Nathan Szurek

1142 17th ST N
Fargo, ND 58102
December 18, 2014
Assessment Committee
English Department
318 Minard Hall, NDSU
Assessment Committee,
With the submission of this letter I am currently halfway through my fifth year as an NDSU student.
My major is English with a minor in management communications. I switched to the English major in
the spring of 2013 so I have only been a part of the program for 1.5 years including this semester. In
that time I was required to take multiple english courses simultaneously. This allowed me the ability to
study many different forms of writing within a short period of time. As a result, while I may not have
had a long period of time to improve, intensive work over these few semesters has offered me a
significant amount of focused improvement. In compiling this portfolio I chose pieces that display my
best work in relation to the objectives being reviewed this year. As a result they are pieces that either
offer a display of a significant research component, or planned and sophisticated writing. None of the
documents included have been revised since their original completion. My portfolio may be accessed
online at the following URL.
https://engl467portfolio.wordpress.com
Effective Research
Over the short period I have been an English major there have been a great number of projects
requiring background research as well as research in support of arguments I had made. The first
document included that gives an example of effective research is titled Annotated Bibliography on
Masculinity Pertaining to Daisy Miller. In this assignment we were required to research a number of
articles that all dealt with relatively similar subject matter. In this case, masculinity. As a result we
located and read a number of different sources only including those that were of a similar theme.
Finally we selected a single article and were required to give a summary of the argument and main
points discussed within. This is a good example of how this objective has been met because it is an
assignment entirely focused around improving our research capabilities as students and it helped me to
read for arguments and evidence in each essay. In this way I learned to focus research to a specific
topic. I also improved my ability to determine whether or not articles would serve as a valuable
informing source for my own work.
The second piece I have chosen to represent effective research is my capstone project Natural Aspects
of Virtual Worlds: Degradation of Environment in Video Games. This project required more research
than any other project to date. After selecting my topic there was a grueling process of finding
supporting research and background information. We were required to create an annotated bibliography
summarizing and evaluating 14 or more sources on their usefulness to our topic. As mine was based in
literary analysis on video games there was not much parallel research I was able to rely on. However,
the research required for this project helped me to widen my gaze and more easily understand where
current debate on video games lies. This resulted in my inclusion of components not specifically
focused on analyzing the video games as text, but also how they fit into arguments about real world

effect. In this case my research really helped me to pin down what my project would entail and define
points I argued for. Most of this out-of-game analysis can be found in the section titled Broken
Ecology: A Lack of Consequence. Also, the topic I chose required in depth knowledge about each
video game which is evident in my analysis.
Sophisticated Writing
The first component I would like to discuss as an example of a sophisticated writing project would be
my argumentative essay entitled Tech Concerns. In this document I argue for the internalization of
new technology in this evolving digital age. The essay begins with an introduction that helps relate the
this argument to past arguments against the internalization of writing. Using time itself in support of
my argument I helped to show how past arguments against writing were a futile attempt since writing
as a technology was internalized anyway and led to a significant advancement of knowledge. Then I
modernize my argument and engage with Marc Prensky and Nicholas Carr who have produced works
on parallel topics. The main reason this work is a good example of a sophisticated writing project is in
how my argument engaged with essays from two different time periods. I related greek philosophy
arguments to modern arguments all in support of my assertion for the internalization of modern
technology.
The next piece that examples sophisticated writing was my capstone project. Moreover, it required
careful planning and documenting of work within set time constraints. This work really required me to
think through my argument in advance and plan where I wanted it to end up. After completing
preliminary research, I modeled my essay so that the analyses would open the subject and articles on
video game persuasion would follow, supporting my argument for the dangers of negative
representations of environment in-game. In thinking through my argument in advance I was able to
more successfully organize my project in a concise and argumentative manner. This project also serves
as a great example of documentation of work.
At the beginning of the semester we were required to submit a project proposal which I have included.
This outlined our preliminary ideas about what we intended to accomplish. This was followed by an
annotated bibliography summarizing and evaluating sources to determine usability in relation to my
topic. After that we submitted progress reports detailing work completed as well as work remaining to
be done. Finally I finished composition of the essay component and fit my information into a concise
15 minute presentation. All of these separate submissions in relation to the greater assignment
thoroughly documented my work as it progressed from an idea into a fully formed thesis and argument.
It also became quite a lesson in time management, teaching me to successfully meet numerous
deadlines in order to further my project as a whole. Not only did each previous component have
physical submission deadlines, but I had set weekly meetings with my advisor in order to gather insight
on how I could improve these written components.
Each of the assignments chosen falls in line with a number of English department outcomes. The
preceding were specifically chosen to demonstrate how the department effectively teaches students to
successfully perform effective research and stay on task in composing sophisticated writing projects. I
hope this assists you in your assessment of the English program at NDSU. Thank you very much for
your time and instruction over the years.
Sincerely,
Nathan Szurek