First Language English IGCSE: Interview Writing

Summary

This video script offers a comprehensive guide on writing six main text types for IGCSE English, focusing on the interview format. It emphasizes the importance of voice, audience, register, purpose, and format, using a fictional scenario involving Elmwood High's Headmaster. The lesson provides tips on creating a formal yet conversational tone, using spoken language techniques, and directly addressing the interviewer. It includes an example interview, showcasing how to handle questions and maintain a realistic dialogue, all aimed at informing and engaging the local radio audience.

Takeaways

• 📚 The video is a lesson on writing six main text types for IGCSE English.
• 🔗 The full video, along with additional resources like worksheets and quizzes, can be found on the presenter's website.
• 📖 The lesson is based on a specific story that is flashed on the screen for reference.
• 🎙 The first text type discussed is 'interviews', focusing on voice, audience, register, purpose, and format.
• 🗣️ The interview prompt involves imagining being a radio presenter interviewing a headmaster about events at a school.
• 📻 The audience for the interview is local radio listeners, suggesting a more formal and polite register.
• 📝 When writing an interview, the interviewee should do most of the talking, and the interviewer's questions are provided by Cambridge.
• 📋 The interview should be laid out like a script, with responses to the given questions forming the main content.
• 💬 Spoken language elements like filler words and punctuation that indicates pauses or changes in thought should be included to make the writing sound more natural.
• 🤝 Personal pronouns should be used to create a realistic conversation between the interviewer and the interviewee.
• 🌟 The example interview provided demonstrates a tone that is both formal and patronizing, with the headmaster using phrases like 'my dear'.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video lesson?

The main focus of the video lesson is to teach how to write the six main text types for IGCSE English, specifically focusing on the interview text type based on a given story.

What are the components of the 'V' in the context of writing an interview?

The 'V' stands for voice, audience, register, purpose, and format, which are essential elements to consider when writing an interview.

What is the role of the presenter in the interview scenario presented in the script?

The presenter is imagined as a local radio station host who interviews the Headmaster of Elmwood High about the events of a particular day.

Who is the intended audience for the interview in the script?

The intended audience is the local listeners of the radio show, including parents or potential parents of students at Elmwood High.

What tone is suggested for the interview between the presenter and the Headmaster?

The suggested tone is slightly more formal due to the presence of the Headmaster and the radio format, but it also incorporates a spoken element for a conversational feel.

What is the purpose of the interview in the script?

The purpose of the interview is to inform the audience about the events of the day at Elmwood High School, specifically the incident involving a fire alarm.

How should the interview be structured in terms of writing?

The interview should be structured like a script, with the person's name followed by a colon and then what they say, similar to a dialogue in a play.

What is the significance of using filler words or thinking words in the interview?

Filler words or thinking words are used to make the written interview sound more natural and spoken, reflecting the conversational tone of a real interview.

How does the script suggest using punctuation to enhance the spoken tone of the interview?

The script suggests using dashes to indicate a change in the speaker's direction, parentheses for stage directions, and exclamation marks to add emphasis or show excitement.

What is the role of personal pronouns in making the interview sound like a real conversation?

Personal pronouns like 'you', 'your', and 'yours' are used to create a sense of direct address and interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee, making the conversation sound more authentic.

What is the Headmaster's perspective on the incident involving Miss Salmon and its impact on Elwood High School?

The Headmaster views the incident as an opportunity for fresh ideas and a renewed sense of dedication within the staff, suggesting that the school's future will continue to shine brighter.

Outlines

00:00

📚 IGCSE English Text Types: Interview Writing

This paragraph introduces a video lesson focused on writing the six main text types for IGCSE English. It mentions the availability of a full video, worksheets, PowerPoint, a review quiz, and exclusive content on the instructor's website. The main theme revolves around the interview text type, with an example prompt provided. The speaker, presumably a teacher or presenter, guides the audience through understanding the key elements of an interview, including voice, audience, register, purpose, and format. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of adhering to the given questions and maintaining a semiformal tone in the interview script, with the interviewee doing most of the talking.

