When someone says, "Let's study history," most of us let out a groan. We think of dry textbooks that recount the deeds of people long dead and events that seem far removed from where we are today. But the truth is history is happening all around us, in our families and in our communities.
 

According to The Oral History Society, "Everyone has a story to tell about their life which is unique to them. Some people have been involved in momentous historical events like the Second World War, but many others haven't. Regardless of age or importance we all have interesting experiences to share."

This essay is going to give you the opportunity to get to know a little bit more about someone you know. You may choose to work with a friend or a family member. The only requirement is that you must work with someone who is at least 60 years old.

You will set up an interview with the person you choose. Be sure you are prepared for your interview. The more professional and prepared you are during the interview, the more useful information you are likely to obtain.

You will not be writing about the person's entire life. Focus in on a particular aspect of the person's life. For example, I might interview my husband's uncle. He was a submariner during the Cold War. Or I might interview my friend's parents. When they came to the US from Mexico, they came illegally and changed their surname in order to use someone else's documentation. I might interview another friend's mother. She lived on a Kibbutz in Israel. Try to get away from the idea that you don't know anyone who has done anything interesting. Everyone around you has a story to tell. Start asking questions and find out what interesting things people have done.

When you write up your essay, you will want to be sure that it has a clear point. You can't just talk about what happened in the interview. Think about how you want to put this information together to make it interesting to the reader. How you present the information should be determined by what you want to communicate, not by the order it was revealed in the interview. Introduce your readers to the person you interviewed. You will NOT simply write out your questions and the answers. You need to put this together like a story.

You might want to take a look at the sample introductions. Some of the clown samples would work well for this type of essay..

Note: As you write up your essay, the focus needs to be on the instructor, not on you. This essay is not about you. There should not be ANY first person pronouns in this essay ("I" or "me") that refer to you personally.

The Oral History Society has some good advice on how to get started collecting your information.

Your essay will need to be a MINIMUM of FOUR PAGES in length. I will be looking for a strong introduction that grabs the reader’s interest and introduces the topic. I will be looking for good details and a clear main point. I will be looking for a strong conclusion that leaves the reader thinking about what you have just said. If you run into problems, remember there are many places you can go for help. You can go to the Academic Support Center or the Writing Center and ask the tutors or instructors for assistance. You can come and talk to me during my office hours. Remember that it’s okay to get stuck, but it’s not okay to stay stuck.

When you turn in your final draft you will need to submit the essay as an attachment to your email, and you will need to write your essay evaluation letter in the body of the email.

Essay Evaluation Letter: What did you like about this topic? What did you find difficult about this assignment, and what did you do to overcome those difficulties? What do you think are the strengths of your essay? What would you still like to work on if you had more time? Keep in mind that the letter is not an opportunity for you to "sell" your essay to me. I will not read the letter until after I have given your essay a grade. I simply want to hear your assessment of your writing.