Winner 1

Sam Winner

Joshua Smith

WRIT 2 (section 1300)

11 June 2020

Self-Reflective Essay

The academic article that I translated was, ​Effect of NaNO2, HNO3 and H2SO4 on the

structure and reactivity of y-alumina​, by Abdol Hossein Dabbagha, Marzie Naderia, and Mehdi

Zamanib. As the title implies, this article investigates the influence of different compounds on

the reactivity and shape of the catalyst, y-alumina. The genre that I decided to translate into was

children's literature. I emulated the Dr. Seuss style of writing and targeted my story for

individuals ages three to five. Although my translation was written with this age range in mind,

my translation would appeal to all ages over three. In order to make an effective translation, I

borrowed key concepts from the chemistry discipline, and I created a story utilizing the

conventions of the children's literature discourse community. This essay will analyze many of

the writerly choices that I made in order to create an effective genre translation, the reasons

behind each of these choices, and the main chemistry concepts which were translated.

One of the reasons that I wanted to make this particular translation was because the

vocabulary and sentence structure of children's literature is extremely different from a chemistry

research paper. The sharp contrast in jargon between the two genres reinforces the point that

often, for the average person, chemistry articles are nearly impossible to understand. Because of

this complexity, the scientific concepts of my primary article could not be translated into a book

for children. Because of this, I decided to bring the broader ideas of the chemistry paper into the
 Winner 2

new genre. One reason for this sharp contrast in language stems from the difference in

preliminary knowledge that the audience has about the subject matter. Keeping this in mind,

when I wrote the children's novel, I stuck to vocabulary that an individual in the target age range

would be comfortable with. Along with this, I also avoided covering any topics that would be too

complex for the new audience, while still providing valuable chemistry related information.

The main idea that I wanted to translate from my primary text is one of the most

important concepts within the field of chemistry: experiments often discover new knowledge that

is beyond the initial questions of the research, and sometimes, initial failures lead to unforeseen

future successes. These new discoveries can also often be applied across disciplines and lead to

advancements in many other fields. In order to translate this idea into the new genre, and because

of the strong contrast in jargon between the two styles, the subject matter itself needed editing.

Within my translation, I decided to make the banana leaves function as a scientific discovery, or

in the case of my original source, a chemical compound. Although the leaves were originally

found to function well as roofing, with their unexpected failure as a building material, under

newly introduced environmental conditions (strong wind), a new application for the leaves was

discovered. Again, under new conditions (compaction), Bob’s entrance into the basement, in a

way, served as the preliminary test of this product's effect in a new field.

The primary article discusses the effects of different compounds on the structure and

reactivity of a catalyst. I was also able to translate this, more specific, idea into my children's

novel through the secondary application of the banana leaf. When Bob states, “This reaction is

different from what was expected, I thought I would poke you, but you are protected.”(8), he not

only admits that the results of the “experiment” were unexpected, but he also alludes to the
 Winner 3

primary source’s analysis of the effect of a compound (the leaf), on the shape and reactivity of a

catalyst (Bob). Bob's decreased reactivity can be seen as the effect of this “compound”.

Another important literary practice within the chemistry discipline is writing in the

passive voice. This practice is used in order to make studies as objective as possible and to

support the idea that chemistry studies need to be replicable. When Bob presents his new

application for the leaf to the public, essentially presenting his “study”, he only speaks in the

passive voice.1 This alludes to my primary source’s use of the passive voice, and by speaking in

such a way, Bob implies the replicability of his results.

Another literary tool that almost all children's novels use is the inclusion of pictures.

Pictures help to keep children’s attention and help the target audience follow along with the

story, regardless of whether or not they understand certain words. The illustrations frame each of

the important actions of the characters, helping the audience to follow the storyline as well as

develop new vocabulary. One place where images play an important role in the plot of the novel

occurs on page 5, where I illustrated a banana leaf getting stuck to Bob’s back. This is a big part

of the story, even though it is not clearly referenced in the text until Bob is inside the basement.

In this way, I utilized the imaging to foreshadow what was going to happen in the basement later

in the story. In addition, on page 11, where Bob presents his new invention, a graphic appears

which is similar to some of the line graphs presented in the scientific primary article. This

graphic translates an important data representation method in chemistry papers, and introduces

this type of graphic to children. The inclusion of an explainable graph supports one of the central

goals of children's novels, which is to teach children new concepts in a fun way. Much like the

1
​He presents his findings on page 11 of the translation
 Winner 4

inclusion of these graphs in chemistry papers allows for the simplification of data, the pictures in

children's novels allows for the simplification of the storyline, helping children follow along.

The use of rhyming and repetition is also an integral part of many children's novels. A

rhyming scheme helps keep a piece of text engaging, helps children internalize key aspects of a

story, and enhances audience members' understanding of language and the sounds that different

words make. I used rhyming and repetition conventions on page two of my story, when I wrote,

“Bob’s best friend was a monkey, a monkey named Bill. Bill worked building houses on the

island's big hills.” Here, the repetition of the words “monkey” and “Bill”, helps the audience

understand who the character Bill is. The Billcharacter is integral to the plot of the story and

initially internalizing his role is very important.

Along with rhyming, alliteration is a tool used within many children's stories. The goal of

the alliteration is to introduce the audience to grammatical tools which will be helpful for their

understanding of how the English language functions. A major goal of children's books is to help

children understand language in a fun way. On the second page, I wrote, "Bill worked building

houses on the island's big hills." The use of alliteration not only calls attention to this part of the

text, but also incorporates the fun rhythmic meter that many children's stories seek to create. The

rhythmic quality functions to keep the audience engaged and wanting more, linking thoughts and

ideas together throughout the novel.

In conclusion, the writerly choices that I make throughout my translation have been made

for specific reasons: to represent a component of the primary article, to simplify the primary

article's ideas, or to follow the conventions of children's literature. These choices have allowed
 Winner 5

me to transplant key chemistry ideals into a children's book, while also abiding by the

conventions of the new genre.