Your privacy choices

KiwiBee uses optional Google Analytics, Google Ads, and Meta Pixel cookies to understand adult visitors, measure completed sign-ups, and improve campaigns. Essential cookies always stay on. OpenAI’s ChatGPT Ads Pixel also measures page views and completed enquiries after advertising consent, and may use hashed contact details for matching. Privacy policy

Skip to main content

Author / Genre Study Template

1 pagePrintable PDFScroll to explore
Blank printable author and genre study template with sections for author bio or genre definition, book titles, themes, writing style, and personal reflection

An author and genre study template provides a flexible blank frame students use to collect and organize observations about a specific author's body of work or a literary genre as a whole. Sections cover biographical notes or genre definition, a list of titles read, recurring themes or conventions, writing style observations, and a personal reflection. Students in grades 2–7 complete it over the course of a multi-week study as they read several books by the same author or multiple texts in one genre. Teachers use it to make abstract literary concepts—voice, tone, genre conventions—concrete by anchoring them to real books students have read. The open-field design means it works equally well for a picture-book author like Mo Willems, a middle-grade novelist like Rick Riordan, a poetry collection, or a genre unit on historical fiction. Print one per student at the start of the unit and add to it over time.

Learning objectives

  • Identify patterns in an author's style, themes, and choices across multiple texts
  • Define the conventions and hallmarks of a specific literary genre
  • Connect biographical or contextual information to an author's writing
  • Synthesize observations from multiple books into coherent written conclusions
  • Develop critical reading lenses that transfer to new texts
  • Practice note-taking and evidence collection over an extended reading period

How to use this template

  1. Print one template per student at the start of the author or genre unit.
  2. Fill in the author's name or genre title at the top, then add biographical notes or a genre definition in the first section.
  3. As each book is read, add its title to the titles list and jot observations in the style and themes fields.
  4. After reading three or more texts, complete the comparison and personal reflection sections.
  5. Use the finished template as notes for a final presentation, essay, or discussion.

Classroom & home ideas

  • Launch a month-long author study by reading one book per week and updating the template after each read-aloud.
  • Assign individual genre studies for book clubs so each group studies a different genre and then teaches the class.
  • Have students use completed templates as the backbone of a five-paragraph author study essay.
  • Create a class wall display where each student's template covers a different author, forming a literary reference board.
  • Use in a media literacy unit by applying the genre-study fields to graphic novels, podcasts, or film genres.

Frequently asked questions

How many books should students read before completing the template?

Aim for at least two books for a shorter unit or three to five for a deeper study. The patterns and comparisons become richer with more texts, but two is enough to start noticing an author's recurring choices.

What is the difference between using this for an author study versus a genre study?

For an author study, students focus on one person's voice, themes, and biography across multiple titles. For a genre study, they focus on shared conventions, tropes, and structures across books by different authors. The same template fields accommodate both.

Can second-graders use this template independently?

With teacher modeling and shared writing support, yes. In grades 2–3, complete the first sections together as a class, then have students fill in the personal reflection and title list on their own as independent practice.

Is this template reusable for a new author or genre the following semester?

Yes—print a fresh copy for each new unit. Keep completed copies in a reading portfolio so students can compare their growing analytical vocabulary from one study to the next.

More worksheets like this

Likes & comments

See what other teachers think and share a helpful note.

Loading likes and comments…
Worksheet Studio

Need a different version? Make your own.

Generate a fresh worksheet for any grade, topic and language. Free.

Open Worksheet Studio