2.7
Quality4.1
Difficulty19%
Would Retake106
Reviews19%
Would Retake
106
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
21
4
15
3
19
2
17
1
34
What Students Say
“You begin to realize that he really only values his own opinion”
HUCH012 - 2.0 rating“He's the worst professor I've ever had”
ENGL171 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
100%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.35 avg changeRatings by Course
ENGCOMP
5.0
(1)ENG272
5.0
(1)ENG42
5.0
(1)ENG130
5.0
(1)ENGL42
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
272
5.0
ENGISH
5.0
ENG391
5.0
ENGLISH41
5.0
ROMANCE
5.0
Reviews (106)
Immense amount of reading, alot of papers, tests questions can be too specific
Read cliff notes, and listen in class and youll get by
Treats the class like it's a graduate one; arbitrary and capricious w/ grades
No Comments
GET OUT OF HIS CLASS!!! He's Unfair, and one of the worst teachers I've ever had. Seems "OK" at first, but very unfair in his grading and his class is extremely boring..
If your looking for a male english teacher whos a tough grader, unfair, wears pink shirts in class, and prejudice, then you got your teacher. He gives TONS of work, says abnoxious comments in class, and expects that everyone is an English major.
This is the first time I've found a professor to be unclear w/ his grading policy, cocky, and way overly focused on details. He expects his class to know the " correct"answers (in other words his answers) prior to having the reading discussed in
WORST Professor in the Entire University, EXTREMELY Hard and thinks everyone is an idiot, Boring stuff and stupid class DON'T TAKE HIS CLASS, Gauranteed F
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! Papers due almost every week, random quizzes on assigned reading, thinks all of his students are English majors. Very hard class! Don't take this class unless you have to, or unless you love English.
i had sills for english 41, and i have to say he is a great professor. its too bad that most people at hofstra are morons and don't realize that u shouldn't be taking english 41 to satisfy a core requirement. the english majors in class all got A's.
he is great
If ur english major,take him,hes good.If u'r not,STAY AWAY!WARNING!expects u to be an English Expert w/out even getting a chance to obtain even a bachelors degree.& if u seek help from him,hes not helpful in explain what u did wrong,assumes u know it all
No Comments
This guy is new so he plays by the rules. Caught 4 people on separate incidents of plagerism. Anal. Thinks he's cool and he's not. Don't take the class.
No Comments
Extremely hard grader....Possibly finds some fun in failing students....When teaching core class he treats it as a graduate class and expects his students to master the level withing 10 week course
whhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyy are you so hard?????
One of the worst I ever had--hopefully he will not receive tenure.
WoW! almost everyone i talked to loveed Dr. Sills class he is funny charming and knows what he is talking about. He is a bit tough but this is college not kindergarden. You can'y be lazy in his class but everyone else is bein harsh plus he is hot!
Sills Is A nice Man and an amazing professor. He really teaches some boring material (12th-18th century Romantic Literature Well). He is a tough grader in that just because you hand in a coherent paper doesn't garuntee an A. Substance counts, and his feedback helps.
He's a great professor, incredibly helpful. Hard grader? Yeah, but if you put in the effort, you'll be fine. And FYI for the guy who said hes new and plays by the rules, when you plagerise and get caught, guess what -- IT'S NOT THE PROFESSORS FAULT!! welcome to college, kiddo :)
WOW!!! everyone is so hard on Dr. Sills I thought his class was AMAZING... Im an English major so im used to reading... You cannot be lazy in his his class but he is funny,witty, charming and knows his stuff!! He also really cares about his students.. Sills is the man!
Hard grader but if you pay attention his notes tell all. Plus he's so funny and nice and HOT!
I loved eng 41 and I'm not a big reader. He's not THAT tough. You have to work for your grade, you get what you deserve. If you work hard youll do well. His comments are clear and they help you. He's always there during office hours. Hes very helpful, very funny, and very hot
This guy is awesome; He is somewhat a hard grader, but is very much helpful. Very witty, and turns this boring reading into some interesting stuff. AND he is way HOTTTTT :)!!, O yea--don't plagiarize, HE will know.
No Comments
Those that posted tough and fair are on the money. When I first read the comments I thought "I got stuck in this guy's class!" Now I'm very happy to have been "stuck in his class." Favorite teacher in my short stint at Hofstra because I actually feal like I'm learning something in a college class.
