Can I make up information for my genogram if I don't know my family history?

Talk to your professor first. Most are understanding about gaps in family knowledge, especially for adopted students or those estranged from family. You can usually mark unknown information with question marks. Some professors allow you to use a fictional family or a case study family instead.

What symbols do I need to use on my genogram?

Use standard McGoldrick genogram symbols: squares for males, circles for females, horizontal lines for marriages, vertical lines for children, X through a symbol for deceased, and diagonal lines through marriage lines for divorce. Your textbook (likely McGoldrick, Gerson & Petry) has the full symbol key.

Your Genogram Assignment Is Due Tomorrow: A Survival Guide

First: breathe. A genogram looks intimidating, but it's essentially a family tree with extra notation. If you can remember who your grandparents are and whether your parents are still married, you have enough information to pass this assignment. The rest is symbols and formatting.

This guide assumes you're starting from scratch with limited time. No theory lectures, no history of Murray Bowen — just the practical steps to get a genogram done and submitted before your deadline.

What Your Professor Actually Wants

Before you do anything, re-read your assignment prompt. Professors have specific requirements, and missing one is the fastest way to lose points. That said, here's what almost every genogram assignment requires:

The Standard Requirements

3 generations minimum — you, your parents, and your grandparents
Standard symbols — squares for males, circles for females (not hearts, stars, or stick figures)
Relationship lines between all couples (married, divorced, separated)
Emotional overlays if it's a family therapy class (close, distant, conflictual, etc.)
Your name and date on the document
A legend/key explaining all symbols used

If your assignment says “include medical history” or “include cultural factors,” that's an additional layer. But the structure above is your foundation. Get that right first.

The 90-Minute Plan

Here's your timed game plan. Set a timer on your phone for each segment. Don't let perfectionism slow you down — done is better than perfect at 10pm.

Your Timeline

Minutes 0-15: Gather Information

Call or text your parents. You need: names, birth years (approximate is fine), marriage dates, divorce dates, deaths, and number of siblings for each generation.

- Text your mom/dad: “Quick question for school — when were grandma and grandpa born/married?”
- Check Facebook for birth dates you've forgotten
- Write everything on a scratch paper or notes app — just names and dates in a list
- If you can't reach family, use approximate years. “Born ~1955” is fine.

Minutes 15-30: Draw Basic Structure

Open your tool of choice. Build the skeleton: 3 generations, everyone placed correctly.

- Start with grandparents at the top (both sides)
- Add your parents in the middle row, connected by marriage line
- Add yourself and siblings on the bottom row
- Add aunts/uncles and their spouses
- Don't add any details yet — just the shapes and vertical/horizontal lines

Minutes 30-60: Add Details

Now layer in the information that turns a family tree into a genogram.

- Add names and birth years to each person
- Mark deceased members (X through the symbol)
- Add relationship lines: marriage (solid), divorce (// through line), separation (single /)
- Add medical conditions if required (diabetes, cancer, heart disease, mental health diagnoses)
- Mark substance abuse issues if required

Minutes 60-80: Emotional Overlays (If Required)

Only if your assignment specifically asks for relationship patterns:

- Close relationships: double solid line
- Enmeshed: triple solid line
- Distant: dotted line
- Conflictual: zigzag line
- Cutoff: line with break marks
- Focus on the most significant 5-8 relationships, not every possible pair

Minutes 80-90: Polish and Export

The finishing touches that separate a B from an A:

- Add a legend/key explaining every symbol you used
- Add your name, date, and course number
- Check alignment — make sure generations are on the same horizontal level
- Export as PDF (not screenshot, not JPEG)
- Open the PDF and verify it looks correct before submitting

The 5 Mistakes That Cost Students Points

These are the errors that show up over and over in student genograms. Avoiding them is the easiest way to improve your grade.

Using random shapes instead of standard symbols

Hearts for women, stars for children, different colors for different people — this isn't a genogram, it's a scrapbook. Genograms have standardized notation (McGoldrick, Gerson, & Petry). Squares = male, circles = female. Always. Your professor knows the standard and expects you to follow it.

Forgetting the legend/key

Even if you use perfect standard notation, include a legend. It shows your professor you know what the symbols mean, not just that you copied them. Plus, if you use any non-standard additions (like color coding), the legend is the only way your professor can interpret them.

Only showing 2 generations

Just you and your parents isn't enough. The whole point of a genogram is to reveal multigenerational patterns. Three generations is the standard minimum. If you genuinely don't know your grandparents' information, include them with question marks — it shows you understand the requirement.

