Reece Yamamoto

ENGW 3302
Tom Akbari
20 January 2015

Unit 1: Exploring Writing In Your Field

The paper that I chose to examine is titled, Identification and Evaluation of the Atlantic
Razor Clam for Biology Inspired Subsea Burrowing Systems. It is a research paper analyzing
the natural burrowing technique utilized by the Atlantic Razor Clam and its applications to
modern undersea drilling practices. The paper was written by, Amos G. Winter V and A. E.
Hosoi, from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. The study was presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and
Comparative Biology on January 3, 2011. The paper is a proposal to implement a prototype
drilling system for undersea drilling in commercial use. The numerous applications of the
proposed system would make undersea drilling safer and more efficient, as cited by the
document. The document was specifically written for a definite discourse community. The
community follows the six defining characteristics of a discourse community as defined in the
article, The Concept of Discourse Community, by John Swales.
The community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals (471). This specific
community of researchers and scholars all aim to better the world they live in through the
advancements of their research and studies. Specifically, the text focuses on the study of
biomimicry, which is the imitation of the models, systems and elements of nature for the purpose
of solving complex human problems. More specifically, the paper focuses on five engineering

factors (efficiency, speed, size, simplicity, depth) that were identified in the Atlantic Razor clam,
making it the perfect specimen to mimic.
The community has a method of intercommunications among its members. The
selected research paper is one example of a mechanism of communication among the discourse
community. The paper follows a specific format with an abstract, introduction, body,
conclusion, acknowledgements, and references. This format is used across many different
discourse communities. This creates a common standardized form of communication so that
those outside of the specific discourse community can navigate the text and follow the
information given. The discourse community is not limited to this form of communication, but it
is a commonly used one.
The words or lexis used in the text are very specific to the discourse community. Swales
states that the utilization of community-specific abbreviations, acronyms, and terms is driven by
the requirements for efficient communication exchange between experts (473). The researchers
knew their intended audience and tailored their language to suit that audience. For example,
Winter and Hosoi wrote, we found that only the valves motions contribute to localized
fluidization and that this configuration allows for the actuators and sensors to be located above
the water. Obviously a casual reader would not understand all of the specific terms used, such
as localized fluidization and actuators, but to the other scientists, researchers and engineers,
these are common terms.
This paper in particular is tailored to a specific audience. The previous discourse
community characteristics help the author tailor the text towards that audience. It is clear that
the audience consists of other researchers and engineers based on the specific lexi and
terminology. The paper passes on the information collected by the study and the presents the

procedure used to conduct the research. The procedure must be included so that others may
conduct the same experiments and verify the results. In the discourse community, verification is
very important. In addition to giving information, the papers ultimate goal is to persuade
companies and other colleagues that their research is applicable on a commercial scale.
The overall presentation of the article is very bland. The text is very rigidly formatted to
distinct sections, which makes it very easy to navigate the paper. There is considerably more text
than visuals. This is common in research papers written towards this specific discourse
community. The visuals consist mostly of charts and graphs with some images of the Atlantic
Razor Clam and other undersea organisms that burrow. The visual elements are useful in
helping understand the text. The visuals help the reader conceptualize the complicated
mechanisms and correlations that are made in the text. The format also helps persuade the reader
by drawing their interest in the beginning with the introduction. The middle sections bring the
facts, data and analysis to support the claims that the Atlantic Razor clams mechanism for
burrowing is better than current conventional drilling methods. Finally, the conclusion reiterates
the key points and restates the purpose of the paper in an attempt to leave potential investors and
other researchers convinced.
The authors are very clear on their position throughout the paper. The entire study was
aimed at proving that a new method of drilling based on the mechanisms of the Atlantic Razor
clam is more effective than that of the current methods.
The paper, Identification and Evaluation of the Atlantic Razor Clam for Biology
Inspired Subsea Burrowing Systems has a clear discourse community as defined by John
Swales. The paper is a clear example of how writing can be aimed toward a certain group or

groups to obtain a goal. It is common for this type of technical writing to be used to
communicate in the Mechanical Engineering field.