2.3
Quality3.6
Difficulty21%
Would Retake170
Reviews21%
Would Retake
170
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
7
4
28
3
41
2
46
1
48
What Students Say
“Literally the worst teacher I have ever had”
103 - 1.0 rating“Take any other professor”
GWRTC103 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
56%
Textbook Required
72%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.07 avg changeRatings by Course
WRT
4.0
(1)GWRIT130
3.0
(1)ENG111
3.0
(1)GWRTC123
3.0
(2)GHUM200
2.9
(11)Difficulty by Course
GWRIT104
5.0
GWTRC103
5.0
GWIT103
4.5
103
4.3
ENG111
4.0
Reviews (170)
He trys to make good discussion but doesn't make much sense. He is very unclear and grades his writing Very difficultly.
Impossible to please. Plays devils advocate to everything. Gives confusing examples. Requires attendance, probably because no one would go otherwise. Find another professor. I considered myself a good writer and I have a C-. Think about it.
He's a good guy, but definately doesnt know how to clarify on subjects of essays. His class is very painful to sit through, mainly because it is very, very, very, very, boring.
He's a bit...odd. His lectures are confusing and almost irrelevant. But he does let you re-turn in papers. Too bad the topics suck.
He's not as bad as everyone says he is. His class is rather pointless, but there are no tests so that doesn't really matter. He helps you with his papers, so if you just get help from him during office hours getting a good grade is not hard at all.
He grades his essays hard, but you can redo your papers as much as you want. This class can be an easy A if you work for it. His classes aren't that helpful for your writing, but go to him during office hours...he's also a new teacher, so not bad
I enjoy his class, but i feel that it did not help me grow at all as a writer. I got a B- in the class which isn't bad, considering i did horrible on my essays. He grades really hard on essays, but loves when you participate in class discussion.
I'm pretty sure that everyone in my class hates this guy. He talks like a the**** who was too weird to ever help the emotionally unstable. He lectures about everything and nothing, and makes the strangest drawings to explain himself. Avoid!
Nice, funny guy. It's too bad he's stuck teaching a dumb gen-ed class, its not his fault.always willing to help. i like that you can redo your essays and stuff. lecture questions are a little vague, but if you participate, the class is much better.
This class is painfully boring. Essay topics are stupid and unclear. There are five 500 word essays and a 1500-2000 word term paper. You can rewrite your papers for better grades but he grades very hard. Find another teacher.
Believe me you do not know what boring is until u sit throught his lectures, which by the way have nothing to do with writing, nobody knows what they are about. Does let you fix your papers which is good considering he won't give you anything over a C.
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Oh dear lord...The man, hes nice and he TRIES to be helpful, but sweet Jesus...I seriously cannot understand ONE thing he says. By the time I understand what he has said, I have forgotten the point. Please just dont. Its a no-no
overall horrible, doesn't seem to know what he's talking about -ever...spreads his political agenda in the classroom and doesn't grade te papers fairly...also he's not even an Adjunct Professor
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SOOOOO BORING, but as long as you rewrite everything you walk away with an A/B. if youre willing to sit through the most boring class of your life.... go for it
This man makes no sense whatsoever! He talks too softly sometimes, and puts you on the spot in class discussions. Every assignment is an essay, but they make no sense either. AVOID
Worst teacher I have ever had! Class participation is rediculous...no one ever knows what he's talking about-his essays are confusing and impossible to understand. He expects highly too much when we don't even know what we're writing about. AVOID!!!
He's really not thaaat bad. OK his class is boring, but almost funny in how much no one cares about whatever it is he's babbling about. You don't have a final and youre grade is based on 4 papers and participation. Easy grade if u plug your ears
He is an extremely boring professor. You dont have to pay attention in class. Always gives bad grades to students, however, you can fix your paper and he will help you and then you can turn it back in and get an A in the class. Take the class for an easy A even though its boring.
He is the worst teacher you could ever imagine.
Words cannot describe how boring this class is! A nice man, but his class is absolutely pointless! He is never clear and his essay assignments do not make the least bit of sense. Lets you do revisions on every essay, so it is not that hard of a class, just extremely boring!
I am taking class with him now. I agree at times its boring and he could be on night radio because of his soothing voice, but he is a nice guy who wants to help you. He's not a full professor but everyone starts somewhere. He's cool cause he's from my hometown area. Lets you rewrite your papers.
