David McGimpsey - Concordia University, Montreal, QC

Professor: David McGimpsey

Department: English

College: Concordia University, Montreal, QC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ENGL244
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great prof. Assigns interesting and different books, touches on tons of interesting subjects about MTL, midterm essay was actually fun to write (mix of creative writing and textual analysis), clear lectures and funny guy. Would recommend! Grades on participation, midterm essay and final exam.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ENGL244
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

McGimpsey is one of the best professors I've had. He relates well to the material, and encourages students to come up with their own idea. He seeks insightful, humorous discussions & creativity. He chooses his reading lists carefully, ensuring that they are enjoyable, and if you read the texts you will be able to participate easily and frequently.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ENGL244
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I really enjoyed his class. None of the assigned readings were boring. They were all books I would read on my own time. Easy going funny. QC/MTL writing in English. It sounds boring but he made it interesting. If you read all the assigned texts, show up for class and can write a couple decent essays you can get an A.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ENGL244
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Easy going professor. He assigns a lot of reading but they are all interesting. We discuss a lot in class however the whole time is him lecturing, no time for class participation. Very fair marker and there to help you if you contact him or go to his office hours. I liked the class and did not mind his teaching style. I recommend the class and prof

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ENGL244
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Some of his points are interesting, but most of what he says is redundant and useless. Expect to read Barney's Version and Lullabies for Little Criminals, which are really long. One stays unsure in the face of the requirements. It is highly unclear and he is not specific enough.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ENGL244
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

ENGL. 244 is a hidden gem. I was hesitant of the course title, but whether or not you're from Montreal you'll learn a lot about the city, you'll be reading books from English Montreal authors like Mordecai Richler. I enjoyed attending the Friday afternoon lectures, it was a little long but Prof. McGimpsey is funny and made class worth while.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ENGL244
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He is very nice and extremely passionate about the subject as it is a very interesting one. The assigned reading is really great. On the other hand his lectures are long and very repetitive but 10% of the final grade is attendance. ENGL 244 is a class I recommend although be prepared to hear him say the same things a few times in a row.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ENGL244
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Eight percent radio talk-show host, twenty percent professor.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ENGL244
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I enjoyed the readings, but I did not like his style of teaching. Very long lectures that focused more on geography and social trends (what is a hipster, montreal tropes, etc) than literature. I couldn't get a clear answer as to what the expectations were for the papers, even after asking for feedback. Almost no class discussions.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ENGL244
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

David is the best professor I've had at Concordia! He is the coolest. His lectures are very engaging (perhaps because he doubles as a comedian!) and the books he assigns are relevant, awesome contemporary reads. Definitely take a class with him!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ENGL244
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

If you're ready to take on the booklist he assigns, you're guaranteed going to love his class. He's insightful, projects in class so there's never a problem understanding or hearing and has a thorough knowledge of the subject. Lectures tend to be long and a little repititive, but if you attend and take notes, you're garunteed to understand and pass

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ENGL244
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

At the surface Montreal and Quebec writing in English & Lit sounds boring as hell, but I was pleasantly surprised with his class. Lectures can get somewhat boring, but material is interesting. Good and easy reads, easy markers, 10% just for showing up to class. If you do the work and show up it's an easy A.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ENGL244
• Grade Received: INC
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

10% for attending all classes. Does stand-up comedy, and shows that part of himself in class. He assigns a ton of readings, like all of Barney's Version, Lullabies for Little Criminals, Bottle Rocket Hearts. My class had to "familiarize ourselves with Leonard Cohen's poetrymusic." Does not specify what sections to read until later in semester.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ENGL244
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Mr Mcgimpsey is cool and knows his stuff well. Since it's a three hour class it can get repetitive and boring, but it's easy to get an A. Im taking his class right now, and I have to say that Im pretty disappointed because I had high hopes after reading good things. There are 2 essays and the final. Attendance matters!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ENGL244
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

The good: Knows his stuff, cracks the occasional good joke, projects and exam are easy IF you pay attention in class and read. I've no interest in literature and no prior knowledge of QC/Mtl but I scraped out an A. The bad: takes forever to mark papers, and discussions can get boring after the first hour or so (classes are ~3 hours)

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ENG244
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

unable to answer emails or correct things in a timely manner. when you hand in a small 2 page paper and that a month later it still has not been corrected and handed back- there is a problem. curiculum is too small for the length of class- they always start good but then are completely pointless after 40 minutes. Charismatic but not funny-the worst

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ENGL244
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Montreal Lit class, best class I have taken in University. Mid-Term was really fun to do, has us read some really interesting work from English Montreal writers. Great sense of humour, nice, helpful. Just go to class participate and you'll be fine. Do the readings and the Exam is easy! I need to take another class of his!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ENGL235
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Loved him. He taught me so much. Great lecturer and he loves his topic. He is Hilarious and coming to class is super fun. You better show up though cause he counts attendance for 10 %

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ENGL225
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I had incredibly high expectations, but because I had such a great high school writing teacher, I was very disappointed. I don’t think I learned anything this year. He gives exercises that restrict creativity and basically made me lose interest in poetry. Very funny guy though.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ENGL235
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Very entertaining, very good professor.