Sample Assignment: Multigenre Project

E2: Honors American Lit Mr. Newton The American Dream Research Project

Multi-genre Research Project A team of you and your peers have just been selected to design a multi-generic research project. The project is to be themed around the American Dream, both in a contemporary and historical frame. We are going to explore how the use of historical documents and the creation of texts of different genres can expand our knowledge and understanding of an event, person, or art work (painting, sculpture, novel, architecture, collection of poetry, short stories, essays, music album). Multi-genre projects present multiple, even conflicting, perspectives on a topic in order to provide a rich context and present an aesthetically appealing product for an audience. Your multi-genre project should reflect the following:

A focus: You should not only include documents that relate to an event, person, or piece of art but you should ensure that the documents forward a point of significance, a rhetorical purpose.

A coherent organization: Documents should be created and organized in order to lead readers through the project, to help them understand your focus and purpose. A series of seemingly unconnected pieces, though they may share a similar topic, will not result in a strong multi-genre project. Instead, readers should experience a sense of cohesion, a sense of connection and transition between each document or artifact in the project. You can create coherence through transitional pieces between genres, your table of contents, your letter of introduction, etc.

The Multi-genre Project includes at least 10 documents or artifacts of different genres that offer a sustained argument about your chosen topic. By creating documents in different genres (e.g., the academic research essay, editorials, feature stories, brochures, short fiction, charts, scripts, etc. See attached list for further ideas), you learn to write for multiple audiences, multiple purposes, and multiple forums.

Each document should be labeled and include a brief analysis of what the document/artifact reflects about your topic and how it represents a key element of knowledge about your topic.

Your project should be presented in a theme that best fits your purposes. For example, you may “package” your project as a scrapbook, a photo album, a patient file, a police case file, an employee handbook, a manual, a newspaper, a magazine—the options are endless! Just be sure to include a table of contents that provides an overview of and title for each document.

One of the last elements of your project you will probably work on, Your Letter of Introduction serves as a guide to readers, helping us understand the issue you’re addressing, offering us insight about why you chose the genres you chose, etc. The introduction is your chance to help us understand why this topic is important, how we should “read” your documents, etc. The letter of introduction should include the historical significance and background of your topic and why you chose it, what you learned from your research and the creation of documents about your topic, how the different genres you’ve included have informed your thinking about the topic, and why you’ve chosen your particular theme of presentation. Your letter should follow the conventions and expectations of standard letter writing and should be 2-3 pages double-spaced.

The bulk of your project will be the 10+ documents, each representing a different genre, that helps persuade your audience(s) to your point of view. Aim for a good balance of genres, and be sure that at least four of your documents directly use the sources you’ve gathered from your library research. By writing a traditional researched essay, a brochure that utilizes your research sources, a chart or other visual, a story drawing from the information you’ve gathered, a quiz based on researched sources, etc.—by approaching your research findings in a creative way, your project helps an audience understand many different perspectives about your topic. Some of the documents you’ll include may be more time-intensive than others. But the 10 documents that make up the body of your project should show your knowledge, creativity, and ability to persuade your audience(s) toward your central claim.

1 E2: Honors American Lit Mr. Newton The American Dream Research Project

The project should conclude with a Works Cited page. You need to include a Works Cited page that reflects your research on your topic. It should follow MLA conventions. As you cite sources for each document, your citation approach should be appropriate for each genre. It’s a rare ghost story, for example, that includes parenthetical citation practices! But there are creative ways to ensure that you a) give credit to the source from which you draw information (e.g., discussing that info in your introduction, using endnotes/acknowledgment pages, noting sources in your labels for each individual genre, etc.), and b) establish your credibility as a writer who has conducted significant research to support your opinion.

