interview essay tips

interview essay tips

Mastering the Art of Interview Essays: A Comprehensive Guide

1. Introduction to Interview Essays

Do you need to write an interview essay, but have no idea how to do so? You are not alone. Interview essays might commonly be assigned for classes in political science, history, and communication studies. As the connotations of your writing will likely take the appearance of a transcript, you might think that simply putting what was said by your interviewee into your essay will be easy enough. Yet, how does one approach the process of obtaining that transcript without making your interviewee come off as a simple question-and-answer robot? What comes first, drawing up interview questions or carrying out the actual interview?

An interview essay is a form of writing that relays the information gathered in an informative and insightful conversation with someone you have an interest in speaking to. This type of essay is more or less a summary of an interview held between the writer and the person they want to talk to, so it might be viewed as an indicator or a snapshot of a conversation.

2. Preparing for the Interview

SETTING The setting you select for the interview can directly affect its impact on the interviewee. An inappropriate setting can create unnecessary barriers to acquiring the information you are seeking. Some people, for example, are not comfortable discussing very personal matters in a formal office or may be concerned that others will overhear. Such a setting could limit detailed responses to your questions. On the other hand, some people may only agree to be interviewed in a private office, feeling that speaking about personal matters is too risky in a public setting where confidentiality cannot be assured.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR SUBJECT What will you need in order to write your essay? The more specific your essay, the clearer your inquiry, and the more productive your interview. Since you will be taking a life and reducing it to the size of your essay, the interview will be crucial in this almost artistic representational act.

PREPARATION Wise students spend a great deal of time preparing for exams. Wise interviewers spend a great deal of time preparing for the interview, for the interview too will have requirements that will need both your concentration and skill.

Before your first interview, you will need a clear sense of your subject and the purpose of the interview. Think of questions that will help you understand your interviewee and the setting that will best facilitate gathering that information. If your essay asks interviewees about developments in education, the best setting may be an interview in a classroom. Breaking the interview into manageable segments will also help both you and your interviewee.

3. Conducting the Interview

After you have obtained the consent to interview a person, you may only receive a few minutes or as long as 90 minutes to complete the interview. An access agreement should detail the terms and conditions under which permission is granted. Be prepared and have a list of inquiries ready so that you can follow the goal to avoid winding up topics in your conversation. You know where to look if they know where to find them. Make sure your notes are easy to understand because if you need to find the essential information or revisit the interview, you will be unable to find it. Your list of questions should facilitate a natural discussion.

After you have obtained verbal or written consent to interview your subject, you will have a small amount of time to complete the interview before the results lose their passion. Readers are attracted to passion and can empathize with the author’s subject as well. Without rapidly losing the subject’s interest, ask, “Where are we going with the highway? How much time should I plan for the interview?” Record all meetings during the interview process with a recording or test if this is alright with the subject. If the subject does not agree to recording, take notes.

4. Structuring the Essay

Now is a good time to mention that when it comes to structuring the essay, there are more than a few acceptable approaches. However, I’ve always found the following structure to be concise and to meet most essay requirements: an opening, the interview, then a short conclusion. Your opening should clearly and briefly introduce your subject and reason for interviewing them. If you can naturally lead into the interview and keep the reader hooked, all the better. Subsequent paragraphs would simply be the questions and the interviewee’s respective answers. Each interview is so individualistic that each one almost calls for a unique and equally individualistic approach. The most important point to keep in mind is that with the right interview, your essay will cut through the clutter and the thickness of the admissions officer’s desk to become his or her personal favorite. And that is precisely what we’re going for.

An effective way to transition from the opening to the interview is to bring up something interesting or unique about the person that the reader can look forward to reading more about. This will immediately pique your reader’s interest and let him know that the interview will have some element of suspense. Not to mention that it also shows that you’ve conducted the interview and done the research necessary. If the important fact that you present before the interview is somewhat unrelated but interesting enough, then it may very well suffice for your lead as well.

5. Polishing Your Final Draft

To make an effective paper, it is beneficial to have all four types of hooks in your introduction. A question remains regarding how to work effectively with these various hooks. If instructions do not recommend that you specifically add a hook of such particular type, it is useful to include a summary or analysis, a story or significant illustrative story, a direct quote, or you may opt to simply use a dialogue hook. Gathering data or interviewing parents may be included in your introduction. Remember to delete any elements that have been added inadvertently. For your conclusion, a narrative or dialogue hook is the best choice if there is no expected amount of illustration or factual information provided. Finally, do not forget to rewrite your essay.

After completing the first draft of an interview essay, it is beneficial to polish your final draft. In addition to making any necessary revisions, it is recommended to check your grammar, punctuation, and spelling. In situations where an interviewee has provided incorrect or controversial information, it is beneficial to go back and revise the script so that readers are not misinformed. When referring to interviews, it is important to refrain from adding irrelevant commentary. When writing your thesis statement, be sure to place it as the final sentence in your introduction. Revising your essay is highly effective as it assists in making your final draft a much more powerful one.