What Are Characteristics?

Have you ever heard the term features? Feature stories are interesting and sometimes news-worthy items that are written to make the readers glance at some interesting attribute of a person or an event. Although it sounds like a simple idea, it isn’t. There are different types of features that are being written about today. They can be news, a feature article, a profile, an obituary, or just about anything that you want to write about.

A feature article is basically a piece of nonfiction writing on news about people, places or other things. The most common sub-type of feature articles is the entertainment feature article and the profile article. Entertainment features are pieces of fiction about people, places or other things that people like. Profile features are articles that portray the personality or characteristics of a person. Features can be funny, sad, exciting, sexy, amazing, scary, or anything else that you want to write about.

Features, however, don’t refer only to the characteristics of a person. These can also include the attributes of a product or service. Just like the word feature, product features refer to the unique qualities of a product or service. Features that pertain to a product can include its history, its specifications, its features and benefits, and more. Some features even have subcategories like the unique features of a car and the unique features of an air conditioner.

Another subcategory of features refers to the characteristics of a person, idea, or situation. Examples of characteristic features are the power characteristics of a person, the achievements of a certain person, the wisdom of a certain person, the character traits of a person, and many others. The list of characteristics goes on. When writing about characteristics, it is best that you think about what you want your article or essay to do. Would you want it to present information about a new business idea? Or would you rather have it present information about some specific person?

To summarize, characteristics refer to both things and people. The ideas and thoughts that lie within them and the characteristics that are unique to each person. These two things are not necessarily related. Features can change over time, but the reason for their being there in the first place usually remains. So, characteristics are really more like habits, which could change but remain true to their purpose.

So, next time you hear the term characteristics, make sure you know what it is that you’re talking about. It might just be two words that just described your own thoughts. Features can be a great tool in your marketing arsenal, but remember that they’re just a two words, used to describe something. Use characteristics to help build your image, to show your reader that you know what you’re talking about, and to show your reader that you’re an expert in your field. Whatever you use as your characteristic to sell is only as good as the words you use to describe it.