2.5
Quality3.8
Difficulty26%
Would Retake115
Reviews26%
Would Retake
115
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
24
4
10
3
19
2
31
1
31
What Students Say
“I did not learn one thing in his class”
ENG101 - 1.0 rating“He will tell you one thing and expect another”
ENG101 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
93%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.52 avg changeRatings by Course
102
5.0
(1)ENGLISHCOMPII
5.0
(1)COMPII
5.0
(3)COMPS
5.0
(1)ENGCOMP102
5.0
(2)Difficulty by Course
ENG347
5.0
END345
5.0
ENG348
5.0
INTROTOLIT
5.0
GRAMUSAGELIT
5.0
Reviews (115)
Very **** professors Picks his fav's first day. Very arrogant and useless.
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DOUGHY!!!!
What are u learning by remembering every character in 10 stories.
Read the stories and take the notes in class. Memorize the characters and objects in the story. And who wrote each story. Very boring class, very weird professor.
He has a very sarcastic humor that is misconstrued by some. I found him to be funny and interesting and very knowledgable.
Great prof. very funny. Likes to pick on people in class, but in a good way. If you keep up on the stories, pay attention in class and participate in disscusion the class is really easy. If you have him ask him about his favorite book or poster.
excellent
ego needs to be stroked. loves the sound of his own voice. plays favorites--and no one can figure out how or why he picked that person! Including the one picked!
Goes on and on about stupid things way too long, picks favorites, tests seem worthless, way too boring... might be a nice guy out of class, but way too boring inside
His class is no joke, and the tests are pretty much useless facts. Just know the characters and objects from each story. However he is funny as hell, expecially when he makes fun of students
He's a total jerk if there ever was one!!!!!! He is so stuck on himself. To him everyone one is a door mat that he walks all over.
I liked this class. He is very funny and the class flies. Some of the assignments are off the wall, but in all, I would take the class again.
worst man alive.........totally makes you feel like an ass......all he does is go on and on about stupid things and when you ask a question he makes you feel dumb.........and his favorite is Mrs. Buyers or whatever her stupid name is....thats all he says.
This man lives to humiliate everyone else. Will not listen to other opinions ESPECIALLY if they differ with his. Will flat out make fun of you in front of the whole class. Is a **** and things very lowly of women and there professional lives. A Jerk.
Did you ever take an exam, only to find out that some questions just don't have answers, and that an attempt to answer it is incorrect? Did you ever have a prof who just "forgot" to give your class a syllabus? Take All About Words, it's
Here is a teacher who thrives on learning everyones name and getting people involved in discussions. I thought he was fun. The assignments suck and thats all he talks about, you don't learn anything but class flies by with him.
hated this class, some of the stories were decent, but listening to him drone on and on about the absurdity of life and hopelessness of finding love, and the uselessness of holding to ideals is depressing. he finds too much pleasure in bringin people down
I no longer fear hell for I have had James McVey for a professor.
he does drone but all in all I'd rather have him, and his stories, than some of the other Yahoos on campus... He is hallarious if you like serious whit, but the whole Miss and Mr thing is a little wierd, most profs use your first name, but NO you must be
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I laughed at his jokes and loved his stories! He didn't try to swamp you with too many assignments, but made sure you earned your grade. I may not have learned very much English off of him, but I learned a lot about life.
he was hard as hell ive never had a harder english class in my life
i hate this class and everything about it, note of advise don't take it, don't say i didn't warn you
Does not respect women or any view which differs from his own. Does not teach MLA. Does not teach anything else. Waste of time.
The man is a jerk, as a teacher and as a person. He has his "favorites" and they're always the girls who wear short skirts and the guys who act like ****en morons. YOU LEARN NOTHING...He hates everyone and is the WORST teacher I have ever had. S
he is the biggest jerk I have ever met! He is arrogant and always right! he can't lower himself or his teaching so that students can understand what it is he wants. He only wants perfection, but we're undergrads! come on, give us a hand! ****!
this biggest jerk in the world. i would not recommend hime to anyone.
He is the worst teacher I have ever had. It is a waste of time to say anything because your always wrong and he is always right!! I really did not enjoy his hellish class!!
He is a jerk. He said that he is just there to frustrate us. He ****s through class and then expects you to write this paper like you are an english major. Class time is not spent efficiently at all. He is also very rude to his students
The way I see it, students don't know how to take McVey. He has a dry sense of humor and can be rude at times, but he's just cut throat. As long as you do your work, he's an easy going guy. He's one of my fave professors. You can actually learn a lot from him if you give his class a chance.
