Reviews

Feedback about Online English 122 from previous students:

We begin with a piece that was posted anonymously on www.reviewum.com last April:

In my opinion: This is the coolest online class. If you are a mature student who dreads class discussions, hates writing papers on topics that you don't want to write about, and dislike teachers that require a certain amount of pages for an essay, than this is the class for you.

You only have to show up 3 times for the whole semester and everything is turned in through emails. [McKinney: we meet only once now.] I chose his course because he was clear on his webpage about what will be expected from you in his class. I noticed in some online English courses that you have to meet and have class discussions on the meeting dates - I didn't want that.

His syllabus is very clear: 12 essays (2 have to be on a selection of novels on his list & 1 will be your midterm), 50 journals (150 words, which is like a paragraph!), 5 analysis papers (which you can do in less than one page, about 350 words.) Just don't slack off because you will feel overwelmed and he might not accept your paper if it's way passed your deadline date.

If you do not know how to write an essay, then do not take this class (that is what English 118 is for.) If you want to get away with writing crappy papers then do not take this class, find another teacher because Mr. Mckinney will not accept them!! This is a course that expects you to already know the basics of writing an essay. English 122 is about learning how to write different essay formats (read the required text book and you will get the point.)

As long as you turn in everything on time, assuming your papers are up to college standards, you will atleast pass with a B. I liked this course because you were allowed to pick your essay topic on ANYTHING and your papers could be up to any length. I hate teachers who say your papers have to be 3 pages or more!! Mr. Mckinney will basically just read your essays, correct them, and email them back to you for you to make your corrections.

A valuable lesson that you will learn from Mr. Mckinny about essay writing is that your thesis is your argument, an essay is to convince your reader about your argument, and your first paragraph should be good enough to make your reader read your second paragraph. My advice is to follow his syllabus, be creative, and write well.

James Cannon:

I have taken Mr. McKinney's English 122 and 126 online classes, and I believe that the suggestions that follow will be beneficial for either class you may be considering.

I'll begin by stating that the classes are ideal for disciplined and mature students. If you are interested in determining whether you possess disciplined and mature behaviors, these classes will certainly allow you the opportunity for self-evaluation. To avoid any possible ambiguity regarding the terms "disciplined" and "mature" within the context of this message, I hope you will read further.

Disciplined students learn to manage time wisely. Mr. McKinney will give you a schedule for the entire semester. While he presents a structured schedule, he also allows the opportunity to work ahead of the schedule. I would urge you to take advantage of this opportunity, especially during Spring and Christmas breaks. You will enjoy extreme value toward the end of the semester!

Mature students perceive online classes as opportunities to succeed, but without the requirement to attend regularly scheduled class meetings. A quote by an unknown author provides a good summary for my point: "He who is afraid of asking, is ashamed of learning." One of the remarkable advantages of online classes is having a broad opportunity to interact with the instructor, rather than having the limitation of, perhaps, once weekly. If you have questions, ask!

Although you will be required to observe specific criteria on each assignment, you will also be given freedom to select topics for your writing. You will write better when you write about topics passionate to you. Be creative. Make a statement. Express an opinion. But, also develop skills to support your opinion. Support your opinion by creating emotion with written words.

I'm hopeful that I have helped attract you to engage Mr. McKinney for a semester of enjoyment.

Raymond Balaian
Advice to Future Online 122 Students

If you're thinking about taking English 122 online with Mr. McKinney, there are a few things you should know. First of all, get your journals done early. This can not be stressed enough. You need 50 total, get them done in 10 weeks. Second, never write about TV shows the day they air. Always give Mr. McKinney a day or so to watch the tape. Thirdly, watch the formats on your essays. There are six research papers, so be careful that you're not writing extra papers at the end of the semester just to fulfill your format requirement. And one more thing, if you're lucky enough to score Sundays as your due day, don't wait until the weekend to get started. It ruins your Saturday, and degrades your paper as well. The most important thing to remember is that you need to stick to the schedule and your due dates. If you can do that, you'll come away satisfied with your work and with your grade.

