how to put an interview in an essay

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Interviews and Personal Communication

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In citations for interviews and personal communications, the name of the person interviewed or the person from whom the communication is received should be listed first. This is followed by the name of the interviewer or recipient, if given, and supplemented by details regarding the place and date of the interview/communication. Unpublished interviews and personal communications (such as face-to-face or telephone conversations, letters, emails, or text messages) are best cited in-text or in notes rather than in the bibliography. Published interviews should be cited like periodical articles or book chapters.

Interviews with anonymous sources can be cited without including the name of the source–e.g. “anonymous informant #3” or “recreational psilocybin user”–but you must explain in the text why you are not giving the name of your source.

Unpublished Interviews

Note: If the interview is unpublished, but there is a transcript or recording available, you should include information as to where said transcript/recording can be found. This can be as simple as a URL, or as complex as a location in an institutional archive; the latter is shown in the example below.

Published or Broadcast Interviews

An interview published in a print medium is cited much like a periodical, as seen in the first example. An interview broadcast on television, radio, or similar has its own format, as follows:

This is shown in the second example.

Personal Communications

Personal communications are usually referenced within the text or a note. They rarely appear as bibliographic entries. Do not include the e-mail address or other contact information through which the communication was conducted unless it is necessary and you have the source’s permission.

Incorporating Interview Data

Introduction

When you incorporate original interview data into your writing, you are developing new ideas by using quotations and often sources that no one else has accessed. Drawing from interviews can liven up your writing, ground your big concepts within the specific circumstances of particular individuals, and introduce you to insights you might never have considered on your own. Additionally, interviews are an exciting way for you to provide a larger audience for people who might not otherwise have opportunities to share their stories, perceptions, and experiences.

There are lots of good reasons to incorporate original interview data into your writing. But doing so also involves making many, specific writing decisions. On this page we explore some of those decisions by considering: 1) the process by which interview data is gathered; 2) models for interview incorporation; and 3) identification of ways that writing with interview data can be like writing with information from any other source (as well as some of the unique writerly considerations that interviews raise).

Contents       Before You Write       Different Models of Incorporating Interview Data       Summarizing, Paraphrasing, or Quoting       Referring to your Interviewees       Using Verbatim or Non-Verbatim

Before You Write

Of course, before you can incorporate interview data into your writing, you need to plan and conduct your interviews and begin to analyze your findings.

Interviewing is a common form of research and information gathering in many different fields and across many different genres. In order to develop and actualize a plan for why interviews will help you answer the questions you’re asking, whom you’ll interview, and what you’ll ask these subjects, you’ll want to consult a range of resources. Talk with your instructor, mentor, or advisor about common ways of approaching interviews for this assignment or in this discipline. Additionally, many undergraduate textbooks about research in the social sciences and humanities offer introductions to interviewing. We’ve listed a few great resources to help you learn more.

For comprehensive introductions to research methods used in the writing research that include some information about interviews, consider:

• Jackie Grutsch McKinney’s book Strategies for Writing Center Research —especially pages 55-69. While Grutsch McKinney’s is focused on writing center research, her close consideration of the different ways to structure interviews as well as how to plan and conduct them can be applied to all interview contexts. Additionally, her treatment of data analysis in chapter 8 provides a step-by-step guide for coding qualitative data—one of the approaches you might use to make sense of what your interview data means.
• Joyce Kinkead’s Researching Writing: An Introduction to Research Methods —especially pages 37-39. This is a potential textbook for that could be used for a class specifically about the formal study of writing. However, its direct and specific information about interviewing is applicable for any social science researcher preparing to use interviews for research.

These resources focus more specifically on qualitative research methods in particular and interviewing in particular:

• Robert Bogdan and Sari Knopp Biklen’s Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theories and Methods —especially pages 103-109. Bogdan and Knopp Biklen’s treatment of interview practices provides a brief overview of how to approach and implement this research methodology.
• Irving Seidman’s Interviewing as Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences —especially pages 78-94. This entire book explores interview practices, logistics, and applications, but chapter six in particular usefully details particular interviewing techniques and provides transcripted examples of some of these strategic techniques in action.

The rest of the information on this page assumes that you have learned to develop and implement your interview plan, that you’ve analyzed the information you’ve gathered, and that you’re now ready to start weaving that information into your writing.

Different Models for Incorporating Interview Data

You can use interview data in many different ways. Most often, you will probably be making an argumentative or analytical point and illustrating and supporting it with evidence from your interviews. For example, in the following passage from the book Booty Capitalism: The Politics of Banking in the Philippines , Paul D. Hutchcroft, a political science professor at Australian National University, begins with an original claim, follows that with a quotation from an interview subject that exemplifies that claim, and then offers additional commentary on that issue. Note how the quotation from the interview both connects the concepts of banking and politics and introduces the prism metaphor that Hutchcroft continues into the next sentence.

The major focus of this [book] is two arenas that offer particular insights into the nature of relations between state and oligarchy in the banking system: bank supervision and selective credit allocation. “Banking,” observes one former bank president, “is a prism through which to understand power politics in the Philippines.” A study of the banking system highlights larger patterns at work within the political economy: how a predatory oligarchy extracts privilege from a patrimonial state, and how developmental policy objectives are continually choked out by a clamor of particularistic demands made by those who currently enjoy proximity to the political machinery. (7)

Generalizing about a Trend or Theme

Using information from an interview to support your claim is the primary purpose for incorporating interview data into your writing, but how you do this may change according to your specific intent. In what follows, we explore different models for weaving interview data into your writing and provide examples of what this looks like.

It is important to consider the politicization of the nationality responses in context. On the whole, the vast majority of republican executives did not try to influence the process, and the nationality question was a non-issue in the predominantly ethnically Russian regions. In my regional interviews I found that in the oblasts and krays, there were almost no reports of difficulty with the nationality question. Officials in those areas reported that respondents who were not ethnically Russian had no difficulty citing a different nationality. This finding corresponded with my observations of the enumeration process in Moscow. There were sporadic cases of respondents in ethnically mixed marriages registering one child as of one parent’s ethnic group and the other child as of the other parent’s ethnic group. However, this is a conceptual issue rather than a problem of politicization. ( 367-8 )

Quoting to Illustrate a Trend or Theme

Sometimes interviewees say things that are so strikingly similar that it is useful to draw attention to these complementary concepts and word choices by putting them together. In the following passage, Jane Calvert, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, and Joan Fujimura, a sociology professor at UW-Madison, use this strategy while writing about scientists’ responses to the new and developing field of systems biology. Note that these authors carefully tie quotations to specific anonymized interviewees through parenthetical citations.

In another US university, the decision to build an interdisciplinary research centre was top-down, initiated by university and funding administrators and initially opposed by most campus laboratory scientists. The building of new interdisciplinary structures is challenging for the existing disciplinary “fiefdoms” (Biologist19) and “silos” (Biologist9 and Biologist12) “where people feel protected and safe” (Biologist19) because they are not required to step outside of their “comfort zones” (Biologist7).

Putting Two Sources in Conversation with Each Other

Sometimes writers can use one interviewee to contribute to or complicate what another interviewee says. The following paragraph from Hutchcroft’s Booty Capitalism shows this practice at work. In addition to bringing two sources together, in this passage Hutchcroft also strategically incorporates paratextual insight gained from the interview process into his analysis. He uses the former governor’s laughter to showcase an attitude that directly contrasts with what the former bank supervisor says.

Even when the Central Bank has acted against those who milked their banks, former bank owners have been known to use personal connections, even up to the Supreme Court, to confound Central Bank discipline. Former Governor Jaime Laya noted that even martial law “didn’t seem to stop the lawsuits against Central Bank personnel.” He actually laughed as he told me how the Central Bank legal office has “never won a case.” But the former head of the bank supervision sector, who has herself been sued, doesn’t find it a laughing matter: “Why only in this country,” she exclaimed, “do the regulators go to the jail, and the bankers go scot-free?” (9)

Providing a Profile/Telling a Story

Sometimes your writing needs to focus on your interview subject as a full and complex individual. In order to analyze an issue, you need to write about this individual’s background, family, and previous experiences. In this situation, you’ll weave together information you gained from your interviews with quotations from this person. This kind of writing is common when you are using interviews to develop ethnographis case studies. In the following example of this technique, Kate Vieira, a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at UW-Madison, tells the story of Jocélia, an undocumented Brazilian immigrant living in Massachusetts:

Jocélia, a 22 year-old Brazilian woman who grew up in a favela (shanty town) in Brazil, came to the United States to study and to earn money. When her visa expired and the small sum she had borrowed from cousins ran out, she quit her ESL classes and began to work illegally. When I met her in 2008, she had been in the United States for 4 years, had managed to buy a house for her mother in Brazil, and had plans to buy another one for herself and a car. To earn money as an undocumented worker, she held down two jobs: one from 3 p.m. to midnight and another from 5 a.m. to afternoon. One evening, exhausted from having not slept in days, she nodded off as she drove home from work, resulting in a serious accident that led her to a friend’s house in South Mills and to a Catholic retreat. When I came here, I was not a youth who had fun. I only worked, and this made me a little frustrated, you know? Sad, lonely, understand? And nobody could change my mind. I had to work . . . But the Lord showed me something different, that I can’t live only for work . . . So I went there [to the retreat] and I really felt that the Lord touched us. It was a very good experience . . . (444)

Attending to Language

As explored in greater depth in the discussion about verbatim transcription , sometimes you want to analyze or consider the language an individual uses or the implications of certain kinds of words or even pauses. For example, in the following passage, Beth Godbee, a writing and rhetoric professor at Marquette University, meticulously considers the implications of her subjects’ specific words and phrasing. Although this example is taken from Godbee’s analysis of a conversation she recorded between a writer Susan and a writing center tutor Kim as opposed to a direct interview she conducted, the attention she pays to language could just as well be applied to information from an interview.

Kim reinforces Susan’s qualifications: “You’re gonna—you’re the specialist in this area. You know these kids; you see what know the effects are, and maybe where some change could be made” (lines 558-561). Here Kim revises her projection of Susan as a “specialist” in the future tense (“gonna,” as in “you’re going to be”) to a statement of her current position (“you’re,” or “you are now”). By repairing her speech mid-utterance, Kim emphasizes Susan’s current status and qualifications to write, thereby reframing her institutional power to assert her right to speak. (185)

Summarizing, Paraphrasing, or Quoting

As the above examples show, interview data is incorporated into writing through summaries, paraphrases, or quotations. In some ways this makes working with interviews just like working from any other kind of outside. As you choose between summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting, a guiding question for you to consider is: What is most important about this information?

