great class discussions and class is interesting

He was okay, though he graded too hard. Don't disagree with him.

He runs a fun class. But I went from a B+ on one paper to a C- on the next.

extremely tough grader on papers

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Funny, intelligent, and insightful. I recommend him to anyone who wants to to be challenged.

Awesome teacher, I highly recomend him and this class. He is so insightful, and funny. He makes it very easy to participate in class. No tests, only essays. Take him!

The man can recite lycidas -- if that doesn't impress you, I don't know what will. He is articualte and intelligent.

great class though challenging. you gotta love a professor who can rap in the voice of shakespeare.

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"The Real Will Shakey" is all I really have to say about Greg. He is a wonderful professor and is so helpful. He's a tough grader, but that's just because he expects people to work hard.

I feel bad for this guy. He gets a bad rap around campus for being an arrogant ****. All you gotta do is participate and he will love you. I have written two terrible papers and gotten B pluses on both. Not suggested for non-majors though.

I loved Prof. M! Wonderful class, no complaints at all. Might be a harder class for non majors but it's worth it still. My favorite class this semster. Got to know the people in it very well because of how he ran it. Made new friends

So much fun! The class is almost always interesting. He's very weird but how can you not like a guy who raps shakespeare to eminem songs? Grades papers tough and you actually feel like you get something out of the class.

Not only is professor 'M' a great teacher and probably a genius, but he is hilarious too. Rapping in class? You just can't beat that. I'll admit his class is tough (another non-lit major here), but I still managed an A- [brought me down to a 3.90gpa :

Prof. Machacek is great. class is a little difficult for nonmajors, and attendance doesnt count as long as you email him!! i missed a lot of classes and still got a B+. readings are very long, but really interesting once he explains them. recommend him!

No tests. Four papers, paper final. This is a very easy class if you just read the assignments, and talk in class. **must be able to talk in class**

really hard grader - even for an eng major, lol, you cant be shy in class, participation and discussion is key.. really hard papers, and you need to read odyssey, dante, aeneid, etc.. only 4 papers tho and thats it.. hes a good guy tho

Tough grader, but a really nice guy overall. A little nutty at times but it makes the class more fun. Class participation is key. Lots of papers, but no tests. Take him!

Made a 3 hour and 45 minute summer class very doable. Has everyone sit around in a circle and discuss the literature. Really makes time fly because you are active in the discussion. Must participate in order to do well in the class. No test, some quizzes, a few papers. Highly recommend.

Funny guy. Does the teaching thing very differently from other teachers. lots of discussion and expects participation. not hard to do, just show ur there and are interested in what the discussion is about. essays arent bad at all. Good teacher to have.

Mr. MacHacek is a pretty funny guy. Most of the class is disscussion based, so if you know the basic plot of each play, you will be ok. To help students better unterstand the metrical effects in Shakespeares works, he raps the lines to Eminems songs, which is hysterical, but very helpful. There are no tests, just three papers and some simple dittos

funny, nice guy, helpful, very smart, class isnt too boring, mostly discussion, but he is a tough grader and make sure to act out the memorization assignment, for some reason 20% of your grade is based on ability to act out and remember 16 lines of shakespeare in front of the class, though i was unaware it was an acting class, may hurt your gpa

Made shakespease interesting and fun..great guy..discussion based class, is very interested to hear what students have to say..helps you really understand shakespeare..no tests, 3 papers which require a decent amount of work, but not too bad..i would want him as a teacher again if i could

Just participate and he will like you, even if you are wrong. In order to do well on the essays, you MUST make them controversial... he would much rather a controversial essay than an obvious one, even if you don't do that good of a job. Do these two things and you will do fine.

College writing 1 and 2. amazingly smart guy. give him the chance to get his point across and you will definatley learn a lot. No tests of quizes, just papers. Papers aren't difficult if you include what he wants and try you will do will. Encourages students to get extra help during his office hours. Plus he's hysterical.

I had him for both college writing 1 and 2. very good teaher. would highly recommend his class

3 Papers and he helps with all of them if necessary. Had to memorize and recite a few assigned lines, but you didn't have to stand in front of everyone and he helps you along the way if need be. Participate even if it's a reaction like, "Romeo was stupid".

