You’ve transcribed y our i nterview…

1. You’ve transcribed your interview… Now what?

2. There’s an interesting story in your transcription. It’s your job to find it. The first thing to do is read through your transcription and highlight or circle the parts that are of interest.

3. You’ll probably find that:a) You have one BIG chunk of your interview that tells a story and you’d like to make that the bulk of your monologue.orb) Your interviewee said a lot of little things that need to be connected together somehow.

4. Start to think of your transcription as one narrative. What helps tell your “character’s” story? What is unnecessary and in the way?

5. Start to time your story In order to end up with a 2-min monologue, it’s important to get a rough idea of the length of your story as you create it. Take the parts that you’ve circled and read them slowly while keeping an eye on the clock. How much time do you have to play with? Have that in mind as you add…

6. a beginning, transitions, and an ending

7. Writing a beginning: You’ll want to introduce your character so we know who you are in relation to the student. Take a look at how some of last year’s students began their monologues. (Look at samples.)

8. Adding transitions: If your story jumps from one topic (or time in your character’s life) to another, you’ll need to add transitions so your monologue doesn’t sound “choppy.” Can you find any transitions in the samples from last year?

9. Adding an ending: During the interview, many of you asked about how your “character” sees race relations today (improved/gotten worse/stayed the same). This can be a natural ending. Look through your transcription and look for words/phrases that might work well at the end. Don’t just stop “mid-sentence.” You may need to add words. How did last year’s students end their monologues?

10. To make your monologue work, you might: -Rearrange the order that parts appear in your transcription -Add words and phrases -Keep some of the “ums,” but not necessarily every single one -

11. To make your monologue work, you WILL: -Cut parts of the transcription out -Create a beginning -Create an ending -Transition between topics

12. Due by next class: Create your monologue and type a fresh copy. Type it in manageable/easy-to-memorize chunks. (You’ll be grateful for this later.) Time yourself and get it down to 2 minutes (or less). Cut out parts if over 2 minutes. SAVE your transcription. Bring your typed monologue to class. You will read to a partner.