My grandmother's radio repairman would be a better teacher. He is so confusing that people who ask questions about essay topics actually end up more confused. Asks bizarre questions that make you wonder what his history with substance abuse is. Yes, it is an easy class, but you'll learn nothing!
very funny, and nice
Hardest class i took all year. 5 essays total. One essay took me 24 hours. Beck seems to be more of a philosopher teacher. You will learn a lot about life. The assignments were very confusing, so it took me forever to figure out what he wanted and i still got it wrong.I recieved a B+ for all my work
the essays were hard...but you can always rewrite with his help. he was nice, but class was boring. we did nothign the whole year. no notes. you dont' need to pay attention in class so bring something to keep you busy. nice guy. easy besides the essays
Mr. Beck isnt as bad as everyone says. Hes very funny in a weird way, but its not bad. Hes very well spoken and intelligent and lets you rewrite ur paper. dont be afraid
He is nice, but he's a very hard grader. The book that we primarily read is horrible. Grade is based on the four or five paper that we write. He lets you rewrite papers.
Avoid! This is the most boring man on the face of the earth. Lectures are about politics, and have nothing to do with your papers. The only good thing about him is that you write only five papers and u get to redo them to get a better grade. So boring!!
if you want to do nothing in class take him. i sat in class EVERY time and did nothing. he talks to himself and no one listens. just bring some other homework to do otherwise its a waste of time. a good study hall....
Vague in his intended messages. Never seems to reach the climax of his point. Needs to understand how to become more affective in gaining the interest of a class.
He SUCKS!!
Very nice prof, however, the topics for papers are hard to understand. Explaining does not help much. Papers graded tough, but you get to rewrite them for a better grade. Weekly homework that is also hard to understand, but again, they can be redone for a better grade. Class discussions did not help much with understanding. Avoid if possible.
First off, he is a nice guy. It can be difficult to get a firm grasp on what his expectations are for essays and homeworks. However, you do get to rewrite both in case you didn't get the grade you had hoped for. Most topics focus around arguments and politics and he is quite conservative politically. You could find someone better, but he is OK.
This class sucked!! He was the worst professor ever. He is extremely smart but he doesn't know how to get the info to the students. He is very confusing and boring. There are four essays in the class and 10 HW assignments. The only good thing about the class is that you get to rewrite your essays.
Mr. Beck is actually really nice and very willing to help you if you try. The class definitely isn't easy but I had fun because everyone struggles together. You can rewrite everything and he gives fairly easy hw to help your grade. Certainly not an easy class, but not too bad either.
I don't really understand what people are talking about, this class was pretty easy. Every assignment, you can keep turning it in until you get an A. He's very helpful when you make an effort to ask. I would highly recommend to those politcally savvy.
Mr Beck is a great teacher. He really cares about his students and wants them to do well. His classes aren't easy, but if you put in the effort, and talk to him about the mistakes you've made in your papers, you should do fine.
mr beck is a really nice guy, assignments are vague and hard to understand but you can sit down with him and he will do the best he can to explain everything and help you as much as possible. class isnt easy but its not bad, and its normally interesting.
if you take him (dont try to)make sure you re do you papers, he lets you do remakes. no one participated in class and he would just rant for a class. He expects way to much for a general writing, its almost required to do one on one meetings with him for each paper. oh and dont buy the gwrit book, we never looked at it once during my time there.
Every class I got just a little bit dumber. I failed everything but walked with an A.
The class was not that bad. there are 4 essays which you must hand in, and then he lets you revise them so that you can get an A. He wil let you make an appointment with him so that you can discuss the essays. he is an EXTREMELY difficult grader, and one of the more difficult GWRIT professors
Weird class...Mr. Beck is just too smart for his own good. He lectures about random things each class. A little intimidating at first, but he grows on you. 4 essays, 10 easy homework assignments. Topics are confusing, but he is willing to help you out during meetings. Lets you redo your essays as many times as you want for better grade. Not too bad
I was intimidated at first when I met Mr. Beck, but he definitely becomes to be a funny, nice proffessor. I enjoyed his class. But the 4 essays are very challenging. Definitely not your average essay writing. However, he is willing to help you raise your grade and redo your essays to make your grade higher.
Very nice guy but can be very hard to follow sometimes. The class was painfully boring and he likes to pick on people and make them answer a million questions in one class. Essay topics were kind of wierd so you might not get a good grade on the first one but he lets you re-write them and completly replace your first essay grade.