05:02

🎙️ Crafting an Interview Script: Tone and Techniques

This paragraph delves deeper into the specifics of writing an interview script, particularly for the IGCSE English exam. It provides an example of an interview with a school headmaster about an incident at Elwood High School. The summary highlights the importance of creating a voice for the interviewee, considering the audience, and maintaining a formal yet conversational tone. The paragraph also discusses the use of filler words, thinking words, and punctuation to mimic spoken language. Additionally, it offers a list of useful phrases for interview writing and an example script that demonstrates these techniques, showcasing a patronizing tone from the headmaster and a reassurance to the local audience about the school's situation.

10:04

👋 Conclusion and Resource Invitation

The final paragraph serves as a conclusion to the video script, thanking the audience for their attention. It includes an invitation for the audience to visit the instructor's website for additional study materials, such as PowerPoints, worksheets, quizzes, and other resources for both teachers and students. This paragraph emphasizes the availability of further assistance for those preparing for their exams, encouraging viewers to explore the provided resources for a comprehensive study experience.

Keywords

💡IGCSE English

IGCSE English refers to the English language curriculum and examination offered by the International General Certificate of Secondary Education. It is a qualification for learners of English as a first or second language. In the video, the focus is on teaching how to write the six main text types required for this qualification, which is central to the educational theme of the video.

💡Text Types

Text Types are the different styles of writing that students are expected to master for the IGCSE English exam. The video specifically discusses how to write six main types, each with its own conventions and purposes. The script uses the context of a story to illustrate how to approach writing each type, emphasizing the importance of understanding these forms for exam success.

💡Voice

In the context of writing, 'voice' refers to the perspective or personality expressed in a piece of text. The script mentions considering 'voice' when writing an interview, which should reflect the character of the speaker, in this case, the Headmaster of Elmwood High. It's a key element in creating an authentic and engaging text.

💡Audience

The 'audience' is the target group for whom the text is written. In the script, the audience is identified as local radio listeners, which influences the language register and style of the interview being discussed. Understanding the audience is crucial for tailoring the message appropriately.

💡Register

Register in linguistic terms refers to the level of formality in language use. The script discusses the need to use a more formal register for an interview with a Headmaster on a local radio station, indicating the importance of language appropriateness based on context.

💡Purpose

The 'purpose' of a text is the reason why it is written. In the video script, the purpose of the interview is to inform about the events of the day at Elmwood High School. This purpose guides the content and direction of the interview dialogue.

💡Format

The 'format' refers to the structural arrangement of a text or the medium through which it is presented. The script specifies that the format of the task is an interview, which is typically more conversational and less formal than written text, as seen in the example provided.

💡Interviewee

An 'interviewee' is the person being interviewed. In the script, the Headmaster of Elmwood High is the interviewee, and the video discusses how to write his responses to the interviewer's questions, which is a key part of constructing the interview text.

💡Reading Marks

In the context of exams like IGCSE, 'reading marks' refer to the points awarded for the comprehension and analysis of the text. The script emphasizes that the interviewee should do most of the talking to maximize the potential for scoring reading marks, highlighting the exam strategy aspect.

💡Spoken Language

Spoken language is the mode of communication used in speech rather than writing. The script advises using spoken language techniques such as filler words and punctuation to mimic natural speech patterns in the written interview, adding authenticity to the text.

💡Stage Directions

Stage directions are instructions included in a script to indicate how a line should be delivered or what action should be taken. The script mentions the optional use of stage directions like 'laughs' or 'nods' to add depth to the interview, making it sound more realistic.

💡Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are used to refer to the people involved in the conversation. The script points out the importance of using personal pronouns like 'you' and 'your' to create a sense of direct conversation between the interviewer and the interviewee, enhancing the dialogue's natural flow.

Highlights

The video provides a comprehensive lesson on writing six main text types for IGCSE English.

A full video lesson, worksheet, PowerPoint, and review quiz are available on the instructor's website.

The text types are based on a story presented in the video, which viewers can pause to read.

The 'V' in interviews stands for voice, audience, register, purpose, and format.

The audience for an interview is typically local listeners of a radio or TV show.

The register for an interview is usually more formal and polite, with a spoken element.

The purpose of an interview is to inform, often about events of the day.

Cambridge typically asks for radio or TV interviews, not job interviews.

Interviewees should do 95% of the talking to maximize reading marks.

The interview format should be laid out like a script with person's name and dialogue.

