He is an awesome teacher. His class is a little on the easy side, but who can complain. Do YOU want an extremely difficult professor. I find his class to be excellent and I hope he keeps it up. I plan to take his 102 course as well.

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Very easygoing. Great guy, and a great professor. Not uptight. Very laidback. I recommend this class.

Cool teacher but not a push over. Allowed a lot of freedom in the final project for students to express their creativity. Having Dr. McKinstry was a great experience.

He is a fun teacher. The class is something to look forward to everytime. It isn't to hard but it isn't a doing nothing easy A. Definately should take him if you can.

Very Easy to relate to. Makes class easy.

A great teacher; he knows what he is talking about and is a big help when it comes to writing papers.

I highly recommend this class. Dr. McKinstry is a great teacher!!!

Easy A. Definitely recommend this class! McKinstry is hilarious and class is always fun.

Lots of funs, skits at the end were hysterical. Open book test, but don't let that fool you. If you haven't read the stories, you WILL SUFFER!

the coolest teahcer ever

A great teacher, he barely uses the textbook and aalways helps you with essays if you ask him

Very good teacher. There is A LOT of reading, but the tests are open book/note. He's hilarious and very laidback. If you don't have a problem doing a lot of reading then you'd definitely like his English 232 class. Lots of pop quizzes on the readings, so as long as you do them, it's a pretty easy A. Go to class-- attendence counts.

I am an engineering major and therefore am destined to be awful at english forever, except in Dr. McKinstry's class. He was really fun, most papers were really short (2-5 pages), and class discussions were always lively and interesting. Everyone should take a class with McKinstry!

Cool teacher but grades the few papers we do kinda hard. Loves Sports so if you dont mind hearing about them every class you will be fine.

Really fun class although he does play favorites. Grades pretty hard but his very willing to help you on it.

I liked this teacher a lot. Some of the people in my class didn't like him at all, I think it just depends. You can re-write papers for higher grades and if you ask for help, he will help you. He's very laid back and class is very laid back as well. I would take him.

I really enjoyed the class and thought he was a great prof. His sense of humor is unique and it's a fair courseload. He is extremely talkative and can go on forever if you don't talk back. But I kinda liked it. If you don't read though, you will fail. Plain and simple. He picks good books too, spare one or two.

Very Fun!!! If you dont want that much work to do this is he man to take. Big sports fanatic and he does seem to pick his favorites but he will let u rewrite papers and will help!!!

I loved him! He gives fair work and although he talks alot, he is very knowledgeable with grading papers. Very funny with odd sense of humor. Picks good stuff to read and discuss. I would very much recommend him. I don't know of anyone who doesn't like him.

He is probably the easiest teacher you could get for 101. Doesn't give homework, no quizzes, and class discussions are usually completely pointless. He is kind of a tough grader when it comes to papers, but he makes you write rough drafts so he will help you correct those to have a perfect paper. Papers never require sources. RECOMMENDED.

A dream instructor for a 101 class. McKinstry is witty and very laid back. Attendance is mandatory but as long as you manage to come to class and write the papers you will do very well in this class. He doesn't give homework! With little effort you can expect an A or B+ in this class

One of the best teachers I`ve ever had. He`s funny, laid back, and will help anyone who just asks. He gives HW, but you usually can get by without reading. Your grades will mostly be determined by papers, but with rough drafts and re-writes you should have no problem pulling off a high grade in the class. I HIGHLY recommend him for 101.

I love this guy, he's awesome. He's so laid back, hilarious, and he really knows his stuff. I took his Fiction class and he pretty much told us what was going to be on the tests...plus they were open-note, open-book, which was nice. Lots of reading, but it's really not bad. I definitely recommend him...take McKinstry!

I love him! His class was fun and pretty easy! You need to read the books, but he usually picks interesting/good ones! He's one of my fav. professors that Ive had.

McKinstry is amazing. He's incredibly funny, interesting, and very reasonable on the amount of work. He can be a tough grader but will help you out if you need any help at all. He is by far the best professor I've ever had.

if you want an easy A, this is the way to go. wanna go to a class where you can BS but still get good grades? he's your guy. convos are interesting only assigns 4 papers all semester. i think he just wants us to have a break first sem. he's nice... i enjoyed the break especially since it was a 5pm class

One of my favorites at UTK. Laid-back, funny, and fair. Highly recommended.

I had him for both 101 and 102. He is a character and by far my favorite teacher, though not everyone will enjoy his style. I actually enjoyed going to class (an 8 o'clock) because he made it fun. He assigns a couple of papers of shorter length. He doesn't grade that tough but if you go to him he will help you out a lot.