I am a junior now and this was the worst class I have taken at JMU. Beck makes no sense and his assignments were crazy. We had to write a paper about if we had a disease where we thought we were dead, what would we be thinking if we saw a kitten playing. A 4 page paper. On that! wtf
His class was weird, essays like once a week on ridiculous topics. He will give you a terrible grade on your first draft but you can redo it and he will completley replace the first grade. He is nice, always makes time to meet with him but a little confusing at times.
8 essays on the stupidest topics I think I have ever heard of. Spends whole class periods trying to explain them and everyone leaves just as clueless, if not more, than before. I can't stand sitting through an hour and 15 minutes of this class, Beck is crazy and has this weird staring problem. Only good thing is you can redo the essays...
When Beck's classes ended I was more confused than when they started. He is extremely abstract and has these strange workshops to help you understand the topics, but they don't help at all. Your first drafts are going to suck, but he grades the revisions generously. There's generally a paper a week so it's a lot of work.
Beck is different but overall he's a good teacher. I learned a lot about writing and I like his system of collecting drafts then grading and returning them and letting you revise them and turn the finals in a couple weeks later. Lots of people don't like him because he's kind of boring but if you get past that he's a good teacher.
Eight 2-page essays, one 5-pager, and one 3-pager. All double spaced. Not bad at all compared to other GWRIT teachers. The topics are kind of weird but not impossible. A few of them were inspiring and very easy to write but one or two were really hard to crank out. But they're only two pages double-spaced.
This guy is a wacko. Every essay topic is weirder than the next. Rips your essays to shreds giving you mostly C's and D's expecting you to revise. His teaching style is very queer and strange. Confusing as hell, take someone else to save yourself some serious hassle.
I have never been more disgusted with a human being in my life. He has GOT to be one of the worst professors at JMU. He's a nice guy but a horrible teacher. He cannot get a point accross or have a simple conversation without confusing the crap out of you. Grades are 4 weird essay topics with an impossible 6 page minimum. AVOID BECK AT ALL COSTS!
Very confusing class. You get 4 papers that are graded at the end of the semester, so you are in the dark the whole time what your grade is. Essay topics are very confusing and weird also. Wen never know what Mr. Beck is talking about half the time.
Beck gives some crazy essay topics, not even going to lie about that. He only gives you 4, bad thing is that you will get no higher than a C the first time you write the paper. Plus side is you get a better grade at end and the papers are double spaced. Crazy but possible to pass.
I got Beck on a whim for GWRIT and the class is survivable, yet, frustrating. You may think you know the paper topics, but you have no idea.
Beck is an interesting professor. The class, for me, was pretty stressful. There were 9 2-paged papers and 2 6 page papers. Each one is interesting and sometimes confusing, and he never gives out A's. So be prepared to write a lot and to write well.
I would say he is the worst teacher I have had so far at JMU. He is terribly unclear in his essay topics. You will spend two days talking about the topic of a paper and still have no clue what you are supposed to write about. If at all possible, don't take him!
worst writing teacher i've had in my life... maybe worst teacher period
honestly, 9 papers means a paper every week. but at the end of the semester he lets u redue them because u have a D in all the. which seems helpful is a pain in the ass. he gives complicted topics and even if it is simple he explains it in the hardest way for 2 class days. horrible teacher, doesnt even no what goes through his own mind
he is such a weird teacher, do not take him, his lectures are boring and useless, he grades hard, noooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Beck is an extremely nice teacher, his topics are difficult and sometimes stressful but he gives you time to go over them numerous times and work on them. Great professor, really teaches you to be independent
I had this teacher for GWRTC 103, he is a terrible teacher, honestly switch out of his class immediately. this class will drop your gpa
his writing prompts can be soo confusing but he really is a nice person and i feel like my writing has gotten so much better after this class. if you work with him one on one, he is very helpful and wants his students to do well. his prompts are just so damn confusing
Dr. Beck's prompts can be confusing, but if you go to see him he can be very helpful. I really enjoyed his class, because it made me a better writer. His classes were entertaining, and I really enjoyed the group time we had to go over our papers. If your not afraid of working you should take him! I worked hard and got an A- so its not impossible.
Pretty interesting guy. The first essay was very strange but it got better after that. The more you talk to him through discussions the better your paper will be, as he gives good ideas as to what he is looking for and what may help you out. Lecture isn't necessary but it can be ok. If you give a good effort his class isn't too hard either
Read an awful lot - 10 books through semester. Weekly work with the disbussion board so you have to keep up with reading. Three 2-page papers and a 6-page term paper. Boring lectures but fair class overall.
easy to get an A if you go to class, endure his rambling and go to his office hours to get your papers read-over. a couple of blackboard posts a week, 3 2-page papers and a final 5-page term paper. however, beck if extremely scatter-brained and doesn't know how to lead a decent discussion. tough grader and doesn't make his expectations plain.
