1
Interview Research Paper
Since our interview essay centers around an older person and their experience (either indirect or
direct) of the civil rights movements, you’ll have a chance to research some of the events Coates’
mentions in his book.
Timeline
Ø Choose interviewee and schedule interview (today)_______________________
Ø Conduct and record interview (this week)_______________________
Ø Transcribe interview (this week/weekend) _______________________
Ø Begin writing your interview essay by Sunday evening)_______________________
Ø Turn in a rough draft of your interview essay for peer-review
_______________________
Ø Final draft of your interview essay due in 2 weeks _______________________
Steps to Write Your Interview Research Paper
This essay has multiple parts, and you’ll have a better experience writing the essay if you plan
ahead. Follow these steps to manage the interview and writing process.
Step 1: Choose your interviewee and schedule your interview.
Since you’re interviewing someone about what they remember of the 60s and 70s, you might
want to ask them to briefly describe that they remember when you first ask to interview them.
This will guide you in setting your interview questions. You’ll ask someone who had
experiences through the media different questions than a person who was at a school that
receiving bused children or even someone who actively participated in movements.
You’ll interview an older adult who has experienced the civil rights movement and the radical
movements in the 70s. Your interviewee does not need direct experience in any of these
movements; they just need to have been in the US during these times and have had some
exposure to the movements either through the media like TV and radio, personal experiences
such as busing, or direct participation. Potential interviewees might be grandparents, older family
friends, people in social organizations you frequent, or professional colleagues. If you don’t
know anyone who lived during the 60s and 70s, contact me.
Step 2: Develop interview questions.
2
During your interview, you want to ask open-ended questions that encourage your interviewee to
share. An example of an open-ended question is “What has happening in your life during the
Birmingham bombing of 1963, and what did your family think about them?” Your questions
should encourage longer answers that draw out memories and personal experiences related to the
events during the 60s and 70s.
Adjust your questions depending on how familiar your interviewee was with the events during
the 60s and 70s. This goes without saying, but
Use the themes that come up during our theme discussion forums or that interest you from
BTWAM as a guide for developing your questions.
In an interview, you are in the driver’s seat, so it’s best to direct your interviewee by developing
questions about topics you have already researched.
Step 3: Conduct your interview, and ...
1 Interview Research Paper Since our interview essay
1. 1
Interview Research Paper
Since our interview essay centers around an older person and
their experience (either indirect or
direct) of the civil rights movements, you’ll have a chance to
research some of the events Coates’
mentions in his book.
Timeline
Ø Choose interviewee and schedule interview
(today)_______________________
Ø Conduct and record interview (this
week)_______________________
Ø Transcribe interview (this week/weekend)
_______________________
Ø Begin writing your interview essay by Sunday
evening)_______________________
Ø Turn in a rough draft of your interview essay for peer-review
_______________________
Ø Final draft of your interview essay due in 2 weeks
_______________________
Steps to Write Your Interview Research Paper
This essay has multiple parts, and you’ll have a better
experience writing the essay if you plan
ahead. Follow these steps to manage the interview and writing
process.
2. Step 1: Choose your interviewee and schedule your interview.
Since you’re interviewing someone about what they remember
of the 60s and 70s, you might
want to ask them to briefly describe that they remember when
you first ask to interview them.
This will guide you in setting your interview questions. You’ll
ask someone who had
experiences through the media different questions than a person
who was at a school that
receiving bused children or even someone who actively
participated in movements.
You’ll interview an older adult who has experienced the ci vil
rights movement and the radical
movements in the 70s. Your interviewee does not need direct
experience in any of these
movements; they just need to have been in the US during these
times and have had some
exposure to the movements either through the media like TV
and radio, personal experiences
such as busing, or direct participation. Potential interviewees
might be grandparents, older family
friends, people in social organizations you frequent, or
professional colleagues. If you don’t
know anyone who lived during the 60s and 70s, contact me.
Step 2: Develop interview questions.
