1. First, prepare by determining who you will choose as the focus of the essay and get their permission to be interviewed and recorded if using a phone call or Zoom. You must choose someone who is from a former generation than your own (at least old enough to be your parent’s age). You will want to get permission in writing. Here is a template you can use. You will want to familiarize yourself with the history and characteristics of the culture your interviewee is from to provide context for what you learn. The following website will help you prepare: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/oral-history/
2. Next, write out your questions. You will need to think about what you want to know before you interview the person.
3. Conduct the interview. It is recommended that you take notes. You will need information from the interview as evidence in your essay. You may wish to transcribe the recording of the interview.
4. Review notes and/or transcription.
5. You are ready to write! Organize your thoughts into a rough outline for your essay. You will be responding to the following prompt: What does the individual’s experiences and/or perspective tell us about the larger historical or social context in which they lived? You need a clear thesis statement that directly answers this question and you must use specific historical evidence (people, places, events, years, etc.) in order to do well on this assignment.
Your essay must be a minimum of 1500 words. Your thesis statement should be a direct answer to the above question. Organize your paper to include subtopics that support the thesis. Your paragraphs should contain succinct quotes from the interviewee, followed by explanation, analysis, and interpretation. To properly contextualize, you will need to draw upon information from both the textbook and other course materials from this semester, including primary sources. Cite all examples and direct quotes using Chicago-Style footnotes. Conclude with a paragraph that ties all your analysis together.
Include a proper cover sheet with a catchy title, and a bibliography of sources at the end.
