How To Write Special Feature Articles

apers and magazines. In glancing through current publications, the average reader is attracted chiefly by headlines or titles, illustrations, and authors' names. If any one o

troduction to one article or short story, has plenty of others to choose from. But if the opening sentences hold his att

mmary of which it consists, should be complete in itself. Unless, on the other hand, the introduction is an organic part of the article, it fails of its purpose. The beginning must present some vital phase of the subject; it should not be merely something attractive attached to the article to catch the reader's notice. In his effort to make the beginning attractive, an inexperienced writer is inclin

to produce a single unified impression; (2) the development of the introduction to a disproportionate length; (3) failure to make the beginning

study them from the point of view of their suitability for various types of articles. The seven distinct types of beginnings are: (1) summary; (2) narrativ

event, the persons and things concerned, the time, the place, the cause, and the result, answers his questions, What? Who? When? Where? Why? How? Not only are the important facts summarized in such a beginning, but the most striking detail is usually "played up" in the first group of words o

y Begi

1

s City

AIR PALA

the business district of the city, overlooking a horizon miles away over valley and hill, stands the finest tuberculosis hospital in the United States. The newly complete

2

York

E COST OF L

E COOLI

h school, a girl of thirteen has been the means of reducing the ex

s and brothers and sisters in a five-room apartment at No. 769 East One Hundred and Fif

the present time being worked out in two thousand other New York h

3

Out

T FOR CL

TANCE D

e who drink it are babies. The milk comes from forty-four thousand dairy farms scattered thr

re it lands on the front doorstep of the consumer. The situation in New Yo

s impossible in many instances to know from the introduction whether what follows is to be a short story or a special article. An element of suspense m

nce or confession story, the introduction is only the first part of a continuou

tion before the writer proceeds to generalize from them. The advantage of this inductive method of explanation grows out of the fact that, after a general idea has been i

anecdote, an incident, or an important eve

s often used in the introduction to special articles, whether for relating an

ive Be

1

Out

T. WA

COTT AND LYMAN

ex-slave, promptly replied that what his race most wanted was education, and what they most needed was industrial education, and that if he (the colonel) would agree to work for the passage of a bill appropriating money for the maintenance of an industrial school for Negroes, he, Adams, would help to get for him the Negro vote and the election. This bargain between an ex-slaveholder and an ex-slave was made and faithfully observed on both sides, with the

2

ie's

IRES MAD

OMER

heeled wagon waiting to see the mighty proprietor of the saw mill who guessed

n I do f

ful lot of interest to yuh." Reaching over the side of the wagon he plac

anced at it depreciatingly

know where it come from. I could take

ied to lift it. But he could not budge it. "It does seem to have lead in

in handy. Ef you'll saw me out one I'll take you to the spot." And so the deal was consummated, the hill-billy gleefully driving a

s thus that the great Joplin lead and z

3

y's Ma

HAIRMAN OF THE WA

ODORE

ool and make his own way in the world on account of his father's dea

hief. "We need a boy, but you're not

n a box?" suggested the y

pment of the freight-office and the

4

York

EXPLOSIVE AND GIVES I

e boat. They sank the box in deep water very cautiously, and then rowed slowly back to land, holding one end of the wire. Presently a col

yelling that every window in his farmhouse, nearly a mile away, had been shattered. The party of young m

Department's newest, safest, and most powerful explosive; that the young men composed the dynamite squad of the Engineer Corps of th

5

ys

LOYEES RUN

by the workers, and for t

ARD A.

ave it to any fair-min

name one, I will name another

the umpires and they d

as-in our view-a penalty for carelessness; we did not care about the money. This girl had been short in

I am short, am I a thief? Why should I pay back the mo

he practice in an informal way. Out of it grew the present arbitration board, which is the corner-stone of the relation between our

both cases the aim is to create immediate interest by vivid portrayal of definite persons and places. The concrete word picture, like the concrete instance in a narrative beginning, makes a quick and

sions, as well as emotions, may be described. Frequently several different impressions are combined. T

sketched in a few suggestive words, whereas he is likely to be confused by a mass of details. Picture-making words and those imitative of sounds, as well as

tive Be

1

y's Ma

IGHES

RACE

Supreme Court of

ice, may be heard by the visitor who chances to pass the doors of the Supreme Court Chamber in the Capitol of the United

in time to see nine justices of our highest court, clad in long, bl

pectfully at attention while the justices take their pl

preme Court of the United States are admonished to draw ne

er a slig

ed States and this

ors do likewise. The Supreme Court of the United States, general

2

er's W

OUGHER, A PREACHE

CLARK M

ants and the camels; take away the careening stage coaches and the thundering hoofs of horses, and all the strange conglomeration of dramatic activities with which these inventive stage managers are accustomed to panoply their productions. Instead of all this, people the stage with a chorus choir in white smocks, and in front of the choir put a lean, upst

3

Indep

RED SCHOOLH

y Schoolhouse R

NA M.

