Interview Inquiry Assignment (to help with that thing called research)

As we discussed in our meeting today, I provided this information in the form of a handout to my students and am having them respond in their writer's notebooks. I can give you an update on how it actually plays out once I read these entries, but one of my students is already extremely excited about the 25-page Princess Diana interview he's analyzing...and that makes me excited too. Here's the assignment:

Notebook Assignment: Interview Inquiry

1. Find an article of an interview with a person who you have an interest in, such as your favourite author, artist, musician, athlete, actor, etc. You may find an article in a newspaper, magazine, online publication, or another source.

2. After carefully reading the interview, consider whether the questions asked by the interviewer were as effective and interesting as possible, given the interviewee and subject matter. Consider answers to the following questions in your notebook:

Ø What were the most effective and engaging questions and strategies used by the interviewer?

Ø What strategies could the interviewer have used to make the interview and interview questions more effective and interesting to the reader?

Ø What questions would you have asked differently or not have asked at all?

Ø Did the interviewer leave any holes or gaps in the interview?

Ø Did the interview provoke you to think of further questions that were neither asked nor answered?

3. After writing your response to the above questions in your notebook, answer the following question in your notebook: How may an activity such as critically reading and critiquing an interview assist you in your own research process? (Remember: An interview is a form of research, so in the interview that you read, the interviewer is conducting research and presenting his/her findings to you, the reader.)

4. Be sure to attach the interview to your notebook along with your response to the questions.