Hi,
I have to take one of the first year English courses as a prerequisite even though i don't want to. So i was wondering which one of the English courses would be easiest for someone who's not enrolled in Englsih/Humanities program: English 1A03, 1AA3, or 1CS3.
I'm a Science major, so when it comes to English I'm not that great and English wasn't my strong suite backm in highschool either. I'm kind of scared of taking English because i think i read in some post that the avg for 1st year English were in C+.
So i just wanted ppl's opinion on which English would be easier elective for english newbie like me.

1a03 is pretty easy, and the readings are really short.. the only downside for you would be the poetry part of the course - you have to analyze a bunch of poems and look at rhyme schemes and stuff...
but the tutorials realllly help out in that case... they're basically group discussions of what you think the poems are trying to convey. Everyone gives their own interpretations, so you get a few ideas for your essays.
I had Dr. York for that course and she's just adorable. I absolutely loved her lectures.

Reeeeeaaaaaalllllyyyy depends on the TA you manage to get....
But I'd say Cs3.

Ya 1CS3 seems better, since it's based on cultural studies, at least i feel like i'm learning something..

Originally Posted by jake0405

Ya 1CS3 seems better, since it's based on cultural studies, at least i feel like i'm learning something..

I've taken both 1A03 and 1CS3. Do not take 1CS3; 1A03 is both much easier and much more interesting.

Here's the 1CS3 course outline for Winter 2012:
http://www.humanities.mcmast er.ca/~e...CS3%20DEAN.pdf

You can check out the reviews, including mine, here if you are interested:
http://www.macinsiders.com/showthrea...?ltr=E&t= 47646

Here's my 1A03 review (course outline in the link too
http://www.macinsiders.com/showthrea...7#p ost350697

I've taken all four first year English classes. I'd say that Long Genres and History of English Lit are the hardest. They certainly have the most reading. The reading is super light for Shorter Genres, and while you do cover a lot of poetry, it's mainly straightforward. Intro to Cultural Studies has more reading, but I never read anything and came out with a 10. Conversely, it is important to keep up with your reading in Shorter Genres. Again, the reading is super light, but you will quickly be left behind if you don't keep up.

Ultimately, I would recommend Shorter Genres.

Good luck.

I've written a review on 1CS3 since I had just taken the course last term. It was definitely less interesting than what I expected, so I would recommend taking 1A03.
I actually don't know what my mark is for English 1CS3, since none of them were uploaded on Avenue. It's a little troubling to have that hanging over my head for the holiday.

hmmph. 1CS3 is taught by different prof next sem, dr.o'connor, if anyone have experience with this prof

Just go with 1A03, it's the easiest in terms of workload. 1CS3 is probably the hardest of the 1st year English classes and is not exactly a bird course.
1AA3 is also pretty easy and despite what some people might say you don't need to read all the books to do well. I didn't read any of them (only skimmed through online summaries) and walked out with an 11.

Originally Posted by Goran

Just go with 1A03, it's the easiest in terms of workload. 1CS3 is probably the hardest of the 1st year English classes and is not exactly a bird course.
1AA3 is also pretty easy and despite what some people might say you don't need to read all the books to do well. I didn't read any of them (only skimmed through online summaries) and walked out with an 11.

I wish I knew that before I took 1CS3 last term :'(.

Originally Posted by jake0405

Ya 1CS3 seems better, since it's based on cultural studies, at least i feel like i'm learning something..

Just be careful when looking at Cultural Studies courses. They're a lot different than what most people expect at first, myself included. They're based heavily upon pretty complex theories, understanding/working with them, and then applying them to primary texts, whereas classes like 1A03/1AA3 are based strictly upon the primary text and different readings of them.
As for your comment about actually learning something, you will learn something in every class you take if you actually approach it with the right mindset. For English courses, you're not going to learn in the same way that you do in Science/Math based courses--instead, you'll "indirectly" (for lack of a better term) learn skills that can be translated into other facets of life (e.g. stronger communication skills, research skills, reading comprehension, etc.).

I've been madly attempting to get into 1CS3 over the past month with no luck because I heard it was easy. I took 1A03 and thought it was really easy (York didn't even make us write an essay on the exam, still waiting for the mark but not too scared). Should I stop trying to get into 1CS3?

I'm betting people will drop it in the first week so I could get in, but this thread is scaring me.

Originally Posted by ikantsepll

I've been madly attempting to get into 1CS3 over the past month with no luck because I heard it was easy. I took 1A03 and thought it was really easy (York didn't even make us write an essay on the exam, still waiting for the mark but not too scared). Should I stop trying to get into 1CS3?

I'm betting people will drop it in the first week so I could get in, but this thread is scaring me.

Don't be scared by the class; I personally found it a total waste of time, but if the subject is one which you are interested in than go for it. I would say do NOT take a class just because you think it's going to be easy.

English 1cs3