He's skillful in his craft and although he may come off as a bit rude, he has a light-hearted personality and, if taken with a grain of salt, isn't very hard to get along with. Enjoyable class.
McVey has been at Cal for 25 years. I would think that is a good indication that he is a brillant teacher. Just because he doesn't put up with slackers,doesn't mean he feeds you bull****! For those of you that wish to be spoon fed, try getting an honorary degree. My suggestion: Lay off the hot water
he is a very good professor and i would recomend him to anyone
If your a bit slow and can't take directions then I would not suggest him. However, this man is like a human dictionary and an excellent teacher. He has always been very kind to me even when I fall behind. No one likes idiots.
He's not the one to take for an easy A. Instead, you learn how to focus your ideas & tighten your writing. I think he mistakenly assumes all of his students are adults & want 2 learn when unfortunately they don't. He's extremely brillant and fantastically droll. Do ur work & he will help u.
I feel sad for those who don't get what this prof has to offer. I do my work so I guess I'm a favorite, but he's amazing! I'd love to pick his brain, his thought process is fascinating. If u do your work & need help, he will go out of his way to help u. He's here to educate & he does it phenomenally
U can't go in there intimidated. McVey will poke & prod, but if u ever watch him u'd realize he treats everyone that way. He wants u to challenge him, have interaction & so he challenges u. He's cool when you get to know him. Good class. Interesting.
I got an A in McVey's class......He must not be too hard. I'm gonna miss the guy... :(
his test are hard and his teaching style is every where
It's funny when he gets up in someones face during class and screams...(unless it's you of course)
McVey is one of the smartest men alive. He will teach you so much useful information if you pay attention and show him that you are willing to do hard work and learn. Many people argue with him because they don't understand how passionate he is about English and spreading his knowledge.
Teacher was ok. Has his favorites. One of the very few C's I got in college. Don't take him if you can avoid it. It was interesting class. I wouldn't recommend.
He is strange! At the beginning of the year I was scared of him - he seemed so angry and intimidating! But after a while I realized he was very cool, especially if you talk to him outside of class. Just go with his humor. It's a fun ride.
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No Comments
this guy is awesome - great sense of humor makes for fun class
McVey made me want to learn and have a command of the language. His classes are demanding. If you work your butt off and pick his brain until you truly understand, the sky is the limit. Do not be afraid to approach him outside of class for help. If you are going to school for teaching, doing well in his courses will be part of the reason you feel confident in your own classroom.
McVey is the type of professor who knows nothing but dates. In 1066...have you ever heard of the Bayou Tapestry? Mhy don't you teach me something about the English language??? Oh yeah...you are inadequate. I called him out in class... haha he's loved me ever since.
One word describes this guy, and it is: Anal
If you want to be told exactly what to write about I suggest you take his class. Most hypocritical teacher I've ever had. You have to write 2 papers about a painting...nothing to do with english. He's very sarcasitc and cynnical and makes you spend a lot of time learning about the dictionary. I highly recommed not taking this class. He sucks.
Hes is a really funny guy. Better person than teacher. Grades way to harsh. You read out of the book and you get a better understanding though.
I hated this guy when I had him for class, but after I was done with him I would see him around campus here and here, and he was always a real nice guy outside of class. it was like two completely different people.
Do not take McVey if you can help it! He won't give you the benefit of the doubt when you're close to a higher grade! I worked my butt off writing his papers and still ended up with a C+. My grade should have been at least a B-, if not a B! I have no idea how I got a C-. I received all B's on my papers, except for 1 a C. Utterly ridiculous course!!
If you wan to learn, take this class. As a non-traditional student, I am here to learn. He is a tough grader, although you will become a better writer in the end. He loves sarcasim and makes a 3 1/2 hour class fly by. If you read the story, you will get good grades! Loved this class! Keep teaching the way you are!
really funny and kind of out there. makes class fly by. all you do is write papers and thats it, and if you do just what he asks you'll pass with flying colors. no homework, no worksheets. i thought it was super easy and loved the class!
mcvey is the worst professor you could have, he doesnt explain an assignment until two days before the paper is due and no matter how much effort you put into it its still hard to get past an 80%, hes one of those professors that has to like you to do well, and if he doesnt like you well too bad for you the highest grade will be a C+
The class was difficult and challenging, but I learned so much. I was very nervous about the class but if you read and try to understand the lecture/add to the discussion, you will be fine. There is a lot of memorization involved but if you are involved in the class, its easy. Tests are mostly application so know everything very well!
i liked this class and the prof very much. sure it gets old reading lots of stories all the time, but hey-its college. he graded fairly and without too much effort i managed A's. if you're willing to put forth some effort its a good class for an easy A. he jokes around and gets off topic alot too which makes time fly.
