Kevin McNeilly - University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

Professor: Kevin McNeilly

Department: English

College: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ENGL111
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I didnt like how the course was organized. I took ENGL 111(Approaches to non-fictional prose) with him. Im not sure if its just me, but i feel like he teaches you what the hidden meanings of the books are, but doesnt teach you how to come up with it. He also forgot to upload this topic sheet by 3 days although we were only given a week to do it

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ENGL222
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Kevin was such a great prof! Although he did take a while to get our marked papers back to us, he genuinely cares about his students and their well-being. He's really understanding with deadlines and very approachable. Really smart guy, and was able to teach the material really well, and was obviously passionate about it!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: 332A
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Kevin tackles the toughest of European thinkers with a round, off-kilter semi-understanding most distasteful to the old-country mind. If you are Giorgio Armani; he is a Big Steel Man sale sportcoat and khakis or Dockers. If you have great expectations-- he will lower them! If you like the island of Nova Scotia-- he will introduce you to "Old Hal."

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ENGL232
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Kevin is very inspirational and knowledgeable, however sometimes his grading criteria is unclear and many of my friends were frustrated that he is scatterbrained and nonspecific. Personally I really enjoyed his class, however if you generally struggle in English or writing... I would stay clear of this class.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ENG232
• 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:

He was one of my favourite professors at UBC till now. His way opening us to concepts that are so useful in textual as well as literary analysis is exceptional. His way of bringing things out of the box and having us analyze that, was really cool.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ENG474
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor McNeilly is a caring prof and pretty great as a person. However, he is very slow to give marks back (I have only received one essay mark back, and have no idea what my final grade is yet, even though it is the end of January), he always lets class out late, and does not respond to emails very well. I did, however, enjoy the books he chose

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ENG111
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Horrible horrible horrible lectures. Close readings are necessary, but does content mean nothing? Couldn't get through a sentence without etymologies. Never seemed to be prepared. Often lost train of thought. lectures were useless. I honestly felt like I couldn't make it through them. I love English and hated it with him. Don't take his course.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ENG111
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I still don't know what was expected from me in this class. Classes always went over the 50 minutes and most of the books assigned to read were not fun at all, especially Findings. Took it to fulfill a Literature requirement, really glad it's over.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ENGL228
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lectures are the best. His grasp on the material and his ability to engage students in discussion was impressive. Always available for help, wants you to do well. Definitely one of the best profs I've ever had. Only drawback was that it took him ages to mark... It's been a month and I haven't gotten my final mark back yet.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ENGL220
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Obviously knows his stuff and lectures are always interesting, never repetitive albeit can veer off track at times. Got a great sense of humour, witty, approachable, and understanding.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ENGL220
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor McNeilly is probably the nicest prof at UBC. He is very passionate about what he teaches and makes class interesting for everyone. Lots of laughs and is very expressive. He is extremely helpful and approachable, and tries his best to help you out. Class is not mandatory and you can still do well if you produce good essays.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ENGL111
• 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:

Really nice guy, very passionate about what he's teaching. Not a fan of most of the material, though.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ARTS1B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

An awesome guy - really into pop culture (brought a buffy puppet to class and let us analyze youtube covers of 'call me maybe'). Is a bit of a late marker, but very loose with deadlines as a result. Takes a genuine interest in his students, if you go to office hours you will learn a lot! If you get the chance to be in one of his classes DO.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ARTSONEB
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Very dedicated and understanding professor. Put in the effort and it will return to you tenfold. Always encouraged me to push further in my analysis of course material; he wants his students to succeed in this course. Lectures and seminars were always interesting, always worth showing up for. A pleasure to listen to.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ARTS1B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

This man is my favourite person in the world. Very dedicated, understanding, and knowledgeable. Great teacher, great guy.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ENGL409
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

If you like theory, you will like McNeilly. If you hate theory, you will hate and not get McNeilly. He is a completely fair marker, and is very willing to help students out who show an interest. Go to class, you might learn something. If you don't go to class you'll start to drown (this stuff isn't easy to learn on your own).

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ENGL220
• 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:

This guy is a nut. He spends all of class discussing abstract theory. I love English Literature, but he ruined the course for me. He tries to draw connections between the past and present, but his attempts are so far-fetched...they make NO sense! He does not spend any time analysing the texts. HORRIBLE.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ENGL228
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Completely pointless class. A class on Springsteen, Dylan, and music in general had me interested at first. He butchered the course with his ineffective teaching and snail-like speed of marking. Only got ONE mark (15%) back heading into the final. Does not respond to emails either and is hard to reach. How he is a legit professor baffles me.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ENG111
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I didn't understand what I was supposed to learn in this class. He seemed like a nice guy and was sometimes engaging but most of the time I zoned him out. Lectures were boring! The books were decent though. Persepolis was awesome. And he ALWAYS went past 50 minutes which was really annoying.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ENGL222
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I LOVED this guy! He always kept a good mood for the class, you could tell he had real respect for the authors we read, he loves the course material, and offered a ton of insight that came in handy for the papers we wrote. Probably in my top 5 favorite professors in 3 years of college. Take his courses if you can!! Such a cool guy!