Hello Everyone!

English 1CS3 is a new course that's been introduced this year and is offered both terms. I have it next term and I would really appreciate any reviews on it, especially from those who have just finished the course. How is the difficulty? Type of workload? Prof expectations? Exam format? Anything of the like that will help me decide on whether to take it? I chose it as my elective for next term, and I'm hoping that it will contribute to my average rather than lower it. Any thoughts?

All the best,

come on guys, I'm sure someone here took it. Why are't there any replies yet? :(

Originally Posted by optimism

Hello Everyone!

English 1CS3 is a new course that's been introduced this year and is offered both terms. I have it next term and I would really appreciate any reviews on it, especially from those who have just finished the course. How is the difficulty? Type of workload? Prof expectations? Exam format? Anything of the like that will help me decide on whether to take it? I chose it as my elective for next term, and I'm hoping that it will contribute to my average rather than lower it. Any thoughts?

All the best,

I took it, I took CSCT 1CS3 which is the same course (its offered under two categories, english and culture studies)

As far as difficulty, its not THAT hard material wise... There's two essays 500 and 1000 words, worth 15% and 30% of your final mark... 20% of your mark comes from Tutorial participation, and the exam is worth 35%

The exam was 50 MC questions based on the readings, and then there was an essay with 3 topics to choose from where you had to relate course materal, lecture examples and tutorials... The MC section was worth 50% of the 35% and the essay was worth the other half

IMO unless you're good at writing essays this course is NOT easy... I found the TAs marked really subjectively... The exam was not hard, but the course was not as easy as I thought it would be

Thanks for the valuable information, it's really helpful! However, now that you mention essays, what kind of topics are written about and what books are exactly focused on? What were the average marks on essays and assignments? I'm sorry I know I'm asking a ton of questions but I really don't want to make a bad decision and end up lamenting it. Overall, did the course help you become a better writer? Also How much time should I be taking into account when finishing up assignments for this course? Because quite honestly, I'm afraid it will take away time from my other courses. Did that happen to you? Most of my other courses are pure sciences and need a ton of time and effort.

Any thoughts?

Originally Posted by optimism

Thanks for the valuable information, it's really helpful! However, now that you mention essays, what kind of topics are written about and what books are exactly focused on? What were the average marks on essays and assignments? I'm sorry I know I'm asking a ton of questions but I really don't want to make a bad decision and end up lamenting it. Overall, did the course help you become a better writer? Also How much time should I be taking into account when finishing up assignments for this course? Because quite honestly, I'm afraid it will take away time from my other courses. Did that happen to you? Most of my other courses are pure sciences and need a ton of time and effort.

Any thoughts?

Topics that were focused on were um, strange, not strange as in they were strange but its hard to articulate them in words so to speak... The course focuses on discussing Power, the Subject, and Culture and their relation to each other... You discuss Karl Marx idea of hegemony, ideology, signs, myths, gender, race... Overall its not very clear cut, the course IMO is almost philosophical

There was no books we had to read other than the readings in the courseware, which were either short (1 page) or longer (20+pages)

As for average marks on the assignments I have no idea, no marks were ever posted on AVE, and your papers were graded by letter... I strongly believe the marks for this course were bumped at the end of the term because if the exam was marked as the Prof said it would be, I must have done better on that exam than I did the entire course

I don't think the course made me a better writer because I met with my TA maybe 5 times throughout the year to discuss both assignments, I went to a writing workshop held by the IA, and I even paid a visit to Mac's writing tutors to make sure my second essay didn't get a bad mark... Evidently I got a lower mark on the essay worth 30% than I did on the 15% essay, and I thought I did better on the 2nd one because I spent more time and took much more effort in seeking assistance.

I was taking 6 courses first semester and I will be taking 4 second semester... This course alone didn't take away from my other courses because I tried to stay on top of things... Even if I missed a reading, they were discussed quite in depth in lecture so you could get what it was about... Writing the essays didn't take me long, but maybe that's because I'm not a good writer and I got threw it pretty quickly... IMO its a good course, but this course was my lowest of the 6 courses I took

Hi

Well just to give you an idea of my workload, I'm a 4th year life sci completing a 4th year thesis project.

I also took this course as en elective and was pretty scared, considering I hadn't taken English since high school. Plus, I'm not a super amazing writer or anything. To be perfectly honest, this course totally surpassed my expectations. I found the readings and essay topics to be very interesting, and I enjoyed this course more than the English 1aa3 course. The readings for this class are essential, and although they were difficult at the beginning, don't lose hope, they get easier. Plus, the professor (O'Connor) was amazing in explaining the concepts and she gave clear outlines of what she wanted. She seemed to really care about us doing well and gave us several review sessions throughout the class. The readings focused on theorists' perspectives on culture, so we read Marx, Althusser etc. The three major topics we focused on were: subject, culture, power. We spent a whole class discussing Barbie's relevance to our culture. I ma be a bit bias because I did have an amazing T.A. who explained things pretty well. So as for all english courses, you take a risk with T.A.s who mark your essays. But in my experience, she was fair.
I was also taking other heavy load science courses and doing my 4th year thesis project, but I feel like I had enough time to finish these assignments.

I cannot stress how important it is to consult your T.A. for help with your essays. Get them to check over your thesis, talk things through with them, and you will feel more confident when you're writing your essay.

Stay on top of your readings. And I think this is a great class content wise and work load wise. It really taught me how to think critically and de-construct the culture around me.