December 16, 2012 Dear NDSU Assessment Committee, When I first came to NDSU, I was undecided on what I was

going to major in and unsure about my future. During my freshman year I was struggling to find classes that interested me or subjects that I would want to continue pursuing. I have always enjoyed reading and writing, but never considered myself a good writer. Choosing English as a major was the best decision I have made in my college career. After deciding to pursue an English degree, my grade point average began to rise along with my reading and writing skills. Through the last three years I have learned how to form clear arguments in my papers, analyze and interpret academic texts, and meet the seven outcomes of being an English major. The texts in my portfolio will demonstrate all of the characteristics mentioned above and focus on the seven outcomes listed below: Outcome 1: English majors will be able to write and speak effectively for a variety of purposes and audiences in a variety of genres and media. Outcome 2: English majors will be able to read (analyze, interpret, critique, evaluate) written and visual texts. Outcome 3: English majors will be able to conduct research effectively using a variety of research strategies and sources and documenting their sources according to standard guidelines. Outcome 4: English majors will be able to manage sophisticated writing and research projects, planning, documenting, completing, and assessing work on-time and within the constraints of the project. 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. Outcome 7: English majors will develop professionalism exhibited in such qualities as self-direction, cooperation, civility, reliability, and care in editing and presenting the final product.

The first paper in my portfolio is a summary analysis of Molly Hites article, "Tonal Cues and Uncertain Values: Affect and Ethics in Mrs. Dalloway" from English 271: Literary Analysis class in the spring of 2012. This paper illustrates the skills I have learned to achieve Outcomes 2, 5, and 6 for English majors. The summary analysis required me to analyze all 26 pages of Hites article and summarize her main points into a single page. In order to write this paper, I had to be familiar with both Virginia Woolfs Mrs. Dalloway and Deconstructionism. The article focused on the tonal ambiguity present in Mrs. Dalloway and how it relates to the readers response after reading the novella. Understanding the cultural and historical significance of Mrs. Dalloway was

also necessary in responding to Hites article, otherwise I would not have been able put into perspective all of the themes within the text. The next paper is from English 275: Introduction to Writing Studies, from the spring of 2010 with Dr. Andrew Mara. This was the first time I conducted field research for a paper and combined the information with secondary sources to write, Communication through Social Networking Websites. The research required for this project helped me learn the skills required to reach Outcome 3 and 4. I had to follow a strict schedule on my research to meet the deadlines for the assignment and learned how to organize all of my data effectively. This class also helped me achieve Outcome 1 and 7 by putting together an event called The Celtic Crawl. I was part of the managing group for the event and had to work with the entire class to make sure everyone was keeping up with deadlines and making sure everything went smoothly. This required me to learn how to write memos, news releases, and keeping minutes of our group meetings. I have not yet taken English 358: Writing in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, but am enrolled for the class next semester. I feel more than prepared to take the class after learning the skills needed for the class in many of my other upper level English courses. The rest of my portfolio consists of papers and projects from other 300 level and above classes that will translate to English 358 when I take it next semester. One of the most difficult upper division courses Ive experienced as an undergrad was English 341: 20th Century American Fiction in the spring of 2011 with Dr. Totten. This was my first 300 level class, and I didnt take Literary Analysis yet. I was vaguely familiar with theoretical lenses at the time, but I had to learn quickly how to explicate papers, understand literary theory (Modernism, Postmodernism, and others), and keep up with the rest of the class. Ive attached an explication on Richard Wrights story, The Ethics of Living Jim Crow: An Autobiographical Sketch to show how I was able learn the skills necessary to reach Outcomes 2, 5, and 6. To write this paper I had to understand Critical Race Theory, along with being able to evaluate the text and a scholarly article analyzing it. To show how I was able to grow as an English major, Ive attached my midterm paper for English 382: Film Genres and Styles (with a focus on Anime). I had the class in the fall of 2011 with Dr. Birmingham and was introduced to many ideas and concepts I had never heard of before. I chose to include the midterm in my portfolio since both essays show a clear understanding of how anime is produced, different styles of anime, scholarly sources analyzing anime, and are both well written. Learning about Japans culture and how it is depicted in the medium of anime helped me achieve the objectives for Outcomes 1,2, 5 and 6. The last section of my portfolio includes my project for English 467: English Studies Capstone Experience. My project is titled, The Rise of Zombies in a Post-September 11th Culture and examines why zombies have become popular in todays society. The goal of the project was to meet the skills required for all seven of the outcomes of being an English major. I was able to achieve all of the goals except for being able to complete all of the assignments on time. I have always had a problem with procrastination and it got the best of me this semester. I put more time into the project in the last month of class than I had the rest of the semester. This experience helped me learn my weaknesses in larger assignments and what I need to do in order to not repeat the same mistakes. Now that I am done with the class, I am very confident in my research,

writing, and presentation skills. There were a few bumps along the way, but Dr. Birmingham was able to help me stay focused and finish the semester strong. Sincerely, Lee Gullickson