People who are planning to take the English 122 online section with Mr. McKinney should know these following information. First do not take that class if you hate English. In order to complete the assigments (12 essays, 5 essay analyses, and 50 journal entries of 150 words each) you need to enjoy at least a little what you are doing. Taking that class should only save some time usually spent on the road and not shorten your time spent on your English. The most important advice I could give you is "be direct and clear" in all of your sentences in your essays. It might sound boring and your essay might lose your "voice". But if you follow this advice, you will save yourselves a lot of time, believe me! Finally, you might want to see a tutor once a week, that could also save you a lot of time. I am french but I do not know if I could recommand that "online" class to any foreigners. The main reason you should take that "online" class is to save you some time and money. If you are a foreigner you definetely want to take your best chances and have a tutor on the side not really to understand the class, but more to keep your writing simple and hassle free. Bonne chance a tous! (Good luck to all) Benjamin J. Dubois

Jana Simmons

I strongly recommend taking English 122 online. I like the aspect of having my work responded to promptly and honestly. I feel like the teacher really understands and appreciates my work. This class gives me the freedom to still work full time. I can work on my essays whenever I feel like it. I would suggest that prospective students allow themselves time every day or night to work on the journal entries or essays. Students should make sure that they remember to space out their work and do a little at a time. I have spent plenty of Saturday mornings writing one journal, one full-length essay and revising another essay. If I had worked more thoroughly during the week, I could have relaxed a little on my day off. I have enjoyed reading two novels that I would not have chosen to read myself. This class has been a good experience. If you have a busy work schedule, you will enjoy the flexibility this class allows.

Patrick Murray, Advice for future on-line students:

This is a wonderful way to take a class. The flexibility of having anytime of day to study has been great for me. It has been a new experience however, having constant due dates hanging over my head. Having to write a journal every day and an essay every week keeps my mind busy constantly, searching for new topics. My best advice is to keep up with the work and stay close to your syllabus. Mr. McKinney is not in the business of suggesting formats for your papers, so try to write as many formats into each paper as possible, early on.

Barbara A. Robinson

This is a great class that is not difficult but, is demanding of your time. Do Not Get Behind!! You should have two or three essays in the works at all times. If you suffer writers lag on one, work on one of your other in progress essays.

Write in your journal everyday including weekends. Dedicate twenty minutes daily, possible afer reading you e-mail, to writing in your journal. I don't think it is possible to play catch-up. It is a do it now class. You must be a self-starter, motivated and disciplined to succeed.

The instructor is great. I have enjoyed this class more than any other I have taken. It is great to be able to sit down and write whenever you feel inspired even if in the early morning hours.

Michele Green

Feedback for Brian McKinney's 122 On-line English Class

If you are interested in Mr. McKinney's on-line English class, my one and only bit of advice for you is to be ORGANIZED.

If you are not an organized person, this is not the class for you! Mr. McKinney requires a lot of written work and has rather strict guidelines as far as due dates are concerned. You must be an organized person with strong time-management skills. You must be able to set aside a certain amount of time each and every day for both the required journals and the weekly essays. If you can't organize your time, and balance it between personal obligations, work, and school, you will not succeed in his class.

Brandi Rhoads

For students who are interested in taking an online English course, there are a few things that you should know. First of all, make sure that you know what you're getting in to. I mean, read the syllabus and really think about how much time all of the assignments would take. Make sure that when you do read the syllabus, that you really understand what the course entails. One would think that an online class is easier than a classroom class, but I think that unless you don't have a busy schedule, the online class is much more difficult. Stay on top of everything and check in with the instructor frequently and don't get behind on your part 4's. The class can be a lot of fun though if you want it to be!

Kathy Moyer

What future students should know about signing up for this course:

I did not know what to expect when I first signed up for this class. I had a lot of anxiety early on because I am not a born writer, and only write when absolutely necessary. I decided that based on the requirements of the syllabus that I would get a jump start by writing journals two weeks before the first class meeting. I found this very helpful in easing my way into the class assignments. It gave me the extra time to focus on writing the first few Thesis'.

