GettingStartedWithMultiGenre

Getting Started with the MultiGenre Essay Here are some suggestions for things to write about as you begin the multigenre essay. You might want to begin by freewriting, or it may be helpful to write in a particular genre. Try writing a dialogue or a letter.

**KEY MOMENTS** Write about key moments, both bright and dark, those moments that characters carry forever. Be specific. Identify specific actual moments, not long stretches of time. Not “my trip to Germany after graduation,” but “on the bus leaving Heidelberg when my moody traveling companion slept beside me while I stared out the window at the Black Forest.” Not “the day my grandfather died,” but “sitting beside his bed watching his labored breathing.”
 * The moment Kennedy is assassinated in a paper about JFK.
 * Pulling a quarter from behind my ear in a paper about my grandfather.
 * The moment you got caught shoplifting in a paper about family stories.

**CENTRAL ACTS** Write about the central activities and processes that were part of your characters’ lives.
 * Making pie crust in a paper about your grandmother.
 * Developing film in a paper about photography.
 * Doing homework in a paper about ADHD.

**CRUCIAL THINGS** Write about an object, a tangible thing, or an idea that is crucial in your subject’s life.
 * The time clock in a paper about work.
 * Your dad’s fishing boat in a paper about your family.
 * A report card in a paper about school.

**MEANINGFUL PLACES** Write about places of importance in your topic.
 * The Black Hills in a paper about Crazy Horse.
 * The dugout in a paper about baseball.
 * Inside a Volkswagen bus in a paper about the Hippie era.
 * The makeup counter in a paper about working in a department store.

Think about people who may have a perspective on your topic and write about your topic from different points of view.
 * POINTS OF VIEW**
 * The point of view of the teacher, the parents, and the child, and a politician in a paper about No Child Left Behind.
 * The point of view of the customer, the waitress, and the manager in a paper about working at a restaurant.

Think of genres related to your topic and write in those.
 * GENRES**
 * Report card, textbook, letter from the teacher, and newsletter in a paper about school.