After your interview, you may have a good notion of what to include in your first draft, what to emphasize, what to quote directly, what to summarize. But if your notes seem a confused jumble, what should you do?

Evaluate Your Material. Remember your purpose: to reveal your subject’s character and personality through conversation. Start by listing details you’re likely to include. Photographs, sketches, or your doodles also may help you find a focus. As you sift your material, try these questions:

What part of the conversation gave you the most insight into your subject’s character and circumstances?

Which direct quotations reveal the most about your subject? Which are the most amusing, pithy, witty, surprising, or outrageous?

Which objects in the subject’s environment provide you with valuable clues about his or her interests?

What, if anything, did your subject’s body language reveal? Did it suggest discomfort, pride, self-confidence, shyness, pomposity?

What did tone or gestures tell you about the person’s state of mind?

How can you summarize your subject’s character or personality?

Does one theme run through your material? If so, what is it?

Focus Your Thesis on a Dominant Impression. Most successful portraits focus on a single dominant impression of the interview subject.

If you have lots of material and if, as often happens, your conversation rambled, you may want to develop the dominant impression by emphasizing just a few things about your subject — personality traits, views on particular topics, or shaping influences. To find such a focus, try grouping your details in three layers of notes, following the pattern below:

Bring Your Subject to Life. To begin your paper, can you immediately frame the person you interviewed? A quotation, a physical description, a portrait of your subject at home or at work can bring the person instantly to life in your reader’s mind. If your instructor approves adding an image, place it so that it supplements but does not overshadow your essay.

When you quote directly, be as accurate as possible, and don’t put into quotation marks anything your subject didn’t say. Sometimes you may quote a whole sentence or more, sometimes just a phrase. Keep evaluating your quotations until they convey the essence of your subject.

Double-Check Important Information. Maybe you can’t read your hasty handwriting or some crucial information escaped your notes. In such a case, telephone or e-mail the person you interviewed to ask specific questions without taking much time. You might also read back any direct quotations you plan to use so your subject can confirm their accuracy.