Writing Program Course Evaluation

Instructor: Derek Mueller                    Course & Section: WRT105: Analysis, Argument and Academic Writing

1. What is the most significant thing you learned about writing or about yourself as a writer in this course?

1. I've learnt that, once given the time to develop a writing project, it has more meaning and I am able to express my ideas better.
2. I learned to analyze my writing in a more clearful, precise manner. Reading backwards is a writing technique for proofreading that I learned. I learned how to find similarities that may not be explicit from two different works. Establishing a connection that I thought never existed is something significant that I have learned in this course and used in my writing pieces.
3. I'm not very good at it. It's not a matter of being lazy or not putting in the time because I work hard. I'm a math mind, noe of this makes sense.
4. I learned that I enjoy writing in a more free form structure over the 5-paragraph structure. I also learned how to better analyze essays and be more specific than general.
5. This course provided me with various perspectives to view my writing differently. Also learning the many different ways of analyzing and exposing your writing.
6. That I can take a long time to formulate my thoughts therefore I need to alot myself alot of time.
7. I learned a style of writing that was different from anything I've learned previously.
8. I learned that good writing consists of more than good ideas. The organization and program is just as important.
9. I believe that I was improving as a writer throughout this course, due to interesting assignments we had. This class enabled me to learn some very invaluable lessons of life that I didn't have to face in other classes. Personally, I love writing, but this course was more strenuous and frustrating than my own major.
10. I learned a lot about self-expression in my writing. I enjoyed the openness that Derek gave us to simply write and he helped guide us in the right direction.
11. I liked how the teacher was very understanding. If one didn't like an esay topic he allowed us to talk to him about it and come up with something else.
12. Unfortunately, that I'm not as good of a writer as I thought I was. I also learned to get more organized in my writing and focusing on facts.
13. The most significant thing I learnt is to write essays in a way that's different from how I write in high school. Finally, I know and understand what a 'claim' is.
14. I learned that I could alter my paper topic to make it more interesting to me. It made writing the papers easier.
15. I definitely learned new methods/styles of writing outside of the format that I learned in high school. Although I doubted my ability to accomplish some of the style, my confidence got greater as the semester went.
16. I'm not as good a writer as I thought I was.
17. That high school writing has not helped me to write an A paper but rather a C+ paper.

2. Which two or three activities or practices worked best in this course (e.g., the writing assignments, class discussion, peer review, course readings, collaborative work, research, use of computer technology) Why?

1. Use of computer technology--it's what we use outside the classroom anyway, so it's good to be able to do something we do normally in class under supervision of your professor.
2. The conferences with Professor Mueller were helpful in that we were able to get feedback from our professor. In addition, we were able to present our ideas to our classmates, getting feedback from them as well. Professor Mueller's help made the process much more effective for me since he was available to talk and assist in the works at office hours and via email. The class discussions broke down the difficult sections of the works we have read like Jeff Rice's essay. After the class discussions, I better understand the essay. In addition, peer review allowed me to help my peers and hear a different perspective on my essay.
3. Peer review, I don't think my essays would've been as good as they are otherwise.
4. I think class discussions and the use of computer technology worked the best because discussions helped me better understand the readings and working with computers allowed me to get work done on essay 3.
5. Class discussion. It worked best because we got feedback on our work from the professor and peers.
6. I enjoyed when our class would debate a subject.
7. Two activities that worked best were private meetings with Derek and class discussions. Private meetings with Derek allowed him to focus individually on everyone's paper. Class discussions allowed everyone to share ideas.
8. I think peer review and course readings were two of the most important activities. It adds a dimension that really helps.
9. I thought that collaborative work would be really interesting, but it turned out to be a failure for me, since people didn't know what to give feedback on. However, I must I enjoyed writing the two last assignments. This kind of research and composition of a more free style of writing is more appealing and engaging.
10. I think that the class discussions were very beneficial for me. I learned a lot about how other people think through my peer views. Some course readings were helpful examples for modeling your work after them and individual research also helped me grow as a writer.
11. I really thought the peer review worked and helped me in the essay writing process. For me I enjoy working in groups. I think minds put together opens the door to a few different ideas you couldn't necessarily think of. You also get to meet your peers.
12. I would have to say that the writing assignment and the work it took to complete them such as research was the most important activity for me in the class.
13. Peer review and class discussions worked best in this course with peer review, I can learn from another point of view. Because often when we are writing we get too carried away about what we think and in class discussions I can be able to broaden my mind as to everbody's background is different, so what/how they perceive about something is different.
14. Peer review--I like hearing my peer's ideas. The collaborative work.
15. Class discussion was very useful because I learned certain things from each student. Course reading, although tough at first, helped me greater.
16. Class discussion. Collabs.
17. The class discussion and peer review worked best in this course.

3. Would you recommend any changes to this course? Please explain.

1. Yes.
2. Including more conferences at the stat of an essay project and the end can keep us more on track and give us more time for individual help. In addition, providing sample essays to look at may help the students have a better understanding of the expectations in the essay.
3. No.
4. No, I don't think so.
5. Explain the content and methods of writing that are going to be used in the course.
6. No.
7. I liked the option to do multimedia with the final project. That could be incorporated into the entire course.
8. Not really--maybe more readings to help base writings on.
9. No, I wouldn't actually recommend any changes to this course.
10. Writing Analytically and The Informed Argument were not extremely helpful and I felt that they were a waste of time sometimes.
11. I think this a good introductory course, so yes I would recommend it.
12. I wouldn't recommend a change but for me it would be much better not to get peer review. Too many different points of view on one essay can confuse you and take your focus off your topic and instead on fulfilling the suggestions of others.
13. We need more time for class discussion.
14. I feel that the article readings could be limited because I found some of them irrelevant.
15. More work to be handed in due to the fact that some people take things for granted and don't do things if they don't have to turn it in.
16. I know the writing is open but the limitations are sometimes ambiguous.
17. More feedback on papers.