I find the two required text books for this class to be very helping in referring back to during the course. The texts will also be beneficial to me after the course is over and I continue to write. I find that this on-line class provides much more one on one contact with the instuctor than a class that actually meets twice a week. I feel the flexibility to submit my writings twenty four hours a day and seven days a week is a excellent way to learn.

If you want to take the Online English 122, you should think about the workload that you will encounter. This work will include a large amount of essays that are going to be turned in on time or the credit is lost and a large amount of little, 150 word, journals that are due only once a day. This class I pretty tough unless you are able to follow all the guidelines, deadlines, and formats, that are required to pass the course. I wish good luck to everyone who is willing to take the class. This class is a really good thing to have, even though there are all these things that are listed above. If you are able to keep up and have an access to a computer daily, you can manage and get any grade you deserve.

Feedback on English 122
H. Young

I have little new to add I suspect. The major consideration is the ability to be a self-starter and not tend to procrastinate.
When selecting topics that include research review several sources first and then select a topic that has ample information available.
Be a reader. This helps provide the basic background necessary to do some writing off the top of ones head. Having a few years of life experience under one's belt helps too.
Review the reading list of novels prior to beginning the course and get them read early. Take notes to avoid rereading later.
Try to do some work (read, notes, write) every day when you are most creative. This for me is first thing in the morning when I'm fresh. Save your "dull" hours for routine/rote type work.
Keep a dictionary and thesaurus handy and use them.
After using spell check always go back over your work and double check it (re-edit).

If you are considering taking this English online class I would first suggest making sure that you have the time to devote to doing the work. If you have a slot of free time, but the hours are odd, the class is great. However if you don't have the time at all. But are taking it just because you can squeeze it in somehow, it is not going to work. I really enjoyed taking this class because it gives me the chance to do my work at my own speed, and it allowed me to take this class, along with working during the day, and taking night classes. One hint of advice; never wait until the last minute to meet your deadline for turning in papers. Start ahead of time and you will save a great amount of stress from being put on your mind. Have fun!!

There are two main elements you need to succeed in the on-line English course: hard work and discipline.
The fact that you do most of the course from your home means that to compensate for the missing class time, you will do more assignments. About twenty percent extra work that in a regular class will be required for the on-line course.
The second element is discipline. Since there are deadlines for the class you need to be disciplined enough to keep up with the work load. It is very easy to get distracted at home when writing your papers. If you honestly feel that you have those two elements, go ahead and enroll this class.

Dear prospective student:
Count on spending more time than you think! Remind yourself that after the start of the class, you will, 99% of the time, be working on two essays per week (one new, one rewrite). Almost half of your papers will be research papers. Research papers mean research—more time. You must be willing to look up most of the answers to your questions. The instructor is excellent in responding to your questions, but grammar questions are answered in the textbooks. Don't forget about the two novels you must read and write about. Be sure to include time for those, as well. Have fun!
P.S. You definitely need five to seven day a week convenient access to the internet.

I would recommend this class to those of you who are self-motivated and short on time. This class allows you the almost complete freedom and flexibility to work at your own leisure and pace. For instance, you can choose to do a relatively small journal entry, work on a thesis or watch TV, in a particular time slot, your choice. The time constraints of this course are fairly minimal and if you endeavor to get ahead it is relatively easy to stay that way. Currently, I am so far ahead of the class schedule that I could conceivably not complete another paper for an entire month and still be ahead of the game. I allotted an entire weekend to getting ahead in my paper submissions and it is paying off handsomely in a much more relaxed schedule. Not having to attend class on a regular basis has allowed me to add another class to my course load, where I normally wouldn't have had the time to attend another session.

Rosalie Howarth

Advice for anyone taking English 122 on-line:

Be prepared to write EVERY DAY. You will need to write 60 journal entries, so pick a time of day that suits you, whether it be early in the morning or late at night, and put aside 20 minutes for each journal entry.

