ENWR 1510

Prof. Cavens is a very nice guy with a very lowkey humor/deadpan demeanor. He is very knowledgable about politics (the subject of the ENWR) and is well organized. There is usually one to two short readings a week, sometimes responses to them, and then 3 larger papers over the course of the year (~5 pages). Good class if you're interested in reading/writing about politics.

Love Professor Cavens! He is very passionate about what he does and the course material (Writing about Political Life). Although his explanations are not very clear sometimes, he makes very helpful feedback on drafts/papers and really wants to help you to succeed! Compared to other ENWR's, I felt like all of the reading/writing response assignments we had actually helped me write the three main papers. Loved this class & Professor Cavens, would highly recommend!!!

Professor Cavens is the man. All the reading we had to do was very interesting and he has some cool takes on subject matter that could otherwise be super boring. There are three major writing assignments with multiple smaller ones sprinkled throughout. The smaller ones deal with specific readings and are really just your response to them, no right or wrong answer, just articulate your argument well. The larger ones require you to go in-depth in areas you might not have otherwise explored. His class is centered around politics but I wrote about Interstellar and Citizen Kane. He really gives you an opportunity to write about what you like and, as a result, the writing you come up with is of a much higher quality.

Professor Cavens is incredibly professional and knowledgable teacher. On average, he assigns one or two thought provoking reading assignments per night and occasionally asks you to write an informal journal-like response to the material. For a political class, he was very unbiased and provided counter-arguments from both sides of the spectrum. He is very approachable and provides really helpful feedback on your writing. He usually assigns two 4-5 papers and one large research assignment. He's a reasonable grader and rewards students efforts. (you can usually rewrite papers if you don't like your grade)

Professor Cavens is a really great professor and he has a good dry sense of humor. I really felt like I improved my writing. However, this is definitely one of the harder ENWR's. Professor Cavens assigns a lot of work and expects a lot from his students.

I found this course to be very challenging. Professor Cavens is a super nice guy, but a very hard grader, much harder than any of the other ENWR professors my friends had. He is very particular about what he wants, even though you are pretty much free to write about whatever you please. There are three 5 page essays, and a 7 page final essay. Each week there are one or two smaller writing assignments based upon the readings. If you're looking for an easy-going ENWR, I would not recommend this course.

Love this class! I was pretty worried about taking this class because I knew Cavens would be a tough grader. He IS a tough grader, but I feel like my writing has improved so much. Honestly it was worth all the hard work because I feel much more confident about my writing skills. I wouldn't recommend this professor if you're in a bunch of challenging courses already because I did have to devote a lot of time to the class. Cavens is slightly awkward to be honest and classes were sometimes awkward since they're so discussion based. However, I always felt he was super well prepared and organized. Definitely one of the best classes and professors I've had at UVA!

ENWR with Prof. Cavens is awesome. This is honestly my favorite class this semester. Cavens is very nice, knowledgeable, and approachable. He knows the materials well and tries to maintain an objective and fair attitude towards various viewpoints without too many personal overtones. He is enthusiastic about different cultures and likes to hear voices from different angles. He would lead you to think and let the class discuss the topics instead of giving too many lectures. There are usually 2-3 readings of about 10 pages per week (generally related to politics or culture), plus 250 words of analysis. The works are insightful, and the readings really push you to think. This is definitely not an easy ENWR, but it's really worth improving the writing. 3 big essays count for 60% of the grades, but you can rewrite for the first two. If you are interested in politics or multiculturalism, this is the right class for you.

Professor Cavens is a tough grader and very particular about the points he wants you to make in your writing. You can write about almost any topic, but it felt like he wanted you to reach certain specific conclusions.

I honestly loved Professor Cavens!! This course was very enjoyable, and I learned a lot. You basically have to write 3 official papers for the class, and some smaller essays every two or three weeks. At the beginning of the year, we bought a packet of all of the readings we would have throughout the semester, and it's a pretty thick book. It was intimidating, but I never found the readings to be overwhelming because they were appropriately spaced out and not too long. Professor Cavens is really fun to talk to, and he's really nice and understanding. Some said that he was a difficult grader, but I thought that his grading was very appropriate (I think all the grades that I received were deserved).