Dr. McKinstry is an awesome professor. He is very laid back but keeps the class interesting. I enjoyed having him for 255. Had a few papers to write, but nothing impossible. He is also a very fair grader.

Doug was absolutely my favorite teacher this semester. Class was easy and a lot of fun. I actually looked forward to going to hear what he had to say and what jokes he'd crack. Have to write several different things, but nothing too hard and you pretty much got to choose all your topics. One of the best classes I've taken at UT. Very fair grader.

Really cool guy, gets off topic a lot but its always entertaining. Papers aren't hard. he grades pretty tough but fair. Ask questions if you have them cause he can be very vague. class is mandatory but interesting. lots of participation grades so its over all a pretty easy A and fun!

Seriously one of the best teachers at UT. Great guy who really loves teaching. Class is almost always entertaining. Papers aren't that hard. He'll even let you rewrite them to get a better grade. Make sure you take him for 255.

Awesome teacher. Makes class fun. Can rewrite papers, tests are open book. take him!

My favorite teacher at UT so far. He has a great sense of humor, and I always looked forward to his class, even at 8 am. take him for something, anything. tests are tough if you havent read but the papers are easy and final presentation so easy

SOOOO much reading! if you don't have time to read 100 pages a week! don't take him! the tests are seriously hard! it WILL take you the entire class time to finish! i had hand cramps at the end of each one... but they are due-able... underline EVERYTHING in the books.. down to a color of a cloak.. youll need it for tests. but papers are super easy

If you do not want to read 75-100 pages for each class do not sign up for him. If you do not like to read anything, do not sign up for him. There are 3 papers (two are for a final) but they are super easy. Class is mandatory! Funny person, and I enjoyed his class but it wasn't worth the effort and time I put into it.

He was great! If you want an easy, interesting class take his.

He is a really nice guy, and his class is really easy. You do want to always show up to class because he is always doing stuff for a grade randomly without announcing it. There were a lot of seniors in my class and they loved having the easy A.

The best teacher I have every had in college. Makes class easy and enjoyable and I've never said this before ever. Will recieve a great grade. Most of the class was greek. Only downside is having to buy the book and bring it to class.

He takes attendance and only allows 3 misses. He assigns A LOT of reading for each class... usually at least 50-70 pages and MORE on weekends. His tests are "knit-picky" and almost impossible to do well on. He is a hard grader and doesn't give much reasoning for taking off points sometimes.

a ton of reading, but i didn't really do any of it minus the big stuff. he's really funny. long lectures, but very helpful. tells you some test questions. extremely helpful--i bought the wrong version of a book and he let me take a test late in the library. easy to make friends with.

One of my favorite professors. An A requires reading, but its not overwhelming. Interesting and funny, very laid back. Highly recommended.

I loved this class! As a science major, this was only taken as a gen ed, but he made class really fun. He's funny which makes the lectures go by much faster. There was a lot of reading, but he picks good books. The tests were detailed, but, if you pay attention in class, they shouldn't be difficult. He did explain what would be on the tests.

Hilarious. By far the best and funniest professor I have ever had in college. There was never a day I went to class and didn't crack up. This class requires a bit of writing, but he's super clear in what he expects. Doug McKinstry is a righteous dude.

Dr. McKinstry is a great professor. I have had him for many classes and have learned an enormous amount from him. I am a better writer from taking his classes. I highly recommend him as he is friendly and approachable and wants to see his students succeed.

such a funny guy. if you read the books and take notes, the tests aren't bad. tests are extremely detail oriented, so be sure to take note of them! (as in, what color is this character's shirt in this chapter specific) BUT open book tests. papers graded sort of hard, but lets you re-do. presentation annoying but easy.

Dr. McKinstry is an all around great professor who really cares about his students. You do HAVE to do the readings, but he makes discussion really interesting.

Took him in the spring and the class was always interesting. He's a quirky professor but it makes things interesting. Very clear on assignments and gives example essays. Lots of in class participation so if you're shy you may not like it however it's pretty simple and fun. Would definitely recommend him if you like having creative topics!

He's a really awesome teacher! He is a tough grader when it comes to papers. He lets you correct 2 of your papers. This class involves a lot of speaking in front of people. It has forced me to break out of my comfort zone and become a better speaker. I found this to be the most helpful class I have taken so far at UT. It teaches you life skills.

