How difficult are these courses? and how is the course load?

english 1a03 is mostly just short stories/poems. This was the assignment evaluation weight:

essay 1 - 15%
essay 2 - 30%
tutorial participation - 10%
essay drafts for workshop days - 5%
short presentation - 5%
final exam - 35%

I haven't taken philosophy 2d03 yet, but I know it's being taught by Dr. Rodde in the fall, and he's great. He usually asks for essays that have an argument and then a counterargument, but then more proof that shows why your arguments are more valid than the opposing view.

Originally Posted by SweetyTweety

english 1a03 is mostly just short stories/poems. This was the assignment evaluation weight:

essay 1 - 15%
essay 2 - 30%
tutorial participation - 10%
essay drafts for workshop days - 5%
short presentation - 5%
final exam - 35%

I haven't taken philosophy 2d03 yet, but I know it's being taught by Dr. Rodde in the fall, and he's great. He usually asks for essays that have an argument and then a counterargument, but then more proof that shows why your arguments are more valid than the opposing view.

Are the essays marked tough ? or fairly?

It depends on who your professor is. The TA's mark the essays so it's fairly subjective, but this can also be a great positive. Get to know your TA well and be sure to ask them questions on what their expectations are and whether they have any recommendations. They want you to do well and TA's in general don't like marking work that doesn't meet any of the requirements they have, which puts you in a better position if you do fulfill those expectations. My TA's for both 1A03 and 1AA3 were wonderful and I learned a lot from them; they were fair markers and I enjoyed both courses

I took both of these courses first semester of last year. The workload for both is definitely manageable (at the same time I was taking Bio 2L03, Genetics and Microbio, all which had much more work relatively speaking).

Your mark, in both courses, depends on your TA. For Moral Issues, everything was determined by the TA (including the final exam), whereas in English, our final exam was graded by the prof, while everything else (essays + tutorial marks) was determined by the TA. So really, it just depends on whether you get a fair TA or not.

For Moral Issues, the evaluations included a "case study" (you're given a dilemma and told to develop an answer based on 2 theories you study in class), an essay, tutorial participation and the final exam (similar case study/essay format, for which he gave us all the questions before hand).

Content wise, I found both really interesting

Just keep up with your readings, contribute to discussions and get feedback on your writing style/what your TA's expectations are, and a 10+ in both courses is possible

How tough were the essays and do you have any other tips to do well in these courses? like how to prepare for exams and the essay? Thanks

Originally Posted by ria.o

I took both of these courses first semester of last year. The workload for both is definitely manageable (at the same time I was taking Bio 2L03, Genetics and Microbio, all which had much more work relatively speaking).

Your mark, in both courses, depends on your TA. For Moral Issues, everything was determined by the TA (including the final exam), whereas in English, our final exam was graded by the prof, while everything else (essays + tutorial marks) was determined by the TA. So really, it just depends on whether you get a fair TA or not. I personally didn't have a good experience with the TAs of both courses, but it's highly subjective.

For Moral Issues, the evaluations included a "case study" (you're given a dilemma and told to develop an answer based on 2 theories you study in class), an essay, tutorial participation and the final exam (similar case study/essay format, for which he gave us all the questions before hand).

Content wise, I found both really interesting

Just keep up with your readings, contribute to discussions and get feedback on your writing style/what your TA's expectations are, and a 10+ in both courses is possible

The English department provides writing tutors who can meet up with you and look over your essays before you hand them into the TA. They also run writing workshops on things like how to come up with a strong thesis, how to make your essay flow, common writing errors, etc. I suggest you take advantage of those. Most students are too lazy, but the feedback really can change your marks drastically. By having someone (even if not the writing tutors themselves, but even just a friend) look over your essay before you hand it in, they'll be able to make adjustments that can possibly raise your essay mark by maybe a whole letter grade.

Originally Posted by SweetyTweety

The English department provides writing tutors who can meet up with you and look over your essays before you hand them into the TA. They also run writing workshops on things like how to come up with a strong thesis, how to make your essay flow, common writing errors, etc. I suggest you take advantage of those. Most students are too lazy, but the feedback really can change your marks drastically. By having someone (even if not the writing tutors themselves, but even just a friend) look over your essay before you hand it in, they'll be able to make adjustments that can possibly raise your essay mark by maybe a whole letter grade.

Thanks a bunch !!!I will sure try my best to attend these workshops