In addition to primary and secondary sources, your project should include original research or field work based on a community-based or service-learning experience. Choose your field work site based on your topic; for example, if your theme is immigration you may consider attending an immigrants’ rights protest, visiting an immigrant-advocacy nongovernmental organization (NGO), or interviewing immigrants in your neighborhood to gather information in the form of interviews, photos, notes or whatever you choose. Each member of your group should have something tangible to show from your field work. In addition, if your field work includes a service-learning component, that is, you volunteer with a service organization as part of your research, this will also qualify for service learning hours. A list of suggested service-learning organizations will be provided and we will have a guest speaker join us on April 27th to instruct us on how to set up a service-learning experience.

Finally, each student will write a self-evaluation of his or her contribution to the group project, what s/he learned from the experience, both in terms of knowledge and process. For example, you may have learned through your research about the nuances of Emily Dickinson’s tone through syntax and diction and how her poetry reflects the culture and society of her time or about the influence of U.S. federal land policy on the development of American agriculture and its evolution from family farms to corporate agribusiness; in addition, you may also have learned that your strength is organization of research materials while your weakness is prioritizing tasks. How did you capitalize on your strengths and manage you weaknesses? What did you learn that was surprising, compelling, shocking, disturbing? How have you changed through this experience?

Duration of unit: 6 weeks (appx)

Topics are due Friday, April 30th.

All research, except possibly field work, should be complete by May 12th.

Peer Editing/Review will be May 19th. Each group should have a compilation of its research, bibliography, and an outline of genres, and sample genre entries, to share with other groups.

Your Multi-Genre Research Project is due Thursday, June 10th, 2010. Your project and presentation will comprise your final exam for the second semester. No late projects or presentations will be accepted.

A Brief List of Genres:

Journal Entries Inner Monologue Top Ten List/Glossary or Representing Internal Dictionary Personal Letter Conflicts Poetry Greeting Card Classified or Personal Ads Song Lyrics Schedule/Things to Do List Personal Essay or Philosophical Questions Autobiographical Essay 2 E2: Honors American Lit Mr. Newton The American Dream Research Project

Contest Entry Application Recipe and Description of Local News Report Traditional Holiday Events Business Letter or Pop-Up book Correspondence/Persuasive Classroom Discussion or Advocacy Letter Review and Poster for a Character Analysis or Case Movie, Book, or TV Program Biographical Summary Study Board Game or Trivial Critique of a Published Comedy Routine or Parody Pursuit with Answers and Source Rules Liner Notes Speech or Debate Comic Strip or Graphic Novel Picture book excerpt Historical Times Context Essay Chart or Diagram with Power Point Presentation Explanation and Analysis Textbook Article Informational Video Brochure or Newsletter Science Article or Web Site Report/Business Article or Time Line or Chain of Events Report Future News Story Map with Explanation and Lesson Plan Analysis Letter to the Editor

Encyclopedia Article Magazine or TV Newspaper or Magazine Advertisement or Feature/Human Interest Short Scene from a Play with Infomercial Story Notes for Stage Directions Restaurant Description and Obituary, Eulogy or Tribute Short Scene from a Movie Menu with Notes for Camera Shots News Program Story or Travel Brochure Description Announcement Dialogue of a Conversation among Two or More People How-To or Directions Booklet Tabloid Article

Short Story Receipts, Applications, Series of Photos Deeds, Budgets or Other Adventure Magazine Story Documents Painting

Ghost Story Wedding, Graduation or Sculpture Special Event Invitation Myth, Tall Tale, or Fairy Tale Collage Birth Certificate Talk Show Interview or Panel

Rubric for assessing Multi-Genre Research Paper

___ Score for Holistic Impact (up to fifty-five points) ___ Score for Required Elements (up to 145 points) ___ Total Score: total high score would be 200

3 E2: Honors American Lit Mr. Newton The American Dream Research Project

___ Holistic Impact 51-55 Knocks me off my feet, bowls me over, so informative and emotionally moving is the project. Throughout there is evidence of original thinking, depth, specificity of detail, and delights of language or insight. Research is interesting, surprising, and deftly, creatively incorporated into the project. The project is rife with excellent writing that includes attention to a pleasing visage of the page, action verbs, varied sentence length, effective word choice, skilled placement of pay-off information, strong leads and endings, visual and other sensory imagery. Evidence of revision and polish to individual elements is evident in the final presentation.

