Here is my older transformation, my younger transformation, and my reflection follows.
Just “Spilling” My Thoughts Out Here...
Approximately 11 million gallons of oil were spilled as a result of an oil tanker crashing into a reef off in Prince William Sound, Alaska in March of 1989. This obviously had a huge impact on the surrounding wildlife, and researchers Dean et al. chose to explore the specific impact on sea otters, sea urchins, and kelp through various ecological research methods.
To understand this article and my following transformations, I need to give you a quick ecology lesson. Otters are considered to be a keystone species, which National Geographic defines as an “animal that plays a unique and crucial role in the way an ecosystem functions” (Keystone Species). Keystone species are so important that their disappearance could lead to other species disappearing from the ecosystem and even becoming extinct. The otter’s ecosystem, a kelp forest, is relied upon by many species for their underwater habitat. Kelp is also the source of food for sea urchins. Luckily, otters eat sea urchins! The otter’s snacking keeps the urchins from overpopulating, eating all of the kelp, and destroying the ecosystem.
Many otters were killed unfortunately as a result of the oil spill, and ecologists were concerned about the impact their disappearance could have on Prince William Sound’s kelp forest. To observe this, Dean and his fellow researchers first estimated the abundance of otters both before and after the oil spill in an area heavily affected by the spill and in an area not affected by the spill. They also measured sea urchin density and percent of the ground covered by the urchins. Although they didn’t measure kelp abundance, it is important to note that it was not forgotten in their discussion. Their results were that areas with low otter and sea urchin population remained low over the course of nine years after the spill. Even with these results, the ecologists were unable to determine with certainty if it was a lack of response by the sea urchins or a lag in response. (Dean et al.)
I had a lot of fun with transforming this piece, especially into the younger audience genre. It took a lot of work to refine my idea and direction, but I finally decided to do a reading comprehension worksheet. I intend the author to be a fourth or fifth grade classroom teacher and the audience to be a classroom of students. To the students, the goal appears to be to teach them about two new business terms, which was also a smaller goal of mine. But even though it is not as obvious to the audience, my main goal actually is to help the students answer questions about a story and use textual evidence to support their answers.
Since my intended audience is elementary school aged children, I wanted to make some moves that would make the worksheet as fun and interesting as possible. By keeping the worksheet exciting, I can keep my young audience from getting bored and hopefully I can teach them some new things. One move I made was making the overall word choice casual and simple. By making this worksheet sound more like a friend talking than a learning tool, the students stay more interested. This strategy helps students learn more and retain more knowledge by keeping them focused on the assignment.
In addition to textual choices of font and formatting, I also decided to incorporate a picture into my worksheet. McCloud stresses the importance of pictures as tools that “bring the world of your story to life visually” (McCloud 26). By making the move to insert a picture of an otter in a suit and hat, I not only give a visual element to my story but I also bring the outlandish idea of otters doing business to life. For the kids, this makes the worksheet fun and exciting which further aids my goal of keeping my audience interested. Another subtle, but conscious move on my part that ties into my picture was my use of a colored picture and colored font. A page long worksheet all in grey scale would not be encouraging for a young student to read and learn from, and a color print job can show that the teacher put more effort and care into the worksheet.
My older audience’s transformation was a bit more challenging but as I was sorting through some papers in my desk, something caught my eye. It takes a bit of explaining, so stay with me here! The genre I transformed my article into is a doctor’s summary and analysis of a patient’s visit. It is intended to be sent out to other medical professionals who are concerned with the patient’s health, and the format and vocabulary reflect the audience’s concerns. The piece is written from an electrodiagnostic doctor’s perspective who runs a test on the patient called a nerve conduction study which is when the doctor uses small shocks to test if a nerve is damaged.
Some ways that I transformed my article into the report are obvious, such as the patient being named Forrest O’Kelp and the patient’s caretaker/brother name being Otto O’Kelp. I gave the patient a couple of different injuries to be examined, both stemming from an incident where Forrest stepped on a sea urchin and fell down some stairs. Forrest requires a caretaker, his brother Otto, who is unable to take care of him after slipping in some oil (see what I did there?). All of this information is listed in patient history, which is logically put first since it gives a background for the rest of the report. I gave the patient this background because there needed to be a reason for the visit to the doctor.
I made some other, more subtle moves in the transformation that tied into my article as well. One of them being Forrest breaking the growth plate in this leg, which relates to the kelp forest being at risk of not growing after the decline of otter population. As the doctor, I expressed my serious concern that the growth plate being broken is the most pressing issue that the patient has. Lastly, I mentioned that more work must be done to see “exact extent of the damage and how long it will affect the patient” (Pike 2) This echos the ecologists’ inconclusive result that they are unsure if or when the decline in sea otters may affect the ecosystem.
All of these moves, big and small, aided my identity as a doctor in this transformation. Losh and Alexander tell us that “The identity you project needs to convey your ethos… to the audience you’re addressing.” (Losh and Alexander 130). My word choice, my cursive “signature” at the end, the logical flow of the report headings, the professional header , and the addition of a graph of the test all add to my credibility as a doctor and gives authority to my conclusion at the end of the report. Creating a convincing identity is my biggest move I make in this transformation, and all of my smaller moves work together to help me achieve success.
All in all, creating a convincing identity was the biggest move and goal of both of these transformations, even in this self reflection. I’ve referenced our class readings in order to convince my reader that I am an intelligent student that can create a solid essay. In addition, I’ve also made the conscious decision to write in my own voice which hopefully convinces you that I didn’t feel the need to rely on too much academic jargon to sound like I know what I’m talking about. These two moves, the moves I discussed earlier, and even the ones that I didn’t have space to write about, are all helping hands to not only help create a completely new identity for me as an author in my genre transformations but also to convert an ecology research article into an elementary school classroom worksheet and a doctor’s report on a patient visit.
Works Cited
"Keystone Species." National Geographic Society. 2011. Web. 24 May 2016. <http://nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/keystone-species/>.
Dean, Ta, Jl Bodkin, Sc Jewett, Dh Monson, and D. Jung. "Changes in Sea Urchins and Kelp following a Reduction in Sea Otter Density as a Result of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill." Marine Ecology Progress Series Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 199 (2000): 281-91. Web.
McCloud, Scott, Writing with Pictures, 2016
Losh and Alexander, Writing Identities, 2016
