Multigenre Research Project

Multigenre Research Project W131

Purpose: To use a mix of academic, trade, and popular sources to create a coherent “argument” about your topic and to use critical thinking skills and methods of inquiry to find appropriate research to support your argument. Refer to chapters about research in Norton.

Audience: Your paper should be geared toward an academic audience.

Genre: You will be able to choose three of the five genres. You must use one genre of exposition and one visual.

Stance: Your stance is one that is informed, formal, and one that is making an argument.

Media/Design: You will be able to manipulate media and design to suite your purpose and genre. The guidelines apply to a typed paper (page length); however, you may choose to do a multi-media paper which would either be in the form of a web-page or a Power Point presentation. The text in these choices should be equivalent to ten double spaced pages. The multi-media project would also have academic exposition as well as visuals.

What is a multi-genre essay? It's a collection of pieces written in a variety of genres, informed by your research on a particular subject, that presents one or (more likely) more perspectives on a research question or topic. A multi-genre paper is personal, creative, and can’t be copied from some other source. It involves you, as a writer, making conscious decisions about what information is important and how it should be presented to the reader. (from http://www.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/cyberenglish9/multi_genre/ multigenre.htm #Types%20of%20Genres:)

Why use more than one genre? There are ideas and perspectives that cannot be achieved through a linear expository paper. Consequently, when one uses more than one genre, more of the research found can be shared.

A multigenre project is a compilation of research on a given topic presented in a way that is specific to the writer. We will talk about a number of different genres and we will look at examples of multigenre papers. These papers also mix academic writing and less formal writing together giving you a way to bridge yourself into “academic-ease.”

The Assignment Process: 1) Pick a topic that interests you. Narrow it down and create a guiding research question(s).

Example: Topic: Harlem Renaissance Research question: How did the writer’s of the Harlem Renaissance shape the movement?

2) Start researching your topic. You want to find information that highlights what you think you want to say or that gives you a starting point. You may choose to do a project that is informative (i.e. states the facts, but is trying to answer some sort of research question) or you may choose to do a project that is persuasive in nature (i.e. it is still researched, but it has a more obvious bias). An example of the first choice is like the one given above. An example of the second choice would be to research an issue that is sided and to focus on one side of the issue. Multigenre Research Project W131

3) Begin to put your research into different genres. Your topic will lend itself to specific genres. For example, if I were to write about the writers of the Harlem Renaissance, I might use poetry or another creative genre to present some of the information about the writers.

The Assignment: Format –  Page length: 10 pages, not including title page, Table of Contents or Works Cited page.  Number of genres: at least five different genres, one must be expository prose (at least 3 pages) and one must be visual.  The paper must have a repetend (defined below).  The paper must have ten sources, four of which must be scholarly.  The paper must have a title page and the title should be a significant clue about what the paper is about; there is no page number on this page.  The paper must have a Table of Contents where genres are listed with their corresponding pages.  The paper must have a Preface of at least 150 words that clues the reader in to what you are going to be presenting. A preface is similar to an abstract. Essentially the preface summarizes your paper briefly to allow the reader to begin reading with more clarity.  The paper must have a Works Cited page and the sources must be cited in MLA format including in text citations.  The paper must have page numbers in the upper right hand corner. On page one, there is a number one. On the following pages, including the Works Cited page, there is name and page number.

Form Review of the minimum requirements: Page 1: Title Page Page 2: Table of Contents Page 3: Preface Pages 4-13: Multigenre project (Your first section should be exposition in which your thesis is revealed. However, this section does not have to be the entire three pages at once.) Page 14: Works Cited Page

More Information: Repetend: The purpose of a repetend is to create unity and coherence in a multigenre piece. It also allows the reader to hear the writer’s voice and have a string that carries through the entire piece. Using a repetend is like using a thesis to tie a traditional research paper together.

Ideas for creating a repetend (you may think of something different):

 include the same phrase, sentence, or passage in each genre page as a heading or somewhere else in the text  include a description or design in each piece (written or graphic), placed strategically for easy recognition  include a running commentary from you, the writer, following or preceding each genre piece (taken from previously cited web page)

If you feel the most comfortable using expository prose, you may use this as your repetend. Multigenre Research Project W131

Expository Prose: This genre is the typical form that essays are written in. At least one of your sections must take on this form. Exposition typically has a beginning, middle, and an end and it should carry an academic tone.

Genre Review: You should have at least five genres. 1) One of the genres has to be exposition and it needs to be at least three pages long. 2) One of the genres, and no more than two, must be visual. 3) You should have at least one genre from the sub genre list and one genre, not including exposition, from the major genre list. 4) When possible, you should cite your sources in the text (i.e. exposition, newspaper article, etc.). If you write a poem or some other creative genre, you will cite your source(s) directly underneath it.

