You’ve transcribed

your interview…

Now what?

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.

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.

or

b) Your interviewee said a lot of little

things that need to be connected together

somehow.

Start to think of your

transcription as one

narrative. What

helps tell your

“character’s” story?

What is unnecessary

and in the way?

Start to time your storyIn order to end up with a 2-

minmonologue, it’s important to get a rough idea of the lengthof your story as you create it.

Take the parts that you’ve circledand read them slowly while keepingan eye on the clock.

How much time do you have to playwith?

Have that in mind as you add…

a beginning, transitions, and

an ending

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’sstudents began their monologues.

(Look at samples.)

Adding transitions:

If your story jumps from onetopic (or time in your character’slife) to another, you’ll need to addtransitions so your monologuedoesn’t sound “choppy.”

Can you find any transitions in thesamples from last year?

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 studentsend their monologues?

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 notnecessarily every single one -

To make your monologue work,

you WILL:-Cut parts of the transcription out-Create a beginning-Create an ending-Transition between topics

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.