Feature Article 

What is a feature article? A feature article is an article written to give more depth to topical events, people or issues. It is written by an expert or a journalist. These texts provide background information on a newsworthy topic as well as the writer’s personal slant or experience. 

Characteristics:

1. Voice: Features articles use a mix of first, second or third person as appropriate. First person (I, me, my, we, us, our) can be used to establish a relationship with the reader, a relationship with the person who has died and to possibly explain anecdotes. Third person is used where the speaker is providing a personal history of the deceased or an outline of their life. 

2. Language & Grammar:  Language choice can be formal or informal depending on topic. The use of informal, colloquial (slang) and first person narrative creates a personal tone to the piece.  Mainly present tense is used.  Variety of long and short sentences.  Contractions are acceptable (didn’t, it’s, that’s, we’ll).  Relevant jargon adds authenticity to information and opinions presented.  Use of anecdotes or background information to maintain reader interest.  Facts or evidence validates the writer's viewpoints.  In humorous articles, exaggeration and generalisation are used to heighten humour.  Rhetorical questions can be used to involve the reader.  Emotive words are used to evoke a personal response in the reader.  Figurative language may be used to engage the reader’s imagination (eg. imagery, simile, description).  Direct quotes can personalise the topic. 

3. Structure and Organisation:

         Introduction  

1. Headline: to identify the focus of the feature; 

2. attention grabbing  Subheading: provides an angle or point of view  

3. By-line: to identify the expert or journalist writing the report  

4. Hook: An interesting first sentence to ‘hook’ readers’ attention and establish a point of view through a direct statement, example or a hypothetical question.  

5. Introductory paragraph: This paragraph expands on the hook and establishes the writer’s tone and focus for the article. 

6. Body  Paragraph 2 : first main point. An explanation of how this person/issue has contributed to society. This should be an interpretation of events in the author’s own words.  

7. Paragraph 3 onwards: further main points provided to explain interesting events or achievements about the person/issue to inform the reader /delve into the issue further. 

8. Facts, evidence, quotes, challenging questions to the reader, opinions are included in these paragraphs  

9. Photographs, tables, diagrams and graphs are often used to accompany the text in feature articles to provide facts or evidence to support the author’s explanation and interpretation of the person/issue/events  Can include highlighted pieces of text to emphasise specific events or quotes 

10. Conclusion The concluding paragraph should leave a lasting impression by:  

11. Reminding the reader of the article's main idea  

12. Suggesting an appropriate course of action  

13. Encouraging a change of attitude or opinion 

Personality profiles are made to bring the audience closer to a person. Interviews and observations as well as creative writing is done to paint a true to life image of a person. If something has practical emotional or entertainment value then an interesting story can be written on it. Many topics, issues and places keep trending into day to day activities of human life. These topics or issues can make background for a feature article. Intex stories are used by journalists and researchers to go beyond the obvious and do a thorough background research to give a detailed account of a basic news story.  Backgrounders are basically analytical pieces.  These are used to explain the news, especially the current news. Feature articles can also focus on processes like how to create or make certain things like production of potato chips in a mega factory etc. 

So in short, Feature articles belong to 6 different types

1.  personality profiles

2.  human interest stories

3.  trending stories

4.  in-depth analyses

5.  Background research stories

6.  How-to process features

Examples of feature articles:

1. https://www.fialkowska.com/files/images/articles/27_InternationalPiano_July2016.jpg

2. https://autismmalaysia.com/2016/04/feature-article-the-star-newspaper-doing-small-things-with-great-love/

3. (Source:https://caroline-chisholm.squarespace.com/s/Feature-article-structure.pdf)

Some topics for Feature Articles:

Covid-19: The Pandemic of Politics

Pandemic 2.0: Lessons I learned

Online teaching: A far better way to sleep

Clash of the Clowns: World of Mobile Games 

Organic Farming: a Ray of Hope. 

Things about your village.

Any historical monument in your locality.

Effect of Drugs

Use of technology: Mobiles

An interesting meeting with a foreign national.

A normal class is a heterogeneous mixture of individuals trying to focus attention on a particular topic. A teacher in a classroom is someone who orchestrates some very difficult notes in order to strike a Symphony. Classes have never been enjoyable to all. They have been joyous only to the few. Classes are a very basic but voluntary activity in a student's life; inseparable from teachers who take this opportunity to interact, guide, reprimand and counsel students and sometimes to impart knowledge selectively and secretly and to the actually present-the few. 

Classroom experience can be a valuable thing in a learner's life. Back in March 2020 when lockdown in India was imposed no one even thought about how the things were going to be. Everyone was happy at first. The students and teachers considered it to be an unscheduled vacation. Slowly, the gravity of the situation, the severity of the pandemic and the drastic paltriness of the system came to the foreground. A soaring positivity that a joint resolve could easily defeat the virus and the exuberance  in banging utensils and lighting lamps was noteworthy. But people began to die and the fear started to creep in all of us. Exuberance gave way to wonder, wonder changed into surprise and surprise became shock. Some strong-headed and able-bodied survived the first wave and encouraged others to defy the rules and ride the wave. A great many  rejected the whole pandemic as a hoax.  Those who underwent the increasing complexity of surviving affirmed its existence. 

