[Chloe Rodriguez]: Midterm Portfolio – #2 Plain Language

The Project

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Project Description 

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Documentation 

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Converting A Tree Grows in Brooklyn into plain language was a fairly difficult task to complete. I think beginning to write was probably the most difficult since I felt like I was somehow going to mess it up even though that is nearly impossible. But it did take a few read throughs to understand what the meaning of each paragraph was since I couldn’t betray the author’s original intent to focus entirely on making the language itself more accessible. When I started writing it did get a bit easier since I had a better idea of where I was going with the text and how the plain language version should sound. However, I think my biggest difficulty once I began writing was that I felt like the simplification of certain words might be unnecessary, but worse than that, I felt like my attitude towards some words perhaps being difficult was slightly offensive if that makes sense. Obviously, plain language is not meant to make texts accessible to all and it is unlikely that any text would be accessible to all but I do feel that my metric for what is accessible might be offensively low. Also, some of the words I was using in lieu of the words I deemed too complex may have been the simplest words ever. The plain language version that I did complete is okay; I still feel as though some words or concepts might not have been best translated but it is definitely easier to digest than the original text so I think I partially succeeded. Additionally, I opted against translating the poem within the text mostly because the poem exists outside of its context so I feel like it would be difficult to explain but also because the poem is written in such a way to mimic the epic poems of the ancient world thus making the meter significant. 

Translating the homework assignment was a different beast. For most of my classes we just have short assignment descriptions that are elaborated upon in class except for my poetry class. In that class we are exploring the poetic form of sestinas. I think that poetry has a lot of words that are not common and needed some breaking down. I did that as best as I could though I feel like it could’ve been done better. Also, I feel like the breakdown follows a pattern that does not necessarily have to be followed that way. I think in general, it is a confusing form of poetry so it was difficult to work out. 

Here is a link to my plain language versions of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and my homework assignment

Reflection Questions

I am not sure there is any theme aside from making information easier to understand and simplifying ideas to be more understandable. This is expressed by focusing on clarity, short sentences, and commonly used words. I think the message of the word is best expressed in this modality. It is very simple and makes information quicker to read and comprehend. I think the deeper meanings of some text may be lost in plain language; there is a lot of creative elements that rely on complex ideas that can’t be translated into plain language. I think plain language excludes individuals who want or need detailed and technical explanations. The most obvious way to make this piece include the excluded populations is to include two versions of the text: a more complex version and the plain language version to meet the needs of people who need or want either version. 

Additional Modality (if applicable) 

What modality did you apply? 

How did you decide on this modality?

What does the beholder gain from this additional modality? Why? 

Does the beholder lose anything from this modality? What? 

Show documentation of this modality, and describe it if it’s not accessible on a screen (ie, if it’s tactile if it’s a scent)