• Is it the overall story it tells or the general perspective it provides? Then summarizing might be the best option.
• Is it the particular take on a complex issue? Then paraphrasing that idea in your own words to make it as understandable as possible might be best.
• Is it the memorability, specificity, or authenticity of the language the source used? Then probably go with a quote, but be sure to contextualize this quotation by providing necessary background and commentary.

Of course, in working with interview data, you might go with all three incorporation strategies by, for example, summarizing early in a paragraph to provide an overall sense of what this source is saying, paraphrasing a key idea or two, and then including a poignant quotation that exemplifies the argument you are making. For more information about quoting and paraphrasing outside sources in your writing, check out our resources on this issue .

Referring to your Interviewees

In certain writing situations, you are expected to identify the people you interviewed by using their real names. This is often the case in journalistic writing as well as when you have consulted with an expert on an issue. But, even in these writing contexts, you must receive permission from them to associate their words and insights with their names by clearly establishing whether or not they are talking with you “on the record.”

However, when you are conducting interviews for academic research, you are frequently expected to use pseudonyms so that your subjects’ responses are confidential. Protecting your subjects’ privacy should be your primary priority. They are giving you access to personal experiences and trusting you with their individual insights and observations; you must honor that trust by anonymizing their identities so that readers can’t figure out who your subjects were. Developing a research methodology that keeps all of your data confidential is an important part of the IRB (Internal Review Board) process, and in order to receive permission to do research at your institution you’ll need a plan that outlines how you’ll achieve confidentiality. Part of that plan will involve using different names for your subjects. But selecting pseudonyms is a bigger issue than just choosing different names at random.

Ruth Allen and Janine L. Wiles, Social and Community Health scholars at the University of Auckland, have closely considered the many issues surrounding pseudonym selection in connection to their original psychological and health-related research. They advocate that researchers think critically about this process and even bring their subjects into these discussions of identity and confidentiality. You need to be thoughtful about what aspects of your subjects’ true identities you are communicating or obscuring through the pseudonyms you use. The following questions are adapted from ones Allen and Wiles recommend researchers ask themselves when preparing to use pseudonyms for participants:

• Does the researcher or the participant choose the pseudonym? How does this issue get talked about with the participants?
• Is it important, valuable, or expected to use first name or also include last names and/or titles (i.e., Cara, Mr. Terrance, Dr. Jean Nichols)?
• Within the context of this writing, should the names to be associated with a specific gender, ethnicity, and/or culture? Should those nominal identity markers align with the participants’ actual identities?
• Do pseudonyms need to be selected for other people, places, activities, and organizations mentioned in the interview? And if so, who makes those choices?

How you answer these questions should be informed by your specific context. For example, in relation to that fourth question, if a participant is talking supportively about a small on-campus organization that you want to bring attention to through your writing, it might make sense to refer to this organization by name even though its size might make it harder to disguise your participant’s identity. However, if your interviewee is speaking critically about a large, multi-national corporation where she works, you might want to develop a pseudonym for that company in order to protect this individual as much as possible.

Using Verbatim or Non-Verbatim

When you are conducting interviews, you are engaging people in very focused conversation. But when we converse, we say “like” a lot and “um” and “ah.” We start sentences and then interrupt ourselves and never return to complete those earlier thoughts. Conversation is never as direct and naturally coherent as writing can be. As a result, when you’re representing other people’s speech, you need to decide if you’ll be employing what is called “verbatim transcription” or “non-verbatim transcription.”

In “verbatim transcriptions,” you write out what people say exactly as they say it. You include all the filler words, false starts, and grammatical inconsistencies. You may even choose to include coughs and laughs. Scholars have traditionally upheld verbatim accounts as being accurate depictions of the interview process, but as Blake Poland pointed out, “much of the emotional context of the interview as well as nonverbal communication are not captured at all well in audiotape records, so that the audiotape itself is not strictly a verbatim record of the interview” (291). “Non-verbatim transcriptions,” (sometimes called “intelligent transcription”) respond to this acknowledged gap between the complexities of real conversation and the limitations of writing by encouraging writers to focus on the primary substance of participants’ quotes. In “non-verbatim transcriptions, you eliminate the unnecessary utterances like “er,” “well,” and “you know” and just include the foundational meaning of the interviewees’ words.” For example:

Verbatim Transcription : Well, you see, I was [pause] the problem, as I saw it, was more of a, a matter of representation, you know? How can I, like, be the one that’s just out there just declaring the way things are when I’ve not even, like, you know, experiencing the whole process for myself? Non-verbatim Transcription : The problem, as I saw it, was more a matter of representation. How can I be the one that’s out there declaring the way things are when I’ve not even experienced the whole process for myself?

The choice to use verbatim or non-verbatim transcription in quoting your participants should be informed by intentional considerations you are making as a writer. There are good reasons to use either forms. As Mahesh Kumar has identified in a blog post for the Transcription Certification Institute, verbatim transcription is useful for showcasing the thought process by which interview participants develop their ideas. False starts and self-corrections track down how someone is thinking about an issue in real time, and some fillers can be useful expressions of personality. Additionally, some linguistics research and conversation analysis methodologies expect highly structured, verbatim transcriptions that even account for pauses and simultaneous dialogue. However, quotations presented through non-verbatim transcriptions are clearer and easier to read and enable you to present your interview subjects as articulate (Poland 292). Whether you go with verbatim or non-verbatim transcription, make sure that you are being consistent with this choice across your article, paper, report, or essay. Also, if it’s common in the genre you are writing to discuss your methodology choices, it may be useful to clarify which transcription form you have chosen to use and why this was an appropriate choice.

Works Cited

Allen, Ruth E.S., and Janine L. Wiles. “A Rose by Any Other Name: Participants Choosing Research Pseudonyms.” Qualitative Research in Psychology , Dec. 2015. Research Gate , doi: 10.1080/14780887.2015.1133746.

Bogdan, Robert C., and Sari Knopp Biklen. Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theories and Methods . 5 th ed., Pearson, 2007.

Calvert, Jane, and Joan H. Fujimura. “Calculating Life? Duelling Discourses in Interdisciplinary Systems Biology.” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences , vol. 42, no. 2l, 2011. Science Direct , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2010.11.022 .

Godbee, Beth. “Toward Explaining the Transformative Power of Talk About, Around, and for Writing.” Research in the Teaching of English , vol. 47, no. 2, 2012, pp. 171-97.

Grutsch McKinney, Jackie. Strategies for Writing Center Research . Parlor Press, 2016.

Herrera, Yoshiko M. “The 2002 Russian Census: Institutional Reform at Goskomstar.”  Post-Soviet Affairs , vol, 20, no. 4, 2004, pp. 350-86.

Hutchcroft, Paul D. Booty Capitalism: The Politics of Banking in the Philippines , Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1998.

Kinkead, Joyce. Researching Writing: An Introduction to Research Methods . University Press of Colorado, 2015.

Kumar, Mahesh. “Verbatim Vs Non-Verbatim Transcription: Differences, Requirements, & Jobs.” Transcription Certification Institute , 5 December 2017. Accessed online 19 June 2017. https://blog.transcriptioncertificationinstitute.org/verbatim-vs-non-verbatim-transcription-differences-requirements-jobs/.

Poland, Blake D. “Transcription Quality as an Aspect of Rigor in Qualitative Research.” Qualitative Inquiry , no. 1, vol. 3, 1995, pp. 290-310.

Seidman, Irving. Interviewing as Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences . 3 rd ed., Teachers College Press, 2006.

Vieira, Kate. “Undocumented in a Documentary Society: Textual Borders and Transnational Religious Literacies.”  Written Communication , vol 28, no. 4, 2011, pp. 436-61.

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Using an interview in a research paper

Consultant contributor: Viviane Ugalde

Using an interview can be an effective primary source for some papers and research projects. Finding an expert in the field or some other person who has knowledge of your topic can allow for you to gather unique information not available elsewhere.

There are four steps to using an interview as a source for your research.

• Know where and how to start.
• Know how to write a good question.
• Know how to conduct an interview.
• Know how to incorporate the interview into your document or project.

Step one: Where to start

First, you should determine your goals and ask yourself these questions:

• Who are the local experts on topic?
• How can I contact these people?
• Does anyone know them to help me setup the interviews?
• Are their phone numbers in the phone book or can I find them on the Internet?

Once you answer these questions and pick your interviewee, get their basic information such as their name, title, and other general details. If you reach out and your interview does not participate, don’t be discouraged. Keep looking for other interview contacts.

Step two: How to write a good question

When you have confirmed an interview, it is not time to come up with questions.

• Learning as much as you can about the person before the interview can help you create questions specific to your interview subject.
• Doing research about your interviewee’s past experience in your topic, or any texts that they have written would be great background research.

When you start to think of questions, write down more questions than you think you’ll need, and prioritize them as you go. Any good questions will answer the 5W and H questions. Asking Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How questions that you need answered for your paper, will help you form a question to ask your interviewee.

When writing a good question, try thinking of something that will help your argument.

• Is your interviewee an advocate for you position?
• Are they in any programs that are related to your research?
• How much experience do they have?

From broad questions like these, you can begin to narrow down to more specific and open-ended questions.

Step three: The interview

If at all possible, arrange to conduct the interview at the subject’s workplace. It will make them more comfortable, and you can write about their surroundings.

• Begin the interview with some small talk in order to give both of you the chance to get comfortable with one another
• Develop rapport that will make the interview easier for both of you.
• Ask open-ended questions
• Keep the conversation moving
• Stay on topic
• The more silence in the room, the more honest the answer.
• If an interesting subject comes up that is related to your research, ask a follow-up or an additional question about it.
• Ask if you can stay in contact with your interview subject in case there are any additional questions you have.

Step four: Incorporating the interview

When picking the material out of your interview, remember that people rarely speak perfectly. There will be many slang words and pauses that you can take out, as long as it does not change the meaning of the material you are using.

As you introduce your interview in the paper, start with a transition such as “according to” or other attributions. You should also be specific to the type of interview you are working with. This way, you will build a stronger ethos in your paper .

The body of your essay should clearly set up the quote or paraphrase you use from the interview responses,. Be careful not to stick a quote from the interview into the body of your essay because it sounds good. When deciding what to quote in your paper, think about what dialogue from the interview would add the most color to your interview. Quotes that illustrate what your interviewer sounded like, or what their personality is are always the best quotes to choose from.

Once you have done that, proofread your essay. Make sure the quotes you used don’t make up the majority of your paper. The interview quotes are supposed to support your argument; you are not supposed to support the interview.

For example, let’s say that you are arguing that free education is better than not. For your argument, you interview a local politician who is on your side of the argument. Rather than using a large quote that explains the stance of both sides, and why the politician chose this side, your quote is there to support the information you’ve already given. Whatever the politician says should prove what you argue, and not give new information.

