A feature article that cultivates awareness and support

Order Description

Length (Text Only: 3-4 pages, double-spaced in 12-point type, one-inch margins
Topic: Students will be able to select hot topics that are either related to current practices in their fields or the United States. The feature can also focus on
current international events if the United States involved.
Please keep in mind that I often describe these essays in my letters of recommendation. In other words, choose a topic that will impress future employers.
I reserve the right to help students avoid trivial, common, cliché, redundant, or unnecessarily offensive topics. I will hold early mandatory appointments to help
students refine their topics and create research plans. Students who change topics must notify me immediately.

Minimal Research Requirements:
• Six Secondary Sources from the MSU Library Online Databases
• Two Secondary Sources from respected, reputable blogs, websites, videos, podcasts or news organizations.
Online and print dictionaries and encyclopedias (such as Wikipedia)will not fulfill these requirements. However, students are welcome to use this type of reference for
background information. If student writers use this type of source, they must attribute, cite and acknowledge each source according to MLA style.

Documentation: In-text documentation will consist of attributions and MLA-style parenthetical citations. Students will also prepare MLA-style Works Cited lists.

Remix and Presentations: This essay will be associated with a remix project and a presentation, both of which will be described separately.

Submission: The final draft should be submitted both in D2L and in a flat, two-pocket portfolio.
• The D2L submission should be created using website formatting, which is available for free through WordPress and similar sources.
• The printed portfolio should be text-only.

Portfolio: The center brackets should include:
• A cover page including an attractive image and engaging title
• The final draft with your name and course number in the top right corner of every page
• An MLA works cited page
• A reflective letter explaining your rhetorical strategies and techniques.
The side pockets should include peer review sheets, Eli reviews, and any major drafts with comments from the Writing Center or me.

Description: This essay will follow magazine-feature style, which is explained in greater detail below. Although this feature-writing assignment requires a lot of
research, your essay will be unlike typical, old-fashioned essays because it will not focus on a single-concept thesis statement. It will synthesize primary and
secondary sources, along with personal inquiry and analysis; it will express creative and critical thought; and it will showcase personal style. It will avoid telling
readers what to think; however, it will provide sufficient information for the readers to draw their own conclusions.
Feature Style: Feature articles generally serve two purposes: to entertain and to inform. They are non-fiction, but they include more than just facts. They also
include engaging language, relevant anecdotes, surprising connections, and intriguing ideas. They tend to use narrative techniques. Such as character development,
scenic descriptions, colorful examples, thought-provoking illustrations and suspenseful structures. They usually “show more than they “tell.” However, they often allow
writers to express personal observations and opinions.
Features are organized with captivating introductions, subheads, and resonant endings. They rarely resolve complicated problems. However they give readers sufficient
information and analysis to draw their own conclusions. Sometimes they conclude with calls to action or revisions of opinion. However they may simply promote deeper
understanding and reader involvement.
The main difference between print magazine and e-zine features is that online features can include the effective positioning of graphic elements, videos and images.
Audience & Style: You will have the opportunity to select a suitable e-zine publication for your feature. It should be written for college- educated readers of popular
Science, Technology or American Culture periodicals, such as National Geographic, Smithsonian, New Yorker, Atlantic, Nautilus, Wired, Scientific American, Psychology
Today and lifestyle sections of world-class newspapers, such as the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. After you choose your intended publication, you will
analyze the e-zine to determine your audience and establish your style.
Purpose: The “Writing to Engage” feature should actively engage readers and help them develop well-informed opinions about important current topics—either in a
specific field or society. In theory, the more readers invest time and effort in developing their own ideas, the more they interested they become. Writers who are able
to engage readers are able to lead by example.

Your feature essay does not need “to take sides” in any real or perceived arguments. However, it should accurately represent valid differences of opinions. It should
explore intriguing questions, focus on substantial evidence, satisfy reasonable curiosity, and make readers care. Your essay should never tell readers what to think,
but it should lead them through a logical development of ideas and evidence that will help them draw their own conclusions.

Assessment
Your essay will be evaluated on the following:
• Does it meet the minimal research and documentation requirements?
• Does it challenge assumptions and increase knowledge?
• Does it develop appropriate concepts for its intended audience and publication?
• Does it reflect creative and critical thought?
• Does it support all major statements with a well-balanced variety of evidence?
• Does it develop ideas in logical progressions?
• Does the feature showcase authentic style and voice?
• Does it engage readers and make them care?
• Does it follow commonly accepted diction, grammar, style and structure—or does it have a logical justification for deviating from mainstream syntax?

Learning Goals
• To analyze style, subject and situation
• To synthesize primary and secondary research with critical thought
• To build logical connections
• To develop authentic personal voice and appropriate style
• To employ narrative strategies to enrich writing
• To foster reader engagement

Learning Outcomes
This assignment fulfills the Tier One learning outcomes in that it will help students develop greater understandings of themselves, their cultures and the world. It
will give them confidence to explore ideas, consider multiple viewpoints and express their own opinions. It will teach them to analyze and appeal to specific audiences
and situations with well-developed substantive evidence and logical arguments; and it will give help them build connections with others.