To clarify this teacher is better taken with as GHUM instead of writing. The books are talked about in a lot of depth. I would recommend, very interesting class.
I once had to write a paper for him explaining the connection between Darwin, being at the mall, and a lady's perspective that television is bad for society. I never got a paper back with a grade above a C initially. BUT no tests, exams, all papers are due by a certain date but you have until the last day to redo them for full credit.
Lectures are all over the place and extremely boring. You will get a D, maybe a C on every paper and revise them a million times. Regardless of the effort you put in you will end between a C and a B. Nice guy, awful class.
Beck is a nice professor that is very willing to help, but I would not recommend taking his class to anyone. He forces you to write about boring topics, and when you have questions his answers make NO sense. He'll help you as much as possible, but it won't help. Nice man, horrible class.
I'm not going to lie, there has yet to be a lecture in which I have actually understood what is happening, and it is not because I am a slacking student. However the books read are absolutely amazing, and as far as grading he seems to be on the easy end. But his lectures are so odd, its hard to explain without being there.
Stay away from Beck when it comes to GWRTC103. Lectures are extremely boring and the papers are boring topics. Although there aren't any tests or quizzes the only grades are 5 essays plus a term paper which he grades hard. The paper topics suck and are hard to write about. Only good think is class is cancelled alot!
Do yourself a favor and take another professor. Beck means well but he can't seem to figure out how to teach. He's very hard to understand in class and his assignments are confusing. The only thing I liked was the fact that he extended deadlines for some of our assignments. If you can, avoid him at all costs!
Beck is a really nice person, but can't teach. Essay prompts over 2 pgs long, & after reading you still don't understand what the question is. He is really understanding and pushes deadlines back a lot. He really does mean well, but when you ask him to clarify the prompts & requirements he doesn't help at all. If you work hard you'll do fine.
Beck is a good guy like all the other reviews say, but he truly can not explain an assignment to save his life. He chooses his assignments based on random things he comes across and then creates a prompt that makes no sense at all. His class does nothing to help you become better at writing. Stay away from this class its not worth your time.
He doesn't explain assignments well, is never helpful, and completely confusing about everything.
Beck cannot teach his way out of a wet paper bag. His assignments make no sense, and somehow the assignment sheet is two pages long. Unless you want to create "arguments" between geologists and funeral home directors (I'm not kidding) avoid this class
I don't understand why he's getting bad reviews. The only thing you do all semester is 8 papers and he gives you so much time on them and is willing to work with you one on one so you understand what he's looking for. He's super nice and the class is fairly easy. He's really not a bad professor to take for this course.
All of the assignments make no sense, and he does try and help you but then doesn't remember how he helped you when he grades you so you get a bad grade.. stay away! Too confusing for a writing class.
super nice guy but all of his assignments are sooo confusing though he tries his hardest to be helpful. he makes a lot of notes on the drafts of the papers but you have to be able to decode his handwriting (which he helps with when asked). this class is just more stress and confusion than its worth.
His assignments are very easy, as long as you can understand in the first place what they are saying. There are only six papers to write and you get to choose your final paper out of three options. He is willing to help but still confusing. You also get 6 absences in the class!
ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. an essay a week, mostly based on history and current events. extremely difficult to understand what he is looking for in an essay, and his directions make no sense.
Awful teacher, avoid at all costs. His assignments make no sense and he crams the essays into short amounts of time.
ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. Unless you love current events and writing about things that are of no interest to you DO NOT take this class. By far the most confusing professor at JMU. Class time is absolutely pointless. He is very unclear and his prompts are a page long. At least he is nice.
This semester we've written 4 essays on the issue in Syria. One was a 600 word paper on whether the NY Times or the Economist did a better job of citing their sources...He is usually very unclear on what he's expecting.
Do not take this class. You read 7 books in the semester and have to write 3 1000 word essays plus a 2000 word term paper. The essay prompts are unclear and you never know what he is asking for. Plus the classes are super boring. I worked super hard and only received a B. I did not gain anything from being in this class.
He loves the subject matter he was teaching, great wars, and wants you to have interest. No one in my class read any of the 6 books so class was always slow since there was nothing to talk about. The essays are only 2 pages and not hard at all, he will even give you a thesis if you ask.
