Writing an Interview Essay? Read This First!

An interview essay is created to provide the reader with a general overview of the interview subject and to present their opinions on a number of chosen issues. It also provides the chance to gain a deeper understanding by examining the interviewee’s responses in a broader context.

Writing interview essays for school assignments can help students develop writing skills that are useful for careers in journalism or just as good writers in general. There are various formats that fall under this heading, but no matter the format, a strong interview essay can give the reader the impression that they are the ones posing the queries.

Like any other type of essay, introduction for the interview essay is incredibly important. That’s why, we decided to dedicate today’s guide on writing an intro for interview essays.

What Is an Interview Essay?

Essays based on interviews with one or more people present opposing points of view on a topic or range of topics. The main difference between an interview paper and other types of papers is that interview papers use primary sources — people, preferably authorities, on the topic — instead of scholarly articles or books.

Essays based on interviews are common in the journalism field. They give readers access to credible information about crucial issues from subject-matter authorities. For instance, an interview essay with a psychologist specializing in elite athletes’ mental health can provide in-depth insights into the predicament of well-known sports personalities.

A well-written interview paper will speak directly to the audience and give them the impression that they are the ones interviewing the issue matter expert. It is, therefore, essential to design the interview in a compelling manner. Interviewing an expert who can offer new information on the issue is also necessary.

How to Write an Intro For Interview Essays?

The first paragraph of an essay based on an interview must introduce the essay’s subject. Include pertinent information about the interviewee in your essay without overcrowding the introduction with unnecessary details. Readers may get bored by lengthy, pointless introductions.

Identify key biographical details and briefly note them. You could, for instance, mention the interviewee’s credentials, the number of people she supervises, and how long she has served as the company’s president. Include biographical information that helps illustrate your decision to interview that candidate.

Pick a story that best illustrates the essence of the person you interviewed or the essay’s main point. The anecdote should act as a miniature representation of the upcoming essay.

Focus your story on the interviewee’s developing leadership abilities or tenacity, for instance, if they acknowledged that becoming president of the student council in high school was a childhood turning point and they are now the president of a company.

Make the anecdote more precise so that it gets right to the action and places the reader in the middle of a telling turning point. For instance, you could describe the tension of high school election night as the ballots counted or the day the interviewee gave her inaugural speech as student council president.

As you write your interview essay, self-edit your phrases and clauses, keeping in mind that you are telling a story to an audience and that they are counting on you to be exciting and engaging. To accomplish this, select concise, lively, and descriptive words, and omit any information that does not advance your essay or is unrelated. Remain committed to your subject.

Examples of interview essays may describe how your subject overcame adversity, such as receiving a Nobel prize. You’re surrounded by ordinary people who have extraordinary stories to tell.

Example Introduction for an Interview Paper

Now that we know how to write a good interview, we want to look at an example to answer any of the questions you might have had.

“In today’s work environment, every manager is looking for their employees to put in more and more hours. With the time to work has been increasing steadily over the past years, we wanted to ask a simple question. Are today’s jobs and workers are actually more productive than they were compared to old times?

To answer this question, we decided to interview Dr. Martin Richards, who has a large body of work on worker productivity. With all the research in the field, we believe he is the right person to ask these questions. So we would like to thank him for agreeing to this interview, and start learning about the results of this interview.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading our guide on intro for interview essays. We hope it was helpful for you, and gave you the ideas you needed to write your own paper. If you have any more particular questions that you’re thinking of, let us know!