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The following comments are taken from students' final course evaluations the last semester the course was offered:

"Everyone--social, professional, academic--needs to get to the point! These are skills I will use for life and will benefit me for life! Thank you!"

"The writing skills I learned are very practical for any profession. The only negative aspect of the course is that it is worth 3 units when it should be 4 units."

"I pay closer attention to detail and know the standard professional formatting for memos and letters. Organized, purposeful, students are given reasons for why certain protocol should be followed. Learned life lessons that can be used forever after the class. Taught me life skills I never knew before, but too strict with due dates, Wild Cards, etc."

"I learned to critically read documents. I also learned strategies and techniques to generate reader-oriented, concise and professionally formatted documents. Also learned how to edit my own work."

"I've learned the structure of professional communication."

"We did lots of writing and lots of revising. The revisions allowed students to view writing as an ongoing process. I've done a lot of writing before, but this class taught me how to pay attention to clarity and conciseness."

"I have learned how to write to any audience and be clear with my ideas. The skills taught in this class have taught me how to write to someone and not just myself. I learned more than I thought I would from this course. When I look back on my first documents, I know I couldn't have absorbed everything taught, but I developed an important skill set."

"I am more aware of what makes a document effective and am able to insert into the documents I write these effective elements. Almost everything we covered was new to me, and I can now implement these things into my daily life. Most worthwhile were components that pertain to finding and obtaining jobs and those that dealt with writing persuasively."

"The most useful skills I learned from this class is to write a cover letter and resume. This is a 3 unit class but [the instructor] makes this class turns [sic] out to be like a 5 unit class. There are too many HW [sic].Your can learn a LOT from this class but you have to make sure your are able to put time & effort on this class."

"A lot of writing practice...a lot of work! Students looking for an 'easy A' should not take this course. Yes, you can get an A, but you'll work for it!"

" Everything was worthwhile."

"I learned how to write concisely in a professional manner. I learned how to format documents. My style of writing became more elegant. [This class] equipped me with the skills needed for surviving in the world. The class has been most practical and rewarding."

"The fact that I could practice a variety of documents and learn correct grammar helped me tremendously since there has been no other course that has been so thorough in teaching me how to become a better writer. Every Cal student should take this class!"

"the structure of grading [not worthwhile] and too much homework"

"This class has taught me more about writing and professional writing than any other. Very organized and effective teaching method. Great class. Very helpful writing tips and resume building."

"The course itself is good preparation for business writing but [the instructor] was ineffective in approach."

"The course content was very practical for the work force. However, sometimes the course gets tedious because students revise documents over and over."
[Specific areas of the course found worthwhile...] "multiple revision opportunities and chances of improvement."

"Most importantly, I learned to write to the needs of the reader, and more concisely. This class is very helpful, especially for juniors and seniors. Though there is a lot of work, it helps in the long run. Students can take the writing skills with them to the workplace."

"Lots of work, but it's worth it. Very helpful writing tips. I learned so much about professional writing. I have definitely become a better writer because of it. You learn about writing in the professional world (memos, letters, resumes, cover letter, etc.) Very useful stuff!"

"Before this course I had no professional writing skills. After this course, I learned valuable skill, such as memo writing, complaint letters and proposals. I learned the most in this class."

"It was useful writing practice. Whenever I write an email or class paper, I find myself instinctively trying to apply the principles I learned in this class. The amount of revisions help you improve as a writer. I am glad to have learned about cover letters and other application documents. Also, although difficult and stressful, the group project taught me how to work better with team members and how to work with clients."

"I learned to make my writing more concise and organized. Tips on job interviews were most useful, but the course will greatly improve your writing skills."

"I have always felt that I am an articulate writer; however, through this course I have realized that writing an English paper is much different than being able to communicate effectively and clearly. Elements learned in this course can be applied during a student' time at Cal and after--they are skills to carry into the working world. Grading system did not allow students to get by without trying. Too much time on concepts at beginning led to a rush of application of skills during group projects."

"Professional writing helped me improve my use of active voice, you attitude and relative terms. The final group project summarized and enforced principles learned throughout the semester and was worthwhile."

"The course really helped me grow in my ability as a writer. Specifically, it taught me the principles of effective writing. One of the best courses I have taken at Berkeley. The best humanities course I have taken here. This course was absolutely amazing at explaining principles of effective writing."