My adivsor stuck me in his english class to fulfill a gen. ed. requirement. She said it would be an easy A. His tests focus too much on minor details and he gives us confusing/uninteresting papers to write. This class is not worth the time and effort he expects out of his students. Do yourself a favor and avoid this class if possible!
His classes drag on forever. He just rambles and rambles. He's an okay person. But he grades like a nazi. And his monotone voice drives me crazy.
Professor McVey accused me of plagarism when I had never before plagarized in my life. He had no proof and consequentially gave me a D (Failure is mandatory for plagarism). This was in his Eng 107 class and I was taking eng 270 at the same time. I am no longer an english major because of this man. Also my grade in Eng 270 was an A- you be the judge
I really hated going to his class. Every year in highschool I had no trouble in english. Here, he told his class everything we ever learned was wrong. His papers are very uninteresting and pointless, none of them had anything to do with what we were learning. He seemed unorganized, too. He was a nice person, but his class went on forever.
At first, i thought being in mcveys class wouldnt be that bad. As time progressed, I realized this man is an ****. Truthfully, I usually dont say things like this about people but he deserves no respect. He is rude and likes to pick on his students. I advise you not to take him. Take my word
had him for intro to fiction. it was the most boring class of my life. withdrew from the class. talks down to you unless you are one of his favorites...kinda creepy. take this class if you enjoy reading and reading and reading. the tests were very hard and the written assignments are impossible
talks down to you all the time. picks his favorites and sticks with them and won't pick on them. Only gaves 4 tests and that is what you grade is based on. told class everything you learned in high school is wrong. Don't take his class
This teacher was one of the worst teachers i have ever had...ever. I had him for poetry and he constantly put down kids who write it. He said that if we ever asked him to read our poetry he would say no and rip it up to pieces. He only talked to like 4 people and he grades so hard. TERRIBLE, DONT DO IT!
Don't take him. He is terrible. The tests don't match what he talks about.
I had this class for intro to fiction and at first I didnt like Professor McVey, but as the semester went on I began to realize just how much he knew about his subject. His tests are extremely hard, but with a lot of reading they are manageable. He makes the stories more interesting also.
He has to be the most arrogant person I have ever been in contact with. I had him for grammar and he doesn't teach. All he does is read from the book and picks on people he knows. You learn nothing and the tests are ridiculous.
Professor Mcvey is not a good professor. He has his select favorites who he calls on all the time. He is also extremely rude and grades extremely harshly. I would not recommend this professor.
He is a fantastic teacher! He covers all the test material for class, not to mention he's pretty hysterical. I fully recommend him, especially for Intro to Fiction.
Funny and often jokes with students. He is great as a lit prof as he makes the stories interesting. Lively discussions about topics, Especially if/when you play devils advocate and counter his own impressions. Tests are cryptic. a typical test question will be a clue like "red ribbons" and you will have to name the story they came from.
Would not recommend this class if you have no interest. Extremely hard.
Do not take anything that he teaches! He isn't nice and has a very dry sense of humor. He also puts off ALL assignments til late semester then trys and cram tests/assignments in. Oh yeah and you barely get any H.W. back to check his mistakes. Seriously don't take him! He doesn't care about you or your grade!
He may be stricter on grading, but he will tell you exactly what he wants.He'll happily clarify things. He tries to get people to think outside of the usual essay topics. He also is quite interesting and has a good sense of humor.
Has a sense of humor, but I will never take him again. We did not follow the syllabus, and he was very unclear on what he wanted. Assigned a date one when things were due in class and as everyone was ready to hand in the assignment, that day he would say we would hand it in another day of his choice.
He is very rude & picks certain students for everything and for good examples. His work is pointless and his attendance policy is way too strict. Cannot miss more than 4 days & does not accept doctors excuses so if you have health problems your screwed... Had to drop cause of health issues so I didn't fail. I would NEVER recommend him.
WORST TEACHER EVER. I'm not over reacting either. His tests are outrageous. His attendance policy is bull. All you do is read and listen to him ramble and he picks on the same people, and talks a lot about inappropriate bull. Oh, and a 73 in that class is considered a D. Ha, I think I have said enough. Do not take this class.