46-50 A Good Project; I’m upbeat because the writer(s) pays attention to many of the elements that are mentioned above. The audience learns about the chosen topic as a result of the project. The multi-genre project was executed in a competent way; some individual work may be uneven in execution, with some individual pieces shining through more than others. Evidence of revision in discrete elements is uneven.

40-45 This project is complete or nearly there, but it has a “middle of the road” feeling to it. The project shows inconsistencies in the writing, or lacks important qualitative elements. Additional revision would improve the overall project.

35-39 This project is not complete and lacking important elements of the multi-genre project. Material may seem perfunctory, as if written hastily and never revised. Content may show limited insight and depth. Unification of the project is uneven or not present.

34 or lower This is not acceptable work. A parent-teacher conference may be required.

____ Required Elements: 5 Original Illustrative Title / Cover Page 5- Original, surprising, piques a reader’s interest, imaginative, may be a subtitle too 4.5- Serviceable, some imagination 4- Title simply names the subject 3.5- Title prosaic, something like “Lit-Based Multi genre Project” 0- Title missing

5 Table of Contents

5- Well-formatted, easy to read, and accurate. 4.5- Serviceable 4- Present but not perfect 3.5- Not an easy-to-use table of contents 0- Table of contents is missing

20 Letter of Introduction 20 - Reader wants to continue reading, so compelling and interesting is the statement. Provides genuine insight and engaging information about the writers/artists’ choices for what included. 18 - Serviceable, provides useful information, not too brief or too long. Provides some insight and rationale regarding the chosen topic and manner of presentation. 14 - The statement is either too detailed or not detailed enough. Insight, context, and rationale may be lacking. 12 - Provides little insight into the reasoning behind the chosen project. 0- Statement missing

20 Unifying Elements- the presence of a theme throughout all related works 20 – Theme is evident and fitting to the chosen topic. Unifying elements are striking and they provide an interesting element to compliment the overall project. Visuals, fonts, elements of voice, and other tools are used to maintain cohesion throughout the project. 18 – Theme is evident. Visual and other unifying devices are used competently. 4 E2: Honors American Lit Mr. Newton The American Dream Research Project

14 – Theme is unevenly represented in the project as a whole. 12– Minimal unifying elements are apparent, theme is not easily discernible. 0- Unifying elements are not evident

15 Physical Visage/Presentation of the project 15 – All elements of the finished project are presented in an artistic, appropriate fashion. Care and attention is evident in the authors’ attention to detail and in the design of the finished project. 14 – Care for presentation and design is evident. Most elements of the physical presentation are presented with neatness, attention to detail and evident care. 12 – The physical presentation of the project is acceptable. 9 – The physical presentation of the project is at a minimum level of acceptability. 0- Physical presentation is inappropriate, or unacceptably messy, jumbled, and confused.

25 Public Presentation of the Final Project (Gallery walk or other public sharing) 25 – The chosen presentation style fits the intended audience. The presentation incorporates projection, presence, and attention to the needs of the audience. The audience comes away from the presentation with a sense that they learned something new, received a gift, or have newly-provoked thinking. 22 – The presentation was pretty interesting, but it did not have quite the ‘wow’ factor of the presentation described above. Elements of presentation were not fully developed. 19 – The presentation was better than average; the audience got it, but something wasn’t quite working. Perhaps the presentation did not fit the theme, or the audience did not hear the speaker throughout. 16 – The presentation was adequate. 13 – The presentation was complete but only to minimal requirements.

