Creating different forms of writing from a base model is a critical action to become a

strong reader and writer. For WP3 I translated an academic peer-reviewed journal about the
Great Barrier Reef into a personal blog. I chose this translation because people like to imagine
the lives that they do not have and traveling is something people long for, but translating is not
always successful and, thus, many areas are lost in translation. In my efforts to make an
academic journal about pollution more exciting, I created a story that allows people to take in the
information from a perspective of travel, and through this process I translated a highly academic
genre about environmental warnings to something more emotional and personal.
When translating genres, it is important to consider the audience shift. A peer reviewed
journal focuses on individuals educated on the specific topic-- the condition of the Great Barrier
Reef and its progression with the Australian government. The audience for my personal blog is a
young person interested in travel with the desire to learn about the world. People who follow the
lives of social icons/travelers create this audience. Dirk explains how they have expectations, and
this is how conventions are created. I adhered to these conventions by not stating facts about the
Reef, like the primary source, but incorporated it into a story format about My Life: The
Endless Journey and included the forests of Brazil and the countryside of France to have an
aspect of excitement. I wanted them to be impressed so they take the topic more seriously, and I
decided that appealing to their sense of wonder would draw this emotion.
Creativity appeals to the audience using a desired experience and a familiar tone. People
who want to travel would typically appreciate the environment, and mixing in the topic of
pollution with travel effectively communicates the point that the primary source had. The
audience is able to take a new perspective on the environment after reading my blog, as they
would hopefully mirror my emotional distress. Letting the public in on my personal life is also

a way that they hopefully will connect to me as a writer because it is meant to create the
connection with the audience. This is directed at this audience specifically because their desire to
want to be in another persons shoes, and they would understand the passion that will come with
the lifestyle.
The primary source focused on the effects of climate change, poor water quality, and
coastal development on the Reef (Grech 200). I incorporated this by making it more of a
learned experience rather than a researched fact because it is relatable through their desire to
travel and see a beautiful planet rather than a dead one. I changed the tone from being
informative and scholarly to be more personal to the audiences level of interest. I cut out stats
in the primary piece because the audience I was aiming for would not focus on the meaning
behind them. I did not want to make it scholarly in that sense. I did not want negativity or to
seem like I was shaming the world, therefore, this aspect was lost in translation because it did not
fit the audiences expectations. I had to shift through the view of a government and political
perspective to something more emotionally investing so I used diction such as disheartening to
add this personal connection to the environment.
The translation I made seemed efficient because it had the same message that pollution is
an issue. I lost some of the political effectiveness of the primary piece, but for appealing to the
audience it was generally moderate. I used first person and directly spoke to them as I said, I
cant wait to keep you guys posted to create a connection because it a convention of my new
genre. I tied in my emotional perspective of being heartbroken because it brought together my
feelings as a traveler (in the blog) and the effects on me. This connects to the audience and gives
me credibility based on the inclusion of other places I have traveled to. It is hard to communicate

and know that my opinion would be valued because it is a personal blog and doesnt have any
credibility other than myself, but creating reliability is part of this genre.
Translating genres is specifically problematic because the main message is unable to be
communicated. Tone differentiation is included in this: the peer-review journal is assertive, while
a personal blog communicates with the public rather than strictly informing. I used the fact that
about a loss of 50% of coral cover and translated it to: I nearly shed a tear when I heard
thatmost of the coral life had died (Grech, 200). This created an emotional response rather
than a fact for them to interoperate. I also wanted it to be opinionated but not forcing it on the
audience as I said, I was on board with the World Heritage Committee. I shared my opinion
while passively criticizing coal emissions, like how the journal claims, current decision making
is promoting death by a thousand cuts (Grech, 202). I did this to also create a sense of
activism that the readers might want to follow so they could experience something like the blog.
Throughout the piece, I kept it focused on the audiences perception, and I followed
Carrolls concept from Backpacks to Briefcases that the audience should respond to their
reading. I wanted the audience to consider what was happening to something so dear to the world
because of industry. I hoped that they would sympathize with the decaying beauty of the Great
Barrier Reef. Also, McLouds Writing with Pictures account for the choice of flow was
something I kept in mind while forming a story so they have the leisurely reading experience.
Converting a genre is something that requires more than a simple idea, and appreciating
an authors choice is a major key. I had to make changes to bring the information to a broader
scope of people that would convey the same message of the journal. The information must be
accessible for a new audience, and translating genres is effective when trying to appreciate
genres individualities.

Works Cited
Grech, A., R.l. Pressey, and J.c. Day. "Coal, Cumulative Impacts, and the Great Barrier Reef."
Conservation Letters 9.3 (2015): 200-07. Web.
Dirk, Kerry. Navigating Genres. Writing Spacing: readings on writing. Vol.1. Ed. Charles
Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 2010.
Carroll, Laura B. Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis. Writing
Spacing: readings on writing. Vol.1. Ed. Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. Library of
Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 2010.
McLoud. Writing with Pictures. Writing Spacing: readings on writing. Vol.1. Ed. Charles
Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 2010.

LINK TO BLOG: http://daniellagogatzwriting2.blogspot.com/2016/11/australia-reef.html