Sibyl Johnston - Tufts University, Medford, MA

Professor: Sibyl Johnston

Department: English

College: Tufts University, Medford, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ENG05
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

If you follow guidelines you WILL get an A in this class. She told us we would have quizzes but we never had one. Our grade was 1 creative writing story we worked on all semester. I have minimal writing experience and found this class extremely easy. Sibyl is VERY approachable and gives a ton of feedback.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ENG005
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I found class incredibly boring as peer edited every week for three hours. She gave okay feedback on stories, but was very opinionated even though they were our own stories. I did not appreciate how we had to purchase the $70 textbook on Amazon that she wrote only to use it like three times for "quizzes" that did nothing to further my learning.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ENG0005
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Sybil is very sweet, a motherly presence in the classroom. She offers great feedback, but doesn't dig for flaws if you're producing quality work. She truly believes in the workshop model, and will rarely talk over or disagree with other students' feedback, even if hers isn't the same. Open to genre writing if you keep the focus on the characters.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ENG0005
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Sibyl is a joy to work with, just know that this class is workshop-based - meaning you will be expected to read and comment on other students' writing! She is an excellent facilitator of this kind of environment, offering a receptive ear and truly useful feedback herself while not dominating the discussion.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ENG005
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Haters here need to go away. I was struggling with my short story and she literally helped me, until I understood the fundamentals to writing fiction so much better. She doesn't give much work. Quizzes and assignments are nothing (half of them aren't even checked) and so work on your story and ASK FOR HELP! SHE WILL AND SHE'S ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU!!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ENG0005
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

This class is great to take if you've never tried creative writing before. She basically tells you exactly what you need to do to get an A, and the workload is minimal. The class size is small - around 12 - and its fun getting to know the other writers in your class. I left this class with a greater appreciation for the writing process.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ENG05
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Sybz is great. She has her opinions and you should abide by them for a good grade, but she's smart and talented so I was okay with that.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ENG005
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Very unstructured, and the classes themselves were incredibly boring (because we took turns reading short stories of the textbook, a complete waste of time). Her comments and edits were helpful however. Just show effort in the class and make sure you write your drafts on time (and at least with some length), and almost guaranteed an A.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ENG05
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Fairly easy, but Johnston is completely biased, which in an intro creative writing class is ridiculous. If your final result wasn't exactly what she wanted, she lowered your grade. She gave little feedback on our work and put even less effort into helping students improve their writing style. Also, if you write genre fiction, don't take Johnston.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CREAT303
• 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:

I had Sybil at Emerson. I was just thinking about her tonight, and no, not in that way. I think she came to mind because I was line-editing my fiction earlier, and was impressed with my marks on the page--this, I learned from her, an amazing line-editor. She was just lovely, so honest but so kind. It was great fortune to have been taught by her.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ENG0005
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

She was entirely uninterested in the class and directly refused any contact with students outside of classtime. The only good part of the class was that it got to me to write 1 story.

Rating # 12

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

She's all about helping students figure it out for themselves. Her class wasn't very structured but her book is worth the buy and her constructive criticism takes your work leaps and bounds.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ENG6
• 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:

Will work with you in whatever capacity for CWR, but class wasn't structured enough for my taste. Did end up writing a good story though. She is kind of spacy/vague and her teaching style wasn't that inspiring.

Rating # 14

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

I'm a better creative writer. Go figure.