Think of a journal topic during the day. If you stay alert, you will notice when something makes you mad or sad or happy or puzzled, and a journal topic will drop into your lap.

Besides journal entries, you will need an uninterupted period of 2-1/2 hours or so each week to write the .4 part of your essay. If you're a morning person, make sure it's in the morning, even if you have to get up before the kids. If you're a night owl, forego that beer after work so you'll be fresh to write. Get on a schedule. It helps maintain the discipline needed to finish a self-directed course like this.

sarah jin

What I would tell other students, about this class is that nothing is easier in this class than a regular on campus class. You put just as much effort, work, and time as you would in any other class. Don't think that you can slack of because you don't have to go to class. For online classes like this one, you need to be on top of things and organized. You need to be able to send in acceptable essays, keep track of all assignments, and be able to get assignments sent in on time. In a way you need to baby-sit your own self. You have to keep your own work and have work taken care of. You can't see your teacher or other classmates so you need to find ways to get questions answered and need to have all things

There is a lot of work involved in this course, so beware. Never allow yourself to fall behind. A way to avoid falling behind is to write two journals at a time, just in case you can't get to it one day. I never let myself turn in a .3 paper on the deadline, always a couple days ahead. That way I don't feel overwhelmed with work. The key is to stay ahead of the game. If you can do that you will be fine.
Prof. Mckinney is very helpful, so listen to his advice. If you follow his directions your writing will improve. Don't expect to have perfect papers from the start. If you do, you might get dicouraged and that will effect your enthusiasm tward the class. Think positive and take the corrections as they are, not as personal attacks. Good luck.

Vinitha Fredenburgh

What you need to know before signing up for the English online class?

Make sure you read all the information provided as well as the FAQ questions posted on the web page. Do not procrastinate about writing your daily journals. It really is beneficial to do some free writing because it helps you to spark your imagination. You could write some interesting essays based on that. Read your novels ahead of time so that you are not stuck trying to read and write about it at the same time. This is a great course for aspiring writers but you need to dedicate yourself to do the work.

Before you sign up for this course it is important to look over the syllabus and fully understand what the course is all about. It is not like most English courses. It requires about an hour every day no matter how busy your schedule is otherwise. You will hardly ever meet other students other than through email. At first the course sounds like it could be very easy and a possible "easy A." This is far from the truth. To receive an "A", the course demands that you spend enough time on the papers to show that you truly understand the subject material you are writing about. The journals at first seem like a hassle, but as the semester goes by, they become so routine that sometimes it doesn't even become a hassle. The course, like the journal, seems to be quite a hassle at first, but as time goes by, it will get easier.

David Park

Well, I must say that this class is certainly demanding. However, if you have a willingness to do the work, I'm sure you'll do fine. The only draw back is that there's almost minimal communication between the student and the professor, which affects face-to-face conferences to over look a particular paper you've written. So far, I've met all my deadlines except one, which is excused; however, meeting deadlines is probably the most important criterion in this class. If you are a student who works better having face-to-face conferences, then the online class is not for you. Well, in any case, taking this class means being punctual, responsible, and time efficient. If you decide to be lazy one day, then you have to work extra hard the next day to make up that time. Time management is the key to this course, if you are not good at it consider not taking it.

Jon Petrich

This course is a course that will take the full attention of the student for the entire semester. When beginning the course, the student should be aware that he will fail the course if he is one who works the first week, later to take a break for the next two to three weeks. The course requires a student to do an average of five journals per week and one essay per week. If a student fails to keep up to the required pace, then a domino effect will occur and the student will continue to get more and more behind. In addition, once a student gets behind, work is hard to make up. The course instructions mention that only one journal can be turned in per day. Since there are sixty journals a student has a little bit more than two days to turn in each journal. On the other hand, more than one essay can be turned in during each week. Regardless of the stated rules, it's a necessary and vital that a student keeps up with the pace.

