Interview Essay Outline
An Interview Essay is used to collect information about a person and their backgrounds. Interview Essays are used by interviewers at the universities, colleges or private companies to learn more about the applicants and their interests, skills, knowledge and opinions. The Interview essay is a guide or a roadmap that allows the interviewer to collect the most factual information possible within a limited time period.
The following is an interview essay outline:
1. Decide the format that your essay will have.
Generally, interview essays can be in one of these several formats:
- Narrative format. This format allows paraphrasing of some information the interviewee says, along with direct quotes for the material you most want to emphasize. This is the most likely format for a class assignment, and offers the most opportunity to add context and analysis.
- Conversational format. In this format, you can address the reader directly and use both first and second person.
- Question-and-answer format. This format presents your questions to the interviewee, followed by the interviewee's responses. These are always direct quotes, although you may insert explanatory material in parentheses and substitutions, such as a person's name in place of a personal pronoun, in brackets.
2. Plan an organization of the essay. Your essay’s organization should include:
Introduction:
Decide how you will begin your essay. Your introduction should include the questions you asked. Your opening might be suggested by some of the comments from your interviews or you might want to describe a situation which contributes to your questions.
Body:
List your reasons in order. Your essay’s body should follow the order of reasons that you put together in your notes. Ensure that you quote, paraphrase, and summarize your sources. Also ensure that you provide proof between your sources and the conclusions that you make.
Conclusion:
Conclude your essay by restating you thesis. You can also explain the validity of your arguments. If none of the viewpoints from your interviews coincided with your opinion, you should talk about that.
3. Flesh out your essay. The body of your essay needs to follow the selected format while supporting the thesis and providing substantial coverage of the actual interview. Interviews can sometimes produce repetitive answers you, therefore, may need to trim repetitions and unnecessary elements from the body of your essay.
4. Proofread and revise your work. Proofread and carefully revise your essay to provide maximum clarity and impact. Reading over the essay yourself is a good start, but it is always wise to have another set of eyes look it over as well. Go back to your original interview notes, recordings, and transcripts, and make sure that your essay continues to reflect the actual interview.
5. Document your sources. Depending on your assignment, you may not need to explicitly cite the interview itself. However, always cite any supplement materials that you have used. Any materials you used for research, information about the interviewee or context for the essay itself should be referenced in the approved citation format for your essay.