Feature Writing Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A written journalism competition in which each entrant writes a human-interest feature article with a fresh angle, marked mostly on content, then on form and style and ethics.

Feature Writing is a solo journalism item in which each entrant writes a longer, more colourful article than a news report: a story about a person, a place, a tradition or an issue, built around an angle the reader would not find in a plain account of the facts. It is written and marked after the sitting rather than performed, and in the scheme that uses it most heavily it is filed under Creative Writing and scored out of 100.

A round is a supervised writing sitting. Entrants are given the same topic, situation or set of facts and write against the clock with no notes. Unlike News Writing, the feature is not forced into an inverted pyramid: it can open with a scene, an anecdote or a striking detail, and then widen out. In the national schools circuit it runs in both English and Filipino, at Elementary (Grades 1 to 6) and Secondary (Grades 7 to 12) level, with one contestant per category.

A finished entry has a catchy title, an opening that draws the reader in, a clear new angle, concrete facts and, where the brief allows, more than one perspective, then an ending that lands the point. It stays factual: description and imagination are welcome, invented facts and quotations are not, and the writer should not slip into a personal essay.

Organisers run it because it rewards the part of journalism that news and editorial items do not: finding an angle and writing with voice while still being accurate. It sits beside News, Editorial and Sports Writing as one of the individual writing contests of a school journalism programme.

Where Feature Writing is run

The clearest use in the data is a national school press conference in the Philippines, which runs Feature Writing as one of its individual contests at every level from school to national and in both English and Filipino. Beyond that, school and campus journalism contests in many countries include a feature or human-interest category, though the age bands, languages and time allowed differ from event to event.

• Philippines

Key facts

• Individual entry, open to boys and girls alike.
• Marked out of 100 in the national schools circuit: Form and Style 30, Content 60, Ethics 10.
• Runs in English and Filipino, at Elementary (Grades 1 to 6) and Secondary (Grades 7 to 12) level.
• Written in a single supervised sitting; the template sets no stage time limit.
• Content carries twice the weight of form, so the angle and the facts matter most.

On eTalenter, Feature Writing is filed under Creative Writing and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Feature Writing is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100.

What judges look at in Feature Writing

What a Feature Writing panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Content (60 marks): citing facts, a new angle, imagination and balancing perspectives. This is by far the largest block, so a feature with a genuinely fresh angle and solid facts outscores a beautifully written but familiar one.
• Form and Style (30 marks): grammar, organisation, creative presentation and a catchy title. A title and opening that make the reader want to continue are rewarded; a flat start and loose structure lose marks.
• Ethics (10 marks): originality, citation, journalistic standards and no plagiarism or libel. Copying from the brief, inventing a quotation or portraying a person unfairly costs these marks.
• Angle: judges look for the idea that makes this feature different from the obvious one. A person, a small detail or a surprising contrast usually beats a general overview.
• Balance: where the topic has more than one side, a feature that gives each a fair voice scores better than one that preaches.
• Language accuracy: spelling, grammar and flow in the chosen language, whether English or Filipino.

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Feature Writing under Scoring Setup, or start from the full essay & story writing judging criteria guide.

How to prepare for Feature Writing

How entrants and their teachers usually get Feature Writing right on the day:

• Practise finding the angle first. Take ten everyday topics and write one sentence saying what is unusual or human about each before writing a word of the feature.
• Learn a few openings: a scene, a short anecdote, a vivid detail, a question. Write three different openings for the same topic and pick the strongest.
• Rehearse against the clock with unseen briefs and leave a few minutes at the end to check facts, names and spelling.
• Keep to the facts you are given. Describe and imagine around them, but never invent a statistic or a quotation.
• Give the piece a shape: opening, development with concrete detail, and an ending that returns to the angle.
• Write the title with care. It is named in the marking sheet, so keep it short, catchy and true to the piece.
• Read published features from school and local newspapers and mark where the writer changes from scene to facts.
• Practise in both languages if the event offers both, since feature vocabulary and tone differ from news writing.
• After a lost round, ask for the score by block: low Content means a weak angle or thin facts; low Form means a weak title, opening or grammar.

Frequently asked questions

Is Feature Writing judged individually or as a team?

Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.

Is Feature Writing the same as News Writing?

No. News Writing reports the main facts briefly in order of importance. Feature Writing takes a human-interest angle and has more room for description, voice and imagination while staying factual.

How is Feature Writing marked?

In the national schools circuit it is out of 100: Form and Style 30, Content 60 and Ethics 10.

Can entrants bring notes or write at home?

No. It is written in a single supervised sitting from a brief given on the day, so notes and prepared drafts are not part of the item.

Is it judged individually or as a team?

Individually. Each school sends one contestant per category and language.

Want the full judging picture? Read the full essay & story writing judging criteria guide, or browse every creative writing competition item.