The so-called traditional research paper has been a staple for middle and high school students for years. But recent criticism has pushed some teachers to make changes including a unique variation: the multigenre paper. This type of paper requires students to research a topic using all the tools of research available. Students will typically research a person, but may choose events, eras, or other subjects. The research paper is presented in a multigenre format. In other words, the research the student does comes alive with artifacts, articles, letters, journal entries, etc. instead of “unoriginal writings” or “clip and stitch” as typical research papers have been called.
The problem with this new format is that this is new territory for research papers. It is more unstructured and is hard to create a model of one. Because of the unstructured nature of the multigenre paper, students have to think about their research and interpret it from not only their point of view but from the time period as well. Creativity is also necessary.
All in all, multigenre papers are a definite step in the right direction from the traditional research paper. Also, the format may be hard for students to grasp at first. The end result, however, shows that students enjoy and research and gain so much more from the experience.
3 Questions
How exactly would the teacher create a grading scale for a project that seems to be so open ended? Would teachers have a standard for students to follow in order to earn a certain grade?
When would it be a good idea to implement the switch from the traditional paper to a multigenre research paper? Should students even need to be taught or expected to produce a traditional research paper? Is a multigenre paper the way to go from the start?
Will the concept of a multigenre paper be hard for some students to grasp? This format really does require some out of the box thinking and some students find that to be a challenge. Or, is this format good for that very reason? So much of schooling requires little to no out of the box thinking. Perhaps this format will jump start students to be more creative thinkers.
June 2, 2008 at 11:04 pm |
You raise some good points Katie. I am at a loss for words for once in my life.
Jennifer Roberts
June 6, 2008 at 10:36 pm |
I think trying these project with students would be a step in the right direction. Once you try it, then you decide if you really like or dislike the project.