I am sure we have evaluations, but I couldn’t find the email. So I had my students write down a couple of things about the class. I’m recording them here so I will remember.
Useful:
the RAs (rhetorical analyses where the students give a thesis they would use the text for and three quotes and how those fit with the thesis) 3
“useful in organizing my thoughts and getting me focused enough to write a paper”
write an annotated bibliography 5
“helped me in some other classes this year”
“because I had never done one before”
“could honestly be extremely useful in the future”
using APA format 2
“useful just for practice with the formatting I use for other classes”
write in stages “It was annoying yet helpful. When it was time to sit down and write the final paper, it just flowed.”
transition sentences “I know the value of ‘flow.'”
how to think through things “not just take my first idea but really consider its usefulness”
process of writing a paper “I used to just sit in front of a computer and write. Now I write my papers in steps and sections, which I find to be most helpful. I will use this process in the future and in other classes.”
writing skills 2
“practical writing skills”
“how to write better! I learned a lot more about proper grammar and formatting”
learning how to write a research paper
“learning how to write a really long research paper”
writing every day
“English classes I have taken in the past did not require homework every day. In this class, it helped me with a better outcome in my paper and also gave me more thought about what to write on.”
Fun/interesting:
Poems and stories we read, especially the fairy tales.
reading some stories in the textbook
fairy tales
the fairy tale paper (one-source essay)
the compare/contrast essay
digital presentation (over their research project) 7
“Digital presentations were fun and did help with writing the paper, although I am very tech challenged.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed working on my digital presentation.”
“digital presentation was a lot of fun!”
“It was a learning experience, but we also go to experiment and have fun with the project.”
“The digital presentation was fun because I was able to do it on something I was already familiar with. It was quite time consuming but after figuring it out, it was enjoyable to do.”
“I was really dreading the visual presentation; however once I learned how to use iMovie, it was actually fun to put together.”
how we did the research paper “I really liked how we did the research paper–beginning with the annotated bib and ending with the entire research paper. I found it very helpful that small parts were due periodically, allowing me to keep track of my writing.”
being able to choose my own topic to research
“Thank you for a great semester, Dr. Davis. My writing significantly improved this semester with all of your help.”