Capstone URL: https://dylanhilbercapstoneportfolio.wordpress.

com/
Dylan Hilber
1416 17th St N
Fargo, ND 58102

December 18, 2014

Assessment Committee
English Department
318 Minard Hall
North Dakota State University

Dear English Assessment Committee Members,

I am currently a fourth-year senior working towards earning my B.A in English with a minor in
History. Though I have only been at North Dakota State University for half of my college career,
I feel that I have learned a lot in my time here. In my time here I have further developed my
abilities to conduct research, closely analyze texts, and write more effectively. I have taken
courses that have taught me how to be more efficient with research, and courses that have been
more focused on creativity. The documents in this portfolio show how I have met Outcomes 3
and 4 of the English Department.

The first document in my portfolio is a paper I wrote in my first semester at NDSU for English
335: Multicultural writers, taught by Dr. Linda Helstern. The paper is entitled Oscar Wao:
Breaking Stereotypes, and the focus of the paper was how the novel, The Brief and Wondrous
Life of Oscar Wao, tries to transcend literary stereotypes. In the essay I looked at different
characters in the book and talked about how they either went against literary stereotypes, or went
along with them. This was one of the first essays I wrote where I had to combine a deep reading
of the text with outside research. For this paper I had to conduct research outside of class to find
articles to help with my argument (Outcome 3). I also had to document the sources that I used
using standard MLA guidelines for works cited (Outcome 3). If I could go back and revise this
paper it would mostly be through proof reading, because it had a number of errors.

The second paper in my portfolio is a paper that I wrote for English 452: History of the English
Language, taught by Dr. Bruce Maylath. The paper, The East Midlands Influence on Middle
English, looked at how and why the dialect of the East Midlands had such a large amount of
influence on Middle English. This paper, like the first one, fulfilled Outcome 3 as it required
outside research from a variety of sources. This was one of the most extensive research papers I

had to here at NDSU prior to my taking the Capstone course. For this paper I had to choose a
topic in our textbook, and then I had to hunt down numerous sources that could help me to write
a paper on the topic. It required quite a bit of planning as I had to choose from one of the ten
topics I had written short papers on over the course of the semester, and then I had to more
thoroughly research it (Outcome 3 and 4). There is not much that I think I could do to this paper
to improve it other than some proofreading.

The third paper in my portfolio does not quite meet the Outcomes for the English Department as
much as the other two do. The paper, Not a Normal Night, was written for English 322:
Creative Writing I, and it was my creative fiction piece. While this paper didnt require any
research, it did require sophisticated writing, planning, and on-time completion (Outcome 4).
This paper was one of my favorites to write as it allowed me to come up with a story that I could
try to make feel real. I also gained valuable feedback during class that helped me to improve the
story further. If I could improve something about this paper it would be the length, and maybe
one day I can even turn it into a book.

Finally, my Capstone project and the related two documents demonstrate both of the English
Departments outcomes. The project required me to use research and writing schools that I have
learned throughout my college career. In my paper I wanted to see what went into the creation of
video game languages, and what may have influenced those who create the languages. I
researched four created languages: Esperanto, Nynorsk, Elvish, and Klingon. By researching
these languages and looking into their creation, I hoped to see similarities between their creation
and the creation of video game languages. This project required a lot of outside research,
planning, and effort in order to get it to where I wanted it (Outcomes 3 and 4). This project was
by far the biggest assignment I have ever had to complete. My research included scholarly
articles, books, web articles, and interviews. If I could improve my Capstone Paper I would try to
get my own interview with a video game language creator, because that would allow me to ask
more specific questions then those I found answered online. Im happy with the way it turned
out, but an interview conducted by myself would allow me to expand on it.

I would also like to thank the English Department and faculty for all of their help and instruction
during my time at North Dakota State University. I have had my down moments, and my time
here isnt over for at least one more semester, but Ive enjoyed my time here at NDSU. I also
hope that my portfolio will be helpful in this years review.

Sincerely,

Dylan Hilber