Ruane 1

Orla Ruane
Vicky Ballmes
Writing 2
Genre Translation
For this writing project, I have chosen to translate an excerpt from Suzanne Collins The
Hunger Games into a news article. The scene I plan to convert is the reaping clip in which

Comment [Office1]: Good discussion of the genre conventions

of your two genres and how they shaped your choices in the
translation, and good start in your discussion of audience.

Comment [Office2]: ?

Katniss volunteers as a tribute for The Games. In order to do this, I first identified the
conventions of each genre and adapted the primary source accordingly; by applying these
techniques to the book, it can be successfully translated. Through this conversion, I not only
intended to compare the various methods used in each writing style, but also analyze how each

Comment [Office3]: youre talking about a process you

already completed, presumably past tense is appropriate

appeals to its own audience. Additionally, I planned to uncover whether or not a texts
significance is altered when it is transformed into a different medium.

Deleted: based on if it

Both these different writing styles contain contrasting techniques that appeal to certain
audiences. Books similar to the The Hunger Games, for example, intrigue readers who enjoy
adventurous fiction novels. Given that the purpose of books is to entertain the readers and keep
their attention throughout the story, the author works to include exciting details that will intrigue
the audience. Although there are no age restrictions for books, this one is directed at those of the
approximate age of twelve or above because it contains violent scenes and multiple incidents of
fighting. By translating a book into a news article, the intended audience, as well as the purpose
of the work, drastically changes. The context of a news article is directed towards those who
want to be informed on current events and the author intends to educate the public regarding
certain issues.. The average age of those who read news reports increases which is shown
through the more sophisticated vocabulary. In the case of news articles, the author intends to

Comment [Office4]: such as?

educate the public regarding certain issues. By identifying the conventions within each genre, I

Comment [Office5]: reputed

Ruane 2
was able to apply them to the primary source and translate it into the new genre that contained
the correct methods.
I chose to translate the book into a news article because books and articles are both

Comment [Office6]: Vague could refer to a lot of things

textual works that share similar yet contrasting features. The excerpt chosen from the book also
tells a fascinating story that would convert into an intriguing news report because it portrays an

Deleted: an

exciting event people would be interested in reading about. Likewise, a news article would be
able to effectively communicate information because they provide facts and work to inform
those interested in the issue. In addition, I wanted to see whether or not the messages intention
would still be easily conveyed if it were represented within a different medium. Furthermore, I
believe that since the genres have different techniques, the text will lose some of its significance
because the writing style will not be the same. With this in mind, I was able to take the scene
from the book and convert it into a news story that people would want to read about.
In order to achieve this translation, I had to integrate the information from the primary
text into the new genre. I reused multiple characteristics of the story including the basis of the
story line and certain excerpts of their diction. Although there was a lot of dialogue within the
writing, I only took certain phrases that the article could reference as statements from the
characters. Katniss iconic phrase, I volunteer as tribute (Collins 22) was a necessity within the
article because it not only acts as a valid statement for the event, but perfectly captures the
emotion of the situation as well. In addition, I had to alter the vocabulary used within the novel

Comment [Office7]: How so?

and remove excess details regarding the characters and setting; news articles are much more
concise than books and dont include unnecessary features. On the other hand, I chose to add
certain characteristics to the news article to fit the format better. Features such as headlines,
photographs, and expanding on certain issues allowed a more believable article-like text.

Comment [Office8]: What do you mean?

Deleted: then

Comment [Office9]: Such as?

Ruane 3
As mentioned before, one of the largest challenges I had within this assignment was to
condense the three-page excerpt into a concise and straight forward news article. This is because
the novel contains many more descriptive details including the emotions of the character as well
as elaborate characteristics of the setting and dialogue, which are both unneeded in a news
article. To do this I identified the most important details that would be used in a news article and
expanded on those. Quotations such as it was as if the impact had knocked every wisp of air
from my lungs, and I lay there struggling to inhale, to exhale, to do anything (Collins 19) were
either reworded in a more concise way or deleted depending on their relevance to the story.
Although in the novel these graphic phrases give the reader more information on the story and
the emotions the characters feel, they are unnecessary within a news article which focus on
presenting the important information in an objective way. Additionally, it was difficult to adapt
to a different audience; however, this was solved by changing the vocabulary and sentence
structure to appeal to older readers. With the inclusion of more sophisticated language and
straight forward diction, the writing of the news article was more easy to follow for the readers.
Furthermore, the conciseness kept them from getting distracted with the excess details and eased
their understanding of the issue.
With the help of sources such as Klein and Shackelfords Beyond Black on White and
McClouds Thinking with Pictures, I was able to more easily adapt certain styles to the
primary source to facilitate the translation. Both texts emphasized the importance of creating a
solid format for the genre that easily communicated the context with the audience. Throughout
their essay, Klein and Shackelford constantly mention the importance of the text aesthetic and
write that good design choices can also make your document more accessible to your readers
(Klein & Shackelford 221). Within the text, the authors additionally remark on the significance
of visual treatment and how it eases the audiences read. With this in mind, I decided to include

Comment [Office10]: Always give full names the first time

you mention a source (first names!)

Ruane 4
pictures in my article to help with the flow of the read and give the article a more realistic
appearance. Additionally, the organizational format of the article would appeal to readers

Deleted: ed

because it is very easy to follow; each point is divided into a concise paragraph that the audience
can grasp without difficulty.
McClouds Thinking with Pictures also helped facilitate the translation for this
assignment. He points out the importance of the choice of word and indicates how the perfect
work will have a seamless combination with images (McCloud 37). From the comic, I
gathered the most effective way to communicate with the audience, regardless of the medium, is
through the ideal mixture of diction and visuals. This is especially the case in genres such as
news articles because pictures further clarify the information to the readers and ease their
understanding of the concept. Although choices for the texts visual format and word choice are
treated differently, they both coincide to easily communicate the concept to the audience.
Overall, through the supplemental readings, I learned that the layout of the article was just as
important as the text within it for a successful genre translation.
Altogether, I acquired multiple things from the translation of genres. During this
conversion, I had to identify the techniques used in news articles and apply them to an excerpt
from a book. Ultimately I discovered that through this conversion, the text loses some of its
significance. This is due to the different conventions and how certain of the components of the
primary source are not included. Despite this, although features such as excess details and
dialogue were excluded, the text appealed to a different audience and was successfully translated
into a new genre through the adjustment of the word choice and altered writing layout.

Comment [Office11]: In WP3, you translated a text from

one genre and audience to a different genre and audience.
You also wrote a metacognitive essay exploring the
decisions and choices you made in composing your genre
translation. If you choose to revise WP3, your essay should
include more specific details, extensive analysis, and
metacognitive thinking. For example, you will want to make
sure you are citing specific examples from your translation
(both before and after) while explaining your process. You
also will likely need to refine your open-genre pieces to
reflect more thoroughly what you have learned in this class,
reflecting the conventions of your genre. Your use of
evidence in the metacognitive essay should become more
strategic following the guidelines we have established (using
Stedman and the Hacker manual).

Ruane 5

Works Cited
Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. London: Scholastic, 2010. Print.
Klein, Michael J. & Kristi L. Shackelford. Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Vol. 2. New York:
2011.

McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.