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Jared Medenwald
202 6th Ave. North Apt. #321
Fargo, ND 58102
jared.a.medenwald@ndsu.edu

Thursday, December 17 2015

English Department Assessment Committee

Fargo, ND 58102
P.O. Box 6050
Fargo ND 58108-6050

Dear Asssesssment Committee,

The following is what I believe to be a representative example of how I have met a few critical
departmental standard outcomes during my academic progress as an English Major. Contained
herein are some works from my Senior year of classes, including my final capstone paper, my
proposal of the very same capstone paper, a precis from my Introduction to Writing Studies
class, and an essay about Salman Rushdies imaginative novel Haroun and the Sea of Stories. I
have also included one piece of work from my Junior year in the Fall of 2014 that is a
psychoanalytic interpretation of the character Levee from August Wilsons play, Ma Raineys
Black Bottom. In this framing letter, I will list and provide all the necessary detail required to
show how these documents demonstrate my ability to achieve the expected departmental
outcomes for learning by English Majors.
The expected learning outcomes are:
-

Outcome 2: English majors will be able to read (analyze, interpret, critique, evaluate)
written and visual texts.

Outcome 5: English majors will be familiar with a variety of theoretical lenses,

learning to recognize them at the 200-level and learning to use them by the 400-level.

Outcome 6. English majors will be familiar with literatures as culturally and

historically embedded practices. This outcome includes goals such as familiarity with
major writers, genres, and periods, and technologies of writing.

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-Document #1 Proposal of Senior Capstone Project.

Class: English 467 Introduction to Capstone Experience.
Teacher: Amy Rupiper Taggart
Mentor: Dr. Andrew Mara
When: Fall Semester 2015.
This proposal required me to do a lot of planning for the biggest project of my academic life.
Once my mentor, Dr. Andrew Mara helped me decide on a topic, I was then required to complete
this proposal document for the purpose of giving my research an organized starting point.
Unfortunately by the time this assignment was due was when I started to fall behind in the class,
and so there are some elements within this proposal, particularly the extensive amount of
information covered regarding using Usability Experience (UX) methods for validating my
taxonomy of comedy podcasts, that I eventually had to sort of fade away from. This assignment
required me to organize myself and make it very clear what my intentions with this project were
at the time. Much of what is in this proposal I stayed close to while creating my final document
for my Senior Capstone Project.
-Document #2 Senior Capstone Paper and Project.
Class: English 467 Introduction to Capstone Experience.
Teacher: Amy Rupiper Taggart
Mentor: Dr. Andrew Mara
When: Fall Semester 2015.
The biggest project of my academic life, a taxonomy of comedy podcasting. This was what I
viewed to be the most exciting time of my academic career. I was starting to feel burned out after
writing the same old documents over and over, like resumes and job packets, so by the time this
project came around, I was ecstatic to be working on something I actually had a passion for.
When I joined the English department a few years ago, I honestly expected to be able to do more
projects like this, to tailor them around my interests. I didnt get to do as many independent
projects like this as I would have liked during my time as an English Major, but this was one I
was really proud to sink my teeth into and I will always be proud of it and continue to work on
things like this after my education is complete. For me, this project wont end simply when the
semester does.
-Document #3 Precis #2 Charles Bazermans The Case for Writing Studies as a Major
Discipline.
Class: English 275 Introduction to Writing Studies.
Teacher: Justin Atwell.
When: Fall Semester 2015.
Satisfies: Outcome #2 - English majors will be able to read (analyze, interpret, critique,
evaluate) written and visual texts.
Although this is a rather short document I believe it shows my ability to effectively interpret,
summarize, and analyze a scholarly article effectively. When I first got going as an English
Major I absolutely hated summarizing, but now that Ive done it so much for a good amount of
time I feel like its almost something I could do in my sleep. I absolutely consider this a strength
that came to be as a result of my education, because I certainly had a lot more trouble completing
assignments like this while I was a Comm. Major. It didnt take me long to complete, but I also
attribute that positively toward my English education. I now feel I can finally write a document
that takes up a couple pages, within a short amount of time, without having to let the quality of

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the assignment suffer from having to complete it speedily.

-Document #4 Literary Analysis Essay Psychoanalyze That: Levee the Jazz Cat.
Class: English 271 Literary Analysis.
Teacher: Emily Wicktor.
When: Fall Semester 2014.
Satisfies: Outcome #5 - English majors will be familiar with a variety of theoretical lenses,
learning to recognize them at the 200-level and learning to use them by the 400-level.
This, psychoanalysis, is just one of the lenses for literary criticism that I learned in Dr. Wicktors
Literary Analysis class. Before taking this class I didnt understand how there were certain lenses
that certain literary critics tend to gravitate toward in their work and sometimes define
themselves by, now I see that there is a wide range of ways to interpret something as a literary
scholar, these lenses range from Post-Colonialism, to Marxism, to Psychoanalysis, and beyond.
-Document #5 World Literature Essay #3 on Salman Rushdies Haroun and the Sea of Stories.
Class: English 240 World Literature Masterpieces.
Teacher: Dr. R.S. Krishnan.
When: Fall Semester 2015.
Satisfies: Outcome #6 - English majors will be familiar with literatures as culturally and
historically embedded practices. This outcome includes goals such as familiarity with major
writers, genres, and periods, and technologies of writing.
Salman Rushdie is just one of the great authors that I read and wrote about during my education
as an English Major. I believe it is important to have knowledge of the great authors of the past
and present. This allows us to see how everything we do now is in a way, a remix of what weve
been given by the great authors that came before us. During this paper I learned how Rushdie
dealt with censorship and wrote this, a childrens book for adults, or, and adult book for children,
as an effort to help explain his difficult situation to his son through the best way he knew how, by
telling stories that arent even true!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I hope that the department sees these documents as proof that I have come a long way in my
education as an English Major. Before I joined the English department, I didnt really like
reading, and I certainly couldnt write a lick. Both of those things, I believe, are much different.
Now I love to read, and I believe this is from being exposed to great literature like Moby Dick in
English 167 to Rushdies Haroun and the Sea of Stories in English 240. My biggest growth
period was certainly during my Capstone Experience class (English 467). Here was where I think
I started to get a glimpse into what I might find myself doing in five or less years from now. My
passion is comedy, and along with my education as an English Major, I can finally see a realistic
career ahead of me that combines my education with what Im truly passionate about. I would
like to sincerely thank every faculty member in the English department that has helped me get to
where I am today.

Sincerely,

Jared Medenwald