A Multigenre Reflection and Portfolio

Weaving the Tapestry of Our Life
Essay #4
A Multigenre Reflection and Portfolio

A Strong Finish to the Semester

A multigenre paper arises from research, experience, and imagination. It is not an uninterrupted, expository monolog nor a seamless narrative nor a collection of poems. 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. . . . The trick is to make such a paper hang together.
--Tom Romano, Blending Genre, Altering Style

The last major writing assignment for the semester will be a multigenre paper consisting of several interrelated parts, as described below. The central piece of this paper will be a straightforward academic essay in which you prove what you have learned this semester about sociology and good writing. The other parts will allow you more freedom to be creative. However, the parts must be woven together into a coherent and interesting whole that adds up to a clear picture of your learning and growth this semester. It might be helpful to compare this paper to the Thanksgiving feast in which you may have recently participated.

Note: You will use personal pronouns throughout this paper, in much the same way that you did in the I-Search paper, showing what you discovered, even though the center of your paper will be an academic analysis of Tortilla Curtain.

The appetizer—your introduction
Your audience is your instructors, your classmates, CGCC President Maria Hesse, and anyone who might have read the attached recent article in The Arizona Republic, “Colleges Offering Degrees but No Insight.” Establish your purpose for your readers, along with your credibility (ethos). Give your readers good reasons for being interested in what is to follow, and let them know what to expect. Bear in mind that even though this is the appetizer, you will work on it throughout the process of writing this paper, but probably won’t put the finishing touches until you have completed the rest of the parts (just before your dinner guests arrive).

The toast or blessing—your original poem
Through poetry you will express how you have been changed, what you have learned from the experience we just shared. You must understand that this is NOT your opportunity to butter up your instructors. Instead, use the poetic form that allows you tremendous freedom but also requires that you express an important insight as concisely as possible. It is essential that you write small, even tiny. Big ideas are best expressed this way, rather than in sweeping terms (i.e., boring).

The main course--analysis of Tortilla Curtain
You will analyze Boyle’s novel with regard to social issues: homelessness, poverty, social stratification (including racism, stereotyping, discrimination, dominant ideology, egocentrism, ethnocentrism). This part should be written in perfect academic prose—don’t get too creative with the meal, but instead stick to the traditional turkey. We are looking for persuasive writing and extremely in-depth thinking about the book and how it links to sociology. You must cover the following:

A strong thesis statement. (You don’t want to leave your reader thinking, “So what?”) Your thesis might answer the question, “Why was Tortilla Curtain a good book for our learning community that combines English and Sociology? Convince your reader.
Concentrating on Delaney, demonstrate how his character illustrates the functionalist perspective. Be specific, using several examples of dialogue, behavior, and symbols, that illustrate the variables and rationale inherent in this perspective. Show the change that Delaney goes through and how his experience reflects not only dominant ideology but also our own experience, as we are all subject to the enculturation process.
Do the same as above, focusing on Candido, and showing how his experience demonstrates conflict theory. Concepts you should cover include exploitation, discrimination, false consciousness and self-fulfilling prophecy. Again, write small and include many examples of dialogue, behavior, and symbols.
In a Rogerian manner, deal with opposing views to your thesis statement.
You must also revise extensively one of your responses to the novel. Be sure and include the previous draft of your responses with instructor’s comments. Make your response indicative of your best writing and thinking.
Conclude this section by showing your reader how the behavior of the two characters, Delaney and Candido, are inherent in the main sociological perspectives. Finally, moving from micro to macro, leave us with a strong sense of how this behavior that is so indicative of the perspectives affects society.

The dessert—your personal story
How have you affected our learning community, and how have you been affected by it? Use your initial letter to show how you have changed. You will need to determine which method of development will be predominant in your explanation—comparison/contrast, process analysis, causal analysis, or persuasion/argumentation. Your personal perspective must include what has gone on inside your head and heart, but must also tie in with various aspects of the class, including service learning, speakers, activities. Consider how the messages of Boyle and Kingsolver’s books have enhanced your learning. Look for interesting parallels.

The game—a cartoon
This can be a political cartoon that illustrates a significant point about a social issue, or a cartoon you create, possibly about our learning community, in good taste of course.

The farewell—conclusion
Tie all the parts together. Make your guests (audience/readers) leave feeling that they have had a significant experience.