Step five: Examples of citing your interviews 

Smith, Jane. Personal interview. 19 May 2018.

(E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2018).

Smith also claimed that many of her students had difficulties with APA style (personal communication, November 3, 2018).

Reference list

Daly, C. & Leighton W. (2017). Interviewing a Source: Tips. Journalists Resource.

Driscoll, D. (2018 ). Interviewing. Purdue University

Hayden, K. (2012). How to Conduct an Interview to Write a Paper . Bright Hub Education, Bright Hub Inc.

Hose, C. (2017). How to Incorporate Interviews into Essays. Leaf Group Education.

Magnesi, J. (2017). How to Interview Someone for an Article or Research Paper. Career Trend, Leaf group Media.

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How to Write an Interview Essay

Last Updated: March 11, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Diane Stubbs . Diane Stubbs is a Secondary English Teacher with over 22 years of experience teaching all high school grade levels and AP courses. She specializes in secondary education, classroom management, and educational technology. Diane earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Delaware and a Master of Education from Wesley College. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 467,841 times.

An interview essay is designed to give the reader a general impression of the interview subject and to present their thoughts on a select group of topics. It also offers the opportunity to develop deeper insights by analyzing the interviewee's responses within a larger context. Interview essays are a common school assignment, and provide useful skills for those interested in journalism, or just being good writers in general. There are several formats that fit into the category, but a good interview essay of whatever type can make the reader feel as though they were asking the questions.

Interviewing for an Essay

• If your essay is to be a factual piece, you'll want to interview someone who has expertise in the subject matter you'll be addressing. If your paper is about a science topic, you'll want to interview a scientist in that field. If your paper is about a period of history, you'll want to interview either a historian or someone who's lived through that period of history.
• If you plan to make your essay an opinion piece, you'll likely want to interview someone who has a strong opinion about the topic covered in your essay. Ideally, you want someone who can express opinions articulately, and who also has credentials in the area you plan to write about.
• If your piece will have a narrow perspective, you'll need to interview only one or two people. If your piece will present a general consensus, you'll need to interview more people, probably with varying expertise and credentials.

• When available, read works about and works written by your subject, both in print and online. At the same time, research the topic associated with your subject. The more you know about both, the more intelligent questions you can ask.
• Look for previous interviews your subject has given, as well. These will give you an idea of what questions the person has been asked before, so you can decide on appropriate subjects for your own questions, including questions that no one else has asked.
• Questions that require "yes" or "no" answers are good for gathering specific factual information; open-ended "how," "why," and "tell me about" questions are great for gathering additional background material not found in your research.
• Draw up a list of the questions you are prepared to ask. Have more questions ready than you will likely use, so that you can make adjustments as the interview takes place. (For instance, your subject may begin focusing on what you thought was a side topic, but turns out to be the key part of your interview.) Rank your questions in order of importance to make sure you ask your best ones, or list them all in the order you'd ask them and color-code the most important ones.

• Choose a quiet place with few distractions for your interview site. A library, restaurant, or campus location if you're doing this for a college writing class would be suitable.
• You may want to get the interviewee's consent to use their comments in your essay in writing, as well as permission to record those comments during the interview. By law, if you are recording an interview conducted over the phone, you must obtain written permission. [4] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source
• It's helpful to have a backup interviewee in case the person you plan to interview can't make it.
• Be on time at the place you've agreed to meet for the interview.

• Using a recording device (with permission) is almost always advisable, as it permits you to save your note-taking for jotting down your insights on contexts, themes, how your subject approaches the questions, his/her comfort level, and so on.
• Be patient and respectful as you ask your questions and wait for responses. Give the interviewee time to reflect, and you will likely be rewarded with more insightful answers. A few deeper responses are usually better than many superficial ones.
• Immediately after the interview, write down your thoughts and impressions about the interview and interviewee. They may help you shape the essay.
• Always end the interview by thanking the person.

Writing the Essay

• Narrative format. This form 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. This is a looser format than the formal writing style required for most essays. You can address the reader directly and use both first and second person. This format can be suitable for anything from class assignments to magazine articles.
• Question-and-answer format. This form presents your questions to the interviewee, followed by the interviewee's responses. (That is, the text looks something like this: (Your Name): How long have you been in the circus? (Interviewee's Name): About 35 years.) 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. This format is best suited for essays with only a single interviewee or a closely related group, such as spouses or the core cast of a TV show.
• Informative format. This format usually interweaves the interview with research you've done on the subject, incorporating some of that research in the text to provide background and give it a little more color.

• Read over your interview notes and listen to any audio / video recordings you have. Utilizing both whenever available will allow you to thoroughly consider both the highlights of the interview and the most significant themes to emerge from it. These, in turn, will inform your outline of what information your essay will cover and how it will appear. [9] X Research source
• One possible outline could be an introduction that starts with an anecdote about the interviewee and then presents your thesis statement, several key points that support the main focus, and a conclusion that summarizes the information presented. Traditional school essays often utilize a five paragraph format (introduction, three supporting paragraphs, conclusion), and this can often work with interview essays as well.

• If, however, the purpose of your essay is to use your interviewee's comments to support a position or examine a larger theme, your thesis will probably be a statement of that position or theme, with the interview / interviewee placed within that context. For instance: "John Doe's mixed feelings of pride and betrayal reflect those shared by many Vietnam veterans still with us."
• Regardless of essay format, make your thesis clear and concise, and be sure that the remainder of your essay refers back to it. See How to Write a Thesis Statement for more advice.

• Interviews can sometimes produce a good deal of repetitive answers (even with high-quality questions), so you may need to trim repetitions and unnecessary elements from the body of your essay. Make sure that whatever material you do keep remains true to both the spirit of the interview and the overarching focus of your essay. [10] X Research source
• A handout from the Writing Center at the University of North Carolina (available at http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/oral-history/ ) provides a wealth of valuable materials on interview essays. It includes, for instance, examples of how to utilize the same interview materials in a transcription (question-and-answer format), a presentation of individual experiences (quotations and paraphrases), and the placing of the interview / interviewee in a larger context (paraphrasing and quotations with ample explanation).

• 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. Another reader is likely to catch errors, repetitions, and unclear sections that you have glossed over. [12] X Research source
• Go back to your original interview notes, recordings, and transcripts, and make sure that your essay continues to reflect the actual interview. Layers of editing and revising can sometimes cause the essay to drift away from the original source and intent. You may even want to let the interviewee read it over to ensure that it captures their voice. [13] X Research source

• 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.
• Make sure one more time that any direct quotations from your source are placed in quotation marks, and any paraphrasing is done without quotation marks. Don't put words in your subject's mouth, and respect the words that do emerge from it.

What Are The Dos And Don’ts Of a Journalistic Interview?

Expert Q&A

• After the interview, send the interviewee a written thank-you note expressing your appreciation for their time. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• If the person you're interviewing is busy or elderly, you may want to plan for more than one interview session. Observe the interviewee for signs of impatience or fatigue. Conduct multiple, shorter sessions if necessary. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• If you plan to interview someone over the telephone, permission to record the conversation is required by law. Thanks Helpful 15 Not Helpful 3

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/oral-history/
• ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/interview-paper
• ↑ http://www.whatkidscando.org/featurestories/2007/maine_students/tip_sheets/FIRST-PERSON%20ESSAYS%20TIP%20SHEET.pdf
• ↑ http://www.brighthubeducation.com/help-with-writing/97515-how-to-write-an-interview-essay/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/proofreading_suggestions.html

About This Article

To write an essay from an interview, you’ll first have to decide on the format the essay will take, as this will determine the structure and what you write. The most common form is the narrative format, in which you use direct quotes and paraphrase your subject to add context and detail, or you can write in a more conversational tone, or even in a directly transcribed question-and-answer form. Once you decide on format, plan an outline by forming a central thesis, which will be the central statement your essay is making. Add onto the outline by drafting supporting evidence directly from the interview and from other sources, like books, newspaper articles, other essays, anything else to support your point. Write and finish the essay by combining information from the interview and other sources with your own explanations and words. To learn about how to conduct the interview to get enough information to write about and how to finish the writing process, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Write an A+ Interview Paper Using Our Tips and Examples

06 September, 2021

13 minutes read

Author:  Josh Carlyle

You will quickly find yourself with your back to the wall once your teacher assigns you an interview paper. Studying is often a headache by itself, and now you have to conduct interviews. Worse yet, you probably have no idea how you can do this. Luckily, we will tell you how to write an interview paper step by step in this comprehensive guide. So prepare your favorite drink and learn how to write a top-notch interview paper.

What is an Interview Paper?

An interview paper provides an expert opinion on a specific issue. In essence, it is an interview transcript inserted somewhere between the introduction and conclusion of an academic piece.

How long should it be? It depends on the topic and the length of your interview, but most papers are within the length of 2,000 – 5,000 words. What things should you consider before writing an interview paper in the first place? Let’s check them out below.

General Aspects of Writing an Interview Paper

Academic papers require you to provide arguments based on studies, research pieces, statistics, etc. But an interview paper is different – for this type of essay, you will develop assumptions around an expert’s opinion.

Let’s imagine your essay question reads the following: “Should we ban abortions?” If you write an interview paper, you should ask someone high-powered for their consideration. Let them be an executive director of the American Gynecological & Obstetrical Society.

You would reach them via email or phone or whatever communication channel you prefer and conduct an interview. Afterward, you would put all your findings on paper.

But in practice, writing an interview paper involves many more complexities and challenges, like planning, topic research , drafting, etc.

Let’s speak straight facts: nobody will reschedule their week to meet you because you need to do some homework. You’re one of the millions of students, and the local governor or a famous scientist won’t give you an interview nine times out of ten.

So you would want to target someone less busy, like professors from other faculties of your college or some researchers within your academic environment. Hunting a bigger fish is pointless unless you’re a well-established journalist working for a popular media channel. If you struggle to find someone within your college/university, you can contact people from your circle.

Writing Outline and Structure of an Interview Paper

 As you know, a typical paper consists of three parts:

• Introduction. This part includes background information, the hook, the thesis statement, and the transition.
• Body. It is the longest part of the paper consisting of several paragraphs. It should contain the actual interview.
• Conclusion. The final part summarizes the considerations and insights of your essay.

The question is: ‘where should you put an interview transcript and how do you do this?’

To answer this question, you need to come up with the interview papers format in the first place. There are several of them:

The narrative format implies that you can use either direct or indirect speech when referring to your interviewee. If you choose this path, you can stick to a 5-paragraph essay structure, retell the considerations of your interviewee, and cite their words here and there at your discretion.