4. What was challenging about this course? Why?

1. ---.
2. The grading was challenging at first , because the writing professors have strict guidelines to follow since WRT105 is mandatory, the papers should not be graded in such a firm manner or there should be more grades leading up to the papers like smaller writing assignments.
3. None.
4. The readings were the most challenging because some were too wordy or made their point ambiguous.
5. Adapting to this course in general has been challenging because it is so different from everything I've been taught back home.
6. Finding and choosing something/ a tpic I was interested in.
7. The style of writing was difficult because it was a change from my normal writing style.
8. The assignments. Because they required time for thought and planning.
9. It was challenging trying to understand what the assignments were about.
10. Interpretation of some of the readings were challenging and understanding the writing assignments in the beginning. But once I got going they always became clearer.
11. I thought the essay topics were really challenging, especially essay #3 was especially challenging.
12. Probably getting used to a different process of completing an essay/project.
13. The last essay was challenging as I am introduced to a new method of writing argumentative essays that's different from what I learned my whole life.
14. Writing only 3/4 papers in a long period of time. I am not used to having a lot of time to complete work.
15. Challenging--was getting to know the different styles of writing.
16. The readings because I didn't understand half of the words in the reading.
17. Writing papers. I was not always sure what was expected of me therefore resulting in poor grades.

5. Would you describe your instructor as:

Please provide one or two examples to illustrate your comments above.

1. Allows us to 'discuss' grades--but does not seem willing to discuss grades w/ hope of change.
2. He responded to my concerns via email and was available to sit down and give constructive comments about my essays.
3. Wavers back and fourth. It makes it seem as if he's "winging it" everyday.
4. Allows us to discuss our paper grade with him if we feel it's not right.
5. Always seemed to be prepared for class and tries to engage everyone to participate in class.
6. He would always make himself available outside of class, move his hours to accomodate our schedules. He was always knowledgeable on a topic.
7. Derek is a good teacher. He is stimulating in discussion and always open to students' perspective.
8. My instructor was open minded about most aspects this course--example--we chose a different theme of argument paper!
9. No comment. Eveerything is great.
10. Derek was extremely helpful in working with me to reach my final project. I am self-motivated, but whenever I hit a bump in the road, Derek was available by emails and office hours which I took advantage of.
11. The discussions in class did not grab my attention.
12. He was always prepared for class, encouraged discussion and was always available outside of class to offer help.
13. He is always willing to help students outside class times and gives replies to email asap. Very organized.
14. Was a very understanding, enjoyable, and knowledgeable teacher.
15. Mueller is very open to student views and in most cases counts on our opinion on things. Knowledgeable due to the fact he knows all of the styles of writing w/ outside info as well.
16. He advertises his office hours. He asks us our opinion but doesn't criticize us.
17. He had out work rather quickly grading after handing it in and he tried really hard to entertain us intellectually.

6. Please comment on the instructor's feedback for your writing. Was it helpful? Did you receive that feedback in a timely fashion?

1. Sometimes the feedback was helpful--other times it just confused me more.
2. I received the feedback in a timely fashion, which enabled me to ask him questions about what he wrote. He wrote comments that made me think and generated new thoughts into my head.
3. No...every essay I would prepare early and visit the office hours at least a week in advance and C's on all of them.
4. I got the paper back in a timely mannter. I'm not sure whether his comments helped or not because each essay was written differently.
5. Yes. I believe this was the most helpful things in the course, because it provided a detailed explicit response to your writing and ways that you should improve.
6. Yes it was helpful, yes it was in a timely fashion.
7. Yes. His feedback was timely and constructive.
8. Very timely. The feedback was vague sometimes but also helpful.
9. I didn't get a lot of feedback since the professor wanted to get it from my peers, ignoring the fact that I never see most of them. However, all of the feedback I've got I used it wisely to write my essays.
10. Yes, his comments on rough drafts were motivating to make me think about how my work was unclear or how I could improve it.
11. The feedback was helpful and it was received in a timely fashion. However I didn't agree with all of it.
12. Feedback was very helpful.
13. It was helpful. Feedback is always provided when work is handed in.
14. I felt that it was very helpful. Yes.
15. Yes, yes.
16. No. After doing bad on the first I got feedback. Then I did bad on the second and received feedback. I think it all helped with the third. [It was helpful] at the end.
17. I'm not sure it helped me. I will have to find out and see what my final grade on my final paper is. We did receive some sort of feedback in a timely fashion.

7. Use the space below for any additional comments about the instructor or the course.

1. ---
2. Professor Mueller is hard-working and helpful in and out of class, providing new ways of analyzing, writing, and thinking.
3. ---
4. ---
5. Overall he is a great professor. I believe he really tries to challenge students to view new ways of writing. It was a great semester.
6. Good job D. Mueller!
7. ---
8. ---
9. ---
10. Derek was a fun and knowledgeable teacher who made class easy to wake up for everyday!
11. ---
12. Good writing practice.
13. Best writing instructor I ever had. Laid back, cool.
14. ---
15. Go Mueller!
16. Bye! It was special!
17. Great job.