For my upcoming writing project, I am planning to convert a scientific
and academic journal into pieces of writing that will fit to the needs of
different audiences. The topic I will be focusing on is about is immunology, a
specific field I am interested in. The article I have decided to write about
explains how natural killer cells can be used in immunotherapy for cancer
patients through vaccines. In order to appeal to the variety of the audiences,
I will have to think like my audience and attempt to follow the style of
writings that are usually used for certain age groups.
As a fellow
and/or used-to-be young audience, I think the best way to approach this topic
is to create a short story. Growing up, I remember reading story books about a
particular topic that explained a complicated process in simple terminology. Because
kids, in general, are not accustomed to the complicated jargon, it only makes
sense to follow these guidelines. I also like how authors have personified
certain concepts to help explain concepts. For example, I can make the immune
system be a wall and personify incoming virus and bacteria as antagonists of the
natural killer cells and other white blood cells. The only challenge I see with
this project is coming up with a story-line to accommodate the article. The
article has a setup, where they are challenging a certain idea, so I think I
will focus on explaining the basic function of the immune system through
characterization and explaining the findings of this paper.
To be
honest, I am not that familiar with the older audiences because I feel that
this article is already targeted to this age group. Instead of a scholarly
article, I am thinking to write like a, “Understanding How to Approach Cancer.”
I feel like it is not only important to write these kinds of precautionary guides,
but it is one of the few things I am familiar with. I feel like a lot of the pieces
that are written to an older audience is mostly about health
information/prevention. Unlike kids, the older people are more concerned about
their well-beings as they get older. It is common to see in magazines how they
explain certain concepts in an everyday language. Although some may understand
the jargon used in the academic journal, but even in such a wide audience, word
choices can narrow the range of audiences who will understand.
As the week
progress, I am sure I will have a better idea of how to approach this writing
project. At this point, I feel like I only have half of the understanding of
the project. I would assume writing for different audiences would not be as
different as any other types of writing. Since I am not used to writing towards
these kinds of audiences, I feel like this writing project will be a nice
change from the types of writing I am accustomed to as a college student.
Though creativity is something I enjoy, the limitless feeling to this project
may be a bit overwhelming and confusing as I tackle this project.
Nice topic. I enjoyed the topic you picked, which as immunology. It is an interesting topic as you can imagine your body having an army that fights illnesses and sicknesses. I liked how you admitted in your paper that you do not have a cohesive idea on how you want to change or create these two new genres. It was a breath of fresh air where one admits their uncertainty. I like how you have an idea, but you recognize that you still need to work on finishing your idea. Your recognition tat children would not be able to understand the jargon use is accurate. As a result, it was good that you picked up on this and changed the words or concept used. Also I liked how you recognized that the academic paper is suited for an older generation, but still you sought a different example. Good job. All I should say is that you should work on creating a finished project.
ReplyDeleteI like your approach towards appealing to your readers when you say that you have to “think like my audience.” I think that’s a good move because it allows you to relate better and write from the perspective that is on the other side of the article. I really like the short story genre and I have also read many growing up. So the genre for the older audience would be guidelines? Maybe you can even do like a flyer that can be seen in a doctor’s office. And I can totally relate with you about not being too sure how to write for the project. But you could also look at it this way, a lot of the writings out there that are directed towards older audiences aren’t even written by older folks half the time. And vice versa. Most of what we read, as students, was written by an older audience. So I think it’s important to find a balance somewhere in the middle and not let it affect the entirety of the publication. But I like your topic and I’m sure you’re going to do good on the WP3!
ReplyDeleteYour topics is really interesting! It is very unique and I am interested in how you will incorporate it into a short story. I can see how it will be a struggle since it is hard to make a scholarly article "kid friendly" As for your older audience, I understand how you feel as a feel the same. I thought the article itself was also already targeted to an older audience. One thing adults look at a lot are magazines, newspapers, instructions, etc so maybe you can work with that. I was kinda confused about the project too but I feel Zack helped explain it a bit more on Monday. Anyways, best of luck with your WP3!
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