The Multigenre Research Project

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The Multi-genre Research Project

• Stephanie Noll
• sn19_at_txstate.edu
• 512-245-8026

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What is a multi-genre research project?

• Objectives
• Students will
• Select a topic that is of interest to them
• Analyze online databases to identify applicable
  and credible research
• Decide what genres they will use to represent
  their understanding of their topic

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Why I included a multi-genre research project in
English 1320

• Course expectations
• Past challenges I experienced with a traditional
  research project
• Student engagement/relevance
• Plagiarism
• Uninspired final productsboring grading
• Wanted to take a risk

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Introducing the assignmentalso known as Ill
never do that again.

• Lessons learned
• Provide a shorter, simplified assignment sheet
• Allocate more time for project
• Show several examples
• Break the project into chunks

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Step 1 Select a question

• Why did the United States institute a draft for
  the Vietnam War?
• Did the United States have the right to wage
  war on the Vietnamese?
• Why did so many people protest the Vietnam War?
• How has PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)
  impacted the lives of Vietnam War vets?
• What are similarities and differences between
  soldiers fighting in the Vietnam War and those
  fighting in the current war in Iraq?
• How did guerilla warfare impact the Vietnam War?
• What was the drug culture like among soldiers who
  fought in Vietnam?
• What role did women play in the Vietnam War?
• How did the terrain of Vietnam affect the war?
• How did the Southern Vietnamese treat the US
  soldiers?
• What were the medical facilities like for the
  soldiers in Vietnam?
• What did it mean to be a conscientious objector
  of the Vietnam War?

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Step 2 Write a mini-essay

• Select a story/chapter from The Things They
  Carried that relates to the question you want to
  answer. Use textual evidence to demonstrate how
  the story relates to the overall thesis of your
  project.

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Step 3 Research

• You will need to access Texas States online
  catalog.
• Go to www.txstate.edu
• Under the About Texas State heading, click
  Library.
• You can then search under Catalog,(you would
  search by subject, most likely), Database,(some
  good ones to try are Newsbank Retrospective,
  InfoTrac, Ebsco, Thomas Gale, LexisNexis)
  Periodical List, (US News and World Report,
  Newsweek, Harpers, The New Yorker) or eBooks
• Use a Boolean search to narrow your topic (look
  at pages 629-632 in the Scott-Foresman Handbook
  for more info)
• Use the Ask a Librarian feature for help
• You may also consult internet news sources such
  as National Public Radio (http//www.npr.org/gt)
  or New York Times (http//www.nytimes.com). DO
  NOT USE GOOGLE OR YAHOO SEARCHES TO DO RESEARCH.

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Step 4 Select a visual genre

• Poster
• Advertisement
• Travel Brochure
• Greeting Card
• Cartoon
• Film
• Visual Display
• Picture/photograph
• Map
• Graph

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Step 4 Select a written genre

• Interview
• Survey Newspaper Article
• Timeline Obituary
• Editorial
• Song Letter to the Editor
• Poem Advice Column
• Short story Magazine Article
• One-act play
• Letter
• Diary entry

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The final product

• Part 1 Introductory paragraph
• Part 2 The Things They Carried essay
• Part 3 The visual piece
• Part 4 The creative piece
• Part 5 An annotated bibliography

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Peer Review and Grading Criteria
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Examples of student work
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Student Feedback
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What is one thing you liked about this project?

• I liked having so much freedom to choose how I
  wanted to represent my research.
• I really like how this project coincided with
  our reading of The Things They Carried.
• I liked all of the different topics to choose
  from and the versatility of the project.
• One of the main things I liked about the project
  was that I got to learn lots of new information
  about Vietnam itself and the drug culture that
  occurred there.
• I liked making my visual piece because it was
  fun and it looks good.
• I liked that the project was well-structured but
  still gave you room to do what you wanted.
• I really liked how we could be creative and that
  it wasnt just like every other paper.

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What is one challenge you faced?

• I found it difficult to keep my topic centered
  around one idea.
• At first I found it difficult to research the
  project using the online databases, but the more
  I played with it, the easier it became.
• I didnt like the fact that we didnt quote the
  research. It made it feel not as important.
• I found it difficult to write The Things They
  Carried essay. I wasnt sure what to write so it
  was challenging.
• I found that the research was the hardest part.
  It was hard to get started because I am so used
  to using Google.
• I didnt like the annotated bibliography. It
  was hard! But probably just because it was
  something new to me.

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Advice for me?

• Give us more time.
• I needed more explanation in the beginning.
• Have an example of the project as a whole,
  because it seemed overwhelming and confusing at
  the beginning.
• I think that you should be more specific with
  the 250-word essay.