William Atkinson - Appalachian State University, Boone, NC

Professor: William Atkinson

Department: Literature

College: Appalachian State University, Boone, NC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ENG3300
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Atkinson is a very funny man, but he can also be really strict and arrogant. Once you get to know him, you start to like him. Gives pop quizzes. Takes off a lot of points if you mess up the target structures for the writing assignments. He runs a tight ship, but he is one of my favorite professors. I learned a lot from his grammar class

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ENG3300
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I enjoyed this class, but I already had a good understanding of grammar beforehand. I feel like he could be confusing to people who do not have a substantial amount of grammar knowledge. There are pop quizzes usually at the end of class that remind me of the English portion of the ACT. Dr. Atkinson is a bit arrogant, but I thought he was funny.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ENG3300
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Overall, I liked this class. You will learn SO much about grammar. Dr. Atkinson is strict, but he is funny at times. Your grade comes from quizzes, exams, and writing exercises. The quizzes are very hard, and the exams are tough, too. You have little outside work, but you must do well on the quizzes and exercises. This class is very doable.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ENG2040
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Atkinson is by far one of the best professors I've had. He is so intelligent and you can truly tell he cares about what he's teaching. I'm not an English major, so the class was boring at times but it was rewarding. He's funny at times and as long as you're capable of showing up to class it's not too hard.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ENG2040
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Atkinson is such a good professor that I switched my Honors seminar this year just to have another class with him. He is from England so he has a dry British humor, but he knows when to be serious in class. Lots of discussion in this class, which I personally like, and he won't count you off if you miss a few classes. Definitely take him!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ENG3300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Atkinson is the kind of professor that knows what he's doing. His lectures are interesting, and much easier to follow if you do the reading. Quizzes determine your grade for the class, so watch out. Exams were a breeze. Learned so much in this class.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ENG3300
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

This class will be easy if you understand basic grammar/parts of speech. I already love grammar, but I still learned a good bit. I liked that the assigned work was minimal and totally supplemental - no "fluff." He gave good, unbiased instruction and feedback. The tests were essay form - you had to know the answer and defend it.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ENG3030
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is great professor. The quizzes (20 throughout the semester) and writing exercises (7 with two chances to re-write to get a better grade) are the chunk of the grades, and they are pretty easy. He definitely knows his stuff and makes grammar interesting and clear.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ENG3300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Nice guy and funny with a cool British accent. Not as easy a course as you would think. lots of book work and pop quizzes, but they're normally pretty easy. it's the tests you have to look out for. a midterm and a final that are kick-butt hard. but they are both open-book and if you study, you'll do fine

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ENG2040
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I really loved this class, made me want to be an English major. He's funny and his classes are interesting. There's a lot of reading, but it's a lit class so of course there is. The material was interesting and I would love to take a class with him again. We had to write about three papers and a cross disciplinary project of some sort.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: 20302040
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I had Atkinson for both World Lit Classes and Grammar--Terrifying at first. Very intimidating, but once you earn his respect, he's awesome. Definitely take him for Grammar-He knows his stuff and you'll get to see his humanfunny side- but his WL lectures are brilliant too--He is the reason that I'm a HS World Lit teacher now. LOVE HIM!

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: 2040
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Atkinson can be a little intimidating at first, but he's incredibly intelligent and knowledgeable and makes lectures really interesting. He likes to hear student's opinion and you can tell he's really interested in them. Good professor, good class.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ENG3300
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Although he has a clear passion for what he does, his grading is absolutely RIDICULOUS so unless you are a grammar godgoddess, i recommend someone else. He takes off 50 points for one comma error in your journals which are a majority of your grade.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ENG2040
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lectures are based on readings for the day. They are historical and tie into the readings. However if English is not your major your in big trouble. He is not helpful and he does not care for students in any manner. He is rude to students and he will not return your email even in cases of emergencies.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ENG4590
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The man knows everything about everywhere. Seriously, everywhere. Way more than a simple English class.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ENG3300
• 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:

Atkinson is awesome! I had him for grammar, and it was a great class. As long as you go to class and pay attention, you will do well. His awesome accent and humor makes class a lot of fun. If you get a chance to take Atkinson then do it!

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ENG2040
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Was excited for world lit, but it is mostly Asian lit and mostly erotic stuff. He is very strict but sticks to the syllabus and he can be very harsh in his editing (very picky!). Class discussions are usually philosophical and end up completely unrelated to the text, which I did not care for. Workload is fairly easy, class very boring though

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ENG2040
• 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:

His charm was surpassed only by his intellect. Classes were mostly discussion-based and there was a 5-question reading quiz every period. Two short papers and one "creative response." Class is a breeze as long as you read. One of my favorite professors at ASU.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ENG3300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

If your county was just as bad as mine, you'll find that you didn't get the proper grammar education like you should have. Atkinson doesn't care about that and refuses to explain the proper reasoning behind his grammar. An awful teacher but a nice person. His exams/tests are difficult, as you can't leave out a single detail in your essay response.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ENG2040
• 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:

In this class there are required readings due each class and a quiz in every class about the readings. I have no interest in reading but the class is not hard to get through especially if you struggle with reading like I do. Just google the plot summaries and you will be fine!