Elizarraraz

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LuzElizarraraz
Writing2
ProfessorJohnson
13May2016
NeedHelp?
Translatingfromgenretogenreisanessentialskilloneshouldbeabletohaveinorderto
understandthatgenresrequiretheirownuniqueconventions.Iputthisskilltopracticeby
translatingThisisGospelbyPanic!AttheDiscointoapamphlet.Thesongisaboutthe
narratorsfeelingstowardalovedonewhohasadrugaddictionandwhodoesnotallowthe
narratortohelphimorherout.Thesongconveysamessageofdespairafterbeingpushedaway
whenonlytryingtohelp.Idecidedtotranslatethissongintoadrugaddictionpamphletthat
persuadesitsaudiencetobelievetheyarecapableofturningtheirlivesbackaround.Each
columnofthesixcolumnpamphletincludesthemainideasofthemainstanzasinthesong.The
songgenerallyattractsamorematureaudiencewhounderstandwhatadrugaddictionmeans,
whichissimilartotheaudiencethepamphlettargets.Sinceitisadrugaddictionpamphlet,the
audienceconsistsofanypersonwhounderstandsandacceptstheyhaveadrugaddictionand
whohasconsideredactingagainstsuchaddiction.
Iwasnotcompletelysureonhowtocreateapamphletthattargetsacertainaudience,so
IusedKerryDirksNavigatingGenrestoguideme.Atthebeginningofheressay,shetalks
abouthowshewasnotsureofhowtowriteanessayeventhoughshehaswrittenmanytexts
before.Shegoesontoexplainherprocessoflearningtheconventionsofessayslikefinding
examplessimilartotheessayshewastryingtowriteandnotingsimilarities.Shenotedthetone

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andtheroletheauthorshaveintheessay(Dirk251).Idecidedtofollowhersteps,andIlooked
atexamplesofpamphletsmyselftolearnandunderstandtheirconventionstosuccessfully
connectwiththepamphletsaudience.Pamphletsgenerallyhaveeyecatchingheadlines
followedbyinformationthatexplainsthemeaningbehindtheheadline.Pamphletsalsouse
imagestoenhancethegiveninformationorasabackgroundtoattractpeople.Oftentimes,there
areimagesthatcorrespondtocertainaspectsofthepamphlet.Thepamphletusuallyprovidesa
solutionorasourceformoreinformation.Forexample,theyincludephonenumbersand
websitesasresourcesfortheiraudience.Inordertosuccessfullyexercisethisgenre,Ihadtopay
closeattentiontothetone,thediction,andtheuseofmetaphoricallanguagethatwouldwork
betterwiththetargetedaudience.
Thepamphletusesapersuasive,informaltonetopersuadetheaudiencetounderstand
thattheycanturnawaytheirlifeawayfromadrugaddictionintosomethingbetter.Thenarrator
ofthesongsays,Theirgnashingteethandcriminaltonguesconspireagainsttheodds,butthey
haventseenthebestofusyet,meaningheistellinghislovedonethatalthoughdrugsare
strongandhardtodealwith,theycantwinthebattleagainstthepersonwhoisaddictedand
theirlovedone.Therefore,inthepamphlet,Iusedpersuasivequotestogetthesamemessage
across.Forexample,Isaid,Yourlovedonescareforyourwellbeing.Thegoalofthequoteis
toencouragetheaudiencetothinkabouthisorherfamilyandhowtheyarebeingaffectedbythe
audiencesdecisions.Thisrelatesbacktothesongsnarratorsayinghecaresenoughtobepartof
thisbattleagainstdrugaddiction.Asaresult,thepamphletistryingtoconvincetheaudienceto
makeachange.Notalsoisthetonethatcorrespondstothepamphletpersuasive,butitisalso
informal.Sincetheaudienceisanyonewhoisstrugglingagainstadrugaddiction,theycanrange

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fromteenagerstoelderlypeople.Therecanalsobedifferentlevelsofeducationamongthe
audienceandtherefore,becauseofthesetworeasons,itismosteffectiveifthetoneisinformal
andsimple.Thesonguseswordssuchasgnashingteethandapostasieswhichsome
membersoftheaudienceprobablywontknowunderstand.Andso,Iusedmoreinformalwords
likebadhealthandillegalsubstancessothattheaudiencegetsaclearmessageanddoesnt
misunderstandthegoalofthepamphlet.
Thesongimpliesthereisapersonalrelationshipbetweenthenarratorandtheaddictby
usinguswhensayingtheywillbothfightagainstthedrugaddiction.Iwantedtokeepthis
idea,andhence,thedictionIchoseforthepamphletconsistsofwordsthattrytobuildapersonal
connectionbetweentheaudienceandthepamphlet.Ioftenusedyouandwetocreatealess
formalandmorepersonalrelationshipwiththeaudience.Whentryingtoconvincetheaudience
thatthepeoplewithinthedrugaddictionorganizationthatcorrespondstothepamphletisthereto
helpIused,WearenotyourenemiesasaheadlineandIcontinuedwithWecareaboutyou
andareheretohelpbecausewecareaboutyoursuccess.Theuseofweandyouinthe
samesentence,inthisoccasion,createsafeelingofconnectednessbetweenthepamphletandthe
audience.Throughthis,theaudiencefeelsliketheyaretalkingtosomeonewhoishumanand
caringratherthanjustanorganization.UsingTheDrugAddictionOrganizationcreatesa
distancewiththeaudiencebecauseitsformalityimpliesthereisnopersonalconnectionsince
thereislessemotion.
Thesongusesmetaphorsoveralltogettheirmessageacrossbutinordertomost
effectivelypersuadethepamphletsaudience,themessagehastobeclear.Someofthesongs
metaphorsarevagueandrequiremorecomplexthinkinginordertounderstandwhattheyare