He is rude and picks on the same people. Don't make the same mistake I did and take him for intro to fiction
Nice guy, knows his craft. He's very unclear about what he wants in his papers and how he wants them organized. He's more worried about how many inches are from the margin to the title and things like that! Tolerable amount of papers. Mediocre quality class, but not fantastic.
Very unclear professor; due dates and guidelines were hard to figure out.. He gets VERY off-topic very often. Tests are relatively hard, papers are easy as long as the "rules" or guidelines are followed perfectly... but as I said... that's hard to figure out since he doesn't specify and answers questions with responses like "The lord only knows."
McVey is not a clear on instructions. His tests are absurd. They are 150 questions and about a third are True/False. You would think that would be easy, but the way he words them it is almost impossible to get it correct unless you learn to think like him or the answer is obvious. He seems like a nice person, but he has no business teaching.
McVey is a joke. He will tell you one thing and expect another. His assginments are insanely confusing and hard. He is not very helpful. If you ask for clarification, he will just say your old enough to figure it out on your own. I actually ended up changing out of his class and finished the course with another professor because I didn't like him.
DO NOT TAKE HIM! He is very rude & tells you how you should have wrote the paper after you wrote it already NOT before. He's unclear on directions and gets angry with you if you don't understand. He gets off topic all the time and will talk about random things during class that don't pertain to english at all. I did not learn one thing in his class
He is a terrible professor. When someone hears you are taking his class they are quick to warn you to drop it or switch. He basically tells you its impossible to get an A in the class. He is very demeaning to students and has called us dumb or said we are a disgrace to our parents. I would not recommend him at all, If he falls behind he blames you.
Dr. McVey was the absolute worst professor I have ever encountered. He is very disrespectful and abuses his position as a professor. I never missed on of his classes and I'm thankful that I didn't because he tends to change directions to his papers almost everyday. He allows specific students to rewrite their papers, but doesn't apply to all.
Seemed like a nice guy at first, but he would call out students and draw attention to them when they didn't know the answers to grammar stuff. Tests are MC and TF, 150 questions each, pretty challenging. You will be sick of diagramming when it's over. I learned stuff but wouldn't take it again.
"tells you how you should have wrote the paper after you wrote it already NOT before." That is called grading a paper, which is what professors do. McVey is an old school, no-bull professor. I had him 4 times and worked from a C up to an A in the most difficult class because I put in the work, knowing he would call on me. Don't cheat yourself.
The professor expects college level work. If you want to coast through Comp, take another class. His knowledge is unlimited and his style is unique. If you want to become a better writer, stick with Professor McVey. Five stars.
He's rude, unclear on papers, and will plainly tell you your stupid. Tells you one thing then expects another. He's terrible. If you want to do well, don't take him. Has favorites and only talks to them. Very optionated. Most of his negative comments posted by others are true. I WOULD NEVER TAKE HIM AGAIN! Please take my advice. shouldn't teach!!!
Very rude and condescending professor. He loves to call on students unexpectedly and embarrass them If they get the answer wrong. His tests are very confusing and he doesn't give many assignments/exams (aka not many chances to pull your grade up) HORRIBLE RUDE PROFESSOR Do NOT take unless you have to
I wouldn't recommend him to anyone, but if you're one that like being under pressure & don't mind how professors criticize your work, then two each it's own . He have an sense of humor, It's like he's being rude, but that's his way of getting to know you. Papers are extremely confusing & he explains after the fact. Everything is last minute.
McVey is tough if you are a slacker. If you actually wish to learn then take his class. I hated him at the beginning of the semester but he grows on you. He has a rude sense of humor, though. Best to bite your tongue and keep your head low. He likes to call out a few people over and over so if he calls on you, sorry.
Prof. McVey is clearly a brilliant and intelligent man, however, that makes him impossible to talk to. In his intro to poetry class, in a span of 11 weeks, we have had one test so far- 100 questions, extremely difficult. There have been no graded assignments; it has been 11 weeks of long, condescending lecture. Avoid taking at all costs.
This class was not one of my favorites so far. The class was a little difficult. It was hard to understand what he wanted because he didn't make things very clear in class. He would go off topic a lot and talk about irrelevant things. Class never ended early, so if you take him, be ready to spend the entire class period there. I don't recommend.
His class was a little difficult. He didn't always explain very clearly what he wanted and how to do his assignments. He would change the assignment so many times that it was impossible to end up doing it correctly. He talked about random irrelevant things during class. I wouldn't recommend.