You can also choose this format if you contact several people. Check what a narrative interview paper structure looks like when you reach out to several people:

• Introduction.
• Paragraph #1 – the first interviewee’s perspective.
• Paragraph #2 – the second interviewee’s opinion.
• Paragraph #3 – the third interviewee’s thoughts.
• Conclusion.

Alternatively, you can dedicate each paragraph to a particular idea of one person.

“Question and answer” will suit your needs perfectly if you interview one person. It is the simplest format used in online magazines, news reports, and other media. Your interview paper outline will look like this:

• Introduction
• Question #1 – Answer #1
• Question #2 – Answer #2
• Question #3 – Answer #3
• Question #4/5/6/etc. – Answer #4/5/6/etc.
• Interview analysis. You may include your thoughts on the subject matter.

Conversational

Conversational style is informal, and you can use either first-person or second-person narrative and follow a typical 5-paragraph paper structure. But writing interview papers in this lousy style might be perplexing, especially if you deal with this task for the first time.

We advise you to try the Q&A format because it’s the simplest one and takes the least time. Just imagine how much time your paper writing will take if you decide to interview three or five people.

How to Start an Interview Paper?

If you have no idea how to start an interview paper, choose the topic first. Selecting a topic for your interview paper is not a big deal, but you should keep in mind that you may not find appropriate interviewees for it.

Let’s imagine you want to explore whether the government should force people to get vaccines. This topic implies that you need to contact authorities. It might be a local lawyer, governor, or executive director of a local hospital. Well, the chances are these people will politely refuse to give an interview for your homework.

But if you choose to investigate how lockdown impacts intellectual workers, you can contact your friends or family members who work at home. In other words, it’s better to choose topics that reflect the experiences of ordinary people rather than the opinions of untouchable experts.

Asking people for their opinion about well-known facts like the Earth’s shape is a bad idea. You would want to choose high-profile debatable topics you can actually discuss.

Establish the Goal of Your Interview Essay

You have to establish the goal of your essay before researching the topic. For this, ask yourself: “What message should your interview essay deliver?” Sometimes, a topic of your choice might already explain the purpose of your essay.

Conduct Research

Interviewing someone implies that you should ask questions. But you will fail to do so if you know little to nothing about your topic. So read some case studies, news, articles, etc. Once you get the picture of your subject matter, you will come up with dozens of interview questions.

Get to Know Your Interviewee

A good interviewer always refers to the life and experience of their interviewee. If you’re lucky to work with someone you can read about on the Internet, find out as much information about them as possible. If your interviewee publishes any books, articles, or studies, you will better know them as well.

The more you know about the person, the more interview questions you can come up with. You can ask them whether the Internet tells their true story: “Is it true that you, Mr. Interviewee, support flat earthers?”

Draft Your Interview Questions

If you want a person to share their in-depth vision of the topic, you need to ask both open-ended and close-ended (“yes/no”) questions. However, you may struggle to prepare interview questions. Many students get stuck during this stage. To overcome this block, you need to learn some types of interview questions:

• Opinion – What do you think of this topic?
• Behavioral – What would you do in this situation?
• Experience and knowledge – What do you know about the subject?
• Background – How are you connected to the subject? What is your age, occupation, etc?
• Emotional – How do you feel about the subject?
• Sensory – What does the subject taste and feel like?

You can also think of the questions following the interviewee’s “yes” and “no” answers.

Tips for Conducting a Successful Interview

These four tips will help you conduct a productive interview on the first try:

1. Plan Your Meeting

Note that you want to interview a person in a quiet place so that nobody will distract you. This might be some cozy book store or a café. Or, you can arrange an online meeting. Make sure you have at least one hour for the interview.

2. Rehearse a bit

If you will conduct your first-ever interview, you want to practice with your friends/significant other/ family in the first place. This approach will help you identify what stage of your upcoming interview may challenge you the most.

3. Record Your Interview

You will forget about 50% of the information within an hour once you finish the interview. So don’t rely on your memory − bring a recorder instead. Why not take notes? You wouldn’t want to go red while asking your interviewee to repeat what they have just said or wait until you write down their answers.

4. Talk to Your Interviewee for a While Before You Begin

Speaking to someone you don’t know might be uncomfortable. You don’t have to attack them with your interview questions straightaway. Instead, you can exchange some casual phrases or discuss the weather. This will help you relieve stress and get comfortable with each other.

5. Explain Your Interview Protocol

It’s better to explain to your interviewee how you will conduct your interview. Tell them that you will use a recorder and introduce the discussion topic.

Interview Papers Format

In academic writing, you have to explain the purpose of your interview and introduce your interviewee in a specific “scholarly” format. The APA format interview paper has the following requirements:

• Use 12-point Times New Roman.
• Write a title page.
• Use double spacing.
• Introduce your interviewee and provide the background information – explain why this person is suitable for the interview. Mention their name and qualifications.
• Use direct quotes if you cite some facts provided by the interviewee.
• Use block quotes for citations longer than 40 words.

How to Write a Title Page?

The title of your paper must include your name, your institution, department, the course name and number, the teacher’s name, and the assignment date. The rules of writing the title page are the following:

• The title page must be numbered.
• Capitalize all major words in your title and make it bold.
• Place the title of the essay three or four lines down the top of the page.
• There must be one empty line before the student’s name.

Interview Papers Examples

If you’re searching for an interview essay example – check several samples below:

• A narrative interview essay .
• A Q&A interview format paper.
• An interview with a scientist.

Interview Papers Writing Tips

The following writing tips will help you deliver the first-class interview paper:

• Write the introduction at the end. Once you finish your essay, you will likely reconsider some ideas you had before you began. They will help you frame your interview essay with a captivating introduction and conclusion.
• Give yourself a break after finishing your final draft. This will help you look at your paper with a fresh pair of eyes once you start editing.
• Edit one type of error at a time. For example, you can reduce logical errors first and switch to grammatical mistakes afterward.
• Use an active voice. If active voice makes your sentence shorter, use it without hesitation.
• Check for any sample interview paper to decide on the interview questions. Perhaps, some pieces will spark your interest.

Writing Help by Handmadewriting

An interview paper doesn’t seem that intimidating once you learn how to write it step by step. First, you have to choose the subject that allows you to interview ordinary people rather than hard-to-reach ones. Then, you need to research your topic, conduct an interview, and write a paper.

You can get an A+ for this assignment with enough effort and dedication. But a doable task doesn’t necessarily mean that you must do it by yourself. If you have plenty of other assignments to do, you can ask our essay writers to craft an exemplary interview paper for you. For this, you can place an order on our website, and we will do all the dirty work.

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Learning Materials

How to write an interview essay: complete guide.

Updated: Apr 19, 2024

Ever wondered how to transform a simple conversation into a compelling narrative? Writing an interview essay can seem daunting, especially when you're unsure where to start or how to make it engaging. An interview essay should effectively present the interviewee's thoughts on selected topics, using a structured format that combines direct quotes, paraphrasing, and your own analysis to enrich the content. This guide will walk you through the entire process of creating an interview essay, from structuring and formatting to selecting the right questions and crafting a narrative that resonates with readers.

Start Writing Your Free Essay!

The process of writing an interview essay: an overview.

Writing an interview essay involves more than just transcribing conversations. It requires a thoughtful approach to select, organize, and present the interview content in a way that tells a compelling story. Starting with a clear understanding of the essay's purpose, writers need to decide on the format—narrative, Q&A, or a thematic exploration. This choice will significantly influence the structure and presentation of the interview content, guiding the entire writing process from the questions you ask to the way you interpret the answers.

Preparation is key in crafting an effective interview essay. Before even beginning the interview, it's crucial to research the interviewee and the topic thoroughly to ask insightful questions that elicit meaningful responses. Organizing these findings into a structured outline will help streamline the writing process, ensuring that the essay remains focused and coherent. The outline should include an introduction that sets the stage, a body that delves into the interviewee's perspectives, and a conclusion that ties everything together and reflects on the insights gained.

Outlining Your Interview Essay: A Structured Approach

Creating a structured outline for your interview essay is essential as it acts as your writing roadmap. Start with an introduction that presents your thesis statement and gives a brief overview of the interviewee. The body should be divided into several paragraphs, each focusing on a different theme or topic discussed during the interview. Finally, conclude with a summary that reiterates the main points and reflects on the overall insights. This structured approach ensures that your essay is organized and maintains a logical flow from start to finish.

Formatting Guidelines for an Interview Essay

Adhering to specific formatting guidelines is crucial in crafting a well-organized interview essay. Typically, your essay should start with an introduction that hooks the reader and introduces the interviewee. The body of the essay should follow the outline, using clear headings for each section if necessary, and include direct quotes and paraphrases from the interviewee. In terms of presentation, use a readable font, double-spacing, and include page numbers. Always cite your sources correctly to avoid plagiarism and enhance the credibility of your essay.

Dos and Don'ts in Writing an Interview Essay

When writing an interview essay, there are several best practices to follow and pitfalls to avoid. Do ensure clarity by using simple language and avoiding jargon that might confuse readers. Do maintain the authenticity of the interview by accurately representing the interviewee's responses. Don't manipulate quotes to fit your narrative, as this can mislead readers and take away from the interviewee's intended message.

Additionally, do focus on creating a narrative that engages readers, weaving quotes and insights into a compelling story. Don't overlook the need for thorough editing to polish your essay and enhance readability. Avoid overly long paragraphs that can deter readers, and ensure your paragraphs transition smoothly to keep the reader engaged from start to finish. Following these guidelines will help you craft an insightful and respectful interview essay that is both informative and enjoyable to read.

Crafting an Engaging Introduction for Your Interview Essay

Crafting an engaging introduction is crucial for capturing the reader's interest right from the start of your interview essay. Start with a hook that grabs attention; this could be a startling statistic, a poignant quote from the interviewee, or an intriguing question that sets the stage for the narrative. The goal is to pique the reader's curiosity and draw them into the story you're about to unfold, making them eager to learn more about the interviewee and the insights they have to offer.

Once you've captured the reader's attention, it's important to provide a brief overview of the interviewee and the main themes of the essay. This not only introduces the subject but also sets the tone for the rest of the essay. Include a compelling thesis statement that outlines the central idea or the primary insight the interview will explore. This approach ensures that your introduction serves as a concise roadmap for the readers, guiding them through the insights and narratives that will be developed in the body of the essay.

Concluding Your Interview Essay Effectively

Concluding your interview essay effectively is key to leaving a lasting impression on your reader. Summarize the main points and insights shared by the interviewee, reflecting on how they contribute to the broader topic or issue at hand. It's crucial to restate your thesis in a way that reflects the discussions and revelations from the interview, providing closure and reinforcing the significance of the interviewee's perspectives. Consider ending with a thought-provoking question or statement that encourages readers to think deeply about the subject, thereby extending the impact of the essay beyond its final words.

