For
my writing project, I will be taking a scholarly article and transforming it
into two separate genres while still keeping the subject and information
discussed intact. The academic
publication I’ve chosen is an article reviewing the book, “Science,
Religion and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence” by David Wilkinson,
which explores the potential for extraterrestrial life and the foreseeable effects
on both science and religion if it is discovered.
To translate this
article and its information into a genre fit for younger audiences, I will most
likely be creating a rhyming children’s book story, reminiscent of Dr. Seuss,
explaining what scientists do, the evidence for extraterrestrial life, and the
opinions of the religious in easy-to-understand terms. I think simplifying this information and
presenting it in this way will not only make the article easier for children to
understand, but will make it fun and interesting to learn about science. When I was growing up, I remember reading Dr.
Seuss books and thoroughly enjoying the way that the story rhymed and almost
had a rhythm to the flow of words. The entertainment
of reading this kind of writing will contribute to the overall experience of my
extraterrestrial intelligence children’s book, as it will not only encourage
young audiences to continue reading but will also ensure that they enjoy
reading the material, which could very well result in better absorption and
retention of the information presented. The
only real concern I have about creating this piece is that I will have to read
and simplify all the information presented in the original article, and then
somehow make the storyline rhyme will still maintaining flow.
On the other hand, in
order to convert this article into a genre designed for older audiences, I will
probably rewrite the piece as an article from a newspaper. Even when not written in rhymes and
accompanied by pleasant illustrations, the information presented in the
original article is quite fascinating and would not be difficult to translate
into a newspaper article. Newspapers
today are read almost exclusively by older adults, as the rise of technology
and the enduring reign of the internet have given younger audiences a new
platform on which to receive worldwide updates and breaking news. Due to this, the extraterrestrial life newspaper
article will be tailored to specifically older adults—I intend to incorporate
more artful diction, more facts and specifics, and definitely less
rhyming. I think that writing this piece
will be significantly more challenging than the Dr. Seuss story, as I will be
forced to write much more formally and less entertainingly.
I intend to refine and improve
my thoughts and ideas for my writing project as time goes on. Currently, I have a very rough outline of the
process of creating these two new genre pieces that I would very much like to
improve upon. With more brainstorming
and mapping out ideas, I think I will be able to pull together all my thoughts
and create two convincing and (hopefully) entertaining pieces from the original
article. Hopefully, the subject of the
article will help ease the frustration of writing. After all, who doesn’t love aliens?
