Multigenre Research Project
W131
Multigenre Research Project
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
purpose (e.g. to persuade, inform). The purpose is
compelling because it goes beyond simply completing the
assignment.
The research paper meets a clearly defined purpose (e.g. to
persuade, inform). But the purpose is less compelling
because it is geared primarily toward completing the
assignment.
The research paper meets no clearly defined purpose, or it
may switch purposes unexpectedly. The writer seems only
to have submitted something to complete the assignment.
Audience: The research paper is addressed clearly to an
academic audience and a sub-audience can be found – a
peer group who needs to be informed about the topic, a
group who might have a stake in the topic, etc.
The research paper is addressed to an academic audience
sometimes and addressed to a secondary audience
sometimes. There are places where audience is unclear.
The research paper has no clearly defined audience. The
prose may imply inappropriate shifts in audience.
Persona: The writer’s prose establishes a consistent and
appropriate relationship with readers – one that is formal,
informed, and/or concerned.
The writer’s prose establishes a relationship that is usually
consistent, but that may shift inappropriately at one or two
points.
The writer’s prose establishes a relationship that is often
inconsistent, that shifts inappropriately at more than a few
points.
Development: The writer develops three to five main
claims which are supported adequately via research. The
argument concedes when necessary and the argument
includes the writer’s academic voice to carry the reader
from point to point.
For the most part, the writer develops three to five main
points although some may lack backing. In some places,
the writer fails to include his or her own voice to help
transition between points.
The writer generally fails to develop three to five main
points. The research given does not support the argument.
There is no writer’s voice to carry the reader from point to
point.
Organization: The research paper has a clear thesis which
maps the rest of the paper. The main points follow in a
logical order. The introduction acts to entice the reader to
move forward and the conclusion answers, “so what?”
The research paper has a thesis, but it does not direct the
paper in all parts. A few elements appear in places that
weaken the writer’s purpose, or unnecessary repetition may
detract from a reader’s sense of coherence.
The research paper is organized in a manner generally
inappropriate for a logical argument. The thesis does not
guide the paper. Unnecessary repetition detracts from a
reader’s sense of coherence.
Research: The writer has used academic and reliable
sources which relate to the topic. They are integrated into
the paper to help strengthen the writer’s voice. The sources
are cited correctly in MLA format.
The writer has used one academic source and a few reliable
sources which relate to the topic. They are integrated into
the paper, but in some parts they do not help strengthen the
writer’s argument. The sources are cited correctly most of
the time in MLA format.
The writer has used no academic sources and many
unreliable sources. The sources may not relate to the topic.
The sources are not integrated with the writer’s voice and
they do not help strengthen the argument. In many places
the sources are not cited correctly in MLA format.
Style: The prose is engaging, clear, and coherent. Word
choice is appropriate and academic, and sentences
generally flow from one to another. Transitions between
paragraphs are effective.
The prose is generally clear and coherent. Word choice is
generally appropriate, but a few inappropriate words
weaken the prose. A few sets of sentences may be choppy,
disrupting flow.
The prose is unclear in more than a couple of places. It
may also be choppy in more than a few places.
Readability: The prose is free of distracting errors in
grammar, mechanics, and spelling.
Although the prose is free of sentence-level errors (e.g.
comma splices, fused sentences, fragments) it may contain
a few obvious mechanical or spelling errors.
The prose contains distracting sentence-level errors. It may
also contain more than a few obvious mechanical or
spelling errors.
Revision: Substantial revision has taken place in between
all drafts.
A good amount of revision has been done between one set
of drafts (i.e. from draft one to draft two, but not from draft
two to draft three).
No apparent revision has taken place.