PARTICIPATE or class will be awkward and uncomfortable. He likes to hear himself talk but it will be better for u if u just participate. Readings were so long and too many for me. EASY EASY attendance policy and understanding prof nonetheless.

he is a great teacher and knows what he is talking abut. i took it as a summer class and it went by like a breeze. in a regular semester you get 6 essays but he will help you on them. in the summer session only have 2. is an overall effective teacher highly recommend him.

I took Machacek for Classics in Western Lit, and will be taking another one of his classes (Ancient Greek Literature) in the fall. He often has discussion style classes, where everything that should be said eventually gets said, and his only grading is 3 (pretty easy papers if you put in a medium amount of effort and quote a lot) papers.

A nice guy, but I still hated the class. He kind of worships Shakespeare like the rest of our society *eye roll*. I did about 5% of the required reading and got away with a B by simply searching for paper-relevant dialog from the plays the papers were on, and doing the easy extra credit. If you need this class, no reason not to take it from him.

Took his Themes In Shakes. class. Nice guy but the class itself was VERY BORING! Lots of reading and no test. You can get away with just reading the spark notes and talking about it in class. Hard to please when it comes to papers (you only have about 3 to write) and at the end of the semester you have to recite about 15 lines from a play

I'd recommend him to English majors - anyone else finds him too hard of a grader. He is a challenging professor, but Marist students need that. Take him for any Greek-related course. He knows Ancient Greek and can break down text in the language for you - truly an amazing experience, really gave me a new level of appreciation for the text. Awesome!

I've had this professor three semesters in a row now. If you do not like participating in class, do not take him because every class is discussion based. He usually assigns 50+ pages of reading. Essays are not hard at all, and if you don't like his topic you can make up your own. A good if predictable teacher.

Prof. MacHacek is a really great teacher. He is passionate about the works, and that rubs off on students. Had some of the best classroom discussions ever in this class, really thought provoking. Also, cuts students breaks when they need it- VERY FAIR. I plan on taking Prof. M again, for sure.

A great professor- interesting and funny. No tests, four papers (one was two paragraphs long, that's it), and lots of reading. Discussion-based class. Extremely knowledgeable! He even rapped during hte last class. Take him.

He was such a great teacher, the class is all participation and alot of reading but most people just spark noted the books. The essays can be hard, but he gives you help if needed and even lets you choose your own topic if you want. And on top of all this at the end of the semester he rapped for us

I had him as a teacher in 1998, or so. He was a great guy, and he's committed to what he teaches. He taught me well, and, at the same time, made the one thing I hated about college (going to class) worthwhile! Thanks, Greg.

One of the best professors I've had at Marist. He's a fair grader because his first paper isn't worth a lot b/c he wants you to get used to his grading style. Class is all discussion, so be ready to participate but you can say whatever you want and it counts as participation. He's such a sweet guy. A lot of reading, though!

Honestly, Professor Machacek was one of my favorite professors I've had so far. There is definitely a lot of participating, but he values opinions (although sometimes it's hard for him to see your view). I just think he's a great guy, and any English major should definitely take at least one class of his. I learned a lot, and had fun too

Loved this class. Graded very fair and was clear about every assignment. Also one of the funniest professors I've had.

Professor MacHacek is a beast. You get about five essays over the course of the semester due pretty much every two weeks. Me being not a strong writer and playing a sport having little free time to write were still able to score above a B on every one. Class is also fun and can fly by quickly. Also provides interesting essay topics.

I liked him a lot as a teacher but this class is definitely not for everyone. Participation is huge and he keeps close track of who talks or not. If you participate and write well you should be able to pull an A with no issues.

Hes super nice and passionate about what he teaches. Participation is so important in this class even if you say your opinion you need to participate or else it will really effect your grade. We had about 3 or 4 papers the class seemed to struggle but my friend and I had no issues and both got A's on every one. I liked him and would take him again.

His class is an easy A as long as you are ready to participate. Attendance counts towards participation and any small comments you make will count. There were 5 easy essays throughout the semester, with no homework outside of these. He is a really nice guy and his class is run very informally so it is a comfortable setting. Definitely recommend

He is very nice. Really likes class participation, presentations and papers, but is a very fair grader. I really enjoyed how passionate he was about the subject (John Milton). He is also caring and wants to see the student succeed. Overall definitely recommend, but be prepared to participate

The absolute BEST! He's funny, he's caring, and the class really isn't too bad as long as you do your work!

