We brought the first full week of the new school year to a close with a new writing assignment:
PRESENTING AN INTERVIEW, Part I
Your assignment is to interview another person in this class and to write an interview narrative that effectively portrays the voice and experience of that person. The focus of the interview should be an experience in middle school that contributed to that person’s coming-of-age.
STEPS
1. Create a list of questions that you might ask. Be sure to craft open-ended questions that allow the person to talk. Also, have in your mind some follow up questions that you could ask to coax more information out of that person.
2. Set up a time to conduct your interview. You may do it in person or over the phone. The interviews should not be done via email.
3. Before you begin your interview, make sure you have set up a system for taking notes. I suggest you write your notes under the appropriate question on a sheet of paper.
4. Start your interview with one of your questions regarding that person’s general experience in middle school. Then try to let the interview flow like a conversation as much as possible.
5. Try to get that person to describe at least one incident from his or her middle school experience that influenced his or her coming-of- age. During the interview take specific notes and write down what the person said word for word at least three times.
6. Prewriting: As soon as possible after the interview, read over your notes and add anything that you can remember. Fill in gaps in your description of the person and the way he or she seemed to feel during the interview. It is important to do this as close to the interview as possible so that it is still fresh in your memory.
We spent some time today discussing the elements of a good profile or interview narrative and going over the immediate assignment, the interview. Students were assigned partners and then allowed time to set up a time for the interviews.
We also continued with the book reports, The Hunger Games and Thirteen Reasons Why clearly winning the book popularity contest.
HOMEWORK: Complete steps 1-6 of the interview narrative assignment. The notes from your interview are due on Tuesday.
Have a restful weekend!