Enhancing Your Interview Essay with Narrative Style

To elevate your interview essay from a mere transcript to a vivid narrative, it's essential to embrace a narrative style. This approach involves weaving the interviewee's responses into a storyline that resonates with readers. By focusing on the flow of events and the emotional journey of the interviewee, you can create a more immersive experience. This style not only keeps the readers engaged but also allows them to connect deeply with the subject matter, seeing the interviewee not just as a source of information, but as a character in a compelling story.

Utilizing narrative techniques such as dialogues, descriptive details , and personal anecdotes can significantly enhance the readability and impact of your interview essay. These elements help to paint a vivid picture of the interviewee and their experiences, making the story come alive. Moreover, integrating direct quotes strategically throughout the essay adds authenticity and gives a voice to the narrative, allowing readers to experience the interviewee's personality and emotions firsthand.

Choosing the Right Questions for Your Interview

Selecting the right questions for your interview is crucial in crafting a narrative that captures the essence of the interviewee's experiences and perspectives. Focus on open-ended questions that encourage detailed responses, and consider how each question will contribute to the unfolding story. Here are a few tips:

• Ask about specific life events that shaped the interviewee's viewpoint.
• Inquire about challenges and successes to reveal depth and personal growth.
• Tailor questions to evoke emotions and personal reflections, which enrich the narrative.

By carefully choosing questions that align with the narrative style of your essay, you can gather compelling content that engages and resonates with your audience.

Elevate Your Interview Essay with Samwell.ai's Writing Tools

Elevating your interview essay becomes seamless with Samwell 's advanced AI-powered writing tools. Whether you're a student or a professional, Samwell ensures that your essay adheres to the highest standards of academic integrity. The AI assistant helps you integrate direct quotes and paraphrases accurately, ensuring that each citation is formatted correctly according to your specified style, be it APA, MLA, or Chicago. This meticulous attention to detail not only enhances the credibility of your essay but also saves you valuable time.

Moreover, Samwell 's advanced plagiarism checks are integral to maintaining the originality of your work. Here’s how it benefits you:

• Scans your essay against a vast database to detect any potential plagiarism.
• Highlights sections that require rephrasing to ensure uniqueness.
• Provides suggestions for citations to fortify your claims and avoid academic misconduct. This feature of Samwell not only protects your academic reputation but also instills confidence in your writing, allowing you to submit your interview essay with peace of mind.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you start an interview essay.

Starting an interview essay effectively involves crafting an engaging introduction. Begin with a hook that grabs the reader's attention, such as a startling statistic, a poignant quote, or an intriguing question. Follow this with a brief overview of the interviewee and the main themes of the essay, and include a compelling thesis statement that outlines the central idea or primary insight the interview will explore.

How to start writing an interview?

To start writing an interview, first ensure you have a clear understanding of the essay's purpose and decide on the format—narrative, Q&A, or thematic exploration. Prepare by researching the interviewee and the topic thoroughly to formulate insightful questions. Organize your findings into a structured outline with an introduction, body sections based on themes, and a conclusion. This preparation sets the foundation for writing an engaging and coherent interview essay.

How do you summarize an interview in an essay?

To summarize an interview in an essay, focus on condensing the main points and insights shared by the interviewee. Reflect on how these contribute to the broader topic or issue at hand. Restate your thesis in a way that reflects the discussions and revelations from the interview, providing closure and emphasizing the significance of the interviewee's perspectives. Consider ending with a thought-provoking question or statement to extend the impact of the essay.

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Interview Essay

Interview essay generator.

Essay writing is different for everyone. Some people choose to go to the library and search for facts on a given subject, while others like to focus on gathering information through personal statements .

During this interview process, interviewers typically ask a series of interview questionnaire  that their readers may want to know about. These details are either recorded or jotted down by the interviewee. With what has been gathered, an individual may then write a complete essay regarding the exchange.

Interview Essay Sample

• Google Docs

Size: 168 KB

Personal Interview Essay Template

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Nursing Interview Essay Template

Size: 123 KB

Leadership Interview Essay Template

Size: 154 KB

Teacher Interview Essay Template

Size: 150 KB

Job Interview Essay Sample

Narrative Interview

Size: 70 KB

Career Interview Essay

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What Is an Interview Essay?

Interview essays are typically based on research gathered from personal testimonies. This could be based on one’s personal experiences or their own input on a given matter. It may be informative essay , descriptive essay , or even persuasive essays , depending on the questions asked by the interviewer.

The content of the essay may include direct quotes from the interview or it may come in a written narrative form. Through this, we are able to gain additional information from a particular perspective.

What to Include in an Interview Essay

For every essay, a thesis statement is needed to help your readers understand the subject being tackled in your work. For an interview short essay , you would need to talk about your interviewee. Any information that will create a credible image for your interviewee will be necessary.

Next, it’s necessary to include the significant ideas that you have acquired from your interview. Ideally, you should pick three of these ideas, elaborate what has been said, and present it in paragraphs. Be sure to emphasize these points in a detailed and concise manner, a lengthy explanation might be too redundant. You may also see sample essay outlines .

Leadership Essay

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Nursing Interview Example

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Personal Interview

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Parent Interview Sample

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Guidelines for an Interview Essay

When writing an interview essay, it would be best to create an outline first.

Organize the information you have gathered from your interviewee and structure it in a logical order. This could be from one’s personal information to the most compelling details gathered. Be reminded of the standard parts of an essay and be sure to apply it to your own work.

Even when most, if not all, of your essay’s content is based on what you have gathered from your interviewee, you would still need to create a good starting of essay  and end to your essay.

Additionally, do not forget to put quotation marks around the exact words used by your interviewee. It would also be best to proofread your work and make sure that there is a smooth transition for each thought. You may also like personal essay examples & samples.

How to Conclude an Interview Essay?

You can end your interview essay how ever you wish to do so. It could be about your learning from the interview, a call to action, or a brief summary writing from what has been expressed in the essay.

But keep in mind, this would depend on your purpose for writing the essay. For instance, if you interviewed a biologist to spread awareness about mother nature, then it would be best to conclude your essay with a call to action. Knowing this, it’s important to end your essay well enough for it to be memorable.

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

Write an Interview Essay on a local community leader.

Discuss the career journey of a teacher in your Interview Essay.

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How To Write An Interiew Paper: Ultimate Guide

While you’re in school and studying different subjects, it can be tricky to understand each assignment’s needs and depths, especially long-form research papers that might count for a large percentage of your total grade. Writing an interview paper can involve a lot of research, require a lot of time and effort to find and schedule interviews with the right people, and write an engaging and easy-to-read piece. So here’s your ultimate blueprint on how to write an interview paper!

What Is An Interview Paper?

How to write an interview paper, the step-by-step guide on writing an interview paper, how to start an interview paper, how to write a conclusion for an interview paper, how to format an interview paper, checklist of essentials for an impressive interview paper, topics for an interview paper.

An interview paper is an intriguing but complex assignment to write about a topic that incorporates interviews and perspectives of different people on the issue. These interviews are usually with people who are stakeholders in a problem or the general public that has been inevitably affected by a country’s policy or about a particular case that caused havoc. In addition, it can also be a descriptive piece elaborating on the personal experience or anecdote of one person.

It’s definitely a learned skill and requires a lot of effort into cultivating precise questions networking to find the best people to interview (they can range from being your family members who were involved in a particular issue or have stark opinions on your topic to policymakers and governors who contributed to either passing or striking a specific act), and finally putting it all together to communicate the varying perspectives effectively without bias.

Here’s an excerpt from an interview paper example :

With the recent upsurge in mental health and psychology, many experts in the field are celebrating the increased awareness but also worry about the dissipation of false information. Especially with social media, information is communicated from one part of the world to another within seconds. It can lead to the misuse of terms and psychological context, leading to severe harm and damage. Dr. Rosen Luis, a professor of abnormal psychology at the University of Georgia, elaborated upon the issue of false information being spread on social media in a personal interview conducted last year. “As social media penetrates the global world at a more rapid rate than anything else in the world, sensitive information like that regarding mental health can easily be misused or leveraged in incorrect circumstances due to the lack of supervision on growing platforms. Social media also creates unrealistic expectations about how a mental illness should look. There’s no one distinct way a disorder manifests in everybody and can lead to different lifestyle changes for different people.” (R. Luis, Phone Interview, Jun 22, 2021)

So you might be thinking about how to write a paper based on an interview and what are the different components of such a paper? Well, a lot goes into an article of this kind, so it’s essential to break it down into separate elements so you can tackle each with great effort and accuracy to cultivate a solid assignment and fetch a top grade!

If you have the freedom to choose your topic for the assignment, it is essential that you pick up a contentious concept that is the center of debate and leads to some civil discourse. An interview paper needs to be backed with air-tight research and credible interviews taken ethically and incorporate direct, in-depth questioning and sources.

Now you may be wondering how to include an interview in a research paper, mainly because interviews often look like scripts instead of concrete research material, so it’s important to note that while your discussions will be long-form and extensive, you’ll have to pick and choose responses from your different interviews to use as quotes or credible backing for your statements within the content of the paper.

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To make the writing process easier, you should be absolutely sure in what to do in each step. Here is a list of steps you need to take to get a perfect interview paper.

