Interview Essay Tips

The interview essay is a widespread type of paper in both universities and colleges. Usually, you should write one per semester to continue your study. Although this type of article is not so much complicated, many students still have severe problems with it. Therefore, we highly encourage you to review this step-by-step guide full of examples, tricks, and tips.

What Is The Aim Of Your Interview?

The objective of the article depends on the type of the interview essay topic.

• If you deal with some scientific problems or you have to describe some natural processes, you will interview different types of scientists.
• If your task to discuss and enlighten some period of history, you will obtain the interview with some competent historian.
• If you should give a strong opinion on some issue, you will interview with a respectful, authoritative, competent, and well-known interviewee.
• Finally, if you have to present society mood or attitude of a particular issue in the specific region, you will interview with, for example, 100 residents.

Tip 1

Realize the object of your interview and then choose the most suitable interviewee.

Prep Work

Many students realize the difference between the interview essay and the research paper. The vast majority argue that it is much easier to write the interview paper that to conduct the research one. The reason is in the runoff: you do not have to prepare for the interview. It is the biggest mistake! Never obtain the conversation without doing prep work.

First of all, realize who your interviewee is. Read his/her last papers, interviews, public speeches, etc. Compare his statements with the ones of other competent figures.

Define the type of your interview. Depending on the topic and interviewee, you may have a narrative or question-answers interview essay. Usually, we can paraphrase the narrative article and use the question-answers interview for citations.

Tip 2

Find out some information concerning your interviewee and choose the suitable interview format.

Interview Process

Realizing two previous steps you may start your interview. Generally, the interview process consists of 5 main steps: question(s), face-to-face meeting, analyzing, summarizing, and writing an essay.

1. Question(s) in Advance

Despite the fact whether your interview is narrative or question-answer, you should make up some questions in advance. The first step is the most significant one! Your questions are your interview structure. Furthermore, it may be one primary question (the topic of the interview), for example, how to cope with deforestation. Other questions are additional and help the interviewee to explain his position. However, to put the correct and topical question, you should be familiar with this topic well. Thus, you should read, watch, and listen to related material on your theme before the interview.

Of course, your questions depend on the chosen topic. If you deal with a scientific issue, your questions may be a little bit complicated. However, remember that the interview essay should be easier to understand than a research paper. Therefore, even if you write on some unpopular or difficult issue, your task is to make your essay as readable and understandable as it is possible.

In the case, you have a trendy and widespread topic, your task is to make your interview essay an unique one. You can do that by engaging new competent specialist or putting on further questions.

Sometimes, you choose to write about a person. For example, you would like to write the interview essay on a famous person’s life. Here, you have to feel and to know how to specify your questions. For example, it will be much interesting to know about the person’s attitude toward such acute social issues as homelessness, adoption, meaning and image of modern beauty and physical appearance; volunteering, recycling, family relationship, and, of course, some controversial questions, for example, on whether there is a difference between men and women. These questions can vary depending on the style of your interview essay and interviewee.

Tip 3

Remember that you should be well familiar with your topic to be able to put proper main and additional questions.

2. Interview Place and Time

Many claim that it does not matter the location you get the interview. They are wrong. Time and place of the conversation matter as much as the proper questions. Therefore, it is by default rule: it is better to obtain the interview on the scientific topic in the official places and institutions and to conduct the interview on private life in the cozy neutral atmosphere.

Tip 4

Choose the suitable time and location.

3. How to Put Questions?

It might be ridiculous to teach you how to put questions, but it does matter. First of all, pay attention to your appearance, voice timbre, and intonation. All these small things may become your advantages or disadvantages. Of course, you should gently form all your questions even if you ask about terrible things.

There is also a classic form of getting the interview.

1. Write down the first and the last name.
2. Underline the primary question of this conversation.
3. Ask your interviewee to argument his opinion.
4. Compare and discuss his/her argumentations with other existing standpoints.
5. Ask the person to specify and clarify his/her position using examples to be sure that you understand it clearly.
6. Question yourself whether you want to use some words as a quote.

Tip 5

Tune on positive and make your interview interesting.

4. Recording and Follow-Up Questions

The best way to record your interview is to do it both on your recorder and paper sheets. The recorder will allow you not to miss anything and writing down some notes will give you a chance to underline some crucial moments. There are a few schemes you may use for making notes. For example, you may divide the interviewee’s arguments into positive and negative, ordinary and exclusive, ones you are for and against. You cannot prepare all the questions in advance. Thus, you should understand clearly your topic to be able to put follow-up questions. Give enough time to your interviewee to answer them. Do not be in a hurry.

Tip 6

Be self-confident and flexible while you are getting the interview.

5. Analyzing the Interview and Writing an Essay

Many students make the same mistake – they do not leave enough time for analyzing their conversations. It means that they cannot do the in-depth analysis and it makes their interview banal and uninformative. We highly recommend you to analyze and estimate the reasons you get by asking your interviewee. You should valid all the information and define the most and the least convincing arguments.

Be sure that you have at least two weeks for analyzing the interview and writing your essay.

Tip 7

Do not procrastinate!

6. Structure

Usually, the interview essay consists of:

• the introduction;
• main body;
• conclusions.

Introduction and conclusions should be logical and fit each other. You should clearly define your dissertation statement at the beginning. There are several useful story-telling temples you can use. For example, start telling a story at the beginning and end this story in conclusion; show statistics and then analyze it; describe the myth and then break it; expectation and reality, etc.

Usually, most of us firstly pay attention to these two parts, which is why they are so significant. Try to make them readable and exciting to catch readers’ attention and involve to further reading. Of course, you can use different tricks, for example, funny stories, jokes, brainstorming, unexpected and unknown facts, memorable or controversial quotations.

The main body includes three paragraphs.

It means that each paragraph should present a new argument. However, these three arguments have to make a clear picture of the problem / topic and lead to conclusions.

Conclusions

Depending on the interview essay, your findings may suggest the issue solution, summarize the latest explorations, or leave open-question for discussion.

Tip 9

Make your interview essay structure logical and eye-catching.

7. Proofreading

Finally, it is about time to check your interview essay. Experts recommend checking your paper twice. First, check whether everything is logical and follows the structure. Second, edit grammar and stylistic. Also, you may ask your friends to check it one more time in print.

Tip 10

Check your paper to get the A.

You may be sure that this list of interview essay tips will help you to write a perfect assignment. Furthermore, these tips are universal, and you may use them for other types of paper as well!

Thanks for reading! Wish you only memorable interviews!