This class was really not that bad at all. If you attend class and ask questions you probably don't even have to read the books. You write 4 two page papers and a final 6-8 page paper. His prompts are sometimes confusing and not clear but he's willing to help you and clarify anything you need. Easy B, a little more effort for an A.
His grades were all papers which is kinda expected as a writing class, but at the beginning, it was hard to understand how he wanted the papers to be written at first. He was nice and after talking to him in office hours about the first two papers, I understood it better.
Interested in what he was teaching. The only grades in this class are the grades you receive on the essays. There are about 7 essays that you have to write for the semester. However, is sometime sun clear about what he exactly wants you to write about. Classes are boring. It's hard to get an A or B+ because he is somewhat of a tough grade.
Avent Beck is one of the most unclear, vague, and ambiguous professors I have ever had the displeasure of having at JMU. It seems almost as if he purposely makes his assignments confusing and complex. While the majority of the papers you write will only be two pages, you will be left shaking your head in utter confusion. Take any other professor.
STAY AWAY FROM THIS MAN!!! Literally the worst teacher I have ever had. His lectures are long and boring. You write 9 two page papers throughout the semester. The prompts make no sense and his handwriting is not readable. He will never give you higher than a C on the first draft. STAY AWAY!!! I REPEAT STAY AWAY!
He is really unclear on what he wants in his papers and tends to confuse everyone when in discussions. He will twist your words and make you second guess yourself about what you thought. He gives you the chance to resubmit essays but he is an extremely hard marker and unless you share his views you wont get good grades on them.
He is very possibly the worst GWRTC teacher you could get. So many essays and none of them are fun to write. Definitely not worth it for a gen ed. DO NOT TAKE THIS TEACHER AT ALL COSTS
Horrible. Do not take class with this professor.
By far the worst handwriting ever. Class was entirely discussion based and the material was philosophical in nature so there were no "wrong" answers. The online posts boosted my grade pretty well. He grades his essays really intensely, everyone gets a C or worse on the first draft of most papers, but he lets you rewrite your first 2 essays.
He is a jerk of a professor. You have 9 short assignment (which you have to redo as may times as he says), 3 essays, and a term paper. He will read your paper if you give it to him ahead of time so that helps but his class is just miserable.
He is the worst professor I have ever had. His prompts for papers are very unclear and his lectures don't help at all. The books you read are insanely boring and difficult to read. Avoid taking this class at all costs.
He's unclear and can be boring, but he's a really good guy, and he'll help you if you need it. Also a tough grader, but you'll come out a better writer
Overall a good teacher. His class is dull, but he's not the worst teacher I've ever had, and when you have group editing meetings that replace class he helps you develop your topic and find new ideas you didn't know you had. I didn't like him at first, but he did teach me to dig deeper in writing. Overall satisfied.
There is a lot of little writing assignments that aren't hard.
SO UNCLEAR! hes a great guy but makes no sense, the assignments are tough and will bring your grade down, great guy not a great professor :/
He's a tough grader, and half the time you're not exactly sure what he's asking for in his prompts for papers. But he will let you rewrite and rewrite until you have a good grade. If you go to his office hours it makes a big difference. Just be prepared for a lot of writing, and a lot of not knowing what's going on.
I don't know where all of these bad reviews are coming from. I personally enjoy the class. It is a writing class however, so expect many papers. Professor Beck is critical on how the papers should look but once I learned his method, my writing got so much better. 10/10 would take again.
He is a very nice man, but extremely boring. Sitting through class was painful. Listening in class had no effect on how well you did on writing assignments because his lectures were irrelevant. But he is very helpful in office hours, gives you opportunities to rewrite assignments, and very lenient about late work.
Beck is a really interesting teacher, but I use the word "interesting" loosely. His lectures are very boring and class attendance seemed trivial. He assigns either a rough draft or final draft of a paper nearly every class so expect to do a lot of writing. He's genuinely a nice guy but I would only suggest him if you're okay with writing a lot.
This class really sucks. Don't take it.
He started doing his classes differently this semester where in-class is working on our exercise due at the end of the week. Every exercise is a group project and same group every time, so it sometimes sucks. His directions are somewhat confusing on his exercises and term projects, but if you ask him for an explanation he is very helpful.
Beck is an interesting guy to say the least. The majority of the class was spent writing in groups and it really didn't make any sense. He is a harsh grader and it took a while to even understand what he was looking for in each assignment. I would avoid taking this class because he made it much harder then it had to be.
