PLANNING AN
INTERVIEW
SpringBoard 1.12; pages 52-53
Learning Target
• Plan and prepare to conduct an
effective interview
Interview Narrative Assignment
Interview an adult about a particular coming of
age (life-changing experience or milestone during
adolescence/young adulthood) moment from his or
her life and write an interview narrative that
effectively portrays the voice of the interviewee
while revealing how the experience contributed to
his or her coming of age.
Planning an Interview
• Step One: Brainstorm People to Interview
• Step Two: Contact
• Step Three: Confirm Appointment
• Step Four: Brainstorm Questions
• Step Five: Evaluate Questions
• Step Six: “Writer’s Checklist”
• Step Seven: Transcript and Thank You
Step One: Brainstorm People to Interview
• Make a list of people you might be able to interview.
Include only people with whom you could have a face-toface meeting before the assignment is due
• Ideas:
• Relatives
• Relative Co-Workers
• Relative Trusted Friends
• Professionals in your life: Doctors, Dentists, Coaches, Etc.
• Past Teachers, Coaches, and Mentors
Step Two: Contact
• Contact the people on your list to schedule your interview
with one of them. Let the person know why you are
conducting the interview and that some portions may of it
may be shared with your classmates
Guidelines:
• Professional Language
• Courteous and Appreciative Tone
• Follow-up Contact Information
Step Three: Confirm the Appointment
Interviews must be held the week of April:
______
Write the details of your appointment:
• I have arranged to interview:
• Date the interview is scheduled:
• Time:
• Place:
DUE BY: ____
Step Four: Brainstorm Questions
• Brainstorm a list of questions and possible
follow-up questions you might ask during
the interview. Keep in mind the focus of
your interview as you think of potential
questions.
• Required Questions: Background
• Coming of Age experience, milestone etc.
• Follow-Up Questions
• Reflection
Step Five
• Exchange questions with a classmate. Have your
classmate evaluate your questions. As you read
your classmate’s questions, suggest revisions,
follow-up questions, or shifts in order as you read.
• Remember you probably will not ask all these
questions. Once your conversation begins to
flow, you will ask follow-up questions. It is
important, though, to walk into your interview with
a list of questions to start the interview and to
keep it going.
Step Six
• With your group members, preview the
“Writer’s Checklist” for the interview
narrative. Identify those skills you have
specifically addressed within this unit.
Planning: Plan and Conduct the Interview
• Have you arranged a time and place to meet with your interviewee?
• Are you satisfied with the list of questions you might ask? If not,
•
•
•
•
revise them?
Have you considered taping the interview? Or will you simply take
hand-written notes, or both? Have you asked permission to tape the
interview?
How will you set up the interview as a conversation rather than an
interrogation? What will you do to remind yourself to ask good followup questions rather than simply sticking to the questions on your list?
What question(s) will you ask to get your interviewee to describe
in depth at least one specific coming-of-age incident from his or
her “coming of age” (college, military, transformational
experience that occurred between adolescence and young
adulthood) .
When you feel that you have adequate information, you can begin to
draw the interview to a close. Remember to take good notes and to
thank the interviewee.
Step Seven: Transcript and Thank-You
• Following your interview, type your
interview transcript with Questions and
Answers.
• You will need this transcript to complete
your Interview Narrative in-class.
• Send your Interviewee a hand-written
Thank You note. You can send them your
narrative later when it’s done!
WRITING AND
PRESENTING AN
INTERVIEW NARRATIVE
Pages 54-55
Reminders!
• You have already done some preliminary planning for this
interview
• You should have conducted the interview OR finalized a
subject, time, and a place for the interview
Review
• Scoring Guide Criteria
• Interview questions
• Deadline
Interview Narrative Assignment
Interview an adult about a particular coming of
age (life-changing experience or milestone during
adolescence/young adulthood) moment from his or
her life and write an interview narrative that
effectively portrays the voice of the interviewee
while revealing how the experience contributed to
his or her coming of age.
Interview Narrative Deadlines
• TH, 10/30
• Fri, 10/31
• Weekend
• Mon, 11/3
• Tues, 11/4
Drafting
Drafting
Drafting!!!
RD due for peer review and
revisions
Everything due by end of the
period!
Pre-Writing: Prepare to write the interview
narrative.
What quotes or descriptions of the person will
you use to give a vivid picture and create an
authentic voice?
Highlight quotes from your transcript.
Use vivid details and descriptions.
Appearance: How do you describe the interviewee
looks?
Actions: How is the interviewee acting?
Speech:How is the interviewee speaking?
Drafting: Decide how to structure your
interview narrative.
• What will you include in the introduction?
• Have you included information about the person’s
experiences in general and specifically related to
college?
• Have you used vivid and precise imagery, carefully
chosen diction, and a mix of direct and indirect
quotations to convey a sense of the interviewee’s
voice?
• Have you focused your conclusion on what you
have learned about planning for college yourself?
Revising and Editing for Publication:
Review and revise to make your work the
best it can be.
• Have you carefully transformed your questions and
answers into a narrative?
• Have you arranged to share your draft with a partner or
with your writing group?
• Have you consulted the Scoring Guide and the activities
to prepare for revising your draft?
• Did you use your available resources (e.g., spell check,
dictionaries, Writer’s Checklist) to edit for conventions
and prepare your narrative for publication?
Interview Narrative: Reflection and SelfEvaluation
• Reflection: A successful interview can be a
rewarding experience for both the interviewer
and the interviewee. What did you learn that
you did not expect to learn, and how would
you evaluate the experience for both you and
your interviewee?
• Use of Language: Annotate your Narrative.
Use the chart to complete an inference based
on your narrative.
• Rubric: Assess your own paper, using the
sample rubric on the back of this page.
Final Draft: Turn-In Checklist
Staple the following, in order:
• Rubric: Write your First and Last name,
with period and date
• Final Draft
• Pre-Write
• Interview Transcript
• Self- Review and Reflection