Moreno 1

Victoria Moreno
Wilson
Writing 2
1 June 2016
WP3 Final Portfolio Draft
My genre translation consisted of an excerpt from an article on the drivers of
suicide and a suicide note. This translation could have analyzed the many different
stylistic decisions in each genre and translated those findings; however I chose to
acknowledge the greatest, as well as the most important, difference, each of the genres
rhetorical purposes. The ways in which each genre uses distinct tones, word choice, and
rhetoric all ties back to each serving their own purposes. Translating an academic article
into a non-academic genre: suicide note, was a challenge, but nothing impossible with the
right analyzing methods and reading like a reader examples of each genre. The intentions
of each genre are unmistakable and the rhetorical frameworks pose as strong
reinforcements to these intentions.
The first step in any genre translation is to be a skilled reader with the texts you
are translating. Identification of the distinct factors composing each specific genre is vital
to translation. The academic articles structure was an interesting aspect to the writing as
a whole. This outlined structure with facts, data, studies, and examples broke the
information down for readers to more easily comprehend.
Establishing and recognizing the audience is another key part in translating.
Audience holds a heavy part in the rhetoric framework, it stands as the underlying
backbone of the writing. The academic article is created with the intention to inform and

Moreno 2
explain the drivers of suicide, while the suicide note gives a horrific view of the reality
some people suffer with. The audience of a suicide note is thus more confidential and
personal. A note is usually left behind for those who knew the victim and are most likely
to crave any sort of communication or explanation from the author after actions have
already taken place.
The genre I translated the academic article into emphasizes the lack of emotion
articles discussing suicide have in comparison to the reality and emotionality an actual
suicide note contains. The genre connects directly to its audience by bringing to attention
the true emotions they felt; and maybe were too afraid to vocalize. The people who read
these letters are hit with the greatest sense of reality because as the authors of this specific
genre write, they generally hold nothing back. All real emotions and feelings are written/
expressed without the fear of consequence.
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.
The reasons the author, myself in this case, may have been writing the note, were
including in lines such as Im fucking depressed or other not so straight forward lines
like Im over this hell we call society todays society. What a joke. Everything so
superficial. These lines translate what the article referred to as indirect drivers of
suicide. According to the articles drivers of suicide section, it said, Indirect drivers
thus do not necessarily relate to a specific, acute suicidal crisis. However, because they

Moreno 3
provide a context for a patients personal pain, they represent an essential part if his or
her suicide narrative. The lines from the suicide note may not hold as much information
in them as in the article, but the note takes the information provided from the article and
brings it to reality in the note.
In the Giles reading she states Intentionsa sense of audience and purpose and
of what the writer wants the essay to doare essential to a good piece of communicative
writing (Giles 198). This was a vital part of my translation. I needed to change the
intentions the article portrayed into the intentions of a suicide note, or otherwise stated,
adjust the rhetorical framework. In order for a genre to communicate well with their
intended audiences they need to compose the right information and stylistic tools to
appeal to the reader.

Moreno 4

Works Cited
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.