The way he ran his class this semester was making groups of 4 and assigning a paper due every single Friday. He graded them ridiculously hard, and has his own bizarre grading scale that makes no sense. His assignments are difficult and very specific, and it is essentially impossible to get an 4/4 unless he is writing the paper.. Avoid at all costs!
Beck comes across as a tough grader but gives so many opportunities to redo work. Go to his office hours, it is SO helpful. Every time Ive had him help me with an essay or assignment, Id get an A on it. If you consistently go to class and dont skip (like 3/4 of the class does) he will take notice and be more lenient when grading you.
Weirdest grading scale ever. takes forever to grade many things. his lectures in class make no sense, and attendance is mandatory. best way to pass the class is to go to office hours and make sure he knows who you are specifically.
The weirdest grader ever. His classes and lectures make absolutely no sense and your text book is a self-help book with completely random quizzes that have no correlation to the reading while he is somewhat helpful when you speak with him one-on-one, you really have to ask many questions to try to understand half of what he is talking about.
Prof. Beck is a hit or miss with some people but i personally really enjoyed his class. He made an effort to relate to the students and provided great feedback on papers and discussions. He cares about the growth of students as writers and makes it not difficult to get good grades.
he graded easy until the final issue essays which he asks for 3 at once. prompts are confusing and pointless. the final is one essay written to yourself about if you understand a controversial issue, one is an essay to your audience about if they understand your topic, and then a final written to a committee about a controversial topic in ur major
As someone who used to love writing, that professor killed my will to write. I did all of the readings, emailed him, talked to him before and after class, and asked a lot of questions and I was still constantly confused throughout the entire class. His weekly quizzes are supposed to be on the readings but never are and he's a really specific grader
Hes honestly not a bad professor, if you just keep up with the readings then you should be fine. There are three main papers that will be done with a group and are rather difficult and carry your grade. He isn't the most clear with what he wants but just ask a lot of questions. He kinda speaks in riddles but the class isn't hard just tedious
Professor Beck is a very interesting and funny guy. He always makes us laugh in class with his weird quirks. There is homework every due every Wednesday and Friday but it does not take too long to complete. The material can be confusing but I would recommend taking him.
Professor Beck is a nice guy and definitely cares about his students and wants you to do well, but honestly, he just doesn't make sense most of the time. The majority of the class is spent just looking over the homework due that day, and he questions everything you say. It's an easy A, but I didn't learn anything.
Professor Beck was okay, but I wouldn't take him again. He is a great guy and cares for his students, but he takes a long time to give feedback on assignments, and isn't clear on what he is looking for. The books are required for homework assignments, which are usually one or two short assignment per week. Lectures can be boring.
Beck has the most confusing lectures and is never clear with what he is saying. I lived at the writing center for this class and still received 3/6 for most of the short assignments. Only thing good is he bases your grade off of how many points you get not the percentage. just dont take him there are so many other professors.
Beck is a nice guy, but really confusing. Assignments were ridiculous (we wrote an essay about kindergarteners on Mars), grading criteria and expectations were not well communicated, and he can be judgmental sometimes if a student isn't understanding something. He's pretty reasonable, but he's difficult to understand a lot of the time.
beck is kind of a weird teacher like he could talk for the whole class time and you wouldn't understand a single thing he said. also he grades kinda weird. there aren't a lot of assignments but the way he set it up was very weird. so that makes it kinda hard.
Kept changing deadlines after some people had already turned them in. Also during hybrid class time, some were in person but those online suffered because he focused on those in class. He ignored chat questions. His descriptions and just the way he speaks is so confusing. He never just answers a question. He goes on a tangent.
Beck is one of those professors that you hope you never get. Expect pointless lectures, meaningless assignments, and useless feedback. Also, extremely delayed and harsh grading.
Extremely hard grader. Good guy and give you extra chances but a very very hard grader
He grades things extremely late and the feedback is useless. Most of the time during lectures he talks about pointless things that make zero sense. I feel like he would be a better philosophy teacher. It feels as if I actually lost knowledge by taking this class. I did receive a decent grade but I would highly recommend never taking his class.
Super kind, class were interesting
whatever you do DO NOT take this class with professor beck I have never been so confused in my ENTIRE LIFE with a writing assignment also it did not help that he is an insanely hard grader. I was convinced I was going to fail this class and have to retake it bc he does not grade ANYTHING. I SOMEHOW could not tell you how ended with a B.
