John Kelly - Western University, London, ON

Professor: John Kelly

Department: English

College: Western University, London, ON

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ENG2072
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I quite enjoy Kelly's class. His lectures are clearly spoken and logical. Grading criteria is very clear and uncomplicated. Kelly will write all major key words on the board, and if you understand even half of them, you should succeed with an easy A. Also, Kelly is used to non-English major students, so his classes are easily approachable by all.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ENG2072
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

John Kelly's great, honestly. Yes, he's monotone. Yes, his lectures are long and late, but jeez get good. His readings were awesome, his marking so generous, his subject matter really cool, his dad jokes on point. I took sci/fi and fantasy with him and I enjoyed each very much. He's genuinely a great prof who taught me some really cool things.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ENG1024
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He's great to have as an online course prof, since you don't have to go to his god-awful lectures. He's a nice guy, but his lectures are SO boring because he never uses lecture slides, and reads his lectures off a script. So, if you have him as an online Prof. Go ahead - take it! But if it's as an in-person lecture - NO. Do NOT attempt.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ENGLISH3667
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Gives you everything you need in the syllabus. There are tons of readings, but all the papers you do are short. Very easy-going and flexible; easy to converse with and gave the class an extension to the final paper without any late penalties, as long as you asked him through e-mail or in person. Class felt more like a book club, I enjoyed it.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ENGLISH2308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I had been advised that online English courses are tough. He assigns four novels and hours of textbook readings. His syllabus is unorganized and confusing. He answers emails quickly but asks you questions you provided answers to in your original email. This was my worst university expierence thus far. I will never take any of his courses again.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ENG2071
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Kelly knows his stuff, but I think his lectures would be more entertaining if he used slides or images; he writes a table of contents for the lecture on the board, sometimes encouraging participation. Get a coffee or a smoke before going to lecture. Papers are short and his courses are fairly easy if you do the readings.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ENGLISH2308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Literally the worst Prof. I've had in University. Poorly structured online class, tough marker, doesn't explain anything and expects you to read his mind I guess.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ENG2071
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Each week, you will need to have read at least 1 book and a couple of short stories. The exam will ask you to use several of these sources, so skip few readings (if possible). Sounds like a lot of work, but it's a solid course if you like SciFi. Kelly's lectures are fascinating and he is entertaining, both to listen to and talk to.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ENGLISH2308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

While it's true his lectures are a bit boring, he has a very funny, dry sense of humour that helps, and if you come to class and take notes you won't even have to read the texts. He repeats important points often and is always in his office for consultation! Pro tip: he likes simple, clean essays without tons of fluff and fancy language.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: 2071F
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very dull and boring teacher. Lectures are very basic. If you do all of the readings and are at least a little clever, you don't really need to bother with the lectures. The books he chose are dull, would not have taken this class if I knew the reading list even though I am very much into Sc-Fi.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ENG2072G
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Kelly holds very long, scripted lectures. They are often dull because he reads his lecture notes like a script. It is important to go to class though as the information will be hard to gather without attending the lecture. He does not provide useful feedback as he often underlines sentences for error without any further explanation.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ENG2071
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lectures were 3 hours, and he did put effort in to keep them entertaining, though his humour did start to get a little stale. The amount of reading you were supposed to do was extreme, but i got by reading about half of it. His plot summary of Asimov's (not "Asiminov" as he said) Foundation trilogy was filled with innacuracies.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ENGLISH2308
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Nice guy, clearly very into American Lit. Circular and sometimes boring lectures make for confusing notes. Oddly and unexpectedly tough marker. Assigns lots of reading but is aware that not all of it will be completed by the lecture.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: 2308
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is a nice guy but that shouldn't reflect how good of a professor he is. Lectures are repetitive, confusing & too technical. The readings required each week are insanely long, I've never had a professor that expects us to read 9 hours of content for one week. I attend every class & get good marks but I don't recommend classes with him.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ENG2071
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Single-handedly destroyed my interest in English with his hypocritical marking and unhelpful critique. Children's literature would've been a better choice for the summer.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ENG2073
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Nice guy and quick to answer email, but his lectures were quite boring and overall not entirely useful. His humour is repetitive and naive. Also, pronounces many things wrong (ie Gandalf becomes Gandaf) and repeats lecture points. Some of his knowledge for this course seemed pretty basic in comparison to other professors.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ENGLISH2308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I have him for an online course and he is amazing! Answers emails quickly, very helpful, kind, understanding and just an amazing prof overall. He is a fair marker, if not generous. I wish all profs were like him!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: 2071
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

His lectures were good but long and repetitive. I wished he would let the class participate more. He was a bit of a hard marker. He is hilarious though. Overall, the class was great and I do recommend it.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ENG2072G
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He's a very fair marker, although his lectures can be rather tedious. If you're not careful he can move on to a new topic without you realizing it. He can be rather long-winded and tends to say "um" a lot when speaking.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ENG2071
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Kelly is the sweetest man and a very clear, consistent teacher. I loved all his anecdotes about his family. That said, his lectures can be a bit tedious at times (I took both an online and on-campus course with him), and he repeats himself, but I forgive him because he looks like a big teddy bear. I want to give him a hug.