Easily the best professor in the entire English department. The discussions are as good as you make them, but he is very knowledgeable about everything you'll read so as long as you are keeping the discussion going, he is willing to help. Funny, cool, laid back, and has the sickest mustache I have ever seen. Quit reading reviews and take his class.

Doug is hilarious and even having him at 8AM he always had us cracking up. He is a tough grader for papers, but always gives good examples. The tests are open book and super easy, and you can redo two papers so you have some grade cushion if you don't do too hot on a paper. Great professor and I recommend him to anyone.

Professor McKinstry is a really smart and funny guy. His lectures and thoughts on the books you read are interesting. I enjoyed coming to class and reading the books he picked out. You can use the books on the test, so as long as you read them, the tests are not too bad. The only complaint is he is a pretty hard grader on essays.

He's a really funny guy and the class was not hard at all as long as you do the reading. I would for recommend taking this class with him. A very cool funny guy.

I love Professor McKinstry. The course doesn't use a textbook but you do have to buy multiple small novels. If you don't read them, you won't pass. Take notes in class because he'll let you use them on tests. We only had 2 papers and they were pretty free-range. Easily accessible and a great guy!

"Must have" English teacher. One of the best teachers I've ever had. Very enjoyable classes and not stressful.

Doug is pretty cool. He's really chill, and very laidback. You only have 3 tests, each open book and note with 3 essay questions and 52 short answers. Final was a 1-page essay on your opinion of the class There may be a couple of quizzes. 6 novels, 3 are great, 3 are lame. There's also 2 essays, 2000 word and 1000 word, and you can pick your topic.

Best professor i've ever had. The man is a clown and is hilarious and will crack you up. He also brings the class together and make us feel like family. Although he's a tough grader and gives great feedback. Get to re-do a few paper and plenty of extra credit opportunities. Best professor out there.

Everything is graded very easy besides the papers

He graded papers pretty tough, but he gave great feedback and even allowed us to correct certain things. The class was always entertaining and I've actually recently decided to get my English minor because of him and his class.

He creates a good vibe from the getgo. Get him to like you and this will be the most enjoyable english course you have ever taken.

Be prepared to read a lot. 6 books: 3 great, 3 ok. The majority of the grade is 3 tests and 2 papers. The tests are after every 2 books and they are open note and book. He lets us choose our topic for the paper as long as it has to do with fiction. One paper is 2000 words and the other 1000. He shares essay questions and answers for tests in class.

McKinstry's easily my favorite professor. Despite being somewhat of a tough grader and a little bit of rambler, he's a hilarious wisecrack who gives excellent feedback and offers rewrites if you get below a certain grade. Get your books used / rented from the Volshop if you wanna save a little cash and you're all set for a great English class.

Dr. McKinstry is unarguably one of my favorite professors I've had at UT. Yes, there is a lot of reading; however, majority of the texts were super interesting. Dr. McKinstry 100% knows what he's talking about. While it's very lecture heavy, he still encourages students to think about the story's themes. I definitely recommend.

Professor McKinstry is an absolute character and I actually had fun taking that class with my 2 friends. He is a very hard essay grader; however, he does leave pretty good feedback on every essay and you can rewrite your papers. It's definitely not an easy A, but majority of people will end up with an A or high B. I hate English classes but not his

He was funny and nice to everyone. He really gets the whole class involved, which made things more interesting. There are a few big papers that make up your whole grade in the class and he grades very harshly. Make sure to read the rubrics and follow his examples.

Prof. McKinstry is a tough grader and his tests are over very obscure scenes in the books he assigned. His tests are open note and open book (at least for eng253) but you still need to read the book because of how obscure the questions are that he writes. 10/10 would recommend, he is very funny and is a great teacher.

Dr. McKinstry is a great professor. I found the class to be challenging because of how many papers we had due back to back, but it was an online class that only lasted for a month. He is a tough grader but he gave us the opportunity to rewrite some of the papers. His feedback is very helpful!

Dr. McKinstry is one of the most passionate professors I have ever had. He truly loves the work he does and you can tell. Students' wellbeing is a priority for him. So long as you stay on top of readings, you will excel. I truly can't recommend him enough.

Dr. McKinstry is a great professor who is able to make an otherwise boring class pretty engaging. While yes, he can be a tough grader, once you figure out what he's looking for in your writing it isn't very hard to make a good grade. He gives good feedback and I believe he is one of few teachers that actually helped improve my writing.

Enjoyable class to be in. Essays are graded pretty harshly but there is a free re-write on one of them. Lots of busy-work points like discussion posts.