ENWR 1510

If you want a chill class, take this class. But if you want to IMPROVE your writing (a very important skill), DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS.

In class all we do is discuss the reading about a certain writer, and it's interesting to learn about them. However, it usually has very little to do with what we are assigned to write. On top of that, THIS GUY DOES NOT GIVE YOU FEEDBACK which is essential.
I got a B+ because I literally made the same grammar mistake in every paper. He also deducted points because he had a SUBJECTIVE VIEW and disagreed with my argument when the paper was a narrative story where I wrote about how I was mad at a friend (he disagreed how mad I should be at my friend but it should matter how I wrote the story). And I've gotten A's on politics essays.

I'm not saying this entirely as someone sour about my grade - he's just a very unprofessional teacher. Nothing I learned from this class helped me write better. He didn't hand back any of our work until the last week of school, so we never improved our writing, not even the practice writing at the beginning in which the point of it was to give us corrections before we started getting graded. Everyone in the class was irritated by this.

John Casteen is the single reason I enjoyed my ENWR. To be completely honest the class is little boring, but definitely not super hard. We read articles, not books which is something I enjoyed. The articles are moderately interesting. I think we wrote a total of 6 papers this semester, but most of them (4/6) only had to be 2 pages double spaced. Casteen grades based on grammer and content so its really important to take is feedback seriously or your grades won't improve. Casteen is one of the best professors I've had because he truly does care so much about his students. As a first year, there are very few opportunities to get close to professors because your classes are so big. Casteen was the first professor I got to know on a personal level, and I could not be happier about it. Casteen is a teacher, but he is so much more than that. He went to UVA and he speaks so candidly about the university. He offers advice, therapy, funny stories and just great feedback on everything. I feel like I could talk to him about anything, and my comfortability with him has allowed me to be honest in my writing. Casteen is great and I think everyone should try to take their ENWR with him. (also I want to clarify --> the comment below was not true of my semester. I'm sure he realized and changed things. We get essays back with VERY detailed feedback in about 2 weeks. That being said, I do think he grades very strictly and I expected an A in this class and did not get one)

Professor Casteen was truly engaging -- he listened to everyone, and made an effort to get to know each and every one of his students. He was extremely accommodating, ask any questions about assignments, personal worries, etc., and he'll be super attentive and on point. Participation is key, and he actually grades on it, so make sure to show up and do the readings. The environment is super friendly, and his tidbits and "early bird specials" made class really interesting. He grades papers strictly in terms of grammar/mechanics, so make sure you pay attention to that and use his resources, but in terms of content, he's not super strict on it as long as you're passionate about what you write about. His feedback on papers is super helpful, and you can tell that he cares about what he teaches and his students. Overall, I really recommend this class. I took it just to get the requirement but I'm so glad I chose Professor Casteen.

#tCFS24