OrganizingTheMultiGenreEssay

=Organizing the Multigenre Essay=

Organizing the multigenre essay can be challenging. Incorporating multiple genres can create abrupt shifts. You may not have transitions between sections. So the multigenre will not flow like a typical essay. Nevertheless, abrupt transitions and breaks can be used to your advantage, because juxtaposing genres can create interesting contrasts.

While the essay may have a different kind of flow from writing you are more used to, it will still be important to create a sense of unity, coherence, and meaningful order. Unity means that the essay is about one thing; even though we may be exploring the subject from multiple perspectives, readers can grasp the subject of the essay. There a number of ways to create unity, which are discussed below. Coherence means that the essay hangs together; readers can understand the relationship between parts. In addition, the genres should be arranged in a meaningful order. The first genre of the essay is especially important, because it establishes the voice and introduces the theme of the essay.

Here are some suggestions for creating unity and coherence.

Repetition
There are many ways to use repetition, which is one of the most important unifying elements of the multigenre essay. You can repeat genres (e.g., diary entries), you can repeat images, and you can repeat important words or phrases. "Surviving Your Freshman Year" repeats emails and "college tips."

You can also think about using repetition with a difference, for example by writing about the same thing in two different genres. Think of writing about the same event from two different points of view.

Sections
Divide the essay into sections, using numbers and/or headings. See [|Music and Life: How Rhythm Changes Lives], which is divided into three sections.

Narrative
Telling a story is probably the easiest way to create a sense of purpose and coherence. If you use narrative, think about how your story can build to a climax. Your story will probably be more interesting if it has a turning point, if something changes from the beginning to the end of the story. Even if you are not telling a story in your essay, you might think about using some of the elements of narrative, such as giving your essay a turning point.

Organizing Metaphor or Motif
Using a metaphor can be a powerful way to organize an essay, but it takes a little creativity. For example, an essay about the writer's experience working as a waitress was organized as a menu. An essay about "coming out" was organized as a rule book, with 10 rules for coming out, each rule being followed by a piece in a different genre. An essay about fairweather fans used weekly football scores during an NFL season as an organizing motif.