The content of the feature article for the ministerial exam is determined by the preparation booklet and audio recording.
To write a good feature article, you must:
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understand the content;
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identify the topic;
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anticipate possible angles.
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Therefore, preparation is key!
The evaluation rubric for the ministerial exam gives detailed information about what is evaluated and how it is evaluated.
Stay on this page for more details on:
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Definitions of Concepts
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Analyzing a Topic From the Prescribed Angle
Consult out our checklist to make sure everything’s in there.
Before writing a feature article, there are many concepts that you need to understand and consider:
The audience is who you are writing for. You need to consider these people, their interests and level of knowledge of the topic.
For example, if you were trying to explain climate change to a group of 9-year-olds as opposed to a group of young adults, the explanation would be different.
Climate change explained to 9-year olds:
Imagine the Earth like a giant puzzle, and one of the pieces of that puzzle is the air around us. This air contains something called greenhouse gases, which are like a cozy blanket for the Earth. They help keep our planet warm enough for us to live on.
But over time, people have been doing things that release too many of these greenhouse gases into the air, like driving cars that use gasoline and burning coal for electricity. It's like adding too many blankets to your bed—at one point, you'll get too hot!
These extra blankets, or greenhouse gases, are making the Earth warmer than it should be. This is called climate change. It's causing some big problems, like making the ice at the North and South Poles melt and making the weather more extreme.
Climate change explained to young adults:
Climate change refers to the long-term alteration of Earth's average weather patterns. It's primarily driven by the buildup of certain gases in the atmosphere called greenhouse gases. These gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), act like a blanket around the Earth. They allow sunlight to enter our atmosphere but trap some of the heat that gets reflected back from the Earth's surface, similar to how an actual greenhouse works.
Human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas for energy, release huge amounts of these greenhouse gases into the air. This extra layer of pollution is causing the Earth's average temperature to rise, which is known as global warming.
Adapting your text to your audience is crucial to hooking your readers from the beginning to the end.
The purpose is why you are writing the article. The general purpose of a feature article is to inform in an entertaining way.
For example, let’s compare a regular news article and a feature article.
A news article delivers timely and essential information about recent events, developments or issues.
A feature article provides in-depth exploration, analysis and a nuanced understanding of a particular topic.
Therefore, a feature article isn’t about telling the reader what happened recently, but really explores a topic and proposes something much more interesting to readers.
The tone is your attitude or emotion towards the audience of the article. It sets the mood, shapes the reader's perception and determines how your content is received.
For example, there are multiple types of tones that are appropriate in different situations. For example:
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Formal: A serious, professional tone often used in academic, business or informative articles. It establishes authority and credibility.
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Conversational: Relaxed and friendly, this tone mimics casual conversations. It's great for connecting with readers and creating approachable content.
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Persuasive: Used to influence readers' opinions or actions. It's characterized by strong language and appeals to emotions or logic.
There are other types of tones that can be useful in other situations.
Formal tone on the topic of cybersecurity
It is of utmost importance in this digital age to remain vigilant and aware of the various cyber threats that exist. Through proper cybersecurity measures, such as updating software regularly, using strong passwords and being mindful of which links we click, we can protect our valuable personal and business data.
Conversational tone on the topic of cybersecurity
Did you know that today's computer security systems aren't as reliable as you might think? It's crazy, right? With all these hackers trying to steal your data and take over your life, it's scary stuff. That's why you have got to stay protected! Use antivirus software, create strong passwords and make sure you know what you're doing when you click on random links. Stay safe!
Persuasive tone on the topic of cybersecurity
Are you tired of constantly worrying about your computer security? Do you fear that your personal or business computer systems may be vulnerable to malicious cyberattacks? Fear no more! Cybersecurity solutions are available to protect both individuals and corporations. So don't delay any longer, and get the added peace of mind you deserve today. Invest in cybersecurity and stay safe online.
As you can see, the tone changes depending on how you want to connect with your audience. You must always consider your audience in order to choose the right tone.
The angle is a particular point of view on an issue. One topic can be explored under many different angles.
For example, you could look at income inequality under these 3 different angles, and still come up with different arguments or features about the topic.
Potential angle on the topic of income inequality:
Wealth distribution
Potential points to explore:
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The concentration of wealth creates social and economic disparities.
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Progressive taxation helps to redistribute resources more equitably.
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Universal basic income would ensure a baseline standard of living for all.