2
During your interview, you want to ask open-ended questions
3. that encourage your interviewee to
share. An example of an open-ended question is “What has
happening in your life during the
Birmingham bombing of 1963, and what did your family think
about them?” Your questions
should encourage longer answers that draw out memories and
personal experiences related to the
events during the 60s and 70s.
Adjust your questions depending on how familiar your
interviewee was with the events during
the 60s and 70s. This goes without saying, but
Use the themes that come up during our theme discussion
forums or that interest you from
BTWAM as a guide for developing your questions.
In an interview, you are in the driver’s seat, so it’s best to
direct your interviewee by developing
questions about topics you have already researched.
Step 3: Conduct your interview, and record it.
Bring your questions, a note pad, and a recorder (smart phone,
recorder, etc.) to keep a record of
your conversation. As you conduct your interview, encourage
your interviewee to do most of the
speaking since their ideas and experiences are the focus of your
interview. Write down any
follow-up questions you have about what your interviewee
states, and wait until your interviewee
has finished talking before you ask the follow-up questions.
Step 4: Transcribe your interview.
This step may take some time, so give yourself several hours to
4. listen to your recording and write
down what was stated word for word. It’s best to group the
speaker’s words into paragraphs, and
skip a line when a new person speaks. Write the speaker’s name
followed by a colon right before
you begin transcribing their spoken words.
For example
Maya Angelou: You can only become truly accomplished at
something you love. Don’t
make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love
doing.
Jessica Morrow: What advice did your mother give you?
Angelou: You may encounter many defeats but you must not be
defeated.
Morrow: When was a time in your life where you overcame
defeat?
Your transcript is not your essay. It will be included as an
appendix at the end of your
essay.
Step 5: Write your essay
3
Your essay will be organized in a similar way as your mindsets
essay. You’ll begin with an
introductory paragraph and you’ll end with a conclusion
paragraph.
5. Your body paragraphs will be organized around what you
learned during your interview. Each
body paragraph will begin with a topic sentence previewing
what you learned, and the rest of the
paragraph will include paraphrases from your interviewee and
your outside sources placing your
interviewee’s words in a larger historical context. Your topic
sentences should NOT be direct
quotes, nor will they be questions; your body paragraphs should
be statements previewing the
"thing" you learned addressed in that paragraph. If you choose
interview questions about key
events in the civil rights movement or the 70s, it will be MUCH
easier for you to find outside
sources before conducting your interview.
You’ll need to use reputable sources to write this paper, and I
recommend you use the databases
for opposing viewpoints in context, The New York Times and
American NewsPapers 'USA'
among other databases of your choice. If you are on campus,
you are automatically logged in. If
you are off campus, you'll need to sign in. Your user name is
the first part of your Delta student
email (example: dgarcia999), and your password is the same as
your delta email password; if you
have never logged into your Delta student email, your login is
your PIN, the same one you used
to register.
Be sure to include a works cited page to reference your sources.
Use section 56b in Rules for
Writers as a reference when creating your works cited entries or
use the Purdue Owl MLA
Works Cited pages as a guide
6. (https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/ml
a_formatting_and_style_guide/m
la_sample_paper.html).
Assignment Guidelines
1. In your introduction, explain who your interviewee is and
why you want to interview
him/her. In your thesis, briefly list what you have found out or
what the interviewee has
taught you.
2. In each of your body paragraphs, describe one thing that you
have learned through the
interview. This should correspond with the order of previews in
your introduction. It can be
what you have found out about the person, or what the
interviewee has taught you.
3. Begin each body paragraph with a topic sentence previewing
the main idea and purpose of
the paragraph.
4. Use paraphrases from your interview and your outside
sources. It’s okay to use direct quotes
where appropriate, but the majority of your paper (90% or
more) should be your words and
paraphrases.
5. Add comments after a quotation to connect the quote to your
writing. If a quotation does
not deserve comments, it does not need to be there. Your essay
should not be just a series
of quotes from the person. Rather, the quotes should be an
integral part of your essay, in your
description of things you have learned through this interview.
