Jason Wiens - University of Calgary, Calgary, AB

Professor: Jason Wiens

Department: English

College: University of Calgary, Calgary, AB

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ENGL471
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Fair essay marker. Tests are difficult and he's a harder maker on tests than with essays. Nice guy, willing to take the time to give you feedback when you need it. His choice of readings do tend to be dry though.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ENGL471
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Wiens' class was not easy, but he is one of the best professors, in my opinion, at the U of C. Not only is he hilarious, but he clearly cares for his students as well. For an extremely boring Canadian lit class, he made it as informative and entertaining as possible.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ENGL471
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Wiens is an incredible professor, he is passionate about his field. As far as English classes, Wiens' class is pretty standard.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ENGL441
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Wiens is the best English professor I have had the pleasure of being taught by. He's a true inspiration and shares a true love of literature and knowledge. Love this man.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ENGL340
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Jason is a great prof who is passionate about his course material. In his papers, he grades more than fair as long as you provide a good argument with evidence, even if he disagrees with the argument as a whole. His exams, on the other hand, are a little more tricky. You NEED to read everything assigned with detail not just skim the basics.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ENGL203
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

My favorite professor! Dr. Wiens is a fantastic teacher that makes you work for your mark in a way that demands respect. He has a great personality and is willing to help students without overly babying them. There is a lot of reading to be done and he keeps you astute through various quizzes. I can't wait to be in his other classes. Worthwhile!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ENG240
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Loved him. I aspired to impress him because he inspired me so much. Really expressed his genuine feelings and thoughts on literature. Very human and I can easily apply all I learned to my everyday life.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ENGL372
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

One of the best English professors at UofC! Wish I wasn't in my last year so I could take more classes with him! I don't really agree with the hard marking comments though... Except that it seems to be true that he does not like to give out As. I got an A- on both of my papers but he had no criticism or reason why it did not deserve an A.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ENG372
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Wiens is a good, funny teacher and his class discussions are interesting and really insightful. But he is a hard marker and seems to find it hard to give As but without good reason. Ie, for the digitization assignment, worth 10% the maximum one could get was 9%. There is a LOT of reading, and pop quizzes about them, so missing readings is not good.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ENG372
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He is a good prof, knows his stuff. When it comes to essays he will mark you harder than you've ever known and doesn't explain why/where you went wrong when you go for help. I regularly get As on essays but he gives Cs or worse. Expect to read a novel every two days. Not a fair marker, canadian lit is dry but he is enthusiastic so that helps.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ENGL203
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Wiens is a good teacher, he makes it absolutely clear what he wants from students. If you attend regularly and take good notes you should be able to do well on his tests. While attendance isn't mandatory there are participation marks and quizzes that are substantially weighted. TL;DR He's great if you show up and pay attention.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ENG371
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Wiens is a great professor. Careful, though, he wont hold your hand. He has high expectations when it comes to essay writing and idea development. His lectures are interesting and he relies on class discussions to really get to the heart of the piece, so dont miss class. His archive project has been my favourite university assignment so far.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ENGL371
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Ok, Dr. Wiens may be good at giving entertaining lectures, but his tests, archive assignments and hard marking ways make me want to steer clear of any classes with him again. His tests are insanely hard, even if you dedicate hours studying be prepared to be crying in a puddle of your own tears afterwards. Beware, you've all been warned.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ENGL203
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

His pop quizzes are okay and usually ask about content of the past readings or order of events in the novel so make sure you're up to date with the readings. They're only about 5 questions long and he's pretty easy with marking them. His essay assignments are good and he marks fairly but tests are BRUTALLLLL. Very nice and interesting prof tho.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ENGL340
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Not my favourite professor. Be prepared for pop quizzes and he isn't the easiest marker. He is a good lecturer however. He doesn't post lecture notes so make sure you're paying attention and taking good notes in class.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ENGL340
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This was the toughest class I've ever taken, and though I'm used to As I only managed a B- while working my butt off. He knew his stuff and lectures were interesting but the quizzes were unrealistically tough, and the final was the final exam from hell. The stress was nowhere near worth it.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ENGL371
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Not that helpful, I asked for help and he was quick and vague. Marks essays weird, he has problems with things that no other English professors has complained about with my essays and is very nit picky when marking tests. Although, he's a pretty interesting lecturer and his alternative to presentations and group work works well.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ENGL371
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Jason is an excellent professor! His breadth of knowledge is admirable and he really cares about Canadian Lit. His archive projects and in-class activities are an excellent way to learn and get (easy) marks. Though he does have pop quizzes on the readings as participation. Either way ask for help, stay engaged during class, and you'll pass easily.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ENGL340
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Wiens is amazing. He doesn't give out easy As - you have to earn them, but if you keep up with reading and study the lecture material thoroughly, you will get an A. He provides a solid foundation in English lit - concepts, theories and criticism. Super smart guy, interesting lectures, uses humor well, respects his students' ideas and opinions.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ENGL340
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Lectures were very dry, tutorials weren't helpful because he never quality-controlled his TAs and they do most of the marking. Exams were very dependent on terminology and didn't particularly teach you much about how literature changed, just what changes were called. Would not have taken this if it wasn't a requirement.