Stage directions can be added in brackets for a more realistic interview tone.

Spoken language should include filler words and punctuation to reflect natural speech.

Personal pronouns should be used to create a realistic conversation between the interviewer and interviewee.

Useful phrases for interview writing are provided to engage the audience.

An example interview is given to illustrate the application of the discussed techniques.

The headmaster's tone in the example is patronizing, which adds character to the interview.

The headmaster reassures the audience about the school's situation and future after the incident.

The instructor emphasizes the importance of not admitting blame and maintaining a positive image for the school.

Additional resources and materials for teachers and students are available on the provided website.

Transcripts

this is an excerpt from a longer video

Lesson about how to write the six main

text types for IGCSE English if you

would like to watch the full video

Lesson which is 1 hour and 1550 minutes

long you'll find it linked below get the

worksheet PowerPoint and even take a

review quiz as well as find more

exclusive content to help you with your

exams on my website whether you're a

teacher or a student you'll find

something over there that can help you

now all of the text types are based on

this story right here I'll flash it up

on the screen if you're not familiar

feel free to pause and read but

otherwise let's get into it moving on to

interviews now here is our interview

prompt think about the V that's voice

audience register purpose and format

imagine you are a presenter at a local

radio station you interview the

Headmaster of Elmwood High about the

events of that day write the words of

the interview take a look at this prompt

what is the

V the voice on is Headmaster this is the

main thing that you're going to have to

write as yes that there's a presenter

but Cambridge will give you those

questions so you are not the presenter

who is the audience well the audience is

people who listen to the local radio

show so local listeners is your

audience therefore the register well

we've got a Headmaster we've got radio

and we've got local audience well

together I would say that's more formal

more polite but then there's also this

spoken element right of two people

having a conversation which might make

it slightly more semi-formal it depends

on what kind of voice you want to create

for the Headmaster like what sort of

character he would appear to be in the

extract now obviously for this one we

haven't got an extract so you can make

that up the purpose is you're talking

about the events of the day so the

purpose is to inform and the format is

an interview so overall we have got like

a slightly more formal tone but it is

spoken so we can have a little bit of

ban back and forth between the

interviewer and the interviewee now for

Cambridge when they ask you to write an

interview that is nine times out of 10 a

radio interview or a TV interview that's

what you're going to be asked to write

they won't ask you to write a job

interview so it tends to be that you

will interview a character in the text

that you've been given and often that

isn't the main character so make sure

you check carefully who you're writing

up

essentially you're thinking about a

podcast tone it's a talk between two

people on a given topic and so the

formality will vary it will depend on

the text the characters that you're

being asked to write about and the topic

that you've been given but because it's

spoken interviews do tend to be more

often than not a semiformal type of text

for interview writing Cambridge will

give you three questions so they will

give you the questions that the

interviewer will ask and then your job

is to write the responses those three

questions are your bullet points so

they're very important for your reading

marks therefore you should copy down

those questions exactly don't change

them right don't add in your own

questions because then you're going to

go off topic and you're going to get a

lower reading Mark and your interviewee

should do 95% of the talking because

that's where you're going to pick up

your reading marks how should you

actually write it well you should lay it

out like a script like this so you'll

put the person's name and colons leave a

little bit of a space and then write

down what they say example Andy so Kayla

tell me why do you love English so much

Kayla well because of Miss Rook of

course so this is how it should look

like this like a speech if you want to

you can also add in stage directions but

it's not needed if you don't want do

this by using brackets like laughs nods

claps something like that again you

don't have to do it but it does sound

quite nice it does sound quite realistic

for an interview tone now because it's

spoken you should use spok broken

language so you can use filler words or

thinking words like well I guess huh I

hadn't thought of that before but don't

do that too much or it will start to

sound weird and you can also use

punctuation to make your writing sound

more spoken for example you can use a

lipes to show a pause or a dash to show

that the speakers changed the direction

in their sentence for example Mark drank

was accused well let's not bother with

that and you put the dash in between to

show his changing the topic you can also

use an exclamation mark to place

emphasis or show excitement but again

don't use these punctuation marks too

much or it will start to sound a little