Not helpful for one on one, didn't go over information on tests, tests were 100 questions (with a curve) but very difficult. No guide of what would be on the tests. Also, had rude commentary.
Dr. McVey is my absolute favorite professor. Although I was weary of him at first, I truly believe he is an intelligent, charismatic gentleman. Yes, he sometimes can say some "off the wall" things, but I'm intrigued and inspired by him. Just do your work and SHOW THAT YOU CARE, and you will succeed. Highly recommend if you're ready to work.
At first you'll sit there and think he's the meanest person alive, then you'll receive a paper back and realize he's even worst. Yet, he's continued the legacy of my English teachers and made me work for my grade twice as much. He's tough, but he's worth it. Definitely happy I didn't drop the class, or switch it.
McVey is a harsh professor. He insults students, and kicked a girl out of my morning class for eating quietly at her desk. He ended up cramming 3 exams into 1 exam. None of the material he had us learn was on the test! Every English major evade at all costs. Do not take.
A lot of what others say on here is true, to a point. Some students have mistaken hypotheticals as personal attacks. He does have a very dry sense of humor. The questions he asks during lectures aren't always clear. The tests for this particular class were almost pure memorization. On the plus side, he was pretty easy on grading papers.
HE IS INCREDIBLY RUDE! I haven't even completed an entire semester with this man and I honestly cannot stand him. He goes off on tangents that mean nothing. He is so specific with what he wants on papers it's impossible to succeed. He has the attitude that he is almighty, and you are a piece of dirt on his shoe. If I were you, DO NOT TAKE HIM!!
Dr. McVey is a very smart individual. He definitely knows a lot about the criteria he is teaching. However, that's what makes him hard. McVey is a very old-fashioned teacher meaning he is paper/pencil and doesn't use technology at all. His test are 100 q's .80% T/F and 20% MC. He is very broad, and his grading scale is out of date.
Professor McVey wasn't by any means a 5-star professor but I did find his dry sense of humor pretty amusing at times. On my last paper he commented "if you were to spend half as much time on your writing as you do on lifting, you might be very good," so I could not even hate because if you compliment my physique you're alright with me.
This was by far the worse thing I have ever done he told me several times I am not college material while I had a 3.4 Gpa but just suck at english
One exam given at midterm, the other given AFTER the drop period. Tested on things that had NOTHING to do with fiction. If you'd like to pick out which out of ten stories had a glass of water in it, this is the class for you. DO NOT TAKE MCVEY EVER! Filing a complaint with department. Have NEVER failed a class until now. Ever.
Dont take him, he was rude to many students and a few people even tried to take him to the dean... didnt pan out.
So heres the thing, if youre afraid of having to work for your grade, maybe Mr. McVey isnt for you! His dry wit and sarcasm is wasted on the millennials of today. I feel sorry for those that lack the intelligence to get his humor. I took many English classes as electives just because he was the Professor. Hes the best at what he does, teach.
As a person, I loved Dr. McVey so much, but that probably was because I was one of his favorites. He does pick those. He's so funny and was definitely one of my favorite people to mess with. However, I learned nothing from the class and I'm almost 100% sure I failed the final and he just passed me with a B because he liked me.
Very rude. Acts like everyone in the class is stupid. Doesnt not understand technology one bit. Didnt even post a syllabus. When someone asked if he posted it he went on a rant about how we dont need it. He is THE rudest professor I have had and everyone I have asked has had problems with him.
Basically, if you want to set yourself up for failure take his class. His lectures didn't make any sense. He goes on rants that have nothing to do with the papers themselves. If you email him don't expect a response. I had gotten A's in all of my classes except for his. He's the worst professor I have had at school
DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS. VERY RUDE! DROPPED HIS CLASS ON THE FIRST DAY.
Dr. McVey is a very bizarre man. He admits flat out he doesn't use email at all. He sent the wrong book to the bookstore for us to get, and then blamed the bookstore. He was consistently 10 minutes late at least once a week. His lectures are quite boring and I found myself struggling to pay attention. Exams are HARD.
James McVey is a sigma and I love him
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
93%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.52 avg changeRatings by Course
102
5.0
(1)ENGLISHCOMPII
5.0
(1)COMPII
5.0
(3)COMPS
5.0
(1)ENGCOMP102
5.0
(2)Difficulty by Course
ENG347
5.0
END345
5.0
ENG348
5.0
INTROTOLIT
5.0
GRAMUSAGELIT
5.0