Genres, Voices, and
Thoughts
Research Projects with a Creative
Twist
Kerri Harris
North Star of Texas Writing Project
Teacher Consultant
Keller ISD
What is Multigenre Research?
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A student selects a topic.
Research is conducted: collecting information,
synthesizing it, and presenting it in a written format.
Instead of one long expository piece of writing, the
information is presented within a number of creative
pieces – poetry, diary entries, lists, artwork, graphics,
news articles, and recipes – imaginative writing based
on real facts.
Also, this type of writing does not begin with a working
thesis. The underlying theme of the paper is merely
suggested – like a common thread that runs through
the whole piece of writing and keeps it all cohesive.
A Teacher’s Guide to the Multigenre Research Project
Melinda Putz, 2006
Seven Reasons for Choosing Multigenre Research
Projects Over Traditional Research Projects
Number 7: “The blending of research and creativity seems especially fitting for
adolescents who have a need to express themselves in ways different from adults and
yet have a need to show what they’ve learned.” -Margaret Moulton, teacher
Number 6: “One of our top students told me that this was the best thing she had done
all year and that she wouldn’t let me keep it.” -Ellen Goldfinch, librarian
Number 5: “Each genre offers ways of seeing and understanding that others do not.
The world is perceived through multiple genres. They shape our seeing.” -Tom
Romano, author of Blending Genre, Altering Style: Writing Multigenre Papers
Number 4: “Sometimes what we write needs to be answered. Sometimes the truth of
one genre needs to be counterbalanced by the truth of another.” - Tom Romano
Number 3: “I want more than exposure; I want immersion. I want students to travel the
territory of a concept, to get to know its geography.” -Tom Romano
Number 2: “Narrative knowing shows. We read a novel and leave the world. We read
a poem and feel a sharp, emotional surge. We see a painting and meld into it.” -Tom
Romano
And the Number 1 reason why teachers should use the Multigenre Research Project as
stated by Ellen Goldfinch …
“Students find it fun to research, and teachers find it
fascinating to read!”
Bored with the quality of research papers your students have been
turning in? Tired of reading papers that sound like a thesaurus threw
up on the words that students plagiarized? Have you been using the
same research assignment with your students for so long that the
edges of your
original
copy
yellowed
cracked
Well,
have we
gothave
a deal
for you! and
It’s the
handy,with age?
dandy…
Just look at what teachers and students are saying about
our product!
So try us out today and discover how, by using different genres to
grammatically illustrate the facts on a topic, you too can help put some
meat on the dusty bones of the traditional research paper.
From the Kitchen of: Tom
Yields:
Romano
Students and teachers who are no longer bored with research!
Recipe: The
Multigenre Research Paper
This recipe was brought about by the boredom and confusion of students while they researched topics given to
them by their teachers. When teachers noticed that all the papers left a bad taste in their mouths, they discovered
that research papers needed a little spice!
Ingredients:
1 self-chosen topic with special
meaning
2–5 resources for topic
2–3 weeks of research time
6–10 genres related to topic (see
attached Shopping List)
1 opener that introduces the reader
to the paper
1 repetend to link crots together
1 page of end notes
1 Research Journal for experiments
and metacognition
Pinches of voice, organization, love
for chosen topic, conventions, word
choice, and fluency
Procedure:
1. Toss around several ideas
in your mind that would
be fun to research. Once
the topic rises to the top,
rinse it off and peel away
the layers of until you
discover why you want to
learn more about it.
2. Tap into as many resources
as you can find that tell
you more about the topic.
3. Carefully sift your resources
together until you get just
the right consistency of
background and character
to help you pick you
genres.
Serving Suggestion: Serve with lots of color,
creativity, and
passion. Before turning it in to a teacher or reading for a
presentation, package it nicely in a theme wrapper that represents
your topic.
4. Choose six to ten
genres that you feel
comfortable using. Have
fun with your selections
and don’t use more than
one of each kind. This
tends to over-power your
creation with two much of
one kind of flavor and will
leave the reader with a
lingering taste of
monotony.
5. Lightly whisk in a
repetend to unify your
creation into something
that any reader can follow
and understand. The
deeper the symbolism, the
better the taste!
