John Waller
School: | University of Alabama in Huntsville |
Department: | English |
Location: | Huntsville, AL |
Overall Rating
rated by 20 students
Helpfulness | |
Clarity | |
Easiness |
School: | University of Alabama in Huntsville |
Department: | English |
Location: | Huntsville, AL |
Helpfulness | |
Clarity | |
Easiness |
Mailing Address:
Uloop Inc.
306 S. Washington Ave
Suite 400
Royal Oak, MI 48067
Telephone Support:
312.854.7605
Email Support:
greg@uloop.com
Best part of this class might be the grading scale.
4.0 90%
3.5 80%
3.0 70%
So if you try at all you're going to get a 3.0
Cons: Some readings are boring but there is really no need to read them.
There are 4 pop quizzes or "spot tests" as Waller calls them. They are over the readings but only worth 5% of your grade and are graded very easily.
Here's how I'm approaching this class, I'm almost done with it and I'm in great shape to get a 4.0:
-Don't go to lecture
-MUST go to recitation every week
-Weekly paper due every Monday night, these make up basically all of your grade. They are super easy, just 350 words and you learn more than enough information in just the recitation to write this.
-Final is 30% of your grade and is a 10 page paper. Start on it early and it's not bad.
Instructors are always willing to help you out.
Papers are only 800 words due every Friday- Instructors grade pretty easy
Online chats every week to help guide your paper so you know exactly what they are looking for.
Cons: If you don't utilize your time... you may just screw yourself over
Overall, I really enjoyed this course and felt like I learned a lot. Compared to other online courses I have taken and even to some in-class classes, this class was VERY WELL organized. The topics were interesting and I actually enjoyed doing all of the readings. I would say the grading of the essays were fair and all of the instructors were very helpful when it came to answering questions and providing assistance. During online chats, all instructors were very helpful and seemed very eager to answer anyone's questions. I would definitely recommend this class to fellow students.
The TA did say that she would get us our papers by Tuesday, but after the second week I never got a paper with corrections on it, which kind of frustrated me b/c I couldn't really see what I was doing wrong, but as long as I knew I was well above an 80% I didn't worry.
If you need to get some of your 2nd level HPS classes for Briggs I would suggest taking this class during the Summer. I maybe put about 5hrs a week on these papers, but if you actually tried hard at this class to get a 4.0 you should put at least 8hrs into it. There were a few weeks where in 3 of the days you were expected to read 180 pages, but the good thing was that if you read what the question for discussion was you knew you only had to read maybe 40 of those 180 pages.
I am not a slacker, but when taking 3 summer courses all I needed to do was know what it took to get a 3.5 in a class that is known of as an easy 3.5, but a difficult 4.0.
Very Intelligent!!!
Very friendly
Cares about your performance
Super nice
Cons: Grades tough
Readings are sometimes posted a bit later than is ideal
BEST PROFESSOR EVER, super excited to have him for IAH. Readings are typically at their longest a whole book chapter. The articles he gives are usually under 3 pages, and interesting. Occasionally they are dry but the information is still intriguing. He does grade tough sometimes, but he spells out what you papers should be, and at a weekly 300 word cap, you should have no trouble with it. The final is a paper of topic of your choosing and is actually fun to do.
No Final
Papers are short
3.5 starts at 80
4.0 starts at 90
Cons: Papers every week
Lots of reading
The course structure is basically him lecturing and you doing readings with a tutorial every Friday. You have a 350 paper due every Monday on ANGEL and a final 5 pg research paper due on the Friday of exam week. The short papers are based on what you got from the readings and lecture and are graded on how well you formulate arguments and historical evidence to support yourself, as well as on your usage of the English language. (I have yet to have a paper due so this is a bit premature seems easy enough though
Always there for you
Very entertaining
No exams
Cons: Grades a little hard
Waller is one of my favorite professors if not my favorite, He makes each class entertaining and covers interesting topics. He grades a little hard on the weekly papers, but is available to edit them before they are due and he drops your lowest score. Sometimes he gives out rewrites too. I recommend him to anyone.
- Relaxed atmosphere
- Good sense of humor
- Takes into account all opinions and thoughts in discussion
Cons: - Tough grader
Taking this class with Waller was AMAZING! It was my earliest class this year but I had no problem getting up and going to class because I knew lecture was going to be fun. I guess from the perspective of somebody who wouldn't participate it may be a bit boring but if you at least skim the reading and have an idea of what is going on you can participate and it's an interesting class. I really, really recommend taking it with Waller. However, he is a tough grader, I think my average on our weekly papers (that are only 350 words so don't worry) was about an 86 or 87 percent. To 4. I believe you need to get a 90%. The group research project was not hard at all, I haven't gotten my grade back but he had a lot of great things to say about it. Last project is a 2000 word essay on good science and how it applies or does not apply to your research topic. Really not too bad. Fun class. Would definitely take it again if I could!
-Tells us what he wants explicitly in a good essay.
-Has T.A's available 9-5 on weekdays to help
Cons: -Reading each day
-Essays due 11:59 PM on a Friday so if you're a procrastinator there goes you're Fridays, but hey, you're on break so that shouldn't matter that much
Waller seems like a great guy so far. I am only rating him after a week so beware. I mainly wanted to come on here to say it's no longer a 93 or 95 for a 4.0. It's now a 90. I don't know if that means more strict grading or what but just saying.
Cons: Readings are long and sometimes posted late. He is a difficult grader. Annoying that you have to get so many different books although he does provide you with a lot of the readings himself.
Overall a great class if you need to do an HPS.
His online class was well organized, the communication was prompt, and the help was superior on every level. His TA deserves the same rating. Excellent team, excellent material and professionalism.
He is a difficult grader but as long as you go to his office hours and work with him on your paper (and your writing in general, he is a wealth of knowledge) you will be able to do very well with ease.
great prof, love this guy...i find myself just sittiing in his office talking all the time. and he's english, that's cool too.