Nate Dake

Reflective Essay
During my four years at Northeastern the vast majority of courses that
I have taken fell into the category of maths and sciences; Greek symbols
took the place of complete sentences while communication took the back
seat to results. However, this course changed that storyline very quickly. By
forcing me to take a long critical look at not only how I write, but how I
communicate my ideas across all mediums, this course has left me wielding
a much sharper set of skills. In my particular discipline of Biomechanical
Engineering the ability to relay information between very different discourses
is an absolute necessity. When trying to communicate with Doctors, Physical
Therapists, patients, etc. clear and effective transfer of knowledge is
paramount for a successful effort. With a better handle on how this is done I
feel very confident in my ability to engage and lead those around me in my
future engineering ventures.
One critical aspect of my discipline is the determination of an effective
medium based on the expected audience. While all units addressed this
throughout the course, unit two, three, and four were especially strong
developing this. Unit two, creating a professional reference document, forced
me to determine the form that my coworkers would find the most useful.
With my experience on the job I realized a hard copy that could be quickly
flipped through was far more valuable than a fancy website that took several
minutes to access and required a computer. The document I created was

only strengthened by the constructive review of my classmate, Adam. After

reading he wrote to me:

I think it might be beneficial to include a diagram or two in some parts of

the procedure especially in the skin fold section just to further solidify exactly
where each of the tests occur. With this noted I added several reference
pictures that most definitely brought clarity to the document. Unit three,
explaining a technical concept to a non-technical audience may have been
the most challenging to choose a captivating medium. I was trying to explain
the Theory of Special Relativity to a group of young high school students.
After having been in that position before I remembered how quickly concepts
could be lost when a teacher went too quickly, didnt build up a solid
fundamental structure, and presented the material in an uninteresting
fashion. This led me to design a Prezi, incorporating the foundations as the
presentation went on. By taking this approach instead of a paper or set of
instructions there is a much greater chance of keeping the students
engaged, interested, and subsequently learning the concept. As we move
onto the fourth unit it should be noted that this was most certainly my
favorite; with my interest in pursuing a PhD being proficient in reading
scientific literature, as well as writing in a manner that all can follow, is
crucial. This unit not only allowed me to practice the format that will be used
in my future writings, but it left me with a newfound appreciation of scientific
journals. What was once boring, dull, and dry, I now see in a light that

exposed the clarity and stability which readers cannot do without. The ability
to write in such a fashion allows a quicker and more effective transfer of
knowledge, precisely what I wish to accomplish in my future.
Another necessity for success in my field is being able to effectively
formulate and articulate a stance. This course more than anything pushed
me to form and give judgments, rather than simply repeat facts and data.
Unit four offers a great example of this. When I first was writing my paper I
initially had a rather neutral stance, however after being pushed by my
professor Tom Akbari I offered my personal judgements (backed by evidence
of course). I was skeptical of this technique at first, but what really won me
over was reading the model literature review The Hallmarks of Cancer, one
of the most referenced paper in the last 15 years. My interpretation of
scientific literature up until this point had been: no first person, no opinion,
and no personal involvement. Examination of the following quote clearly
shows that this thought process in inaccurate.

We foresee cancer research developing into a logical science, where the

complexities of the disease, described in the laboratory and clinic, will
become underlying principles.

Here the authors are seen offering an incredibly strong judgment, one that
had not really been seen up until this point, with great success. I took this to

heart and implemented it in my unit 4 review. A specifically strong moment

would be:

With that said, it is my belief that the future of ACL injury repair lies under
the category of bio-enhanced repair. Following the words of George
Santayana, Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat
it. We must look back and leave no stone unturned in order to continue
advancement in this field.

I inform the reader clearly of my position on the subject when compared to

others, supported with evidence that can be seen in the rest of the paper.
This judgement could lead to debate with other experts in the field, which is
an indicator that it is strong. By following this process the overall quality of
my paper was greatly strengthened, but even more important was the fact
that this though process was introduced to me, and it is something that I can
use for the rest of my professional career.
I was never looking forward to taking ENGW3302; to be honest I had
started to take it and subsequently dropped two times already due to how
much I disliked it. However, the design of this particular section was not at all
what I expected. It allowed me to be creative, experiment with different
ideas, and hone my writing skills to a professional format. I learned a great
deal about the subjects I am interested in, how to write more effectively in

my discourse, and above all how to clearly communicate my knowledge with

everyone around me.