SUCH A SLOW GRADER. Didn't put anything in until last two weeks of semester, so it's hard to know where to improve. Assignments made no sense and had no clear instruction. Harsh grader. Lectures also made no sense and were a waste of time. I didn't learn a thing about writing. Always changing around due dates. Just save yourself and don't take him.
I like Professor Beck. I'm taking his class right now. He has an unorthodox view of education, writing to be more specific, which I actually like and respect. He doesn't give too much work, and if you show initiative he'll like you.
I wish I read his reviews, unfortunately. Few quizzes, he gives you two attempts. His term project is so confusing and a waste of time but it's worth so much of your grade. His lectures are pointless. I don't recommend his class.
Professor Beck is awful. Avoid at all costs. His discussion posts make no sense, and the term project is literally gibberish. I wish I knew about ratemyprofessor before taking this guy.
Professor Beck is horrible. He makes no sense and tries to teach in a way that is "not the norm" because he wants to push students out of their comfort zone. But, in reality it is just his stupid way of never giving kids good grades or helpful feedback. He wants it to be exactly how he sees it. Worst and dumbest class I've taken
Professor Beck is by far the worst teacher I've had through high school and college so far. Attendance is mandatory and lectures make absolutely no sense. He thinks his style of teaching is "different" but it just makes no sense. We use two books and hour+ long lectures of a different professor, it feels like I could just use those instead of him.
Beck rambles on in his lectures and is boring at times. Assigns 7 Short assignments(essays). Assigns a big term project which is a research paper. No tests or quizzes. Uses the textbook sometimes. He uses his own grading scale which is confusing. He's okay. Cannot miss many classes or else you fail.
One question only leads you to more and none get answered. If you miss a certain amount of classes, for any reason sickness or death in the family, you will fail. Class was a waste of time because he didn't lecture about anything you needed to hear. There are a few things he says throughout the entire semester that will help you. Never again.
He is a really nice guy, but his teaching style wasn't for me. I can probably speak for most of my class when I say the lectures would drag on about confusing topics. I usually get other work done during that class so I don't mind. There were 8 short assignment papers and a final project. Grades super hard & weird grading scale but you can revise.
Professor Beck will be one of the most confusing professors you will ever take. Every question you ask him will lead to a long and convoluted response that is just unnecessary. Class structure was terrible. There are only 8 assignments all semester (essays) and then a final project (essay with lots of sources) and that is all of the grade book.
Dr. Beck tries to help you learn how to better your writing but in an odd way. It will be very frustrating at the beginning of the semester, but if you keep going to him and making adjustments to your papers, you will do good. Just keep striving for an A. However, if you want an easy writing class, pick a different professor.
Most confusing way of teaching I have ever experienced. This guy gives lectures that don't even have anything to do with the assignments. He explains easy things in a super hard way and has no structure in his teaching. He will push back all of his deadlines until they all overlap.
Cannot read his handwriting. Hey is a great guy and you can definitely learn from his class, but it gets frustrating at times when no one understands how explains certain things
A lot of unnecessary papers on outlandish topics. He never will straight up answer a question and goes on a lot of tangents. Way too hard for a gen ed class.
Probably the most confusing class I've ever taken. Nothing is explained well and everything Beck says only makes the class more confusing. Required to buy 2 textbooks which weren't expensive, but we've barely touched them all semester. 5 out of 6 papers were assigned and due within the last six weeks of the semester. Overall confusing and stressful
He lectures on and on about things that make no sense. You can't read the feedback he puts on your papers. He makes controversial statements that have nothing to do with writing in class just to start something. If you can find another professor please do.
Professor Beck was honestly one of the most confusing professors I have ever had. I started the semester basically hating the guy because he created somewhat confusing assignments and his office hours were early. However, he is a kind human being, he truly cares and is always willing to help a student. The course was challenging, I am better for it
Professor Beck made a writing class more confusing than any English class I have ever taken. He lectures on in class about topics that have nothing to do with the writing assignments. Then proceeds to assign papers that are more confusing than the lectures, explaining what to do but still being confused about what to write.
He seems like a nice guy and I genuinely think he cares about his students but his assignments were just flat-out bizarre. There were few papers and we didn't even start writing essays until over halfway through the semester so everything felt crammed. Not only was his handwriting not legible when he gave feedback, but he also is a harsh grader.
