Peter+and+Erika

Peter and Erika

Highest Rank-Corporal Monroe E. Keller 49th Artillery, Army (stationed at headquarters) Mailman, Korean War

toc =**History**=


 * Interview Tips**
 * 1) State at the beginning of the interview:
 * Date and place of the interview
 * Name of the person being interviewed
 * Interviewee's birth date
 * Names of the people attending the interview (including the interviewer and camera operators)
 * The organization you're working with, if any<
 * If interviewing a veteran:
 * If interviewing a veteran:


 * War and branch of service
 * What his or her rank was
 * Where he or she served


 * If interviewing a civilian:


 * What type of work he or she performed
 * Where he or she served
 * What war he or she served during


 * For example: //Today is Friday, June 7, 2003 and we are interviewing John Smith at his home. Mr. Smith is 78 years old, having been born on November 23, 1923. My name is Jane Doe and I'll be the interviewer. John Smith is my uncle. He is my mother's brother. Uncle John, could you state for the recording what war and branch of service you served in?// [pause for answer] //What was your rank?// [pause for answer] //Where did you serve?// [pause for answer]**
 * 1) Other tips for making a great interview:
 * **Keep the tape recorder or video camera running throughout the interview, unless you are asked to turn it off by the interviewee.** Never record secretly.
 * Keep your questions short. Avoid complicated, multipart questions.
 * Avoid questions that can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." Ask "how, when, and why" questions instead.
 * Keep your opinions out of the interview, and don't ask leading questions that suggest answers.
 * Encourage the interviewee with nods of the head rather than audible responses such as "yes" or "uh huh" that will be recorded.
 * Don't begin the interview with questions about painful or controversial topics.
 * Be patient and give the veteran time to reflect before going on to a new question. Many people take short reflective breaks in the course of ansering one question.
 * Use follow-up questions to elicit more details from the interviewee. Examples include: When did that happen? Did that happen to you? What did you think about that? What are the steps in doing that?
 * Consider asking the interviewee to show you photographs, commendations, and personal letters as a way of enhancing the interview. Such documents often encourage memories and provoke interesting stories.
 * Be yourself. Don't pretend to know more about a subject than you do. http://www.loc.gov/vets/moreresources.html

**First steps for writing a narrative essay:**

 * Identify the experience that you want to write about.
 * Think about why the experience is significant.
 * Spend a good deal of time drafting your recollections about the details of the experience.
 * Create an outline of the basic parts of your narrative.

**Writing about the experience:**

 * Using your outline, describe each part of your narrative.
 * Rather than telling your readers what happened, use vivid details and descriptions to actually recreate the experience for your readers.
 * Think like your readers. Try to remember that the information you present is the only information your readers have about the experiences.
 * Always keep in mind that all of the small and seemingly unimportant details known to you are not necessarily known to your readers.

**Communicating the significance of the experience:**

 * It's often effective to begin your narrative with a paragraph that introduces the experience and communicates the significance. This technique guarantees that your readers will understand the significance of the experience as they progess through the narrative.
 * Another effective technique is to begin the essay by jumping directly into the narrative and then ending the essay with a paragraph communicating the significance of the experience. This approach allows your readers to develop their own understanding of the experience through the body of the essay and then more deeply connect to your expression of the significance at the end.
 * You might also consider introducing the experience in the first paragraph but delaying your expression of the significance of the experience until the end of the essay. This approach heightens your readers' sensitivity to the significance of the narrative.

**Revising your narrative essay:**

 * After spending time away from the draft of your narrative essay, read through the essay and think about whether the writing effectively recreates the experience for your readers.
 * Ask other people to read through the essay and offer their impressions.
 * Identify where more details and descriptions are needed.
 * Identify and consider removing any information that seems to distract from the focus and main narrative of the essay.
 * Think about whether you've presented information in the most affective order.

**Potential prompts for your narrative essay:**
If you're having trouble choosing an experience to write about, take a quick glance through these prompts. They might help you remember or identify a particularly interesting or significant experience to focus on.
 * **A childhood event**. Think of an experience when you learned something for the first time, or when you realized how important someone was for you.
 * **Achieving a goal**. Think about a particularly meaningful achievement in your life. This could be something as seemingly minor as achieving a good grade on a difficult assignment, or this could be something with more long-lasting effects, like getting the job you desired or getting into the best school to which you applied.
 * **A failure**. Think about a time when you did not perform as well as you had wanted. Focusing on an experience like this can result in rewarding reflections about the positive emerging from the negative.
 * **A good or bad deed**. Think about a time when you did or did not stand up for yourself or someone else in the face of adversity or challenge.
 * **A change in your life**. Think about a time when something significant changed in your life. This could be anything from a move across town to a major change in a relationship to the birth or death of a loved one.
 * **A realization**. Think about a time when you experienced a realization. This could be anything from understanding a complicated math equation to gaining a deeper understanding of a philosophical issue or life situation. http://www.writeexpress.com/narrative-essay.html