gray clapboarded sides, window blinds hang loose and window sashes sag away from their frames. Groaning upon one hinge the

n rows of desks of varying sizes and in varying stages of destruction. A kitchen table faces the door. Squarely in the middle of the rough

forward so eagerly during the summer-nothing but a tumbledo

4

ork Tr

N OFFICIAL A

ENE F

ert, with that look in the eyes that one sees in LePage's Jeanne d'Arc; the click, click of bullets from the distant rifle range blended with a chor

5

Housek

LAND MI

ALDEN

n clouds flung faint scudding shadows across the snow, two little girls, cloaked, shawled, hooded out

sleep save for a yellow light in a chamber. Somewher

nd swaying white-limbed birches-the way was slushy with melting snow. The litt

mill was in sight-beyond the slope of bleak pastures outlined with stone walls-sunk deep in the valley beside a rapid mountain

er was fourteen. She had worked two years. The terse record of the Natio

time not to be late, at six. Their home is two and one-half miles from the mill. Each earns thr

6

dence

G THE NATI

ly the Singer Must Memorize, Vis

HN G.

ll now sing 'The Star Spangled Banner'"; the orchestra starts, the diners reach frantically for their menus and each, according to his

uncharted shoals, all make some kind of a noisy noise, and lo, it i

st, armed with plenary powers, crashes into the giddy old tune, dragging the congregation resis

temporary respite from the shredded syllables and scrambled periods, a

ses of "America." Granting that the tune is pitched comfortably, the first verse marches with vigor and certitude, but not

, as it unmasks the ignorance of said neighbor, and the tune ends in a sort of polyglo

er of our land to-day. Why is it, then, that the people make such a sorry exhibition of themselves when

s sufficiently unusual, or is presented in a sufficiently striking form, it at once commands attentio

r types of beginning, such as the narrative or the descriptive introduction, the quo

ce the impression of enormous size. If these figures are so large that the mind cannot grasp them, it is well, by means of comparisons, to translate them into te

irst or the only one of its kind immediately arrests att

ndants, fascinates the average person as much as does the fortune-teller's prophecy. There is danger of exaggeration, however, in making predictions. When writers magnify the importan

ison in a metaphor is implied rather than expressed, the points of likeness may not immediately be evident to the reader and thus the figurative

ugh not always easy to frame, and hence not so often employed as it might be, a paradoxical expression is an exc

ession that is not too bizarre may be employed. The chief danger to guard against is that o

Statement

1

trated

ES A HEAR

G. HU

unds fanciful, doesn't it? But it is literally a fact that the automatic recording of the heart's action by means of tracings from the point of a tiny

2

n Tran

TO THE EMERGENC

State's newest medical unit-one which was installed in three hours on the top of Corey Hill, and which in much l

3

s City

OUR HO

e season of

them or the flues may have rusted and slipped out of place unobserved in the long period of disuse. Persons star

4

York

OOL FOR CHILDRE

ad eyesight has been urged for years as a cause of backwardness and incorrigibility in school children. Now the public sc

5

Out

D BAD HEALTH BY M

drifting. We have already gone far on a course that leads to the coming of a toothless age in future generations. Only by immediate adoptio

6

er's

PAN O

LTER

die in a second, by the tick of the watch. The chair upon which you sit may collapse, the car in which you ride may collide,

ce but the bet of an unknown number of yearly premiums against the payment of the policy? * * * * The length

7

Out

ICANS

EGORY

n abroad or born here of foreign-born parents. In short, in Detroit, only every fourth person you meet was born in this coun

8

s City

WN FEELS IT

dered if the rosy exterior were not the mockery of an internal fever. They called in physicians, and after seven months spent

r undertaken by a town of its size, and in so doing has found out that it is afflicted with a lot of ills

. He called his assistant, Prof. B.W. Burgess, and Rev. William A. Powell in consultation, and about one hundred and fifty club women were taken into the case. T

9

Science

CHAIN THAT BI

ES NEVER

all is always to be seen-the Earth itself. The chain itself is apparently withou

1

ed Sunday

WHEN OUT

OHN

m can explain why a piano cannot be said to

1

d Man's

STEEL

S FREDERI

of limestone, and 4? pounds of air for each pound of iron to be produce

when stated in its simplest terms; it also

1

ie's

TRICITY M

RICITY AT TEN CENTS PER K

power Mazda lam

flatiron

g enough to produce

chine for

in diameter

enough to make f

from two t

buffer fo

dish 1

rill for

once a day

watt radiator

pay Uncle Sam $200,000,000 every year for taxes-seven out of every ten use it in some form every day. It is unmistakably the most vital factor to-day in America's prosperity. Its resources are

r a sign, immediately catch the eye at the beginning of an article. Every conceivable source may be drawn on for quotations, provided, of course, that

m or song prefaces an article. When the verse is printed in smaller type than the article, it need not be enclosed in quotation mark

e significant the quoted statement, the more effective will be the introduction. When the quotation consists of several sentences

ways enclosed in quotation marks, but are often set off

, price lists, menus, telegrams, invitations, or parts of legal documents. These are not infrequen

ion Be

1

rk Even

IED AND

and Low Jinks Practiced About

ELISE V

ows are

ares are

arching throu

ing with band, in tune with nothing but the dominant note-the joy of reunion. A motley lot of men they are-sailors a

k and their worries, and leaving families and creditors at home, slip away to th

2

r's Mo

OF THE T

LTER

"is a very pretty quarrel as it stands; we s

y, was the attitude of employers and trade-unions all over the world toward industrial disputes. Words were wasted breath; the time to strike or to lock out your employees was when you were ready and your opponent was not. If you

