Difficulty
Moderate
Steps
1
Time Required
In Progress
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Introduction
How to prepare for and write an interview essay
Writing an interview paper requires careful selection of a topic, defining the purpose, finding a suitable interviewee and more. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you create a compelling interview essay:
1. Identify the purpose of the paper
The purpose of your paper will determine your subject, readers and the topics the essay will cover. If you are writing about an opinion, it is best to find an authoritative interviewee who can provide valuable insights for your readers.
Papers on scientific, medical or health topics require the expert knowledge of a professional. If you are writing about a public subject, you should have more than one person's view to provide your audience with several perspectives on the issue.
The purpose of the essay can also depend on whether it is an educative or informative piece. If you are trying to educate readers, you want to choose a subject that resonates with your audience. For example, you could interview an expert in office politics to discuss how to prevent disagreements between senior and junior employees.
2. Research the subject
You need to understand the interview subject to produce quality material on it. This makes it crucial to research the topic to learn about the body of knowledge and gaps your work can fill. Make your essay captivating by asking questions that help the audience discover new information they can use to solve problems.
You can read good interviews, books and other materials on the subject to develop interesting angles. Researching the work of prominent experts in the industry can also provide great subjects for your interview.
3. Prepare your questions
Asking quality questions is an important part of writing a great interview paper. It is easy to develop powerful questions if your research is thorough. You can use a combination of direct and open-ended questions to get detailed answers and clarifications from your interviewee.
Open-ended questions work best for in-depth explanations of complex issues because they allow the interviewee to provide more details for nonprofessionals to understand. Use questions with yes or no answers to get specific responses.
It is advisable to prepare more questions than you plan to ask. During the interview, you can then choose the ones you feel are best suited for the interviewee or the situation. Highlight or organize the questions in order of importance to maximize your time with the interviewed person.
4. Contact the interviewee and prepare for the interview
Once your questions are ready and you understand the subject enough for the interview, contact your resource persons. It is important to choose people who are an authority on the subject. Explain who you are and tell the person your reasons for choosing them for the interview. Always have an alternative source in case the first interviewee refuses or loses interest.