6. After finishing the above
steps, scatter in the end
Traditional Genres
Wills
Requisitions
Email messages
Letters
Bumper stickers
Definitions
Campaign speeches
Magazine articles
Fairy tales
Birth announcements
Memos
Catalogs
Newscasts
Magazine covers
Questionnaires
Notes to or from the
Obituaries
teacher
driver’s license
Advertisements
Book jackets
Song lyrics
Greeting cards
Postcards
TV commercials
Class notes
Telegrams
Radio shows
Leases
Schedules
Shopping lists
Contracts
Tickets
Timelines
Parodies
Editorials
News releases
Police reports
Prayers
Medical records
Brochures
Bulletins
Manifestos
Diaries
Laboratory notes
Surveys
Invitations
Pamphlets
Resumes
Fiction
Tattoos
Family trees
Encyclopedia entries
Dedications
Epitaphs
Crossword puzzles
Poems
Cartoons/comic strips
Daily schedules
Menus
Advice columns
Diplomas
Eulogies
In his book, Blending Genre, Altering
Style: Writing Multigenre Papers, Tom
Romano defines a multigenre paper as a
paper that, “…arises from research,
experience, and imagination. A multigenre
paper is composed of many genres and
subgenres, each piece self-contained,
making a point of its own, yet connected
by theme or topic and sometimes by
language, images, and content. In
addition to many genres, a multigenre
Traditional Genres
Wills
Requisitions
Email messages
Letters
Bumper stickers
Definitions
Campaign speeches
Magazine articles
Fairy tales
Birth announcements
Memos
Catalogs
Newscasts
Magazine covers
Questionnaires
Notes to or from the
Obituaries
teacher
driver’s license
Advertisements
Book jackets
Song lyrics
Greeting cards
Postcards
TV commercials
Class notes
Telegrams
Radio shows
Leases
Schedules
Shopping lists
Contracts
Tickets
Timelines
Parodies
Editorials
News releases
Police reports
Prayers
Medical records
Brochures
Bulletins
Manifestos
Diaries
Laboratory notes
Surveys
Invitations
Pamphlets
Resumes
Fiction
Tattoos
Family trees
Encyclopedia entries
Dedications
Epitaphs
Crossword puzzles
Poems
Cartoons/comic strips
Daily schedules
Menus
Advice columns
Diplomas
Eulogies
So… How Do I Teach Voice?
Jerry Seinfeld
Anthony Browne
Doreen Cronin
Patricia
MacLachlan
Jackie
French
Animal Diaries
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Pick your favorite animal, but don’t tell anyone
what you picked.
Since writing with voice helps to bring out the
emotion of the author, write a diary entry in
your animal’s voice about an event that made
him/her:
Angry
Shocked
Confused
Jealous
Disappointed
Ecstatic
Isolated/Lonely
Cherished
What are Thoughtshots and How Do I Teach
Them to My Students?
Flashback Thoughtshot:
She remembered the day he came through
the door the first time. He was only a little
boy then…
Flash-Ahead Thoughtshot:
She thought about her options. She could
go there and pretend it never happened.
She could tell him everything. She could
buy a plane ticket to Bermuda with the
money…
Internal Monologue or Dialogue:
There was no way she could do it. She knew that, but still
her feet kept moving, one step after another. She thought
about why she was doing this but there was no way she
Look at the pictures on the next slides.
Pretend you are one of the people in the
picture. What was the person thinking at
the moment the picture was taken? What
kinds of thoughts were running through
the minds of the individuals? Was there
something off-camera that we can’t see?
What are the opinions of the people in the
picture about the other people in the
picture? Write down the thoughtshot (2-3
sentences) that could have occurred for
Put ‘em All Together and What Do
You Get?
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A Diary of the Alamo by Jim Bowie
A Diary of My Greatest Victory by Santa Anna
The Goliad Gazzette with headliners such as: Massacre Mania,
Interview with Coleto, and The Battle Blues
Texas ABC Books: Every letter of the alphabet representing
something about Texas with a requirement for at least a certain
amount of voices, thoughtshots, and genres.
A Day In The Life Of a Karankawa Indian
The Top Ten Greatest Inventions: Each section has to include
the voice of the inventor and the descriptions are presented in
different genres.
Math Doesn’t Suck: A User’s Guide for Surviving 7th Grade
Algebra
TEKS
Grade 7 Writing
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Writing/purposes. The student writes for a variety of
audiences and purposes and in a variety of forms. 15A-H
Writing/evaluation. The student evaluates his/her own
writing and the writings of others. 19A-I
Writing/inquiry/research. The student uses writing as a
tool for learning and research. 20A-G
Viewing/representing/interpretation. The student
understands and interprets visual images, messages, and
meanings. 22A-C
Bibliography
Goldfinch, Ellen (2003).A match made in heaven: The multigenre
project marries imagination and research skills. Library Media
Connection. 21, 26-28.
Moulton, Margaret R. (1999).The multigenre paper: Increasing
interest, motivation, and functionality in research. Journal of
Adolescent and Adult Literacy. 42, 528-539.
Putz, Melinda (2006). A teacher's guide to the multigenre research project:
Everything you need to get started. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Romano, Tom (2000). Blending genre, altering style: Writing multigenre
papers . Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.