He might be a good teacher for English majors but I had to take this guy for honors and he is nice and knows his stuff but he is still really boring. He commands the discussion and leaves no room for anyones thoughts. He is not the best choice for C&E- hard grader and a lot more work than the others
tough but fair teacher - willing to help you out whenever and made class so much fun - curses sometimes which makes it interesting - overall he was a great teacher - beware he does give out a lot of writing and reading assignments
No Comments
great class
No Comments
young hardcore english teacher, too many writing assignments. . .WILL NOT hesitate to fail you
I just found him to be very uncaring about personal situations, and his lectures to be insanly boring and pointless
Organized, professional, intelligent and extremely fair. Respects the grad student's investment of time, money, and energy in the class at all times. Teaches at a high level. Highly organized. Defines what is expected from the student from day one and FOLLOWS THROUGH. Refreshing contrast to some disorganized, clueless professors I've had here.
very focused lectures, very tough assignments, fair grader-- although, he has a pretty big chip on his shoulder, and he is kind of a pompous jackass
His scope is very limited-he is unable to effectively use student comments to further class discussions, definitely pompous-annoyingly so, expects a lot but gives little motivation, can be understanding sometimes-rare, overall disappointing
This guy is off the wall. Avoid his classes at all costs. He will work you to death with enormous reading assignments and lots of papers to do and then he'll kill your GPA average with ridiculous grading standards. What an ass. Run away.
Pompous is definitely the word. Don't try to have your own opinion, just make sure you can figure out his and spout it back to him. But a better choice would be to stay away at all costs. By far the worst experience I've had with a professor in all of my college experience. If you value your GPA at all, do not take him.
he stands there and rambles for the whole class. he makes little room for discussion...really, it's just a lecture where he shoots down everyone who tries to have their own ideas. i got a B+ on everything even when i felt i deserved better. he seems nice, but he doesn't give extra credit... most people in my class got C's, even eng. majors.
Very demanding. But if you pay attention in class and do the assignments, he proves to be a rewarding experience.
Ok i had sills last semester he totaly screwed me over, he gave me a D on everything i did, when i showed my HS teacher (hofstra grad) my work, he was like i would have given you at least a B+ if not an A DO NOT TAKE HIM, AOVID his pompus****attitued, he will screw u over SO bad, even if u a A student, he will give u a C! ruin ur GPA!!
He's the best
ADAM ROCKS MY WORLD!
I had Sills last semester...he was really had ..i liked it best when he wore the beige pants!
I loved this guy, but be advised, if you aren't willing to put in work, he isn't willing to give you a good grade. His stuff isn't difficult, and the material wasn't taxing, and he's pretty available to talk to about things. Like him just fine.
Sills definitely knows what he is talking about, but if you do not agree with him, you're wrong. He is helpful when it comes to speaking one on one about a paper, but otherwise he is useless. He is a tough grader and allows no room for error. He is not always clear on what he wants or means.
Knows what he's talking about but is an absolute jerk. He thinks he knows everything and acts like it. If you dont agree with what his opinions are dont even bother writing papers.
Tough Grader, knows what hes talking about but u have to actually do the reading in order to do well. U cant just get by. He pays close attention to format. Very understanding when it comes to assignments, You cant do rewrites on close readings, but he does allow u to correct your grammar which usually will bring your grade up half a letter.
Sills was a tough grader, but gave clear guidelines on formatting and general expectations for papers. Overall, for C&E he was one of the better choices. He really knows his stuff and ends up picking a lot of the texts we use, so he's more helpful than some of the other professors for this class.
Prof. Sills knows his stuff, helps out when you need him and is a very fair grader. I'm an english major and am used to reading a lot so that didn't bother me. Plus, I am learning a lot from him. He is always willing to meet with you to talk about individual problems. And his demeanor is confident, charming, and HOT! hee hee
this guy is very unhelpful, we only have 4 people in the class and now i know why. ive brought my papers to the writing center and they approve of them, ive also had them peer edited. ive gone to him for help to adjust to his style and he was very unclear. youll only pass if your a eng. major... maybe, p.s. never got below a B- before. till now
Good professor for English majors to take. His comments are very helpful when grading papers and he gives you every opportunity to correct yourself. Not easy though, so if you're looking for a class to breeze through then this is not for you.
