[ENGL W3001] Critical Reading, Critical Writing

Brown is one of the best seminar teachers I've had at Barnard. She knows how to keep people talking, and how to make sure it's not the same three people who hog the conversation. She knows when to speak, and when to let students take the ball. The result is two hours of class discussion that are enriching and exciting. Of course this only works if you actually read the books, and enjoy literature, but I guess I was lucky because most of my class did. The syllabus is interesting, and the breadth of material covered means that there is something for everybody.She's also a fabulous editor, my writing improved immensely over the course of her class. Not an easy grader, but an A is possible if you're willing to work hard.

Prof. Mehta is one of the most understanding professors I've had yet. I feel l ike she honestly cares about her students, and she's always available if you need her. She was very flexible with the paper deadlines, and she always let us write first drafts and even scheduled meetings to discuss them. If you want to improve your writing, she's a great person to go to. Unlike most professors at this university, she will give you the paper grade that you deserve, it's no easy A. (probably an easy B though) If your paper is bad enough, she'll give it back without a grade, and let you rewrite it. She's a very caring and wonderful professor. She even changed the syllabus for this awful class to fit our interests.

What a beautiful man. You know how there are professors that drive you crazy and wonder why you work so hard and still don't reap any reward. Well this professor makes you realize that there are indeed GREAT professors out there, and that there is more to college than just grades. To add icing to the cake, if you show him that you know how to write a structured analytical essay, you will get an A. Beware of explicating in essays, he assigns explications already for each class. The class time is when you get to analyze it with your fellow classmates and Prof. Pagano. We went over a lot in this class and Prof. Pagano adds his insight till the very end to tie everything together. Take this class. You will not regret it. If anything, just take a class with him. He truly cares for his students and will not forget you. In fact, I met him the other day and he reminded me to stay strong throughout finals. For those who think that professors don't care about their students and such and such, do yourselves a favor and take a class with him. You will be very glad you did.

Fleischer is one of my favorite professors at Columbia and I'm sorry to say she is part-time so she cannot be my English academic advisor. I am appalled at the other students' reviews. For the entire semester she was very kind, open-
minded, receptive, knowledgeable and interesting. Class discussions were thought-provoking and her comments on papers were always constructive. I looked forward to class every week and the readings she chose were fantastic. She grades fairly and is always open to extensions as long as you ask ahead of time. I loved my experience in her class.

Georgette's really great. She's got her ideas and doesn't take any shit. She's totally respectful of her students' ideas and has never once tried to convince me that school is the most important thing in my life. She does like to name drop, yes. And she does parse sentences on the board and make people read aloud from papers, but she makes me work harder and better than I have since high school. It's a good thing.

i agree with the above reviewer. there won't be any sparks flying in this class, but is probably the least painful way to satisfy a lame requirement. most other profs assign 5 papers, each 5 pages for this class (sometimes 4 5 pagers and a 10 page research essay), but Runsdorf makes the papers only 3 pages. and as the semester goes on he gets very leniant about due dates. what more could you ask for? he does run this seminar like a lecture though, which is alright b/c he is pretty knowledgeable and most sophmore english major are not. pretty good syllabus too, once the semester gets going. also, he's VERY available outside class (ie in the dean's office all day).

Every semester Runsdorf teaches Critical Writing, which is probably the least desireable position in the English dept. But he loves it. Honestly, this guy is a total sweetheart, obviously brilliant, and manages to make an otherwise shitty requirement for the English major really interesting. He's totally available outside of class, is very concerned about his students, and gives what I consider to be some of the best writing criticism I've encountered so far.

Don't hesitate to take CW with him. Class is boring sometimes, but for the most part the syllabus is GREAT, the assignments are standard, and he's very flexible.

Professor Brown is amazing, in her quiet, modest way. The class atmosphere was relaxed, but engaged with the material, and it was okay if we went of track and joked around a little. Brown sticks to her outline, but that's a great thing because she illuminates the texts (all interesting) in a way that helps you to appreciate them more. Her grading was always consistent and fair, and her comments actually give you something to improve on. The workload is the same as for all other classes, but it might be more enjoyable because Brown is just so kind and intriguing. If you have her, don't switch. You won't regret it

I loved this course. Prof. Mendelson is interesting, funny and down to earth. He's not looking for you to impress him or to give him some sort of unique insight. Instead, he'd like you to tell him the obvious, simply and briefly. He'd often talk about random topics like SUVs (he hates them) or Scarsdale. He's understanding about deadlines and would prefer that you turn in a polished piece later on. I think he's probably more approachable if you have him in a smaller setting-our class had about 15 people and I felt that he was comfortable in getting to know us. If you have him, visit him in office hours. He's really great and such a wonderful professor. He was helpful to me with my writing and is caring about other stuff that's going on outside of class. Maybe the best professor I've had here.

I immensely enjoyed Professor Brown's class; she is definitely not an easy teacher - I think she has a no A policy; I don't know anyone who did better than a B+. You will work really hard, but there's definitely a sense of headway. She sees to it that your writing will improve and requires each student to schedule 2 conferences with her over the semester. She allows revisions, but it's possible that she'll give you the same grade you started out with if she doesn't feel you took it far enough. Her classes are very well-structured - you will discuss everything you read, which keeps you on your toes, but also makes for a scintillating class because everyone arrives well-prepared. Her comments are insightful, but not too dogmatic; she pauses to consider even the most inane comments and almost everybody has a lot to say. If you love English, you will love this class.

She seemed cool at first--trendy clothes, hip glasses, lots of energy. But it did not take long to figure out that this prof was far more interested in herself and her own ideas to take the time to listen to what her students had to say. I got the feeling that if I did not agree with her, I was wrong. Although Prof. Fleischer made herself available in office hours, it was almost pointless to go as she was sure to not really listen to you. It was not a BAD class per se, and I do not regret having taken it. However, I would not recommend her to anyone who is opinionated, thinks for herself, and appreciates being heard out rather than cut off. One other thing--Prof. Fleischer likes to point out the shortcomings of your paper in a public arena, as in she has you write marked off sentences on the board and then asks the class how the sentence should have been written, as well as being sure to add how she would have written it herself.

Such a nice lady! Charming and stylish. Very fair grader. She's the kind of professor who looks kind of conservative and arrogant, but she's open to all sorts of comments and jokes and laughs heartily at them. Her class can be a bit boring at times, but she won't penalize you if you hand in your work late or need to revise your final paper after the due date. For those of you who are English majors and need to take critical writing, Mary Cregan is a high recommendation.