5 Copy Editing/Mechanics/and Adherence to conventions 5- All elements of the project showed polish and adherence to grammatical, and other conventions of the chosen genre. There were zero to few mistakes or typos. 4.5- Most elements of the project showed adherence to grammatical and other conventions of the chosen genre. There were a few mistakes, but they were not distracting. 4- The copy editing, mechanics, and adherence to conventions showed some work; more work would improve the overall level of accuracy and adherence to convention. 3.5- The copy editing, mechanics and adherence to conventions was noticeably uneven. 0- Title missing

5 Works Cited/Bibliography of Research Incorporated into the Project 5- Complete, and it adheres to the MLA format. At least 5 varied sources were used to good effect. 4.5- Serviceable, but the bibliography was incomplete or the sources used were not varied. The MLA format may not be as strong. 4- MLA format is not used, but the bibliography shows varied sources used. A researcher could find your sources if they tried. 3.5- The bibliography is inaccurate and a researcher could not find original sources if they tried. 0- Title missing

20 Self-Evaluation: May be in form of letter, video or audio. The self-evaluation is independent of the project/theme. 20– The self evaluation is reflective. Specific experiences in the learning process are cited and explicated. The self-evaluation shows evidence of honesty and critical awareness of strengths and areas for further growth. Ideas for how to change or approach things differently in future projects are evident. 18-- Serviceable, provides useful information, not too brief or too long. Provides some insight into the process used and it points to moments of growth and change in the project. The self evaluation begins to show critical awareness of strengths and areas for future growth. 14 - The self evaluation is complete but it doesn’t show all of the elements described above. 12 – A rough self evaluation is present but it is not complete or it shows minimal effort. 0- Statement missing 5 E2: Honors American Lit Mr. Newton The American Dream Research Project

20 Field Work 20—Project displays thoughtful and creative use and integration of field work experience. The field work complements the project’s theme and understanding of the role and influence of the community is evident and noted in the project. 18—Field work is evident in the project and appropriately reflects the theme. 14—Field work was completed but relation to project is tenuous. 12—Field work was completed but not relevant to project or was incomplete. 0- Field work not attempted and/or evident.

15 Participation in Group Work and Peer Review Processes 15 – Peer review and group participation was excellent to strong throughout project work. Collaborative, critical and supportive comments were exchanged regularly in full, small, and one-on-one group work. 14 – Peer review and group participation was good, the students actively engaged in all group processes and exchanged quality peer review & feedback. 12 –Peer review and group participation was engaged in at an acceptable level. 9 – Peer review and group participation was uneven or engaged in at a minimal level of acceptability. 0 – Peer review and group participation was completed at an unacceptable level. State Standards:

English and Language Arts: 3.C.5a Communicate information and ideas in narrative, informative and persuasive writing with clarity and effectiveness in a variety of written forms using appropriate traditional and/or electronic formats; adapt content, vocabulary, voice and tone to the audience, purpose and situation. 3.C.4b Using available technology, produce compositions and multimedia works for specified audiences. 5.A.5a Develop a research plan using multiple forms of data. 5.B.5a Evaluate the usefulness of information, synthesize information to support a thesis, and present information in a logical manner in oral and written forms. 5.B.5b Credit primary and secondary sources in a form appropriate for presentation or publication for a particular audience. 5.C.5a Using contemporary technology, create a research presentation or prepare a documentary related to academic, technical or occupational topics and present the findings in oral or multimedia formats. 5.C.5b Support and defend a thesis statement using various references including media and electronic resources.

Social Sciences: 18.A.5 Compare ways in which social systems are affected by political, environmental, economic and technological changes. 18.B.5 Use methods of social science inquiry (pose questions, collect and analyze data, make and support conclusions with evidence, report findings) to study the development and functions of social systems and report conclusions to a larger audience. 18.C.4b Analyze major contemporary cultural exchanges as influenced by worldwide communications.

Fine Arts: 26.B.5 Common for all four arts: Create and perform a complex work of art using a variety of techniques, technologies and resources and independent decision making. 26.B.4d Visual Arts: Demonstrate knowledge and skills that communicate clear and focused ideas based on planning, research and problem solving.