If you have a three rivers catalog, turn to the page where they sell the feather chopper...below that there will be a small diagram of several of the different styles of feathers.
I prefer the "traditional" cut. Not that it functions any better than the others, but because of all the heads that turn my way when they hear my arrow sounding like an F-18 just did a flyby!!!
My friends all call them my "Hollywood" arrows, because of the scream they make when they go downrange, just like on any movie you've ever seen where they were shooting a bow.
Before hunting season however, I take a small pair of scissors and trim the little "tail" off of the back of the feather. This makes it just as silent as a shield or a parabolic so I wont spook game.