduction is rewritten into a diamond style. First, a personal info about the background of Kow was stated and only some specific information is revealed such as she published her first short story at the age of 40. This introduction can provoke the reader’s curiosity to continue reading the whole story to know more about Kow. Then, more information about Kow is slowly revealed to the reader.
At first Shih-Li Kow was not a writer, she was a chemical engineer. Stumbling upon writing career later in life, Shih-Li Kow published her first short story collection “Ripples and Other Stories” when she was 40.
Since Kow was a child, she enjoyed writing for her school’s newsletters. But she did things quite innocently when she was young without thinking of leveraging it as a career.
It all started when she attended the Silverfish Writing Programme that sparked her love of writing, making her “fell into writing, rather than really going after it”.
“I guess I’m going back to what I enjoyed doing as a kid,” she said.
|
Comments