Stephen Swales - University of Toronto - St. George Campus, Toronto, ON

Professor: Stephen Swales

Department: Geography

College: University of Toronto - St. George Campus, Toronto, ON

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: GGR252
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS AS A BIRD COURSE!!! It is not easy and the two assignments seem fair but 8 chances out of 10 you will be marked below 70. Swales is boring af. Monotone. If you really need that Geography breadth requirement pick GGR124.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: GGR252
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Test material is all from lectures

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: GEO151
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Easy class but lectures are very unorganized. More than willing to help his students. Show up and it's pretty much a guaranteed B+ minimum.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: GGR252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Worst prof ever. His lecture is so boring, so if u have insomnia, go to his lecture and u will be cured!!! Trust me! ! Also, never try to argue with him, he will think you are rude or just ignore you and provide no reasons. He will probably increase the chance you get heart attack, so remain calm and choose other useful causes. Don't waste ur time

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: GGR252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Worst professor. Only good thing is that this course is easy, but that is because he doesn't even bother to teach this class seriously. Absolutely useless and boring classes, mumbles that put people to sleep, and most importantly, replies emails with short rude sentences that made me feel like I'm talking to a child...

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: GEO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

the best professor i have every had, also he is a prof at ryerson not uoft

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: GGR252
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Useless and VERY difficult to listen to! He mumbles constantly!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: GGR252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

One of he worst professors I've had at U of T. His lectures are VERY disorganized, his notes are horrible, and his use of overhead is incompetent. His assignments are reused from prev years, but his expectations are not clearly passed on to students. Also, there is no communication between him and his TAs. your mark really depends on your TA.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: GGR252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Unapproachable, rarely checks his email, and generally a bad professor. The course material is not that bad, but he should remain a professor at Ryerson, and not UofT.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: GGR254H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Swales is one of the worst profs I've ever had. His lectures lack structure, he uses overheads ineffectively, his mic battery ran out several times, he can't seem to use his professional experience to teach us anything, and he doesn't communicate with his TAs. Both assignments were written very unclearly and the TAs seemed uninformed.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: GGR252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

A pretty nice guy who repeats assignments every year with either the same or similiar content. Look at past materials to see what to do on them. Lectures are very easy going and almost everything is out of the textbook.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: GGR252
• 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:

Swales is a wonderful prof! Considering I took this half credit during the summer, it was a very interesting + useful course. Swales' lectures are very clear, and he does a fine job of emphasizing the key concepts. Assignments are straightforward, just follow instructions. The final exam is very easy. One of my favourite courses yet!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIRDY252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

EASY A+!! No test, 2 easy azz assignments which you can absolutely make**** up and still score 95%. A final exam that requires only 20 minutes of skimming to score 100%! LMAO!!!! They should make up more courses like this in this 1.7 average gpa institution.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: GGR252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

isn't a difficult course. i was surprised by the C avg. the assignmts are straightfwd and the answers are in the txtbk. regardless of ur TA, if u put the Xtra effort into making ur maps a little nicer or editing before handing it in u'll do good. interesting course and the final was simple. he was a clear and sometimes, funny lecturer. good stuff.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: GGR252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Lectures were boring, couldn't hear him speak half the time. Assignment 1 (MAKE SURE U DON NOT HAVE A **** BIAS WHEN WRITING) was marked unfairly, but i ran Assignment 2. I went into final with a B+, and the final was 90 percent the same as the past exams. STUDY THEM, DON'T BE **** ON A1, LOOK IN THE BOOK FOR THE ANS, AND THIS COURSE IS EZ!!!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: GGR252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

course has lots of important and interesting info -- he's a funny guy -- and he knows most students are jackasses too. i'm taking it as a 4th year student and gettign excellent marks -- so don't listen to the people who say you "can't" even get a b+. that's just their idiocy.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: GGR252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Just as others are saying, assignments are marked very subjectively so it all depends on if you get lucky with your TA. The final is ridiculously easy as it is the exact format and questions as the others posted online from previous years.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: GGR252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

the assignments are easy as long as you answer the questions one by one. lectures get boring at times, but they contain helpful tips for assignments and exam

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: GGR252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Assignment marking subjective and seems to be getting harder (depending on the TA) Lecture material is boring Dont expect an A or A+ in the course but the final exam is taken from previous years exams

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: GGR252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I hated my TA. My mark blows. Study the old exam and ask about them in advance.