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Victoria Moreno
Wilson
Writing 2
23 May 2016
WP3: Analytical Essay
For my assignment, I decided to translate an academic article discussing the
drivers of suicide into a suicide note. Suicide notes have a distinct tone and purpose. A
suicide note has little variation within its style and usually follows a similar pattern in
each one. Research articles and academic articles have the power to slightly vary from
one article to the next. In order to do this translation from an academic article into a
suicide note, I needed to analyze examples of my new genre to see the consistent
conventions that are used and what makes this genre distinguishable from others.
In any genre translation the first step is being a skilled reader. As you are reading
each text you have to be sure to identify the factors that compose that specific genre or in
easier words: what makes a genre that genre. While I was reading the academic article, I
noticed the structure of the text was specific to that genre. The piece began with an
abstract that summarized the entirety of the text. This was followed with sections for each
topic the abstract summarized, discussed topic by topic. This helps to identify the genre
as academic because it follows a logos tone and expresses research along with facts rather
than the emotional approach of suicide and suicidal thoughts. Placing research facts and
studies into the article emphasizes the lack of emotional attachment to the topic.
The new genre approaches an entire new audience, in that rather than addressing a
broad general audience, a suicide note holds a more intimate audience. A suicide note is

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usually left for those who knew the victim and crave any sort of communication with the
author after actions have already taken place. I chose this new genre to emphasize the
lack of emotion articles discussing suicide have compared to the reality and emotionality
an actual suicide note contains. I feel like this genre connects to its audience by bringing
to attention the true emotions they felt. The people who read these letters are hit with
greatest sense of reality because as the author writes this particular genre, they generally
hold nothing back. All real emotions and all real feelings are written and expressed
because they feel as though there cannot be any consequences after the words are
discovered and read.
The information I found in the academic article was translated in the new genre
indirectly. In the academic article it discusses the drivers of suicide. I took this section
of the article and more specifically analyzed it. After analyzing what the article said were
potential drivers of suicide, I interpreted it and translated it into the emotions a suicidal
person could feel and write in their letter. I did not keep explicit facts or research studies
because more often than not suicide notes do not contain these elements. I did however
translate this into the note indirectly, meaning I put reasons the author may have been
suicidal, and ultimately writing this note, to express the articles drivers of suicide. For
example, in the Drivers of suicide portion of the article it says Indirect drivers thus do
not necessarily relate to a specific, acute suicidal crisis. However, because they provide a
context for a patient's personal pain, they represent an essential part of his or her suicide
narrative. I translated this into sentences in the suicide note such as, Maybe it is the
depression I suffer from that is always renamed hypersensitive or over exaggerating.
This line of the note exemplifies what the article was describing in how there may be

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underlying reasons and feelings that drive people to feel suicidal or partake in suicidal
actions.
In the process of translating the article into the note, there were some aspects and
topics from the article that were lost in translation, meaning I specifically did not
include certain information provided in the article into the note. For example, the article
dives into recommendations for future suicide driver research and in the new genre this
part is not found. A suicide note would not normally have recommendations and explicit
instructions to help prevent future suicides unlike that of the article. I also had to add
emotion to the suicide note that the article lacked. In the note, I had to act as though
emotions and stressors of the world took over my mind and had my thoughts dark and
suicidal. This was a difficult task to do considering I am not suicidal. What helped me
translate the article into a completely different genre, was reading many different
examples of my new genre. This allowed for me to look over and find patterns or
similarities within each and every suicide letter.
In the Giles reading she states Intentionsa sense of audience and purpose and
of what the writer wants the essay to doare essential to a good piece of communicative
writing (Giles 198). This was a vital part of my translation. I needed to change the
intentions the article portrayed into the intentions of a suicide note. In order for a genre to
communicate well with their intended audiences they need to compose the right
information and stylistic tools to appeal to the reader. An example of this could be what
we discussed in class with the hominin species discovery. The Atlantic Monthly article
had a very different approach in the discussion of the discovery compared to the eLIFE
research article. The research article had much more detail and background given to the

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reader. The Atlantic Monthly article portrayed the discovery in a narrative, story-like way.
Both articles discuss the discovery of the Hominin species, however they do that in very
different ways. This is very similar to the translation I had to do from the article to the
note. In both examples, the two articles about the Hominin and my genre translation, they
intentionally provide certain details to communicate with their audiences better.
This genre translation helped me learn that one topic can be discussed in various
ways. From research, to letters, to pretty much any genre, a topic can in some way be
talked about. Depending on the lens in which you discover or come across a topic could
influence your opinion about it. By this I mean, if you would have read purely the
research article on the drivers of suicide you may not tie such an emotional feeling with
the topic, but if your first encounter with this topic was a suicide note, you would feel
emotion and the reality of thoughts taking over physical life. Genre translation was an
interesting idea to explore and opened my eyes to the possibilities of connection between
almost everything.

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Genre Translation:
Goodbye cruel world
Its finally time. Today is the day. I am finally leaving this living hell we call society. This
is the only way I can find happiness. I just know it.
I dont know why I feel this way. I dont know why I urge so badly to be gone. Maybe it
is the depression I suffer from that is always renamed hypersensitive or over
exaggerating. Or maybe its the constant battle to be seen as pretty in todays
superficial society. Possibly its the constant feeling of trying my hardest to succeed and
still finding failure. Maybe the burden of constant failure in my life has part to these
feelings. I am sad every day I am living so let me live in the peaceful world of death
now. In all honesty none of this will even matter to any of you in a couple years. Yeah
youll cry about it, feel maybe a little guilt that you could have done something to stop
me, but it really will not matter, trust me. Ill be gone and the days will move on.
Why fight to live in this world when leaving seems so effortless. Im tired. Im tired of
trying, just to fail. Im tired of battling the dark thoughts, just to be taken over a few
moments later. Im tired of faking a smile, just to cry a little more inside.
Ive been to the psychiatrist offices that my friends claim will fix my thoughts. All Im
told is utter bullshit about what I SHOULD think instead of what I actually do. Do you
guys really think I choose these thoughts? The thoughts that I am not good enough. The
thoughts that I never will be. The thoughts that I cant accomplish anything with my life

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other than failure itself. The thoughts of death being so much easier than living. Yeah,
youre right Mr. Psychologist I am choosing this. Fuck you. These thoughts haunt me
darker than any ugly spirit could. They hurt me more than any physical abuse could strike
me with. And they hold more power over me than any words of encouragement or
perseverance ever could. Im done with this battle. The thoughts have won. Its finally
over. Goodbye cruel world.