Prof. Machacek is very enthusiastic about his class. He is very funny and tries his best to make everything as tolerable as it could be. Get ready for a tough grader. However, if you like a challenge and like funny people, take this class.

Machacek was a nice guy, though his class got a little boring sometimes(are all discussion based, if you have a quiet group then its a bore all semester)You get participation points for the classes you show up to(can miss up to 7)but if you email him a question day of class you still get participation credit. Essays were easy & just read summaries

Takes grading the essays pretty seriously, some of which can be sort of vague on instructions or difficult to understand, but certainly not impossible. Overall, a great person and makes for a fun environment.

I've taken Prof. MacHacek before and somehow his grading got tougher between then and now. He expects high level work from his students, which is perfectly fine, but offers very little usable/understandable feedback on papers. He's the sweetest teacher and is very funny, he tries to make class enjoyable. Spend a ton of time on your papers!!!

He is an amazing professor who makes the class enjoyable. The class is very participation heavy so as long as you read you'll be set. The whole class is basically everyones feedback on the reading and a discussion. He is a bit of a harsh grader on papers, but if you put in work your grade will reflect it. Really nice guy and willing to help.

Very helpful and kind professor who thoroughly answers questions. Discussion-based class so make sure to read/be involved. LOTS of reading - about one Shakespeare play every two weeks. Does ramble on for a bit before class actually starts but I would recommend this class.

Literally my FAVORITE teacher at Marist! He truly cares about his students and what he is teaching. Goes off topic about things the students are interested in, which makes class so much more fun. He clears up any confusion with the reading or assignments, which is extremely helpful. He is so considerate, thoughtful, and non-judgemental. 10/10

Professor Machacek is a great guy who is super energetic and is extremely passionate about the material. His class discussions are super helpful and he really respects you if you frequently participate. Reading/ short forum post assigned each class, four essays throughout the semester.

Prof. Machacek is a great guy with a funny and charismatic personality. All you have to do to pass is show up participate once at least once in each class and write really good essays, and I mean good. He can be a tough grader.

There were no tests in this class and Professor Machacek is a hysterical guy. Although classes were a little hard to understand if you haven't worked with metaphors in old poetry, he helps you try to get the concept. There were a lot of papers and 2 presentations in total.

Had him about 2 semesters ago for ENG270. COVID did complicate things some (e.g. Hybrid) but otherwise he's a really good teacher. Tough but fair Grader with good feedback and a lot of reading in short span of time but as long as you attend class and don't fall asleep it's not too hard to follow. I'd say he ranks in top 2-3 teachers for me so far.

This professor is extremely passionate about Shakespeare. Very transparent and goes the extra step to welcome quieter students into discussions and ensure that they leave class inspired, with the ability to know and appreciate Shakespeare. Papers (3) are tough thematic analyses, but you get through them if you put in the work. Excellent instructor.

Difficult to understand what he is looking for in grading essays. Participation is a huge part of grade. Easy to ask questions and offers extra help.

His class is run in a discussion format. LOTS of reading dense material, but reading the Sparknotes summaries will suffice. You are expected to talk at least twice each class, but he talks far too much to make this possible. Make sure to sit where he can always see you so you can get participation points. That said, he's very sweet and reasonable.

class kinda boring group discussion all class need to speak 2 times a class or you will not receive participation grade and he grades tough. every class is going over a reeding assigned. he either makes you read something for class or if theres no reading assigned there is an essay due next class. manageable but not if you really read everything.

Great guy and super funny. He is not a hard teacher if you are good at writing papers. Highly recommend.

MacHacek is such a sweet man.Class is discussion based which I was nervous about, I didn't read a single book and with looking up some basic facts and points I was able to make an opening statement about the reading, got my points for the day, and continued working on other work.His papers can be a little hard to understand, but can also be easy.

Professor Machacek is very sweet. The course was very discussion based and participation mattered for your grade. He gave 4 papers in total and was relatively easy on grading. He is available outside of class to help you work on papers. The portions of text you will need to read for each class vary, and can be large chunks at times.

Super nice guy, participation is a must to do good in the class. He talks a lot but the class is very easy as long as you participate in some way shape or form, I never read any of the poems before class and still passed