Multigenre Multigenre InvestigationsInvestigations

Multigenre Multigenre InvestigationsInvestigations

by Ryan and Melisa Perlmanby Ryan and Melisa Perlmanby Ryan and Melisa Perlmanby Ryan and Melisa Perlman

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Multigenre pushes convention,challenges "This is the way writing is done,"and "Hey, wait a minute, you can't do thatin a piece of writing." 

Multigenre speaks, "How come I read imaginativeliterature but I have to write about it in an essaythat is thesis driven, argumentative, and exactlyfive you-know-whats (each you-know-what, of course,of the 3.8 variety), an essay in which the writeroverpowers readers, beats theminto submission, and concludeswith a summative you-know-what that restates the thesis?" Not that there's anything wrong with that.

But writing that way is not what multigenre is about. Multigenre removes the lid of Pandora's Rhetorical Box.Multigenre twirls you and spins you and you hope the stepsthe writer asks you to follow lead to fulfillment. Multigenre knows that feeling is first. Multigenre grooves on pulse, has flushed cheeks,hair on the back of the neck that stands on end. Multigenre makes readers sit up in their chairs. Multigenre is not roast beef; it is ciappino. It is less like mashed potatoes,and more like red beans and rice.

           

A poem by Tom Romano, the multigenre guru

So what is “multigenre”?So what is “multigenre”?So what is “multigenre”?So what is “multigenre”?

“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 paper may also contain many voices, not just the author's. The trick is to make such a paper hang together.”

~ Tom Romano, from Bending Genre, Altering Style

Why Use Multigenre?Why Use Multigenre?Why Use Multigenre?Why Use Multigenre?

Taps into student creativity and imagination

Uses analysis and synthesis skills

Exercises multiple intelligences

Promotes intellectual curiosity

Expands a student’s comfort zone

Meets standards in writing, reading, and research

Taps into student creativity and imagination

Uses analysis and synthesis skills

Exercises multiple intelligences

Promotes intellectual curiosity

Expands a student’s comfort zone

Meets standards in writing, reading, and research

What Constitutes What Constitutes Multigenre?Multigenre?

What Constitutes What Constitutes Multigenre?Multigenre?

Almost anything that requires writing:Poetry and songs

Journals, diary entries, blogs, tweets,

Short Stories

Resumes

Pamphlets

Transcripts

Letters

Greeting cards, postcards,

Picture books, comics, storyboards

Charts and graphs

Magazine, tv, radio, internet advertisement

Receipts, To Do lists, How-to

Almost anything that requires writing:Poetry and songs

Journals, diary entries, blogs, tweets,

Short Stories

Resumes

Pamphlets

Transcripts

Letters

Greeting cards, postcards,

Picture books, comics, storyboards

Charts and graphs

Magazine, tv, radio, internet advertisement

Receipts, To Do lists, How-to

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The Great GatsbyThe Great Gatsby Examples ExamplesThe Great GatsbyThe Great Gatsby Examples Examples

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