• Step 1 – Selecting the ideal topic for your paper : The topic you end up choosing for your interview paper can genuinely make or break your grade. It’s best not to look at generalized ideas or concepts that have been established as facts, as it’s unlikely that such topics will have a large-scale difference of opinion. Searching for a good case could begin with looking for issues that cause healthy discussion, differ within groups of different cultural, political, social, or economic backgrounds, and are essential conversations to have. It’s vital to ensure that the topic doesn’t cause a threat to someone’s rights, identity, or existence.
• Step 2 – Ideation and Research : Now that you’ve established your topic and a basic crux of your thesis statement, you can begin ideating the direction you want to take your paper. For instance, you choose capital punishment and its use to decrease long-term crime patterns in Singapore (known to have one of the highest percentages of the executed population via capital punishment), you’ll think about whether you want to talk about its history, grassroots change, crime statistics and also decide who all you’ll want to interview. A big part of writing an interview paper is finding people from diverse backgrounds with conflicting opinions to give your readers a 360-degree view on the issue.
• Step 3 – Crafting your interview questions : After having decided your topic and doing in-depth research about the same, it’s time to curate a set of interview questions that are brief, to-the-point, and extract the information you require for your assignment. Crafting good open-ended questions is a learned skill and will improve with the number of interviews you prep for. Ensure that all your questions are about the topic, fact-checked, and easy to understand for the interviewee.
• Step 4 – Taking the interviews : Once the interview blueprint is ready, you’ve to schedule and conduct interviews with the people you’re choosing to talk to (it is preferred that you conduct interviews in-person, so it is as personal and direct as possible). Be sure to ask your questions clearly and record the interviewee’s responses using a recording device so you can precisely transcribe the answers afterward. It’s crucial that your interviewee feels comfortable talking to you about the topic, especially if it is something very sensitive and personal. Good interview ethics also involve letting your respondent know they can communicate if they want something they spoke about to be scratched out of the interview.If you’re planning on using published interviews, you can skip the third and fourth steps and pick up essential quotes from the already published interviews. Remember to cite the quotes in the correct format so that you don’t get into any unnecessary plagiarism issues.
• Step 5 – Creating an outline : With regards to the obtained interview responses, you’ll create a very detailed skeleton for the interview paper, so you know precisely which idea goes where. This will help you when you finally get down to writing the actual essay, as you’ll be able to keep track of your different ideas, quotes, and sources and establish an engaging flow. You can also spend some time writing transitionary sentences that you’ll use when you move from one paragraph to the next.
• Step 6 – Writing the paper : Now that you’re done with all the back-end research, interviewing, and outlining, you’ve to sit down and fill in the gaps to produce a stellar essay. You have all the elements you need to decrease your distractions, be charged up, and just write it out. Contrary to popular belief, writing is actually a learned skill. Even if you don’t believe you’re as good with words as others, learning a few tips and tricks can easily elevate your writing to a notch above. Using precise and appropriate vocabulary, leveraging analogies, metaphors, and other language elements to convey your ideas, and having perfect grammar and syntax are some of the ways you can better your writing.

The basics of any paper are a thesis statement, introduction, body, and conclusion. You would’ve formulated your thesis statement while ideating the direction you wanted to take your paper in, and through the outline, you’ve hopefully followed the one-idea, one paragraph to give rise to a well-constructed body. Here’s some guidance on the two components that determine the first impression and last impression your reader has of the paper:

The introduction of your interview paper is the first thing that the reader looks at, so it’s crucial to hook the reader to keep them engaged to follow through with reading the paper. You can include:

Your thesis statement Intriguing data about your topic A quote from one of your interviewees Citing any information that’s been in the news with regards to your topic

The purpose of a catchy introduction is to connect the idea at hand to the reader’s life and intrigue them enough to learn more about the issue.

For example , if you’re writing on the capital punishment topic, beginning with an alarming statistic to depict the dire need to start a serious conversation about its effectiveness or ineffectiveness could hook the reader very well:

“ Juxtaposing the modern ideals of reformation and change, over 400 individuals have been giving the death penalty in Singapore since 1991″

Like any research paper, a firm conclusion is a must in a well-written interview paper. Since your paper will deal with some contrasting ideas, summarizing all the perspectives while shedding more light on the thesis statement will hook your reader to think about the information and views brought up in your essay long after they finish reading. Though this is one of the many assignments you’ve to write for school, interview papers dealing with conflicting real-life issues also contribute to social change via beginning civil discourse and fact-oriented discussion on important causes.

• Step 7 – Citing the sources : It’s vital that after you finish the contents of your essay, you spend time formatting your interview paper in the correct format and cite all of your sources in the needed manner (e.g., MLA, APA, etc.). It’ll help provide credibility to your arguments, show that you delved into air-tight research for your topic, and protect you from any coincidental issues in plagiarism checkers.
• Step 8 – Revision : It’s believed that looking at your paper, especially one you’ve spent hours on, with a fresh set of eyes, gives you a better perspective on things to change and helps you spot any missed grammar and style errors. You can finish your draft, take a nap, get back to the assignment and make the changes, read it aloud to make any mistakes more noticeable, or even ask a friend to have a read-through.

It’s essential that you know the interview paper format to be able to present a well-written, researched, and formatted assignment for an excellent grade. So here are some steps on how to write an interview paper in APA format –

If you’re citing a personal interview that you conducted in the course of writing the piece, here’s the format to follow:

Include the name of the interviewee and their qualifications, job description, and experience Mention the purpose of involving them in your research paper Incorporate a couple of quotes from their interview Cite the interview in the correct APA format

For, e.g., – (Interviewee first name initial & last name, interview format, date of interview)

If you’re citing an already published interview of someone in the field, the way you format the quotes in the paper and the bibliography should follow the format of the document in which you found the interview. Say you found an interview of a renowned politician in a social science journal that followed the MLA format; you must follow the same and cite the social science journal as your source.

To have peace of mind that you’ve done everything you needed for the perfect interview paper, here’s a short checklist you can quickly run through before submitting your assignment

Included all interviewees point’s of view Remained neutral while elaborating on others’ opinions even if you have a solid personal perspective on the subject Followed the one-idea, one-paragraph rule and included well-written transitory sentences Utilized precise and high-level vocabulary and sentence structure Proofread the essay to rid it of any grammar or syntax inconsistencies Used the correct format to cite sources within the paper and in the bibliography

• What role do you think your genetics play in your character compared to your upbringing?
• Are beauty standards unrealistic?
• Is social media connecting or disconnecting people?
• Should abortion be a topic of policy?
• Should age-old prisons be reconstructed to fit modern ideas of reformation and change?
• Do nursing homes contribute to the well-being of the older generation?
• Should marijuana be legalized?
• Should the same humanitarian and crime laws apply in times of war?
• Should gun rights be ubiquitous?
• Is capital punishment leading to grassroots change?
• Should society be capitalist, socialist, or an amalgamation of both?
• Should cloning be legal?
• Is the concept of marriage as idolized as it used to be?
• Is choosing to be child-free selfish?
• Should the rich pay more tax?
• Are our immigration policies outdated in a globalized world?
• Should celebrities be more accountable for their actions than the average person?
• Are companies doing enough to contribute to climate change effects?
• Should holistic therapies be considered certified medical treatments?
• Should upbringing be gendered?
• Is having kids in a time of such turmoil ethical?
• Should prostitution be legalized?
• How should racism or homophobia be combated on an individual level?
• College degrees and their relevance in the digital age
• Going vegan v/s consuming meat: What’s better for the climate?
• How important is your religion to you?
• Are money and happiness correlated?
• How much does early-child development affect one’s mental health into adulthood?
• Is stealing ever okay?
• Are arranged marriages still as popular?

Not Interested in Writing Paper by Yourself?

Getting started with an interview paper can feel intimidating, mainly since it entails so much work – in-depth research on the topic and the history of debate behind it, setting up and curating tailored interviews with people relevant to the topic, and so much more. While you juggle several courses and assignments and other extracurricular work at high school or college, it can be challenging to submit well-written papers that will put you at the top of your class.

Impressing your professor isn’t an easy task. Still, you can do it by hiring expert help that will assist you with your writing assignments and produce work that the accomplished writers will curate as per your needs, that too at highly affordable rates!

You’ll be able to buy and order a custom interview paper that will be ideated and written by thesis writing service for a cheap cost. It’s an efficient and cost-effective way to stay on top of your work, learn from experts in the field, and wow your teachers with a well-written interview paper!

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How to Write an Interview Paper in APA Format

Sometimes writing a specific paper type proves challenging to many students. Couple that with a particular formatting and referencing style, and it becomes more hectic. However, if you know the basics of the paper and the formatting style, it is an easy task.

One of the papers that may appear complex to write is an interview paper. An interview paper follows an interview format and provides a forum for discussion using questions and answers. Despite it sounding unmanageable, writing an interview paper in APA format is relatively easy if you know the following basics.

But if you have never written one, this guide will show you how to write a professional-quality interview paper in APA format.

Here is how to write an interview paper in APA format.

What is an Interview Paper

The interview paper is an essay you write discussing various views on a topic using data gathered through interviews. This paper is an excellent way to develop your analytical, research, and writing skills.

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The purpose of an interview paper is to provide you with practice in organizing, conducting, and writing about topics using primary data. Similarly, it helps readers to understand a specific topic from a primary data perspective.

Also see: Is APA format the same as ASA format? 

Additionally, an interview paper provides information about a particular topic or event that has been documented in other sources but needs further explanation or analysis. This can be done by interviewing participants and analyzing their responses.

What Is the APA format

APA is a writing, formatting, and referencing style paper developed by the American Psychological Association. It is commonly used in business, education, and social sciences papers such as economics and sociology.

The format makes it easy for readers to navigate your paper and present you as a professional in academics. APA-formatted pieces have four major sections, the title, abstract, body, and references.

The general guidelines for formatting any paper are;

• Running head. This is the title found at the top of every page
• The article is double spaced
• Every margin on either side is 1 inch
• This style recommends 11-point Arial or Calibri or 12-point Times New Roman

After completing your interview, it is time to write your paper. Generally, the steps involved in developing an interview paper are

• Explaining the interview. Provide valid and solid reasons for the need for the interview and why you cannot source the information from secondary sources
• Presenting your source. Explain your source’s background and capabilities and why they are the perfect option for the interview
• Presenting the question. Show your readers the question posed to the interviewee and their reactions
• Write exact quotes. Use quotation marks to present your interviewee’s same words, especially if they are figures and explicit data. Ideally, do not summarize important facts your interviewee gives you
• Cite appropriately. Use in-text referencing closed in brackets whenever you quote your interview in APA.

If you were recording the interviews, start by transcribing them and analyzing the data. However, you can write your paper directly while listening to the audio or video. But transcription is the best route to help you better understand the information.

Here are the tips and guidelines on how to write an interview paper in APA format.

Set up your typing document

This is the first step in how to write an interview paper in APA. However, other individuals may prefer to do it after they finish typing. Nevertheless, starting with this step saves you trouble and cases of forgetfulness.

The step involves setting your blank word document on double spacing, 12-point New Times Romans or 11-point Arial or Calibri. Additionally, on the setup menu, select a 1-inch margin on all sides. After this setup, select the header section and set the running head and page numbers.

Creating the title page

This is the first page of your paper that readers see when they open it up, so it’s essential to ensure everything is formatted correctly. APA format requires the title page’s content to be center aligned. The tile is written 3 or 4 lines from the top in bold. If your interview paper has a subtitle, write it below the main title, and remember to put a colon after it.

Other information included is written on their separate lines and are

• Your first and last name
• School name
• Course name and number
• Instructor’s name
• Assignment’s due date

Write the main body

The body is the meat of your interview paper and includes every information you receive during the interview. This part also carries the bulk of the article, including the introduction, interview questions and answers, and conclusion.

To write it in APA format center and bold the title. On the following line, indent and start writing the body.

