Interview anatomy
Framing paragraph + speaker labels + 5-6 Q&A pairs.
The shape of an interview response on Paper 2:
1. Framing paragraph (~50 words). Sets up who, why, when. 'Maya Chen, a Year 11 student at Northgate Secondary, has spent the past eighteen months campaigning for the council to improve street lighting on the path between her school and the Park Road bus stop. She spoke to us this week.'
2. 5-6 Q&A pairs. Each pair on a new line, with speaker labels.
Interviewer: What started this campaign for you?
Maya: Honestly? Walking home one night last winter…
3. No formal sign-off. Interviews end with the final answer. No 'Thank you for your time' (or one polite line max if you really want it).
Speaker label format options:
- Full names: 'Interviewer: / Maya Chen:'
- Abbreviations: 'INT: / MC:'
- Just roles: 'Interviewer: / Student:'
Pick ONE format and stay consistent.
Within Q&A pairs:
- New line for each speaker.
- The interviewer's questions are usually shorter than the answers.
- Answers vary in length — some short and direct, some longer and substantive.
Cambridge tip. Mark schemes describe interview-form mastery as 'using the conventions of the form effectively'. The visible structure (speaker labels, framing intro, varied Q&A pacing) IS the form.
- Framing paragraph + 5-6 Q&A pairs.
- Speaker labels on every turn.
- New line per speaker.
- No formal sign-off.