Great class. Sills goes beyond the surface to explain all facets of the works used in class. Extremely fair grader when I wrote papers I knew before I even handed them in if they were the quality he expected for an A or less than that. All around great teacher would recommend him to anybody
Great professor, very knowledgeable and helpful. He definitely has his opinions, and finds some underlying sexual meaning in absolutely everything, but he keeps discussion interesting. Not an easy class, but definitely worth taking.
Good teacher. Doesn't assign a lot of homework. If you can write a well structured paper you're good, he won't take off a lot if your content isn't great. Take him if your interested in the subject and want to see the works done in a different way.
Good professor. Not the best English professor I've had,but good. Kind of anal about rules-especially when it comes to essay formatting. Otherwise,he's a good professor,engages the class,and is funny. Makes sure we understand the material,and tests us only on what we've gone over in class. I recommend him for anyone already interested in the class.
I thought this professor was out to get me at the start, but then I started trying harder and it went recognized. He stresses that he recognizes improvement in terms of grades. He is very funny and since he is younger he relates to students well. Comes off a little pompous but when you get to know him he is very helpful.
He makes you earn the A but if you show up, write to his tastes, and participate it's doable. Overall a nice guy, just don't try to argue with him too much. I wasn't the brightest kid in his class but I probably was the only to get an A because of those things.
He's a good guy. There's not much written work, and even when there is, he goes over each reading for multiple classes, allowing you to really understand the material and write a well-thought out essay. There's only 6 papers, 4 of which are only 2 pages long, and the others only about 6 pages. Class is fun.
You begin to realize that he really only values his own opinion. If you write about your own, there's little chance of scoring higher than a B, no matter how well you defend it. If you listen to what he says and write exactly what he thinks for papers and exams, you'll do well enough.
Sills is a great professor if you're willing to put in the time. I.E. read all the assignments and write coherent essays. He'll give you a good grade if you regurgitate his opinion, so make sure to take notes. He's also hilarious and entertaining, so you'll never be bored in discussion. Would take him again.
the class shouldn't be required and he shouldn't be teaching it. Be ready to try your hardest and still never get above a "B" grade. He's the worst professor I've ever had. Tip: find friends in the class to help study for the nearly impossible midterm and final. Good luck.
Sills is a pretty good professor for C&E, but it's super hard to get an A in his section. He's honestly super funny and put his all into teaching, so his lectures super interesting and relevant. The only thing I really don't like about him is that he counts participation, but takes one student question and spends the whole class answering them.
Professor sills grades based on his own opinion and point of view any other thing is wrong. He is impossible to talk to outside of class and has lied to all of his students several times.
As a person, I love Sills. He's an understanding guy and wants his students to do well. As a professor, he tends to frustrate me in some ways. His tests are much harder than any essays we write and hardly ever hands out any A's on assignments. The discussions he leads are easily what has guided me to understanding the C&E information the most.
Sills is a tough grader but also a very smart man and a thought provoking teacher. He was probably my favorite professor this semester.
Professor Sills is probably the best professor I've had at Hofstra. He is knowledgeable about texts, gives interesting lectures, and is a really nice guy. He grades a bit tough, but if you work for it, he'll give you the grade you deserve. He is the only teacher I've had who actually gives constructive feedback on essays. 10/10 would take again.
His lectures are interesting and he's very passionate about what he teaches, but he assigns way too many essays and way too much reading. His papers are also very difficult to score a good grade on, especially if you don't write exactly what he wants to hear.
We read around 6 books during the semester and had a close reading due for each book and around 4 five page essays due. There's a lot of writing, but his lectures are interesting and if you listen carefully, he gives hints as to what he expects in the papers. If you take notes in class and put effort in your papers, you should be okay.
If you don't agree with his perspectives, you will get poor grades. His grading scale is on a 3.0 basis, and is unfair. His prompts are often confusing. His midterm is formatted so you must identify texts, their authors, and write three essays in one hour. C&E will be much more difficult with him as your professor. At least he proofreads essays.
Very grumpy bitter old man. Nothing seems to appease him, no matter how much effort you put into your papers and showing up for the class. Absolutely nothing at all.