Remember that you are taking your research, internalizing it, and representing it in a specific genre. If you use a poem, it will represent your research in some way. The poem is your original work – not from your source.

Example:

Poetry I took the one less traveled by and it has made all the difference.

(Frost 289)

(Shakespeare 301) *** Genre List: This list is not all inclusive. There are hundreds of other genres. If you think of one not on the list, check with me first before you use it.

Major Genres: Fiction (short story) Nonfiction (report writing, academic writing) Poetry (free verse or structured) Drama (short play, dialogue with characters, monologue) Multigenre Research Project W131

Sub genres: autobiography advertisement announcement assignment sheet book jacket business report/prospectus campaign speech character sketch clinical lab report collage (visual or word) critical analysis descriptive paragraph: or a specific description of some sort diary or journal entry encyclopedia entry eulogy informative essay narrative essay persuasive essay grocery list or list of some other sort interview: real or imagined; however you must say which it is letter memo menu movie review newspaper article obituary personal commentary radio broadcast recipe rhetorical analysis scientific lab report stream of consciousness song/ballad (the lyrics) travel journal

Visual genres: cartoon or comic strip CD cover graph/chart illustration photographs map w/ legend travel poster wanted poster Multigenre Research Project W131

Strong Adequate Weak Purpose: The research paper meets a clearly defined The research paper meets a clearly defined purpose (e.g. to The research paper meets no clearly defined purpose, or it purpose (e.g. to persuade, inform). The purpose is persuade, inform). But the purpose is less compelling may switch purposes unexpectedly. The writer seems only compelling because it goes beyond simply completing the because it is geared primarily toward completing the to have submitted something to complete the assignment. assignment. assignment.

Audience: The research paper is addressed clearly to an The research paper is addressed to an academic audience The research paper has no clearly defined audience. The academic audience and a sub-audience can be found – a sometimes and addressed to a secondary audience prose may imply inappropriate shifts in audience. peer group who needs to be informed about the topic, a sometimes. There are places where audience is unclear. group who might have a stake in the topic, etc.

Persona: The writer’s prose establishes a consistent and The writer’s prose establishes a relationship that is usually The writer’s prose establishes a relationship that is often appropriate relationship with readers – one that is formal, consistent, but that may shift inappropriately at one or two inconsistent, that shifts inappropriately at more than a few informed, and/or concerned. points. points.

Development: The writer develops three to five main For the most part, the writer develops three to five main The writer generally fails to develop three to five main claims which are supported adequately via research. The points although some may lack backing. In some places, points. The research given does not support the argument. argument concedes when necessary and the argument the writer fails to include his or her own voice to help There is no writer’s voice to carry the reader from point to includes the writer’s academic voice to carry the reader transition between points. point. from point to point.

Organization: The research paper has a clear thesis which The research paper has a thesis, but it does not direct the The research paper is organized in a manner generally maps the rest of the paper. The main points follow in a paper in all parts. A few elements appear in places that inappropriate for a logical argument. The thesis does not logical order. The introduction acts to entice the reader to weaken the writer’s purpose, or unnecessary repetition may guide the paper. Unnecessary repetition detracts from a move forward and the conclusion answers, “so what?” detract from a reader’s sense of coherence. reader’s sense of coherence.

Research: The writer has used academic and reliable The writer has used one academic source and a few reliable The writer has used no academic sources and many sources which relate to the topic. They are integrated into sources which relate to the topic. They are integrated into unreliable sources. The sources may not relate to the topic. the paper to help strengthen the writer’s voice. The sources the paper, but in some parts they do not help strengthen the The sources are not integrated with the writer’s voice and are cited correctly in MLA format. writer’s argument. The sources are cited correctly most of they do not help strengthen the argument. In many places the time in MLA format. the sources are not cited correctly in MLA format.

Style: The prose is engaging, clear, and coherent. Word The prose is generally clear and coherent. Word choice is The prose is unclear in more than a couple of places. It choice is appropriate and academic, and sentences generally generally appropriate, but a few inappropriate words may also be choppy in more than a few places. flow from one to another. Transitions between paragraphs weaken the prose. A few sets of sentences may be choppy, are effective. disrupting flow.

Readability: The prose is free of distracting errors in Although the prose is free of sentence-level errors (e.g. The prose contains distracting sentence-level errors. It may grammar, mechanics, and spelling. comma splices, fused sentences, fragments) it may contain also contain more than a few obvious mechanical or a few obvious mechanical or spelling errors. spelling errors.

Revision: Substantial revision has taken place in between A good amount of revision has been done between one set No apparent revision has taken place. all drafts. of drafts (i.e. from draft one to draft two, but not from draft two to draft three).