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tryingtoimply.Theopeningofthesongincludesthemostcomplexmetaphorwherethenarrator
issayingthatthesongcanrelatetothosewhosufferedfromanaddictionanddiedbecauseofit,
alsoknownasthefallenoneslockedawayinpermanentslumber.Hethenproceedstosaythat
thattheyareassemblingtheirphilosophiesfrompiecesofbrokenmemories.Inotherwords,
theonlythingtheyownarepiecesofmemorieswhoarenotcompletelyrecalledbecausewhen
oneisundertheinfluence,itishardtorememberwhatoccurred.Theopeningpageofthe
pamphletaskstheaudienceifheorsheNeed(s)Help?andifheorsheWant(s)tokeep[their]
lovedonesin[their]life?Thismessageisclearerthantheambiguousmetaphorthesongusesto
saywhothesongisforbecauseitissimplyaskingquestionsthatanyoneaddictedtodrugs
understandsthattheyarebeingaimedat.Itranslatedthisopeningmetaphorintoaclearer
messagebecausetheaudienceincludespeoplefromdifferenteducationallevelsandages.Itis
mosteffectivetoleavetheambiguityoutsincemostmembersoftheaudiencewillbeableto
figureoutwhatthefrontpageofthepamphletistryingtoindicate.Therefore,throughoutthe
pamphlet,Ileftoutanymetaphoricallanguagetoavoidtheaudienceexperiencingconfusionor
disinterest.
Whiletranslatinggenres,oneofthedifficultiesIhadwasexcludingsomepartsofthe
songthatdidnotentirelyhelpthepamphletsmaingoal.Thenarratorinthesongrefersto
addictsasneverdowellsbutbecausethegoalofthepamphletistoshowaddictstheyare
capableofswitchingtheirlifestyleforthebetter,insteadofimplyingthataddictsare
worthlesslikethesongsuggests,Idecidedtoopposeitinthepamphletandtelltheaudience
thattheyareworthmorethan[they]believe.Ibelievethesongisverypowerfulandgetsits
messageacrossandIdidnotwanttocontradictthesong,butitwasnecessarysomymainidea

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wouldnotbecontradicted.ThesongalsohasmanyvaguemetaphorssoIhadtofigureoutthe
mainideaofeachstanzaandusedistributethemthroughout.Thiswasdifficultattimesbecause
IwasntsureifIwaschoosingtherightwordingthatwouldreflectthesonglyrics.
Thepamphletconventionincludesimages,andinordertopickthemosteffectiveimages,
IreferredtoMcCloudspieceinordertolearnhowIshouldpicktherightimagestoenhancethe
goalofthepamphlet.McCloudsaysthepictureshouldresemblespecificity(McCloud37).So
therefore,Iusedimagesthatreflectedeachideaofeachpageinthepamphlet.Forexample,on
thecoverpage,Iusedanimageofamanlookingdownasifhewasgoingthrougharoughtime.
Itsintendedpurposeistoreflectdisappointmentorsadnessthatcomesalongwithadrug
addiction.Iusedthisimagebecauseitwouldgrabtheaudiencesattentionanditmakesitclear
thatthepamphlethastodowithreceivinghelpwhengoingthroughatoughtime.Thisimage
resemblesspecificity,likeMcCloudsuggests,becauseitclearlyshowsamansbodylanguage
reflectingstressordisappointmentratherthanhappiness.
Translatingfromasongtoapamphlet,taughtmehowtopayattentiontothespecific
conventionseachgenrehas.Ilearnedthataudienceisthekeytosuccessfullyexpressingeach
conventionandthateverythinghastorevolvearoundtheaudience.Switchingfromgenreto
genrealsorequiredmetothinkasawriterandthinkofwhatIwasreallytryingtoachievewitha
drugrelatedpamphlet.Overall,Ilearnedthatitisnotcomplicatedtoswitchgenresaslongas
youknowtheconventionsthatfolloweachgenreandrelatethemtotheaudienceandtheirneeds.

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WorksCited
Dirk,Kerry.NavigatingGenres.WritingSpaces:ReadingsonWriting.Eds.CharlesLoweand
PavelZemliansky.ParlorPress,2010.249262.Print.
McCloud,Steve.WritingwithPictures.MakingComics:StorytellingSecretsofComics,Manga,
andGraphicNovels.NewYork:Harper,2006.814.Print.