3

re's M

G ON

EMAR KA

rincess in a magic chariot, the whee

ly believed that Cinderella went to a ball in a state coach which had once been a pumpki

biles-over two and a half million of them-but they have ceased to be magic chariots to us. And as

is nothing so paradoxical, nothing so daring in concep

4

Housek

R'S ADVICE TO A

W BY JOH

I used to get good marks in most of my studies, but in arithmetic my mark was about sixty. That made me unhappy. But once when I was eight, I distinctly

5

Delin

TART A C

GNES

e amount of money!" sighs the wife of John in every sizable

ry quick-lunch places which are all he has time for, or can afford, don't have appetizing cooking or surroundings, and all my forethought and planning over o

and so seldom gets for that sum is good, wholesome, appetizing food, quickly served. He wants to eat in a place which is quiet and not too bare and ugly. He want

oblem and, when wisely located and well run, the answer to many a com

6

Enterprise

ION OF AMERI

C. RO

D.C.-America

ates department of labor, as expressed by Raymond P. Crist, d

7

nd Gas Eng

NCE THAT DO

.B.

dorsed hereon, or added hereto, shall be void if the interest

m building, and will read it carefully, in nine cases out of ten, he will find tucked away so

ntil we know the answer. So a question put to us at the beginning of an article piqu

repeat the first question in other words. It is frequently desirable to break up a long question into a number of short ones to enabl

gative statements, nevertheless retain enough of their interrogati

ours," is often embodied in the question, and sometimes readers are addressed by some d

ct question, "Do you know why the sky is blue?" loses much of its force when changed into the indirect form, "Few people know why the sky is blue"; s

on Beg

1

s City

E DROUTH T

r condition, becomes a limiting factor in crop production. Measured in terms of wheat production, a 36-inch rainfall, if properly distributed through the growing season and utilized only by the crop growing land, is sufficient for the product

2

rk Even

NE-QUARTER

y paring, how much has the family thrown into the garbage can during the year? Answer, $10. Applying this conse

3

York

CHIEVES AGRIC

RT G. S

Can fickle nature be offset and crops b

ar Bridgeton, N.J., has answered in

4

rancis

TE TO EDUCATE PRETT

ERINE A

state to educa

tinue teaching long enough to make adequate r

5

r Feature

NOW MEASURED A

e questions that puzzled scientists. Not until Dr. A.J. Carlson devised a method of ascertaining exactly the nature of hunger by measuring and

6

Out

D ALONG

ES HENRY

in adding fifteen

sound strong persons absolute

mercial houses and banks in New York City, were given a medical examination in a recent

e the f

were absol

from some defect, great or small,

7

ry Gen

UNTS FOR FA

TON O.

Do you know? Not one farmer in ten does know and it is all because not one in ten has any accounts apart fr

8

Out

ORCED

CITY

u a better judge of such matters than they? Have you felt that your physician's advice to spend at least three-quarters of an hour at lunch was good advice for somebody else, but that you had neither time nor inclination for it? Have you felt that you w

9

ie's

STARCH OUT

RALD

n perfect step, left arms moving in unison, rifles held smartly at the right shoulder, head and eyes straight to the front (with never so much as a forehead wrinkled to dislo

me and in the best possible condition. And it may astonish one to be told that marching is the principal occupation of troops in

the days of the "gentle reader," but its appeal is perennial. To the pronoun "you" may be added the designation of the particular class of readers addressed, such as "You, mothers," or "You, Mr. Salaried Man." The imperative verb is perha

ddress B

1

York

FT DODGERS IF DOCTOR

cal exemption board, here's a bit of advice: Don't. Since you are Mr. Would-Be-Slacker there is no use preaching patriotism to you. But here is something that

2

can Ma

ANAGER OF COW

UCE B

peak of West Pinnacle that Daniel Boone first looked out over the blue grass region of Kentucky. You follow the pike around the base of the Pinnacle, and there you are, rig

3

ago T

TO RETA

MIN H. J

another and another, and who finally turns up as a collector for your milkman. You all know the hard working milliner and, perhaps, have followed her career until she was lost to sight amid sickness and distress. Y

d they

4

ted Sunda

PUT THE "PEP

t your

isn't it? Yet within that one second it is possible to pr

ible to print, cut, fold and stack in neat piles one thousand big newspapers! To