Explaining the interview’s purpose

This is part of the body and, more specifically, the introduction. In this part, you explain the reason for the interview and its relation to your thesis. In other words, it is the justification for the interview.

Next, explain why you chose this particular subject to be interviewed. If possible, give a few examples of how their experiences or life would be different than yours.

Introducing sources and question topic

It is also found in the introduction. Its purpose is to introduce the interviewee and the topics discussed. The best way to write it is to give the interview’s background and qualifications. This gives more credence to your paper.

Presenting the questions and quotations

Each paragraph in the body should carry a specific question. It is recommended to start the section with the question to give the quotation and answer context. The best way is to write the question as a direct or indirect quotation followed by the responses.

The response is also written as a direct or indirect quote. However, if it exceeds 40 words, place it as a single block and indent half an inch.

Cite the quotations

In every response, remember to include in-text citations. This is a mandatory rule, even if you are interviewing a single individual.

The rules for APA intext citations are

• The interviewee’s first initial and last name
• The phrase ‘personal communication.’
• Month, date, and year of the interview

The punctuation is used after the closing parenthesis citation, except in block quotations, where punctuation comes before the in-text citation.

Writing the conclusion

The conclusion summarizes your body paragraphs’ main points and reiterates your purpose for conducting the interview. You may also want to recommend further research based on what you learned during your interviews. A conclusion will tie together all of these elements, so you must spend some time crafting a strong one that leaves readers satisfied and interested in learning more about your topic.

Typically, the conclusion is the closing part of your body. This section is one or two paragraphs and shows how the responses agree or disagree with your thesis statement. Additionally, this part discusses how and why the interview strengthens or weakens your thesis.

In addition, it must be concise yet comprehensive. Here, you need to summarize and synthesize all the information you have presented in your paper. You may also reflect on what you have learned from the interviewee.

Some tips on how to write an interview paper conclusion include

• Go back and read your introduction to ensure it is clear and concise.
• Write a conclusion summarizing your paper’s main points in a sentence or two.
• Ensure you include all the major points from your body paragraphs (or at least the most important ones).
• Use transitions and connectives like “therefore” and “for example” to help readers understand how everything fits together.
• Don’t end with a boring summary. Instead, end with a strong statement that makes the reader think about what they have just read and perhaps even change their view on something.

Writing the abstract

Having written the main body, the abstract is the next section to write. An abstract is a general summary of your paper, so writing it after the body is recommended. It is also a brief overview of your interview paper’s main points and arguments.

In most cases, it is a 250-word paragraph highlighting the thesis, the reason for the interview, and the impact of the responses.

The best way to write the abstract is to take excerpts from the paper that include the thesis, introduction, and conclusion. Each sentence should address a different aspect of the topic. For example, if you are writing about the impact of social media on teenagers, one paragraph some sentence will address how often they use social media each day, while another might discuss their reasons for using social media so frequently.

Writing the reference page

Writing a reference page is an integral part of any interview paper. It’s where you share the sources you interviewed to write your essay with your readers. Essentially, it is the last page of your paper and has all your sources used in the article.

The reference page should start with the word “References” and be double-spaced. The margins should be one inch on all sides.

Proofread and edit the paper

Now that you’ve done all the hard work, it’s time for a final check to ensure everything is perfect.

Proofread the paper. Check for grammar, spelling, and formatting errors. Grammarly is a helpful tool for checking your writing for grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure mistakes.

Additionally, edit the paper while checking sentence structure and if one point flows smoothly to the next. If possible, have someone else read and check it. This is because they may catch something you didn’t notice. After all, they aren’t familiar with what was said during an interview

Proofreading also involves checking the formatting aspects. To ensure your paper is well-formatted, check these aspects.

• The title page has all information
• The first paragraph is indented
• All pages have a running title
• In-text citations have been used
• There is a reference section
• Each in-text citation is referenced

Additionally, use a word processor to format the paper. While some people still prefer typing things out by hand on paper, a computer will make things easier and ensure all the formatting is correct and consistent throughout your interview paper.

Generally, there are many things to remember when writing an interview paper in APA format. You must keep the formatting correct and consistent from start to finish. Also, remember that using the right style and form will ensure your paper receives a higher grade than if you ignore APA guidelines.

By following these basic instructions, you’ll be able to successfully write an interview paper that follows APA’s format and impresses your instructor. Ideally, write your essay as you would any other but remember to follow the APA rules and to proofread and edit your piece to look professional and avoid errors.

How to Write an Interview Essay: A Step-by-Step Guide with Examples

Apr 29, 2024 | 0 comments

Apr 29, 2024 | Blog | 0 comments

Are you curious about transforming an interview into a captivating essay? You’re exactly where you need to be.

This blog post will help you learn how to write an interview essay that engages your readers and highlights the interviewee’s unique insights.

An interview essay is a form of writing that captures a person’s views and experiences on a specific topic through an interview. This type of essay stands out because it emphasizes the interviewee’s quotes and anecdotes  alongside your interpretation and analysis.

The aim is to offer a deeper comprehension of the individual and the subject matter, creating an emotional resonance with your audience.

Penning an interview essay is rewarding and enjoyable, yet it demands preparation and certain skills. We’ll navigate you through every step of crafting a successful interview essay, from selecting the ideal interviewee and questions to conducting the interview and writing the essay. Along with tips and examples, this guide will equip you to produce an interview essay that dazzles your readers and showcases your writing prowess .

Table of Contents

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What is an interview paper?

An interview paper is a type of essay writing where the writer conducts an interview with a subject and then writes an essay based on the question and answer format. The interview paper is typically written in an essay format, including direct quotes from the interviewee and paraphrasing their responses. The key points from the interview are summarized to present the interview findings effectively.

What is an Essay Based on an Interview?

An essay based on an interview is a piece of writing structured around an interview’s question-and-answer format. The interview process involves creating an interview with a subject and then using their responses to form the basis of the essay or paper. When you write your essay, you will use the information from the interview to support your thesis or main argument. By incorporating direct quotes and insights from the interviewee, you can add depth and credibility to your writing.

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How to prepare for and how to write an interview essay

Before you can craft an interview essay , preparing for the interview itself is crucial. This starts with selecting your subject, delving deep into research, and organizing the interview details.

Here are strategies to effectively navigate through each phase.

Choosing Your Subject

To begin with, you should contact your interviewees to set a place and time to meet. Remember to get permission (written consent) to record their answers.

Initiating the process requires deciding on your interviewee —someone who brings relevant knowledge, experience, or viewpoints to the theme you’re aiming to delve into.

If your essay revolves around a career, choose an individual with noteworthy credentials or success. Also, gauge the potential subject’s  availability, accessibility, and eagerness to participate in the dialogue.

Finding the right candidate might necessitate contacting multiple prospects before securing one who consents to the interview.

Be sure to also review our article on How to Avoid Plagiarism in Essay Writing to learn proper citation techniques and ensure your work is completely original.

Researching Your Subject

Subsequently, research both your subject and the interview topic. This groundwork lays the foundation for formulating insightful questions  and fostering a connection and authenticity with your subject.

Leverage diverse information sources, including books, articles, websites, social media, and personal recommendations. It’s also wise to review any previous interviews or publications featuring your subject. The more informed you are, the more poised you’ll be for the interview.

Setting Up the Interview

The culmination of preparation involves coordinating the interview logistics. Reach out well in advance to secure your subject’s consent and availability. Clarify the interview’s purpose, format, and expected duration while openly inquiring about any preferences or concerns they might have.

Decide together on the interview mode and venue —in-person, over the phone, via video, or email. Furthermore, confirm the interview date and time and issue a reminder a day beforehand. Ensure you have the necessary materials, such as a recorder, notebook, pen, or camera.

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Guideline for Conducting an Interview

Once you’ve prepared for the interview, it’s time to meet your interviewee. This phase is critical , impacting the quality and quantity of information you’ll gather for your essay.

Below are some strategies for an effective interview.

Creating a Comfortable Environment

First, please ensure the interview setting is  comfortable : select a quiet , private , and well-lit location to minimize distractions and interruptions. A warm greeting, a clear introduction of yourself and the interview’s purpose, and gratitude for your time and participation set a positive tone. If you plan to  record the conversation, please ask for their permission first.

Building rapport and trust is crucial. Achieve this through eye contact , smiling , nodding , and positive body language. Remember to avoid judgment, criticism, or argumentation, and always respect their views and emotions.

Asking the Right Questions

I would say that having a list of well-thought-out questions is essential, but please stay flexible and responsive to the conversation’s flow. Begin with simple , general questions to ease your subject into the discussion, then progress to more specific and thought-provoking ones. Use open-ended questions to encourage detailed expressions of their thoughts and feelings, and steer clear of leading , biased , or offensive queries.

Don’t hesitate to ask for clarifications or further details on intriguing or vague responses.

Don’t begin writing your reflective essay until you’ve reviewed our easy-to-follow guide on How to Write a Reflective Essay for useful tips on structure, content and creating thoughtful self-analysis.

Example questions to ask an interview subject

• What inspired you to get into this field/industry?
• What does a typical day/week look like in your job?
• What would you say are the biggest challenges of your work?
• What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
• What skills or qualifications are most important to be successful in your role?
• How has your job/industry changed throughout your career?
• Where do you see your field/industry heading in the next 5-10 years?
• What advice would you give to someone entering this career today?
• What is one thing you wish you had known in your career?
• Is there anything else you think would be interesting for readers to know about your work/experience?

Recording the Interview

For accurate future reference, ensure the interview is recorded . Whether you use a recorder, a notebook, or both, be prepared. If opting for a recorder, check its functionality beforehand and place it adequately to capture clear audio. Importantly, please secure consent before recording, and let your subject know they can request to stop it anytime.

When taking notes, focus on capturing the essence—key points, quotes, and stories—rather than transcribing verbatim. Employ shorthand or abbreviations to optimize time and space, and review your notes soon after to fill in any gaps.

Writing the Interview Essay

Once you’ve completed the interview, it’s time to transform the raw material of the conversation into a refined and captivating essay . This phase involves converting your notes and the interviewee’s insights into a compelling narrative that engages your readers.

Below are key strategies for crafting an effective interview essay .

Organizing Your Notes and Transcripts

You can start by organizing your notes and transcripts . This crucial step helps you pinpoint essential themes, ideas, and quotes to feature in your essay. I suggest you use highlighting, categorizing, or outlining methods to streamline this process.

It’s also vital to meticulously review your materials for errors, inconsistencies, or missing information. If you need to, please don’t hesitate to contact your interviewee for clarification. you need to

Constructing a Narrative Using Interview Questions

Your next task is to weave a narrative that brings the interviewee’s story and viewpoint to life. Deciding on your essay’s format and structure—narrative, question-answer, or thematic—is paramount.