The work requiremets: 5 two-page essays, 3 essay midterm and final, 5 pg final paper. Lectures can be interesting. Finds a way to sexualize everything but I guess that's to be expected from a school like Hofstra. Very tough grader: grades students like they are english majors. He's a nice guy outside of class. Overall tough class, better options.
Has very specific opinions on absolutely everything, which is fine, but he is completely and totally unwilling to hear ANY deviation from that opinion. I tried repeatedly to voice my own ideas in class discussions, only to be shut down by him. He is self-congratulatory to a fault. Harsh grader with no clear grading policy. Stay away.
If you have Sills for C&E, definitely take notes during your discussion section! The midterm, final, and all papers are based on the discussions from class. If you can regurgitate exactly what he says, you will do well. C&E in general is a LOT of reading.
C and E is rough but Sills is a solid choice. Interesting classes and very doable work-load. Midterm and final based on what is went over in class. Tough grader (some people struggled), but if you are a solid writer you will be fine. Drops the lowest paper grade if you do all 6.
Please don't take him. He only rewards ideas that align with his own and has a superiority complex.
He's a good professor with a hard streak, but good nonetheless. Here are some tips. 1) Write everything & anything he says in class. Review it for all papers and tests. You will be so glad you did. 2) Participate in his class, he likes that. Try to speak alongside his opinion. 3) Write papers simply and to the point, no need to use big words.
During the semester, you are assigned 6 papers but only need to do 5 of them. He drops the lowest grade. Papers are based on what you do in class and read. There is a midterm and final. I had an A walking into the final but 45% of the grade was the final paper and final exam, so 55% of the grade was done over 4 months, and the rest in a few days...
C+E: he's bad if you like English, good if you don't. He's a total dogmatist and entertains no dissenting opinion and so sucks if you care about the subject, but if you're a business major (or w/e) and you hate reading anyway, he rocks b/c he does all the thinking for you. For essays, just rehash his opinions. An easy B if you don't think too hard.
Prof. Sills is quite the guy. Took him my freshman year at Hof and have avoided him ever since. One of the hardest classes I've ever taken, and it was an intro class. The work itself wasn't too bad, but it's the fact that he grades each paper like we're supposed to be the next Shakespeare so you do poorly. Wouldn't take him again if you paid me.
He basically only conducted 'discussions' with a few of the kids in class. Scrutinizes other lectures most of the time. Has a LOT of papers and a midterm (that others didn't have). He's an English prof. so you'll be listening to textual analysis. Kinda harsh grader, sometimes doesn't agree with your opinion. He's ok but try to take someone else.
This professor is very unaccommodating, very demanding, and there is almost no room for negotiation! The progress of the class is very fast, and those who need to improve their English skills are not suitable for his class for the time being.
The professor asks for essays that answer the questions provided but if the answer is not aligned with what he believes is the right answer he grades poorly. only speaks in hypotheticals. His attendance policy seemed quite overboard. Told us day one "A doctor's note is not a get out of jail free card, if you miss 3 classes you will be penalized"
I would highly recommend to choose another professor or another literature class as a whole. He has an attendance policy that is absolutely insane saying if you miss more than 3 classes your grade will be deducted - even with a doctor's note. Penalizes you for doing what he specifically asks you to do on an essay and gives extremely vague feedback.
You have to read the literature prior to class and be ready to have a discussion. He typically will open the floor for conversation or ask for our thoughts on specific parts of the text. There were 2 essays which were 5-6 pages and other than that there were a couple of close readings. If you email him asking to review any work he will.
Professor Sills needs to be fired. He is constantly accusing students of cheating, his attendance policy is absolutely ridiculous (doctor's note isn't an excuse, and you only get three absences) and the way he grades is the worst part. He grades you on a GPA scale, so you truly don't know where your grade stands during the semester. AVOID!!!
His attendance and participation expectations are way too high. Students run the class discussion. He is available to send your essay before the due date to get feedback but it doesn't help. You will spend all night rewriting your essay just to get the same grade as if you didn't send it to him. Try and stay away from his class.
Accuses students of cheating over nothing. Personally insults students. If your opinion differs from his, it is wrong. Will insult you in front of the class. Will tell you that your paper is perfect and still give you a B+. Only has in-person and zoom meetings in order to not have evidence of his words.
