Lia Calise Unit 5 Reflective Essay Final Draft

Upon enrolling in this course, my expectation was to brush up on my technical writing skills and learn a bit more about different genres of writing. To be honest, I was not looking forward to a course involving a great deal of writing. However, I feel as if this course has allowed me to drastically improve my writing skills, both technical and non-technical. Over the duration of this course, I have gained a better understanding of the writing within the engineering field, specifically biomedical engineering. I believe that this technical writing course has shaped me into a better chemical engineer, and I am grateful. Unit 1 asked me to explore writing within my field, which is chemical engineering, more specifically biomedical engineering. I chose an article titled Medical applications of poly-4hydroxybutyrate: a strong flexible absorbable material. The article I chose was one I was introduced to while on co-op at Davol, a medical device company specializing in hernia repair meshes. Davol had recently begun experimenting with poly-4-hydroxybutyrate, and this article provided me with the knowledge necessary to research and develop possible hernia mesh prototypes. I was able to read and understand this article, and then use my understanding of technical writing within the biomedical field to analyze the article. I offered detailed observations and analysis of the article, such as in the following excerpt where I was able to identify the authors purpose for writing the article: this article serves to convince the reader that P4HB outperforms other biodegradable polymers and should be the wave of the future in medical devices. Overall, Unit 1 introduced me to technical writing within the engineering field and allowed me to take a closer look at the content and structure of a technical journal article. In Unit 2, I was asked to create an original document, or reference document, that someone might refer to for guidance. I identified the need for clear instructions on how to keep a neat and organized lab notebook at my last co-op, where the FDA regularly audits lab notebooks. I identified a gap in knowledge that existed at Davol: lab technicians were not properly trained on how to structure their lab notebooks in a way that included all necessary information and avoided errors. My reference document was a standard operating procedure for lab notebook documentation, and I actually submitted the document to my former boss at Davol to be implemented pending approval. Unit 3 focused on writing for a general audience, which I found challenging. It was very difficult to explain a technical topic, such as hydraulic fracturing, to a popular audience in a way they would find appealing and interesting. I wrote a piece entitled Flammable Tap Water: Fact or Fiction? in which I introduced the concept of hydraulic fracturing and its adverse effects on the environment and public health. I aimed to educate the general public about fracking, as it is something very few people are aware of yet has enormous repercussions environmentally. I believe I was successful in appealing to the audience; for example, in the following excerpt I relate hydraulic fracturing to contaminated drinking water: Who knows how many tens of thousands of Americans are currently affected by unsafe drinking water due to fracking contamination. I believe this sentence engages the reader, making them question whether or not hydraulic fracturing could possibly contaminate their drinking water. Unit 3 proved difficult,

however I learned much about breaking down technical information into something the common person could understand. Unit 4 required me to write a literature review, a review of current research knowledge in the biomedical field. I chose to focus on hydrogel drug delivery systems for use in spinal cord injury repair. This topic is something I had recently learned about while conducting research before going on co-op interviews this semester. A company I was interested in working for is currently researching the best and most efficient ways to deliver drugs to spinal cord injuries using injectable hydrogels. This sparked my interest, and I decided to focus my literature review on hydrogels in general, as well as cross-linking methods and the polymers these hydrogels are composed of. I feel as if I demonstrated a broad knowledge of hydrogels; I used various references to compliment my previously existing knowledge and provide a more detailed explanation. The most difficult part of Unit 4 was using the Internet to research my topic. I was able to utilize the Northeastern library system to find specific articles relating to hydrogel drug delivery within the spinal cord region, which was surprising. I had never before used the Northeastern library system, and I am glad this unit provided me with this opportunity. Once my references were established, I struggled to group the information in a format that made sense to the reader and facilitated the sharing of knowledge. I found using headings and subheadings made the information easy to read and understand. The use of an abstract to summarize the lengthy literature review made it simple for the reader to get a brief understanding of the content without having to read the entirety. While Unit 4 was very time intensive, I found it extremely beneficial, as I am sure I will have to compose similar literature reviews in my career as a chemical engineer working within the biomedical industry. This course proved extremely useful in that I was able to drastically improve my technical writing skills. Also, I learned much about the writing a chemical engineer is expected to compose out in the real world, such as literature reviews, formal journal articles, and informal articles for a general audience. Through revision club, I was able to receive useful feedback from my fellow classmates, as well as review others writing, providing me with the chance to think critically. I am extremely happy with this course, and would strongly recommend it to others. I would like to thank Professor Akbari, as well as my fellow classmates, for all your help in reviewing and providing feedback on my various bloggies and rough drafts.