bit strange as with speech writing don't

forget to use personal pronouns because

the interview and interviewer they're

speaking to each other right it's two

people in conversation so you should try

to make it sound like a real

conversation by using you your and yours

have your interviewee speak directly to

the interviewer for example you really

can't imagine don't look so surprised

surprised right so two people talking to

each other here are some useful phrases

that you can use for interview

writing for those tuning in I want you

to consider listeners keep this in mind

as we discuss to all of you out there I

encourage you to think about if you're

listening right now I want you to

imagine to everyone joining us I'm sure

you'll find this interesting I'm sure

many of you can relate to as you're

listening you might be wondering I want

to share a perspective with you that

could resonate with some of you you

might be surprised to learn that

consider this a takeaway for each and

every one of you that's an excellent

question here's my take on it to answer

your question let me explain your

question really touches on something I'm

very passionate about funny you should

ask because the idea actually came to me

when now let's take a look at an example

interview interviewer good afternoon

ladies and gentlemen we have a rather

intriguing story for you today fresh

from the halls of Elwood High School

joining us is the school's head teacher

Mr Reginald Wellington welcome Mr

Wellington so remember for Cambridge you

just copy out their questions but I

couldn't resist I I had to create my own

voice Mr Wellington thank you thank you

my dear it's always such a pleasure to

share my wisdom and insights with the

public Mr Wellington the incident that

unfolded at your school has everyone

talking could you shed some light on the

events that transpired during the fight

alarm incident ah yes the fiery Escape

as they're calling it you see my dear it

all started with our darling Miss sammon

a teacher who seemed to have lost her

way in the Labyrinth of classroom

management she was facing a rather

daunting observation and well I suppose

she thought pulling the fire alarm was

the best way to avoid the impending

scrutiny quite the audacious move I must

say it certainly was a dramatic turn of

events speaking of which the blame

initially fell on a year n student Mark

Jang how did that happen and what does

this incident tell us about the school's

disciplinary

measures Mark J poor lad it was a

classic case of misunderstanding I

assure you in the chaos that ensued the

poor boy found himself in the spotlight

not for his own doing mind you it's a

reminder that we must always be thorough

in our investigations a lesson we should

take to our heart in our ongoing efforts

to maintain discipline and Order within

our beloved institution of course of of

course and who was it that accused Mark

then never mind that now all water under

the bridge as they say it was him and

finally Mr Wellington the resignation of

Miss sumon was a surprising development

how do you see this incident affecting

the future of Elwood High School well my

dear I believe that every cloud has a

silver lining and Miss Salmon's

resignation while abrupt may offer an

opportunity for fresh ideas and A

Renewed sense of dedication within our

staff it's crucial that we strive for

excellence and this instant has

certainly provided us with a moment for

reflection the future of Elmwood High

School rest assured will continue to

shine brighter than ever before thank

you Mr Wellington for your insights into

this fascinating tale from Elwood High

School it seems the dramatic world of

Education always keeps us on our toes

now if we take a look and have a think

about it who's the local audience well

is probably going to be parents or

potential parents so obviously Mr

Wellington has to make the instant seem

less serious than it was and reassure

the local listeners our school is still

great still send your kids here right so

we've got kind of like an ulterior

motive from the head teacher and so over

here he doesn't want to admit blame

right that he was him that unjustly

accused a

student and he's saying the future of

Elwood High School is going to shine

brighter than ever before so we've got

this kind of reassurance to the audience

I wanted to create like a slightly

patronizing tone like for the head

teacher um so we can see the whole way

through he's referring to the

interviewer as my dear which is quite

patronizing and a bit sexist and we've

also got these filler words like well

well he thinks of what to say we can see

that the interviewer is referring to Mr

wellon by name which creates a sense of

relationship between the two speakers

and again this spoken tone here in of

course of course and ah Mark Jang poor

lad and again here we've also got the ah

the thinking word ah yes the fire

escapers they're calling it here talking

to the interviewer directly again you

see my dear another thinking word here

with the well um she was facing a rather

daunting observation and well I suppose

as he thinks and again we've got an

exclamation mark here to add a more

spoken tone to it as well if you liked

this video Lesson and you want more

content like this if you want

PowerPoints worksheets quizzes and lots

of different resources to help you with

your studies heading over to

to.co where you'll find more materials

like this for teachers and students

thank you so much for your attention

today and I'll see you

there