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Victoria Moreno
Wilson
Writing 2
3 June 2016
WP3 Final Portfolio
My genre translation consisted of a multi-step process, in which I altered an
academic article discussing the drivers of suicide, into the non-academic genre of a
suicide note. It was interesting to analyze the two distinct genres and find their
distinguishable traits and conventions, but what I had found most engaging was in my
exploration of the rhetorical frameworks in each genre. As I read and analyzed multiple
suicide note examples, I noted the consistencies seen in tonality and word choice,
audience, and intentions. In the article, the intention, word choice, and exigence were also
evident; however each genre used these elements in their own ways to provide two
completely different rhetorical frameworks.
Establishing and recognizing the change in audience was a key part in translating
this article. Each genres audience have significantly different expectations. As you read
an academic article, you have expectations for the strict structure, formal word choice,
and other proper writing elements. A suicide notes audience is quite the contrary, the
structure is not expected to flow eloquently, word choice is usually elementary and often
filled with explicit language or profanity, and ultimately takes its own course in writing
with very few limitations. As mentioned in How to Read Like a Writer, Mike Bunn
states, Depending on the subject matter and the intended audience, it may make sense to
be more or less formal in terms of language (Bunn 80). This further strengthens my

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decisions in adding profanity and informal language in my translation. Sentences in the
suicide note such as, Im fucking depressed. Or as everyone would like to call it hypersensitive are perfect examples of what is allowed in this particular genre, but may
be seen as inappropriate in the academic article. The article may have similar context but
worded something like, a suicidal person may experience depression. These
differences are some of the components that accumulate until the genres are
distinguishable.
Audience also stands as a driver in the intentions of the works and their overall
rhetoric. The article provided facts and information with the purpose of reaching its
audience and educating them on suicide drivers, while my suicide note provided
scatterbrain emotions, with the intent to express a persons last thoughts to their intimate
audiences (those who closely knew the victim). Carroll writes, Another part of the
rhetorical context is audience The audience should be able to respond to the exigence.
In other words, the audience should be able to address the problem (Carroll 49) in her
piece Backpacks Vs. Briefcases. This claim helps to illustrate the ideas that audience is
directly tied to and controlling of intention, what the author wants the audience to get
from reading, and the actions the author expects the reader to do in regards to the writing.
As previously discussed, word choice is relative to genre. But word choice not
only reflects the genre it is written in, but also holds the power to set the tone of a piece.
As I wrote the suicide note I had to imagine the feelings and emotions of a suicidal
person and compile that with the notes I made while reading other examples, in order to
successfully translate the article. In Dirks Navigating Genres he talks about his
experience with a new genre and how he, too, looked up examples of the genre to find the

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common features, particularly the tone. On page 250 he says, in particular, I noticed
the warm, personal style that was prevalent through every essay; the tone was primarily
conversational (Dirk 250). Similar to Dirks experience I noted the common tone
throughout the examples of suicide notes. While writing my translation I tried my best to
imagine the mindset of a suicidal person and run with it.
The article was filled with information regarding suicide and the drivers of
suicide. After analyzing the articles section on the drivers of suicide, I interpreted it into
the emotions a suicidal person could feel and write in their letter. I decided not to carry
over explicit facts or research data to the suicide note translation because those elements
are not found in this genre. These aspects were instead indirectly translated into the note.
Bunn said this best when he wrote, Because the conventions for each genre can be very
different, techniques that are effective for one genre may not work well for another.
(Bunn 77). The reasons the author, myself in this case, may have been writing the note,
were including in lines like Im over this hell we call societyEverything so
superficial. These lines translate what the article referred to as indirect drivers of
suicide. What I did there exemplifies what Bunn mentioned and carried over the ideas
from one genre to another by tweaking it to fit the other genres style.
Although both genres centered around suicide and the drivers of such an action,
they were distinct in their approaches and executed the use of rhetoric to portray a
message to their specific audiences. My translation successfully included the overall idea
the academic article intended to get across, while remaining within its expected
boundaries. Differentiation in tonality, audience, and exigence has the potential to alter

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and change the rhetorical message of any writing piece and this genre translation proves
just that.

Works Cited

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Tucker, Raymond P., Kevin J. Crowley, Collin L. Davidson, and Peter M. Gutierrez.
"Risk Factors, Warning Signs, and Drivers of Suicide: What Are They, How Do They
Differ, and Why Does It Matter?" Suicide Life Threat Behav Suicide and LifeThreatening Behavior 45.6 (2015): 679-89. Web.
Lowe, Charles, and Pavel Zemliansky. Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. West
Lafayette, IN: Parlor, 2010. Print.

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