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ORAL HISTORYPREWRITE

Choose an issue The world is full of interesting people. Most people (especially those olderthan you) have incredible stories to tell. If your teacher hasn't already givenyou a topic to write about, think about these ideas: Learn about the War inWorld War II Remembered, and interview someone who remembers the waryears. Learn about immigrants in Immigration: Stories of Yesterday and

Today, and tell the story of someone who came to the U.S. from anothercountry. Or, write about someone you admire: someone in your family, a localsports hero, your doctor, the police chief, or even your first grade teacher.

Research it The better prepared you are, the better the interview will be. Get ready byfollowing these steps:

1. Make sure you're prepared.2. Find out as much background information as you can about your

interviewee.3. Set a date, time, and place for the interview.4. Make sure that it's convenient for you and the interviewee. If the

person would prefer, conduct the interview over the phone.5. Find out how much time the person will have to talk. Make sure you

have enough time to get an interesting story. Ten minutes won't do it. Thirty minutes or longer is better.

6. Be respectful of your interviewee's time.7. Don't keep the person too long.8. Write a list of questions. Start with Who? What? Where? When? Why?

and How? Ask questions that will draw out details and memories tohelp you get a picture of that time.

9. Bring a tape recorder if you have one. Test it ahead of time to be sure itworks.

10.Bring along paper and pen. It's a good idea to take notes even if youare taping the interview.

You've done your research. You've written your questions. Now it's time toconduct the interview!

Make your case The big day has arrived. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Be on time.2. Be respectful. This person is sharing an important time in his or her

life. Honor that.3. Go through your list of questions.4. If you've brought a tape recorder, make sure it's on.5. Give the person time to respond to each question. Be patient.

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6. Write down what you think is most interesting. Write down answers toyour questions. Use quotation marks to show the interviewee's exactwords.

7. Be a good listener. Sometimes the best questions are prompted by ananswer to another question. Don't be afraid to veer from your list toask about something your interviewee just said.

8. Thank the person for talking with you and sharing memories.9. Tell the person you will share a copy of your final report.

DRAFT

A draft helps you organize your work and get your thoughts down on paper.Before you start writing:

1. Review the notes or tape recording of the interview2. Think about what you learned from the person.3. Include the details that you think are the most interesting.4. Make a list of ideas you want to be sure and include in your final paper.

These ideas will serve as your main ideas.5. Highlight notes and quotes that support the ideas you choose.

As you write:Focus on information and allow your ideas to flow freely. Don'tworry about grammar, spelling, and punctuation. You will correct your worklater on.

A good oral history draft includes:1. all your thoughts2. as many details as possible3. complete thoughts and ideas4. enough information to turn into a final version

REVISE

Now it's time to revise your work. This means improving the information inyour writing. Remember, don't make spelling, grammar, or punctuationchanges. You will do that later. Use the revision process to:

1. Rearrange your writing in an order that makes sense. Use time orderby putting events in the order in which they happened, or order theevents from most exciting to least.

2. Remove information that doesn't have anything to do with the mainideas.

3. Add additional information to better explain or describe an event.4. Replace words and details with more descriptive words. Include lots of

detail.

Schedule a Peer Review.Exchange papers with a classmate. Ask your classmate to use the PeerReview Checklist below as they review your writing. Always remember thatthis is your work. Don't make changes unless you feel it will improve thework.

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A good oral history revision includes:1. a good flow of words, events, and ideas2. an order of events or stories that makes sense.3. the use of few words that are repeated a lot4. a lot of description5. the personality of the interviewee6. direct quotes from my interview.

EDIT

It's time to check the important stuff like spelling, grammar, punctuation,capitalization, and subject/verb agreement. While this probably isn't yourfavorite step in the writing process, it's an important one! Capitalization

1. Each sentence starts with a capital.2. All names of people and places begin with a capital.3. Titles in a person's name begin with a capital4. Each important word in a title (that doesn't refer to people) begins with

a capital letter.

Organization Handwriting is neat or the paper is printed from a computer.Story starts at the beginning, or with the most exciting event. Beginning andending make sense.

Punctuation Quotation marks surround all words that are part of a directquote. Commas separate items in a list, appear within sentences that havedirect quotes. All sentences end with a period or other appropriate endingpunctuation.

Spelling and Sentences Words are spelled correctly. If you are using acomputer, remember to use the spell check function. All sentences arecomplete and include a subject and a verb. All subjects and verbs agree.

REVIEW

You're almost there! Use this step to make sure you've done all you can to getit right. You've drafted, revised, and edited your work. Now let's give it onemore look.Check your work. Read through your work from start to finish. Make any lastminute changes you feel are necessary. Go to a quiet place and read theentire paper out loud. You'll be amazed at the number of changes you makeonce you hear it out loud.Meet with your teacher.

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