Headline:
Grab our attention and give some idea about what your article will be about. Usually a couple of words. Might use a rhetorical question/alliteration/pun/etc. For example, an article about vampire fiction (think Twilight, Vampire Diaries, etc.) might read: "Love Sucks!"
Byline:
Provide a little more explanation that launches off the headline. Introduces yourself as the journalist. Can also incorporate things like rhetorical questions, puns, etc. For example, if we work from the previous headline, the byline might read:
"Why are teenage girls all around the world becoming so obssessed with cheesy vampire love stories? Carly Damen explores YA fiction's most popular genre."
Introduction/Lead:
This needs to set the scene/tone for your article. You need to introduce the overarching focus of the article - the statement that is listed on your task sheet - as well as provide insight into which two texts you will be exploring. The intro/lead should give your readers a clear insight into the tone you will take and what direction you are heading in for your story. This is where you should be making it clear whether you are entertaining your readers, informing/educating them or persuading them to think about an issue a certain way. It may also be a combination of the three. You can continue to use rhetorical questions, puns, emotive language, first/second person, anecdotes, etc.
Continuing with our vampire theme, here is an example:
We all know the scene, a group of teenage girls are sitting in a group during their lunch break at school talking excitedly about this super-hot guy. "He's so dreamy!", exclaims one girl, "He makes me just melt!" sighs another, "Why can't all guys be like him?" implores a third. While someone walking by may assume they are talking about someone they have just met, maybe a boy in one of their classes, the reality is that what they are really talking about is yet another, no doubt 'sparkly', fictional character in the new vampire series that they have started reading. So, what is it about this generation of teenage girls (and disturbingly many of their older counterparts) that makes them suckers (pardon the pun) for the vampire genre? The fact is that vampire fiction has been around for centuries, but what has happened to the likes of Bram Stoker's Dracula to allow for a whole YA Fiction genre to spring up that has girls around the world clamouring for the next piece of information about a family of vegetarian vampires (AKA the Cullen family in Stephanie Meyer's Twilight) or the adventures of Stefan and Elena (L.J. Smith's The Vampire Diaries)?
Main Body
(This is where I run out of examples relating to vampires - mainly because I don't have time to actually write a whole article about them and also because I won't be able to follow the structure that I think will be the best option for you in your task)
Your main body needs to provide you with the opportunity to draw out your main points, support the statement on the task sheet, and analyse and synthesise your texts. You also need to make sure that you continue to use the types of techniques in your writing that are suitable for a feature article. Think rhetorical questions for topic sentences, emotive language choices, second person so that you speak directly to your audience, collective first person, sweeping statements (in moderation). The easiest option for most of you will be set out the main body in the following way:
Paragraph 1: Discuss the subject matter of Maus. This is where you should make it very clear what the representation of war is in Maus and give an overview of what the book is about. As you explain the subject matter, take the time to include evidence to support your claims and talk about the techniques that Speigelman uses that helps the audience understand and connect (remember we are talking about influence) with the subject matter - much of this should come from your work in the first half of the unit and from your speech.
Paragraph 2: Discuss the subject matter of your poem/song. As per Maus, you need to articulate the representation of war in the poem/song and give an overview of its content. Again, you need examples. This is where SLIMS comes in. How has the poet used imagery, language choices, etc. to help the reader understand the content? (Remember we are talking about influence.)
Paragraph 3: Discuss the purpose of Maus. Why did Speigelman write it? What was he trying to achieve? How can you support these claims by talking about specific examples and techniques? (Remember we are talking about influence.)
Paragraph 4: Discuss the purpose of your poem/song. Why did the poet write it? What was he/she trying to achieve? You can use your notes from SLIMS to explore how certain techniques help the reaer recognise the purpose or achieve the purpose. (Remember we are talking about influence.)
Paragraph 5: Discuss the emotion found in Maus. How does reading it make you feel? How do you think Spiegelman felt when writing it? What emotions come through from the characters. Again, use evidence and discuss techniques. (Remember we are talking about influence.)
Paragraph 6: Discuss the emotion found in your poem/song. How does reading it make you feel? How do you think the poet felt writing it? What emotions are discussed/displayed in the poem? Use SLIMS to help draw out examples and discuss techniques. (Remember we are talking about influence.)
Conclusion:
Your conclusion needs to wrap up your discussion and draw back to the main idea of the article - what was being raised in the task sheet. If you are trying to persuade your readers to see one text as better than the other for some reason, this is where you need to do it. A good conclusion will leave your readers pondering what you have said long after they have finished reading the article. Think about how you can achieve this by using rhetorical questions, emotive language, etc.
In terms of formatting once you have finished writing the article remember to include the following:
Picture with caption - you may want to include multiples. Make sure the pictures add to your article. They shouldn't just be random. Make sure the captions are helpful to the reader in knowing why you have included the picture.
Pull-quote - use a key point or quotations from your article. It needs to be something that will really grab our attention when we see it blown up in the middle of the page.
Columns - if you use portrait only use two columns. If you choose to go with landscape, you could go to three columns.
Make sure of font, italics, bolding, etc. to add emphasis and emotion/tone to your article. The first letter of the introduction is usually a lot larger than the other letters. The headline should be the largest in terms of font size, byline smaller but still a little bigger than the rest of the article - often bolded. Pull-quote not as big as the headline but should definitely stand out. Captions for pictures are usually quite small.
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