I would strongly advise against taking any classes taught by Professor Beck. He is arrogant, does not give clear instructions, and gives almost no feedback.I took his GenEd WRTC103 class and cannot express enough how upset I was that I had not read his reviews before choosing him as my professor. Please, for your own good, do not take his class.
The assignments were super confusing but he spends a lot of time going over them in class. He is willing to help also. Super nice guy and an enjoyable class overall. Lots of extra credit assignments
Think he may just get a bad rap for being a WTRC teacher, but Beck was pretty great. In comparison to classes I have taken in the past, he gave basically no writing assignments, and there was only one paper the whole year. It was super chill and a TON of extra credit. Think some people may think he's rude, but he's just sarcastic a lot of the time.
Professor Beck was a really nice person but a very confusing professor. I never got direct answers about assignments or grades. He doesn't know how to work Canvas and you never know your real grade until your transcript comes out. I had a C+ in Canvas but an A- on my transcript. His feedback on assignments is always illegible.
I enjoyed this class! There were weekly assignments that all had a similar format. He is certainly a tough grader, but if you ask for help he is more than accommodating. Just follow the directions closely. Attendance is not graded. This class taught me how to formulate a strong argument and defend claims well. I absolutely recommend this class!
Extremely annoying. One of the most confusing professors I have ever had. Very unhelpful and all over the place/
This professor was very kind. He was helpful most of the time and let the class redo multiple assignments. He does care about students doing well in his class. He did change my grades a few times unexpectedly. Sometimes his explanations were all over the place.
Expectations are very unclear. Prepare to write a lot and still fail.
Nice and funny guy. Although, you will probably fail every assignment because of his poor grading. Even if your writing is good his assignments make no sense and he doesn't explain them well. He lets you do revisions on them but you will probably still receive the same grade. His assignments are all over the place and there are so many.
Professor Beck was a really nice person but a very confusing professor. I never got direct answers about assignments or grades. I also would get assignments back and was unable to read the feedback he had to say. Overall, nice guy very tough grader.
Nice person but annoying grading. The feedback is difficult to understand and even when I do get it, revised assignments barely go up in score despite the fact that I fixed all my mistakes. I've had objectively harder curriculums to deal with, but I've gotten better grades when I actually manage to get a handle on the material, unlike this class.
He did not hand back any of the grades until the last week of the semester so there is no time to get them up. He barely knows what he is talking about and does not explain any of the prompts correctly. I went to the writing center so many times and still did not get any good grades on any of the essays. DO NOT HAVE HIM AS A PROFESSOR. Worst class
The only saving grace about this class is the 4 point grading scale. It essentially brings every grade towards the middle of the curve so it's hard to get an A but also hard to fail. He was unclear with many of his instructions although he did allow us to redo some assignments and at one point we could pick one grade out of 3 essays to be dropped
Overall a nice guy, you can tell he wants to help all of his students. However his assignments a long and tedious and very difficult to understand. I would recommend using the writing center to better comprehend what you are doing through the course
nice person, horrible professor. he assigns the biggest papers within the last 2 weeks of class, and extremely tedious when grading. the papers rubrics were so hard to follow. his grading scale is also weird compared to other classes, so it is very hard to tell exactly what your grade is. i would get another professor for wrtc.
He is a nice guy but is a very confusing professor. None of the papers written were over 4 pages besides the final which ended up being 12 pages long. The papers are not like a normal essay; the hard part is understanding what you must write about and how to set it up. Once you figure out how to write your essay it is fine. But would not take.
Beck changed some of my perspectives on writing and teaches structures of arguments well. Funny, sarcastic sense of humor. He is disorganized and many of his assignments are abstract. Always willing to help and explain things and is passionate about writing. If you show initiative he will like you. I enjoyed his class and learned a lot.
Although the class can be boring, and or confusing at times, Prof Beck was legit one of the nicest dudes I've had at JMU, be respectful to him and he will 100% reciprocate it, would recommend him
Professor Beck has a unique teaching style - his assignments can be abstract, but he's passionate about writing and willing to help if you show initiative. unstuck study was a lifesaver for study prep. Overall, the class is challenging but rewarding if you engage with it.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
56%
Textbook Required
72%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
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B
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+0.07 avg changeRatings by Course
WRT
4.0
(1)GWRIT130
3.0
(1)ENG111
3.0
(1)GWRTC123
3.0
(2)GHUM200
2.9
(11)Difficulty by Course
GWRIT104
5.0
GWTRC103
5.0
GWIT103
4.5
103
4.3
ENG111
4.0