A section of society was suffering silently amidst all these sentimental, chaotic and chauvinistic series of events. These were the students of India and teachers became their torturers. During the initial period when the online classes started it appeared a revolutionary step forward. Everyone was enthusiastic and clung to their phones, mobile devices and laptops like a young monkey clings to its mother.  In theory it was a brilliant idea; a remote teacher whose voice and video is broadcast to a group of students separated by great physical distance but held together by the Internet: a modern interweb of computers. In practice many had no mobile devices or smartphones or laptops. These were on the other side of the digital divide and hence completely neglected in this revolutionized method.  The students who were able to join, perhaps by using their parents’ hard earned money that was used to buy smartphones and laptops; joined with a bang but often left the classes in a whimper. They tried and connected themselves to the digitalised learning when another hurdle appeared: Connectivity. Mobile-network too started playing its tricks. Not everyone heard everything. In urban areas the status of network connectivity may be excellent but in rural areas it is quite difficult because of poor reception.  Students had to climb trees; on the top of houses; on the top of hills; perhaps on top of everything to catch that extra ‘bar’ in their phones to get the clarity of sound; to get the elixir of knowledge. 

Pandemic has reassured us all that as fortune favours the brave, so the Internet favours the rich since they have the money, they can switch networks, they can buy any sim card, they can upgrade the smartphones and they can connect to whomever they like. Unfortunately in India there are poor students too.  Surfing on the electromagnetic waves of weak reception students tried hard to listen to what the teacher says, but when nothing worked they lost hope and their interest as well. Now online classes are lullabies to the ear.  People get to sleep by merely joining an online class. The sleep one gets is beyond one's imagination. We've been sleeping daily for many hundred thousand centuries since our inception on this planet but it is now clear that the sleep one gets while attending an online class is nothing short of the “Yog-nidra” that Krishna talked about in the Gita. Such is the miracle of online classes they have brought Dwapara Yuga back to the present time. Present day Arjunas have submitted to the agonies of virtual Krishnas on the altar of their screens. The sound of the microphone is muted. The validity of data packs is exhausted and the suffering continues. The virtual must return to the real lest we should lose the value of human to human interaction. The pointed perception of classroom discussion needs to be restored where even  mischief is a lesson.

Interview Skills:Common Type:Job interview

Interview is a formal meeting in which somebody is asked questions to check their suitability for a particular job.

Interviews can be a conversation between two parties and the purpose is to exchange information regarding a particular topic.

An interview is a psychological and sociological instrument of interaction with a specific purpose.

It is a two-way process.

Interviewer is the one who conducts or organizes the interview and interviewee is  the person appearing for the interview

Objectives of the Interview:

Interviews are conducted for various reasons:

-to select a person for a specific task

-to monitor performance

-to collect information

-to exchange information

-to counsel

Types of Interviews:

Depending on the objectives and nature, interviews can be categorized as follows:

1.Job interview

2.Information Interview

3. Persuasive Interview

4. Exit Interview

5.Evaluation Interview

6.Counselling

7.Conflict resolution

8.Disciplinary

9.Termination

10.Media

Problem Solving: An ideal kind of interview with proper two way comm.

1. Job interview:  Interview is a formal meeting in which somebody is asked questions to check their suitability for a particular job.

a)Employer wants to know about the applicant’s abilities and experience; candidate wants      to know about position on offer and organization 

b) Job Interviews are formal and structured interviews

2. Information Interview: One person asks the question and the answers are given by the other     e.g. doctor-patient, boss-subordinate 

3. Persuasive Interview:To make the other person agree to a new idea, service or product.

4. Exit Interview:When a person leaves a job to join a new one then 

 5. Evaluation Interview: These are done to evaluate employees for their performance.

    6.Counselling: Counselling is done to provide guidance to someone in trouble. 

    7.Conflict resolution: This type of interview aims to resolve some conflict between two or more   parties.

        8.Disciplinary:correction of behaviour

        9.Termination: When someone needs to be informed about the termination of his/her services.

Job Interview: Campus interviews

                        On-site Interview

                        Telephonic

                        Video Conferencing Interviews

Expectations of the employer/interviewer

1. Confidence

2. Expression:Technical knowledge:academic

3. Behaviour: attitude, ego,metal agility, communication skills,body language,patience

Creativity, personality

4. Age

5. Management skills/leadership quality

Set of Skills

1. Technical Skill/Subject knowledge

2. Analytical Skills

3. Career objective

4. Mental Agility

5. Communication Skills

6. Interpersonal Skills : team work, seniors colleagues

7. Adaptability/Flexibility skills

8. Management Skills

9. Creativity/out of box solutions

10. Positive Attitude/ can-do attitude

11. Social skills