Week 13 Agenda: Choosing a Genre and Finding a Mentor Text

Brown and beige brick wall with a cement base decorated iwth white, blue, and red square tiles that look like an alien from a vintage video game
“alien eyes” by John Keogh via Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0


Monday, 11/21 (asynchronous, work due on our class site by 11:59 pm)

  • Think about the audience with whom you would like to share your research and why. Then, think about which genres make most sense for your audience and purpose.
  • After thinking about your possible choices, choose the genre you will use for Unit 3
  • Find a mentor text (example) for the genre you will work in. Read, annotate/take notes about, and post a link to google doc that has your mentor text and annotations/notes.
  • In your post, in addition to naming your genre and including a link to your google doc, also write a down several traits (at least six) that seem specific to the genre you have chosen and list them. Here are some examples of what you might look for:
    • Are the paragraphs long or short? How long is the overall piece?
    • Is imagery used?
    • From what point of view is the piece written? 
    • Is there dialogue or is just one person talking? 
    • What is the tone and purpose? 
    • How is it organized?
    • Where is your genre found? What kind of place/publication?
    • Consider who created the piece (a scholar? a reporter? a creative writer? a child? etc.)
    • Quote one sentence from your sample that you think is effective, and explain why you chose it.
  • Before publishing your post, make sure you do the following:
    • Title it “Unit 3: Choosing a Genre and Mentor Text”
    • Pick the category “Unit 3 Work”
    • Then publish the post
  • Begin drafting your Unit 3 assignment


Wednesday, 11/23 (in-person session at City Tech)

  • Bring an annotated copy of your Unit 3 mentor text to class and any part of Unit 3 you have drafted. Come prepared to work on drafting Unit 3.