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Yana Mitra

Maddie Roepe

Writing 2

October 26 2023

A Take On Informative Research

Throughout the many research papers I’ve written as a psychology major, one that has

caught my attention is a recent article from this year. This article spoke about widowhood and

the effects of its mortality rate based on the social ties separate from their significant other. This

is known as a “highly-embedded spouse,” someone who has lots of similarities and spends more

time with their partner rather than maintaining relationships with others such as friends and

family. (Cornwell & Qu 1) This topic is not commonly thought of, making it an interesting

research experiment that caught my eye. Contrary to what I’ve stated, I haven’t thought about

this paper until entering this class on writing. Upon a reflection on genres and ways writing can

change based on different rhetorical situations, it came to my attention that this article did not

stick in my head. A translation of changing the genre of this scientific article was a great lesson

to achieve this motive.

In the book “Writings Spaces: Readings on Writings,” author Kerry Dirk provides a

thorough explanation of considering how to write a specific genre and even shows examples of

multiple letters of the same topic that are not rhetorically the same. This opened my eyes to

seeing genres in a new light by looking closer into the rhetorical meaning and structure of the

writing instead of just trying to understand what the author is explaining. This gave me a space to

reflect on how I should write this project. The first step she gave was to determine the action of
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what I was trying to accomplish. The article itself provided information regarding how the

experiment was done and its results. Overall, I wanted a more genuine outlook on this article

rather than a dense presentation instead. The next step would be to consider the audience. For the

article, it was evident that the audience of choice went toward other researchers. This is because

of the extensive explanations of how the research was conducted and the paragraphs full of

statistical information – items that not everyone will take the time to understand fully. When

setting up a new audience, I would consider the people that are being spoken about in the article:

the widows. This led me to change the genre of the article as a whole by integrating the

information into a handwritten letter sent to the widow from a close friend. I made this choice as

I believe it would come across as more genuine when receiving this information from someone

you know. I’ve also decided to include little drawings on the side to make the letter seem more

personal.

I’ve learned from the genre of informal letters that the topic cannot be talked about on its

own, but the sender needs to speak about themselves as well. Making statements such as “I’ve

been busy at work,” or “I was thinking of this,” shows that they want to have a conversation, not

a lecture. This was a great difference to include as it makes the reader feel more comfortable

with the sender. I was also sure to keep the information on widowhood at a minimum, or else it

would feel too forced. When bringing up the topic, the specific aspect I used to get the point

across was to ask how the reader has been feeling, and that the sender is worried about them.

This could be considered a typical move that is generally seen in letters. (Jacobson, Pawlowski,

& Tardy 220)

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Another skill set I’ve learned while constructing this project is the difference between

first-order and second-order thinking. In a passage from “The Learning Process,” Peter Elbow

writes a chapter about the differences between these two: first-order thinking is impulsive

writing, whilst second-order thinking is controlled writing. At first, I pondered that first-order

thinking would be best when writing a letter. However, I’ve noticed a weakness in this, as

informal letters are direct yet complex at the same time. Only the topics that are prominent

should be mentioned, and not too much information can be written. For example, I cannot

over-explain my topic and simply finish the project, I need to review my choice of words.

Because of this, I restarted with second-order thinking instead, leading to much more concise

writing. Although this area was slightly difficult, it has led me to move forward with deep

thought into writing styles.

Reflections are never easy assignments, as criticism can sometimes be mentally

challenging. When coming across this topic in class, it has made me realize the importance of

accepting it. A reflective perspective can be used to think about our own decisions when we

write. Through peer review, it is explained to be a great way to see mistakes that didn’t seem to

be one before. (Giles 193) Doing so has led me to fix issues accordingly from the perspective of

others, such as comments noting that the letter was too formal, or using many complicated

words. I decided to write in a more straightforward manner instead of sounding confusing. This

has easily changed my mindset on how I write, read, review papers, and understand the genre at

hand, becoming a necessary skill set. Although writing is a complicated process, it is impossible

to know every genre and skill. However, this project of genre translation has widened my

perspective on creating something new and taught me to be mindful of all the choices I make.
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Works Cited

Cornwell, Benjamin & Qu, Tianyao., et. al. “‘I Love You To Death’: Social Networks and the

Widowhood Effect on Mortality.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 2023, pp. 1-19.

Dirk, Kerry., et. al. “Navigating Genre.” Writing Spaces: Reading on Writing, vol 1, 2010, pp.

250-261.

Elbow, Peter., et. al. “Embracing Contraries: Explorations in Learning and Teaching.” The

Learning Process, vol 15, no. 6, 1986, pp. 56-63.

Giles, Sandra, L., et. al. “Reflective Writing and the Revisions Process: What Were You

Thinking?” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 1, 2010, p. 191-203.

Jacobson, Brad., Pawlowski, Madelyn., & Tardy, Christine, M. “Make Your Move” Writing In

Genres.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 4, 2021, pp. 217-238.