The in-text citations are very easy. Since interviews don't have page numbers, the person's last name,

either in the text or in parentheses, is the citation. If you use their name to refer to what they said,

either in a direct quote or in a paraphrase directly in the paper, as will be the natural thing to do, you

may not have any parentheses in this one. Do the best you can with documentation. These first two

papers are a way of letting me see what you are and aren't doing correctly, and what I need to explain

perhaps more clearly, before you write the main paper for the course.

You should explain who your source is and what his or her credentials are in the paper. After the first

time they are mentioned, when you will give their full name, use their last name only. This may seem

strange if you are interviewing a friend of family member, but still remember to do it.

Your paper should not be written as a transcription of the interview. In other words, don't just list the

questions and their responses. Write this as a regular paper, with a strong intro and conclusion. In fact,

as much as possible try to avoid putting your questions into the paper and just focus on the responses

you receive. Writing something like when I asked so and so this, he said this and when I asked him this

he said this, etc, etc, etc, gets very boring to read. Journalists ask questions all the time, but rarely

include them in their stories. Take a look at some newspaper articles if you want to see how this is done.

You also don't have to report information in the order that the questions were asked. Writing from an

interview is like any other source. If using a book, you don't say, first I opened the book and started on

page 1. You just pull out interesting information and present it in a way that suits your paper.

When using quotations in your paper, make sure you always include a transition. If you do not have

transitions, and just stick the quote in the middle of the paper, I will deduct points. For example, notice

the difference between these two short paragraphs:

Nursing requires a tremendous amount of dedication. "I often have to work twelve-hour shifts multiple

days in a row" (Jones).

Nursing requires a tremendous amount of dedication. Jones commented, "I often have to work twelve-

hour shifts multiple days in a row."

Both are cited correctly for an interview source, but the second one as a transition leading into the

quote. You can also use a complete sentence followed by a colon to introduce a quote. This is a nice way

of actually putting the quote in some kind of context:

Nursing requires a tremendous amount of dedication. Jones described some of the career's challenges:

"I often have to work twelve-hour shifts multiple days in a row."

If you use a colon to introduce a quote, make sure it follows a complete sentence.

Here is a copy of the formal assignment:

Assignment Information Interview

For this assignment you should interview someone who is actually working in the field you are

interested in, then write a paper based on the responses you receive. The paper should not be written in

question and answer style and avoid putting your questions into the paper, as in "When I asked so-and-

so this, she said this." Instead, you should focus on the responses you receive as though the information

has come from a written source. Your paper should include at least three direct quotes and should

include MLA documentation. The length should be 500-words.

Deadline 5hrs

Finally, for all words, grammar and punctuation do matter. There are two websites you may find helpful

in these areas. The first is chompchomp.com. While it is a little silly, it has very good interactive

exercises in grammar and punctuation. The other is the Purdue University Owl, a comprehensive English

website that includes information in all areas of writing, including MLA. Here's a link: