Feature Writing

The public increasingly relies on instant news and artificial intelligence (AI) overviews for information, but there is one human enterprise that still cuts through the noise: storytelling. Students learn to craft feature stories for top-tier outlets by studying nonfiction works that connect us to storytelling tools, such as character and narrative arc. We focus on the how-to of in-depth reporting, interviewing, and writing, with readings by authors such as Ta-Nahisi Coates, Jane Mayer, and Ed Yong. Weekly writing assignments culminate in an original reported feature of up to 2,000 words.