SCIENCE AND HEALTH

Feature Writing

“Science values detail, precision, the impersonal, the technical, the lasting, facts, numbers and being right. Journalism values brevity, approximation, the personal, the colloquial, the immediate, stories, words and being right now. There are going to be tensions.”

—Quentin Cooper, of BBC Radio 4’s Material

World

What is science and health feature writing?

It is a an area of journalism combining the accuracy and technicality of science and health, and the sensationalism and entertainment of feature writing.

Aim of Science and Health Writing

The aim of a science and health writing is to render the very detailed, specific, and often jargon-laden information produced by science into a form that non-scientists can understand and appreciate, while still communicating the information accurately.

Feature spells

FEATURE

Factual and not fictitious or inventedEntertainingAppealing to the emotionsTimely or not timelyUnusual (deals with unusual experiences)Reader-oriented (interesting to the readers)Explanation and Extrapolation

Characteristics of a Good Feature Story

Creativity Human

InterestFactual Content

Entertainment Value

Characteristics of a Good Feature Story

Entirety Variety of Tone

and StyleOrganization

Timelessness

SCIENCE FEATURE LEADS

It should be able to attract the outright attention of readers.

Kinds of Leads

1. Question Lead

Kinds of Leads

2. Exclamation Lead/Astonisher

Kinds of Leads

3. Quotation Lead

Kinds of Leads

4. Descriptive Lead

Kinds of Leads

5. Striking Statement/Punch Lead

Kinds of Leads

6. Contrast Lead

Kinds of Leads

7. Narration

Kinds of Leads

8. Summary Lead

For every headache tablet, cough syrup or antibiotic you swallow, for every prescribed injection you receive, someone, somewhere, has volunteered to let that drug loose on their system before it’s been deemed safe for public consumption. Perhaps they have been motivated by the chance of free medical treatment for whatever is ailing them. Or by the chance to make easy money lying around. Or maybe they just want to help medical science.

- Should You Be A Human Guinea Pig, Reader’s Digest

Amputees will tell you it’s the simple things you miss most when you lose a limb – the ability to hold a Styrofoam cup without crushing it, the dexterity to pick up a piece of paper off a flat surface.

- Building the Bionic Man, Reader’s Digest

The Body • The body of the feature story must have unity, coherence, and emphasis.• It must be able to hold and sustain the interest of readers.• The paragraphs are shorter than those of literary short stories or novels but longer than paragraphs in a news story.• The writer makes use of descriptions , narrations, figures of speech, idiomatic expressions, quotations, surveys, statistics, interview, incidents, and anecdotes that give color to the story.

The Body

• Discussions are comprehensive- always have the arrow pointing to the subject.• Must facilitate rich vocabulary.• Must have 4 Es- Explain, Evidence, Example, and Extra Detail

The Conclusion• Make sure your conclusion has

impact.• You may give a condensed

summary or state the salient point in the story.

• It could be an inspiring message, advice, a call for action or simply food for thought.

• This is where you give the highest point of interest in the feature story.

Possible Feature Endings

1. Summary Ending

Possible Feature Endings

2. Stinger

Possible Feature Endings

3. Climax

Possible Feature Endings

4. Un-ending

Possible Feature Endings

5. Other types• Thought- provoking

question•Proverb•Forecast•Quotation•Repetition of a sentence•Reference to the title.