Potential angle on the topic of income inequality:
Minimum wage
Potential points to explore:
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Increasing the minimum wage reduces income inequality and poverty.
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Balancing wage growth is crucial for small businesses.
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Indexing minimum wage to inflation maintains people’s purchasing power.
Potential angle on the topic of income inequality:
Social safety nets
Potential points to explore:
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Social welfare programs provide a safety net for vulnerable populations.
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Accessible health care, education and affordable housing contribute to reducing inequality.
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Anti-poverty measures directly address people’s needs and specific circumstances.
As you can see, the angle focuses on one point of view of the situation. It often focuses on storytelling, human interest and providing context to help readers connect emotionally and intellectually with the subject matter.
The controlling idea is the main point, theme or message that you want your article to convey. It guides every sentence and paragraph towards a central objective: understanding the topic under the angle you want your readers to see. Think of it as the core concept that ties everything together.
You have to make sure your controlling idea is linked to your angle.
For example, on the topic of “health and wellness,” let’s say the angle is, “How does a balanced and nutritious diet contribute to overall well-being?”
Your controlling idea throughout your text could be:
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The role of nutrition in optimal health
This means, your reader will see the role of nutrition from the beginning to the end to understand the angle. It controls the text.
The content of the feature article is evaluated using the criterion: “Use of knowledge of texts in a reinvestment task.” More precisely, does your feature article analyze a topic under the prescribed angle and is it “tailored” appropriately to the purpose and the target audience? Watch our video for more details. (coming soon)
Analyzing a topic in this context means that you will have to determine what information is most important or most relevant. The guiding question is provided in the preparation booklet to help you complete this task. On the morning of the exam, you will receive the prescribed angle.
Planning your feature article starts as soon as you know the prescribed angle. You must adapt the information you have read, listened to and annotated in your reading booklet and in the audio recording and use it appropriately with this angle. At that point, you will decide how to present this information, keeping in mind the purpose, the audience, the tone, the angle and the controlling idea.
The following is an example of what the actual preparation booklet from the ministry could look like. Although shorter than what you will receive, it contains a variety of quotations, important dates, statistics, excerpts from scientific papers and a newspaper article.
Here are some steps to help you prepare and annotate this practice preparation booklet. Keep in mind that you should do the same when you receive the official preparation booklet from the ministry.
As mentioned above, this practice preparation booklet is shorter and is there to give you an example of what the official one could look like. Your first step is to read it.
In your ministry preparation booklet, you will find many different texts. Once you’ve read them, your job is to identify the topic.
In the current practice document, the topic is pretty easy to identify: “Technology and Society.”
Sometimes the topic is a bit harder to identify. Try to find a connection between the texts. What is common between them?
The guiding question is pretty straightforward in the sense that it’s there to guide you. It should help you identify what information is most important or most relevant. It should also help you anticipate possible prescribed angles.
In the current practice document, the guiding question is: “Is technology helping us become a better society?”
Your job is to select information that could be used to explore this subject. You must anticipate angles about the impact of technology on our society in the future, both from the positive and negative sides.
We created an audio recording on the topic of “Technology and Society.” Click here to listen to it. (coming soon)
In class, you will listen to a similar audio recording as part of your official preparation for the ministerial exam. Your job at this step is to continue using the guiding question to note down anything that could be interesting to elaborate on the topic.
Tailoring your content is a fancy way of saying, “once you receive the official angle, is the information you selected in the preparation booklet still pertinent?” It means, adapt your selection to match the angle. Make sure you’re going in the right direction and avoid sticking to the guiding question.
For example, the guiding question in our practice document is:
“Is technology helping us become a better society?”
but the prescribed angle could be:
“Explore the impact of social media on our society.”
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“Explore how technology is creating a digital divide among individuals.”
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“Explore the impact of automation technology for our industries.”
Using the content you’ve identified to write a complete feature article is tricky. Check out our concept sheet on the Structure of a Feature Article to learn all the details about it.
Choose one of the 3 proposed prescribed angles in Step 5, and write one on your own. Seek feedback with your teacher.
Use the following checklist to check if your feature article has everything it needs contentwise.
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Is the prescribed angle addressed? |
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Are the explored issues easy to understand? |
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Is your thesis and controlling idea in your headline, secondary headline and lead? |
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Did you keep your target audience in mind to organize your information? |
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Is your language repertoire appropriate to the target audience? |
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