Dr. Sills was very knowledge in the CNE topics and it was fun in his class. He has an odd grading system and it ends up hurting the student even if they did well in the class. He is a very nice person and I'd love to take his class again.
He was poor at explaining his grading process. His feedback is very vague. He does a poor job explaining his prompts for papers, which is worrying considering they're a major part of your grade. Attendance policy is also extremely harsh. The attendance policy is extremely strict, can't miss class more than 3 times for any reason. Avoid at all costs
Sills' opinion is obvious when he is teaching, and despite encouraging participation, he clearly wants specific answers and opinions to be expressed by the class. He is a tough grader and gives a lot of work. Sills will provide feedback if a student sends in work, but he assigns work so frequently, it is hard to get a draft in b4the due date.
This PROFESSOR (thats how you spell it. he would've failed you) is terrible please save yourself. You're welcome for the help. He has no tenure do with that what you will.
His assignments could be pretty difficult but if you listen to the discussions in class it will help you a lot. He honestly is pretty nice despite being a bit of tough grader, and his feedback is always pretty clear. Most of the negative reviews are dragging he's honestly a good professor and does try to help you do well in his class.
Professor Sills is a nice guy but a horrible professor. He doesn't give good feedback, if he gives any. His opinion is extremely obvious when he's speaking and if you don't write what he wants and agree with his beliefs then you're wrong. His grading system is confusing and he is obsessed with using ChatGPT that it's become annoying.
Very monotonous in his lecture, while clearly a complex and antithetical thinker, he does not integrate student interaction and understanding of outside elements into the material to broaden scope. He seems dry in my opinion.
Worst professor I've had here at Hofstra. I had to drop out earlier in the semester. Accuses students of plagiarism constantly, considers excused absences as unexcused absences (meaning you'll be penalized no matter what if you miss three classes), and has a superiority complex about his opinion always being right. DON'T TAKE FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
Professor Sills is a difficult grader for some. It comes down to learning how HE wants your writing to look. There will be many papers, a too narrow attention to detail, and an OBSESSION with ChatGPT. He has gotten upset in an unprofessional manner when a class did not know a specific detail, instead of trying to lead the class to a correct answer.
absolutely awful. never gives clear expectations, doesn't accept any opinion that even SLIGHTLY differs from his own, and is big on favoritism. would NEVER take again. he tanked my GPA and doesn't adhere to his own syllabus and states that he has said things that were never said and then gets so defensive when it's brought up.
Prof. Sills wasn't THAT bad. If you do the work, go to him for help, and TALK HIS HEAD OFF in class, you will be liked and you will be fine. His office hours are helpful. You will NEED to read. His grading is very hard so ask any questions you have way before the assignment is due. There are a lot. His interpretations are really interesting though!
Dr. Sills is an intelligent guy; his takes on the readings were fascinating. His teaching style is not suited for the discussion based C&E though. He often disregarded lecture material and seldom let student discussion stray from his own views. Syllabus is cruel in some areas. The work load itself is light but has high expectations. Take notes!
He doesn't care how much effort you put into his class or what you are going through. If you miss class or a deadline, there is almost no chance of making up for it. He expects you to know exactly what he wants. Oh, and once he assigns a paper, you better start writing right away. They're time consuming. Disorganized lectures.
Smart guy, has some good points in lectures. Your essay grades have NO INDICATION of how you will do on future essays. got mostly 3.7/4 on all the essays (out of 4). 4/4 on midterm. bombed final even with more prep than midterm. lectures are boring/repetitive, but you need to use what he says in the essays or you get a bad score.
The class I took SHOULD have been marked writing intensive. He will announce essays just days before they're due. I don't care if the essay's challenging as long as I have time. We had an essay due one week, a midterm the next, and another essay due the week after. All while working on other midterms, he has no awareness of students' workloads.
Adam Sills has the soul of an evil court jester from 1556.
Before you take this class, you will do A LOT of writing. The readings are long and tedious, and aren't accurately discussed in class, making it hard to understand the content. This class should be a graduate course, not an undergraduate intro level course.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
100%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.35 avg changeRatings by Course
ENGCOMP
5.0
(1)ENG272
5.0
(1)ENG42
5.0
(1)ENG130
5.0
(1)ENGL42
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
272
5.0
ENGISH
5.0
ENG391
5.0
ENGLISH41
5.0
ROMANCE
5.0