If you're going to take Brian McKinney's online English class, it's important to realize that he expects you to complete an essay every week and spend a little time every day writing. This may cause some trouble for writers who take a week just to decide what to write about. The class might also alienate you from other students of the class because you work by yourself, with occasional guidance from the professor. If you work well by yourself, and write a lot already this class will work out well for you. Otherwise you may struggle a little trying to get through the class.

Lorena Gumiel

An advice for future students:
An online class requires the same amount of time as a normal class. In fact sometimes it takes more time than attending three days per week in a regular class. Also you have to be organize and try to spend at least half an hour per day in the computer, you have to be persistent in doing your work if not you get behind. Another important thing to have in mind for taking this class is that you have to be familiar in using computers and the Internet.

Phoebe de la Cruz

I have enjoyed this class because I enjoy writing. Until I enrolled in this class, however, I never fueled my passion for writing because I felt I didn't have time or had nothing to say. Being in on-line English 122 forced me to write, to think about my life. In journal entries I am able to vent my frustrations or exclaim my joy. In essays, I can delve into exactly how and why I have formed my opinions. This on-line class is great because it allows so much freedom in choosing a subject matter. As students, we are able to choose topics that we find meaningful.

It is this aspect that sometimes makes it difficult. Do not be intimidated by this freedom; use this opportunity to express you true feelings on anything! I found it helpful at the start of the semester to look at the formats and choose topics for each paper due. I have not spent any time staring at a blank screen and not knowing where to start, as I surely would have done had I not planned in the beginning. Write on anything and everything but have a purpose! At the end of the semester, you'll have captured a moment of your life for posterity.

Robert Jones, Advice

I decided to take this online class because I felt not having to come to campus every week for class would save me time, and it did. As the weeks progressed, however, I gained a feel for the class. Anyone out there who is considering taking an online English class should keep some things in mind when making a decision. What time you save in going to and from class, you lose in working on the actual class. I spend at least as much time working on material for my online class as I did last semester in my English class in which I came to campus.

Another item to consider that is specific to Brian McKinney's classes is freedom to pick what to write about. Depending on the person, this can be an immense freedom, or a task that forces a student to think. Deciding what to write about can be harder that one thinks.

I have told a few people that I am taking online classes and the first thing they say is that the class should be easy. WRONG! This class is just like any other classes except you don't need to show up every week. That's the only reason why this class is a good idea. Otherwise, if you have the time to attend school everyday, I think regular classes don't require as much work as this class does.
Putting all those thoughts aside, if you don't have the time to come to campus, this class is perfect for you. There are, however, a few pointers you need to consider before making your decision. First, do not put this class at the bottom of your list. Mckinney makes it a point that you understand the importance of deadlines, therefore, if you have problems meeting deadlines, this class is not for you. Start early and don't always assume that he will ok your work. There will be times when you think you have written a profound piece of work, and once you receive your answer, he'll tell you it won't work. If you wait until 11:59pm of your deadline, you might end up missing your assignment.
Second, work ahead. You never know what circumstance may arise, and you might end up missing assignments. If you miss more than two weeks worth of assignments, you might as well drop because you're going to get a C. Mckinney also makes that very clear.
Third, don't let Mckinney intimidate you. There will be times when you will write something that is very important to you and may be a sensitive issue, and Mckinney may not agree with you. He will let you know his reactions. Don't be afraid to defend yourself. What worked for me was if he totally took the idea away from your essay with his edits, I'll just change the essay instead of arguing with him. Remember, HE is the teacher and YOU are the student. Get used to it.
This course is GREAT! I am so glad that this avenue is available to me, so you should take advantage of it…. Good luck!

Online guides for writers:

Purdue's online resources for writers
Capital Community-Technical College's guide to grammar and writing
Jack Lynch's guide to grammar and style (Rutgers)
Common errors in English (and non-errors to which some English teachers object)

Questions? Email Brian McKinney (bmckinne@silcon.com)