No relationship lines (just floating symbols)

A genogram without relationship lines is just a list of family members drawn as shapes. The lines — marriage, divorce, parent-child, emotional bonds — are what make it a genogram instead of a family tree. Every couple needs a horizontal line. Every child needs a vertical line from the parent couple.

Submitting a blurry screenshot instead of a PDF

This one is so common it hurts. You finish your genogram, take a screenshot, and submit it. The result: a pixelated image where your professor can't read the names, the relationship lines are blurry, and the legend is illegible. Always export as PDF. If your tool doesn't support PDF export, use PNG at the highest resolution possible.

Tools Ranked by Speed

When you're working against a deadline, speed matters. Here's how the available tools stack up for getting a genogram done fast:

1. GenogramAI — Fastest Option

~30 min

Describe your family in plain text, and the AI generates the initial structure. Then you refine: adjust positions, add emotional overlays, customize details. The AI does 70% of the work. You do the last 30%. Includes all standard symbols, auto-generates legends, and exports to PDF. This is the tool we make — yes, we're biased, but the speed advantage is real.

2. Paper + Scan — The Classic

~90 min

Grab graph paper, a ruler, and a pencil with a good eraser. Draw your genogram by hand, then scan it (phone scanner apps like Adobe Scan work fine). The upside: no software learning curve. The downside: one mistake means a lot of erasing, and it's hard to make it look clean. Some professors prefer hand-drawn genograms. Check before you go digital.

3. PowerPoint / Keynote — Template-Based

~2-3 hrs

Download a genogram template and manually place each symbol. This works if you already know PowerPoint well. The problem: every symbol is a separate shape that you position by hand. Moving one thing breaks the alignment of everything else. Fine for a simple 3-generation genogram, painful for anything complex.

4. Canva — Workaround

~3+ hrs

Canva can technically create something that looks like a genogram, but it has no genogram-specific tools. No standard symbols, no proper relationship lines, no legend generator. You'll spend most of your time recreating things that dedicated tools include by default. Not recommended unless it's literally the only tool you have access to.

5. Hand-Drawn + Phone Photo

~60 min

The absolute minimum viable submission. Draw it neatly on blank white paper, photograph it in good lighting, and submit the image. This is only acceptable if your professor explicitly allows hand-drawn submissions. The photo quality matters — use a scanner app, not just your camera. Flatten the paper, get even lighting, crop the edges.

If You Need to Write an Analysis Paper Too

Many genogram assignments come with a companion paper — a 3-5 page analysis of the patterns you identified. If that's part of your assignment, you need a strategy for that too.

The good news: the genogram does most of the analytical work for you. Once you can see your family mapped out visually, the patterns become obvious. Look for: repeated relationship types across generations (are there multiple divorces?), medical or mental health conditions that appear in multiple family members, roles that recur (is there always a “caretaker” in each generation?), and emotional cutoffs or enmeshment patterns.

For a detailed guide on writing the analysis paper, see our genogram analysis paper guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to make a genogram for a class assignment?

With an AI-assisted tool like GenogramAI, you can have a complete 3-generation genogram in 30-60 minutes. Hand-drawing takes 2-3 hours for a clean result. Using general-purpose tools like PowerPoint or Canva typically takes 2-4 hours because you're building everything from scratch. Budget extra time if your assignment requires emotional overlays or a written analysis.

How many generations should my genogram include?

Check your syllabus first — the answer is almost always specified. The standard minimum is 3 generations (you, parents, grandparents). Some courses require 4 generations. If it's not specified, 3 generations is a safe default that demonstrates you understand multigenerational patterns.

Can I make up information if I don't know my family history?

Talk to your professor before making anything up. Most are understanding about gaps — especially for students who are adopted, estranged from family, or from families where history wasn't shared. Common accommodations include using a fictional family from a case study or textbook, using a famous family, or creating your genogram with known information and marking unknowns with question marks.

What symbols do I need to use?

Use the McGoldrick standard: squares for males, circles for females, triangles for pregnancies, X through a symbol for deceased, horizontal lines for marriages, double slash for divorce, and vertical lines connecting parents to children. Your textbook has the complete symbol reference — most programs use Genograms: Assessment and Treatment by McGoldrick, Gerson, and Petry.

Related Resources

Genogram Assignment Help
Genograms for Graduate Students
How to Make a Genogram — comprehensive tutorial
Genogram Templates — ready-to-use starting points