You can begin with a compelling introduction that sets the scene, introducing the interviewee and the interview’s objectives. This is followed by a clear thesis statement that encapsulates your essay’s central premise. The body paragraphs should then intertwine the interviewee’s responses, quotes, and stories with your analysis and commentary.

Employ transitions, headings, and subheadings to ensure a seamless and logical progression throughout the essay. Conclude by summarizing the main insights and underscoring the interview’s value.

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Revising and Polishing

The final step entails revising and refining your interview essay . Rigorously proofread your work to eliminate spelling, grammar, punctuation, or formatting mistakes. Also, scrutinize your essay for logical, factual, or stylistic flaws to ensure clarity, conciseness, and consistency.

Seek feedback from peers, instructors, or professional editors and integrate their insights to enhance your work. Remember to cite your sources accurately , adhering to the appropriate citation format, be it MLA, APA, or Chicago. Through diligent revision and polishing, your interview essay will meet the highest standards of excellence and precision.

Key Dos and Don’ts for Writing a Narrative Essay Based on an Interview

• Do plan your essay structure before conducting the interview. Develop a list of important questions that will help make your essay compelling. Tailor your questions to the purpose of your essay.
• Write in the first or third-person point of view, depending on whether you want to be part of the narrative. Presenting the interview in narrative format allows you to engage readers by bringing them through the interview as it takes place.
• Cite any supplemental materials from the interview using an approved citation format. You should also cite direct quotes from the interview whenever they are included in your essay.
• Seek written permission from the interviewee to use any information from the interview for your essay. Request to record the interview if possible, but take thorough notes immediately after the interview concludes while impressions are fresh.
• You can do basic research on the topic/person you plan to interview so you can ask follow-up questions.
• Interview in a quiet, undisturbed space where you can speak freely without interruptions.
• Do transcribe or summarize your original interview notes as part of your writing process. Having the full details will help make your essay clear and concise.
• Do reference background information about the interviewee/interview context for readers throughout the essay.

Don’ts:

• Don’t rely solely on direct quotes from the interview in the body of your essay. Please use quotes carefully and instead focus on explaining the thoughts and impressions you got from your talk with care. The essay refers back to but is not a comprehensive retelling of the interview.
• Don’t make claims or repeat information given to you without a citation if it did not come directly from the interview.
• Don’t lose sight of the purpose of your essay – the interview content should serve the goal/topic, not be an end in itself.
• Don’t use first-person pronouns if writing in third-person format or vice versa, as this can confuse readers.
• Don’t forget to proofread your work carefully to ensure any details that could identify participants are kept confidential if needed.

Interview Essay Writing Examples

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Writing an interview essay can be fun and rewarding, allowing you to share someone’s story and perspective with your readers. Nevertheless, it involves a degree of planning, skills, and creativity . In this guide, we’ve outlined four essential steps for crafting an engaging interview essay: preparing for the interview, conducting the interview, writing the interview essay, and revising and polishing the essay.

Also, we’ve given you practical tips and examples to help you on this journey. By adhering to this guide, you can produce an interview essay that will impress your audience and highlight your writing prowess.

With the knowledge of how to write an interview essay, why not take the plunge? Seek out an individual with an intriguing story or opinion and inquire if they’re open to being interviewed. Afterward, apply the steps and advice detailed in this guide and create your own interview essay.

You’ll be amazed at the wealth of knowledge and creativity a simple conversation can unleash. Happy writing!

Frequently Asked Questions

How to start an essay about an interview.

To write an interview paper , start by introducing the interviewee and providing context for the interview. Consider outlining the key points you want to cover and what you hope to achieve with the essay.

What is the format of interview writing?

The interview writing format typically includes an introduction, body paragraphs discussing the interview content, and a conclusion summarizing the main points. Include quotes or anecdotes from the interview to support your analysis.

How do I write about an interview?

When writing about an interview , focus on highlighting the most relevant information that emerged during the conversation. Use a mix of first and second person to engage readers and convey your insights.

How do you summarize an interview in an essay?

To summarize an interview in an essay, revisit the key points discussed during the interview and emphasize the main takeaways. Ensure your summary captures the essence of the interviewee’s perspective and any significant insights shared.

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How to Write an Interview Essay

Post Published On: 26 March, 2018

Within an interview essay, you can present somebody’s thoughts on a certain topic, and this essay type also offers you an opportunity to consider somebody’s ideas in a more general context or analyze them.Interview essays are crucial for those who study journalism or just want to improve writing skills. There are several types of interview essays, but all of them are aimed to create an impression that readers talked to somebody personally.

Now let’s consider interview essays in more detail, so you’ll be able to write a good essay , following simple step-by-step instructions.

• Define the purpose of your paper

The purpose of your essay affects the interviewed person, it determines the chosen method and some features of essay writing.

• If your assignment is about some scientific phenomenon, you’ll interview a scientist. If it’s about some period in history, you’ll interview a historian or a person who participated in these events or lived during these times.
• If your essay is aimed to provide a certain opinion, you’ll want to interview an authoritative person who has a strong opinion and expresses it impressively.
• If your essay is devoted to public opinion, you’ll have to interview many people. On contrary, if it represents a particular view of a random person, you will choose only one person to interview.
• Research the subject of an interview and prepare your questions

To write a good essay , you have to conduct a good interview. In turn, a good interview is impossible without a proper understanding of the subject and preparation. Study your subject, its history,and most important issues. You have to collect enough information to write a list of interesting and relevant questions.

• Read sources devoted to your subject and any available printed materials. The more you know about it, the more interesting and specific questions you can ask.
• Look up some existing interviews about this subject, This will allow you to determine what questions are the most important, as well as figure out what unique questions you can ask and what questions may be too banal.
• Some questions may be answered with either “yes” or “no”. Such questions are good to clarify some crucial and specific details. On the other hand, open questions which imply a detailed answer can help you gather additional data.
• Draft a list of questions that will serve as a blueprint for your interview. We suggest preparing more questions so you’ll be able to select the most appropriate ones during the interview. You don’t know what an interviewed person will be focused on – it may be a topic that you considered a side subject. Sort your questions by importance or in the order that you plan to ask them. Highlight the most important questions.
• Arrange the interview

First of all, you have to contact your interviewee to define a place and time to meet. Don’t forget to get a necessary permission for recording answers or making photos. Always explain who you are and why you’re interested in interviewing this particular person.

• Find a quiet place. It may be a restaurant, a library, or a quiet location, for example, in some park.
• The interviewee must express his or her consent regarding the use of the recorded material. According to the law, you have to get a written permission to record an interview.
• If the person you wanted to interview can’t meet with you or is just not interested in the interview, you must have your plan B that implies another person familiar with the subject.
• Once you’ve arranged the interview, make sure to get there on time.
• Conduct the interview

Even if you record the interview on a phone or a voice recorder, take notes. It will help you remember some points that appear to be especially interesting or important.

• Use a recording device that will help you clarify the context of some noted phrases during the writing process.
• Be respectful and wait for your interviewee’s responses with patience. The interviewed person must have time to think and figure out answers. Create a relaxed environment for the conversation. Remember that it’s better to get a few accurate and meaningful responses than many answers given in a hurry.
• Right after you’ve finished interviewing someone, jot down your fresh impressions and thoughts. You will need these notes while writing an essay.
• At the end of the interview, thank your interviewee.
• Determine the format of your essay

Usually, if you get an essay assigned, you will be given instructions on the essay format. Talk to your instructor to clarify all the necessary details, such as the expected questions or answers, the use of paraphrasing, the context, and the format of quotes. Generally, there are three most common interview types:

• It’s an informal format which allows you to use the first and the second person. It fits a wide range of essays, including magazine articles and college assignments.
• Narrative interview essays are formal, and it’s the most common type of college assignments. Some answers may be paraphrased. This format also allows you to provide background information.
• Question – answer. Essays of this type consist only of direct quotes. It looks like a list of questions and answers written in a form of a dialogue. However, you can add some comments in parentheses. This format fits essays that include only one interviewee or a group of closely related people, such as a cast ofa movie or spouses.
• Draw up an outline

Your outline may vary depending on the essay type. However, it must include an introduction that describes your subject and the purpose of the interview.

• Listen to your recordings and read your notes. You have to consider both the most substantial parts of the interview and themes that you marked as important while talking to a person. This information will help you define what you’re going to write and in what order you should place questions and answers.
• Your outline may be a basis for the introduction. Start it with an anecdote or interesting fact about the interviewee. After that, familiarize your readers with main points and write your thesis statement. You have to support your thesis with several facts, and summarize the presented material in the conclusion. Most of thecollege essays imply a five-paragraph structure (introduction, three body paragraphs, and conclusion), and you can use this structure for your interview essay as well.
• Evolve your thesis statement

If your essay is aimed to only introduce your readers to a person, the thesis statement may be a concise summary of his or her background, qualifications, and achievements.

If the interview is used in your essay to support a certain position or provide an opinion on some broad issue, the thesis statement may formulate this position, mentioning the interviewee in the context of the considered issue.

No matter what format you choose, remember that your thesis statement must be clear and coherent. Make sure that other parts of the essay refer to your thesis statement.

• Complete your essay

The body of the essay must be tied to your thesis statement and cover the interview in details.

• Interviews often contain many repetitive phrases, even if you prepare good questions. You have to polish your essay and remove all unnecessary elements. You have to keep only information that corresponds to the idea of your essay and focuses on the subject.
• You can find many useful materials on interview essays on the internet. Visit websites of prestigious universities and read articles. For example, University of North Carolina Writing Center website contains many tips on how to get rid of similar phrases, and how to use transcriptions. You will also learn how to consider the interview in a global context by using paraphrasing. You can also find some detailed instructions on how to transfer personal experience.
• Proofread your writings

Never forget to revise and proofread your work, regardless of its type.

• Obviously, you must read your essay a few times. But you also have to find somebody else who will look it over. Sometimes you may miss something in your own work, so others will help you by providing a new perspective.
• Return to your notes that you’ve taken right after the interview and look whether your essay still represents the actual interview. While editing, you may change your essay considerably, so make sure that the initial intention remained the same. If you can, meet the interviewee and let him or her read your essay to understand whether it reflects their opinion correctly.
• Specify your sources

Usually, you don’t need to include the specific citation of the entire interview, but you must cite any additional materials used to collect data. We also suggest referring contextual information according to the required citation format.

Remember that all direct quotations must be written in quotation marks, while paraphrasing shouldn’t include them.

Finally, the last and the most important rule is that you shouldn’t present your own thoughts as someone else’s words. Respect interviewee’s opinion, and you’ll write a perfect interview essay !