Senior Exercises (ENGL 405) is a one-credit capstone course English majors take the spring semester of their senior year. Designed to allow graduating seniors to demonstrate their mastery of foundational concepts and skills in the major, English 405 includes the following "exercises":
- Preparation of the Senior E-Portfolio
- An oral presentation at the Senior Symposium
- The Senior Assessment Survey (to be completed in the final two weeks of the course - ungraded)
- Completion of the Colloquium Requirement: Attendance at two colloquia is required by the end of spring semester senior year. Students who fail to attend two colloquia will have their ENGL 405 grade dropped a third of a grade for each colloquium short of the requirement.
Course outcomes for English Senior Exercises
Students completing ENGL 405 will:
- Reflect on their experience in the major and articulate how they can most usefully frame this experience for their future endeavors (Portfolio)
- Explain how they achieved departmental learning outcomes (Portfolio)
- Assess their own learning achievements and outcomes (Portfolio/Senior Survey)
- Present their senior tutorial or honors thesis research and be able to answer questions about this directed research from faculty and student attendees (Senior Symposium Presentation)
- Offer advice to the department on the major as a whole - what's working, what changes might help students better achieve our goals (Senior Survey)
Class meetings are scheduled by the instructor: Spring 2025 instructor is Dr. Cynthia Richards.
The E-Portfolio
The Senior E-Portfolio will include the following:
A brief (2-3 pages) description of the portfolio, including a list of the English courses you have taken (number, title, semester, professor) and an explanation of why you chose each of the pieces you have included.
Vita or resume (one class session will be dedicated to workshopping resumes)
Three written papers from English classes that showcase precise, vigorous writing and demonstrate a sense of voice, style, and format appropriate to the paper鈥檚 purpose.
1. A paper from an English class that best demonstrates your close reading skills. The paper should offer a clear, intriguing thesis supported by textual evidence and may also include engagement with secondary sources and close readings by other critics. Highlight passages (two select paragraphs up to two pages total in length) that best illustrate your close reading skills in yellow. Your highlighted passages should offer interpretive insights gained through sustained analysis of textual detail such as diction, form, figurative language, and imagery.
2. A paper from an English class that best demonstrates your literary research and analytical skills. The paper should offer a clear and insightful thesis, which situates the primary source in significant historical, social/cultural, or critical contexts and engages with secondary scholarship. The thesis should be supported by relevant and inventive passages鈥攁ptly selected and highlighted. You should highlight passages (two select paragraphs up to two pages total in length) illustrating your literary research and analytical skills in blue.
3. A paper, preferably from an English class, that best showcases your ability to write in varied forms and for varied audiences. You might choose a writing sample in a creative genre (such as fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction), a journalistic report, an essay on pedagogy, or another piece of writing that shows your range. This piece should demonstrate a clear sense of purpose and audience awareness.
Letter (2-3 pages) describing the value of the major. This letter can take a variety of forms and can be addressed to a variety of audiences. The following are some examples of the direction you can take in this letter, by addressing it to:
鈼� a future employer鈥攊dentify skills and aptitudes acquired in the major
鈼� a graduate school鈥攊dentify courses that have prepared you for further study
鈼� your parents鈥� identify why the English major was the right major for you
鈼� a prospective English major鈥攊dentify what they will learn in the major and its value
The portfolio will be submitted and stored electronically for purposes of departmental assessment and for future reference as needed (future letters of recommendation, for instance).
The Senior Symposium
On April 25, 2025, senior English majors will each give a 20-minute oral presentation based on either their thesis in progress in ENGL 404 or their honors thesis. The audience for each presentation will be a panel of Wittenberg English professors, at least two other seniors who are also presenting during their session, and any other Wittenberg students who would like to attend. We assume that all senior English majors will be in attendance at panels other than their own. Majors can earn up to two colloquium credits for attending full sessions, one for each session of three presentations attended.
The faculty panel will have a chance to ask questions after the presentation and discuss ideas and reactions with the student presenter before assigning a grade.