7. Ø When you introduce outside sources, remember the three
steps of
citation: Introduce your citation before you cite. Tell the reader
who the
person is. This adds credibility to your citation. Cite. After
citation, comment
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connecting the citation to your essay. This is an area many of us
need to work
on. Please remember to do this.
6. Incorporate the larger social historical context of the person’s
life as part of your essay. It
should flow naturally with the rest of the content. You need to
make connections between
your research and your interview findings. Your research can
serve as background
information, comparison, or support of your interview. The key
is integration. What you
have found through research should enhance and strengthen
your essay.
7. Your essay will be 3 or more pages, MLA formatted, double
spaced, typed, size 12 font.
Attach your interview question, notes and transcripts at the end.
8. Use MLA in-text citations for the content related to your
research. Include a “Works
Cited” page at the end of your paper.
9. Include at least five outside sources - one book, one
8. magazine article, one newspaper
article, one online database or electronic article.
Basics about MLA works cited entries
According to MLA style, an interview that you conduct should
be included on the Works Cited
page. List the interview by the name of the interviewee.
Include the descriptor "Personal
interview" and the date of the interview, as in the following
example:
LastName, FirstName. Personal interview. 1 Dec. 2018.
Imagine I conducted an interview of Rita Ora for my interview
essay on September 31, 2019. My
works cited entry would be
Ora, Rita. Personal interview. 31 September 2019.
In the body of your paper, the interviewee's last name should
appear in a parenthetical citation
where needed. For example: (Ora).
Here is a sample citation for an article from a database. See
pages 431 and 440 in Rules for
Writers for additional guidance.
Garcia, Andrea. "Congress funds 1st year of college for all
students." New York Times 15
Feb. 2016: 18. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York
Times.
newyorktimes.proxy3.noblenet.org/article/595609.
9. Here is a sample citation for a magazine article. See page 442 in
Rules for Writers for additional
guidance.
Crosby, Francisco. “The meaning of life.” Salon, 15 Oct. 2019,
pp. 32-37,
www.salon.com/2019/10/15/the_meani ng_of_life.
Here is a sample citation for a book. See page 446 in Rules for
Writers for additional guidance.
5
Crosby, Francisco. “The meaning of life.” Salon, 15 Oct. 2019,
pp. 32-37,
www.salon.com/2019/10/15/the_meaning_of_life.
ESSAY OUTLINE
Introduction Paragraph
o Hook
o Background
§ Your background sets the stage for your thesis and what
comes in the
body of your essay. You might describe why you chose to
interview this
person or provide basic information about their lives.
o Thesis should preview the categories, or things, you learned
during your interview
(i.e. the focus of each body paragraph)
10. Body Paragraphs (3 or more)
o Topic sentence previewing what you learned during your
interview. Some
students choose to write a body paragraph about each questions
they asked during
their interview since this is a logical grouping, but remember to
focus on what
you learned. Don’t use your interview questions as topic
sentences, and don't use
a direct quote as a topic sentence. Your topic sentence is names
the main idea of
the paragraph.
o Supporting sentences include paraphrases from your
interviewee with information
about the historical events related to your question sprinkled
throughout. The goal
is to place your interviewee’s experiences and words in a larger
historical context.
o Use paraphrases whenever possible and a minimum of direct
quotes. 90% or more
of your essay should be your own words including paraphrases
of other's ideas.
Conclusion
o Bring closure to your essay by restating the main ideas of the
essay.
o Add in a “So What” statement explaining why this interview
was important in a
larger context.
11. Here is an example of an interview essay that a student in a
previous semester wrote. As you
read the essay, you'll notice some errors, but this essay will
give you a better idea what you're
essay might look like.
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Outline Template
You're welcome to use the following outline when writing your
interview essay.
Attention Getter (quote, question, startling statement, general
fact, etc.)
_____________________________________________________
_________________________
Background (explain who your interviewee is and why you
interviewed the person. Give basic
demographic information about your interviewee)
_____________________________________________________
_________________________
Thesis Statement: preview the categories, or things, you learned
during your interview
Previews:
1.
