2.8
Quality3.8
Difficulty19%
Would Retake247
Reviews19%
Would Retake
247
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
50
4
47
3
43
2
55
1
52
What Students Say
“Jillian is by far the worst Phil prof I have had at SFU”
PHIL343 - 1.0 rating“her final made me cry”
PHILXX1 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
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82%
Textbook Required
76%
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Reviews (247)
Nice prof.
Great!
Kind, funny, approachable
Nice teacher, always accessible for help. Hard paper topics but easy finals tho
nice and easy prof, make sure u take her if she teaches phil 100
she is very pleasant but also a little too relaxed and unfocused
Excellent, inspirational prof. Very clear and interesting.
Had her in my first semester two years ago...interesting lectures, has a sense of humor, papers and tests were fair with regards to difficulty...she even let me play a Prince CD at the start of class one day and she played R.E.M. a few times...cool
she teaches philosophy as if it's history or literature review, without being philosophical about the topics at all. you'll hear about the 'great men' without learning why they were great. avoid introductory classes with this old-fashioned thinker.
Awesome class, awesome prof. Engaging, professional, and interactive with the class. Knowledge and Reality is the class I look forward to the most.
makes very good notes! speaks clearly and makes things easier to understand. great sense of humor and personality. nice taste in music :)
She seems to be a good person however she gives very poor and over-simplified notes. Her lectures lack substance,plus half of each 50 minute lecture consists of going over and over and over upcoming assignments. I havent gained anything from her lectures
definitely lots of discussions in lectures.
She is an awesome Prof. Her notes were very clear and told you exactly what would be on the tests. I highly recommend her for any first year student! She is so helpful!
lectures are so useless, im lucky i have a good TA, and its true that she goes on and on about assignments for way to long when it is not needed, and yes it is true that she seems nice, but she does not get deep into the topics we are studying in philosophy
Do not take phil 001. Avoid at ALL costs.
da prof iz fine tho, she explainz pretty well and nice, and her note iz so easy to review. However, since the subject it self is tricky, unless u study damn hard, it might not be a good class. But just rating the prof, i thinka she is kinda good..
Her explainatons are awful, she makes the material much more confusing and complex than it needs to be (thank god for the TA). Her exams are awful, study as hard as you want because it doesn't matter, she doesn't give NEARLY enough time and has NO sympathy. I almost failed because of her.
I find the lectures pretty useless. She is not very good at focusing on the assigned readings for the week. I leave the lecture hall more confused than when I went in.
Her explainatons are awful, she makes the material much more confusing and complex than it needs to be (thank god for the TA). Her exams are awful, study as hard as you want because it doesn't matter, she doesn't give NEARLY enough time and has NO sympathy.
DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE. It's hard to listen and take notes at the same time in this class since there are so many pages of notes from the overhead each class. There isn't enuff time to go check over things on midterms. Material may get confusing at times.
it's my 2nd time taking it, and she's way easier then horban. So for everyone who got screwed by horban, take 001 again with her.
B-O-R-I-N-G, maybe teaching some philosophy would be good, her lectures put me to sleep.
awful lectures.
the worst prof I 've ever had .
She is alright, but the course itself is horrible! Too much writing, and she has high expectations...recalling what she said..."never expect an A from me, 66 is the average, and a paper that deserves an A is a paper that I'd say I WISH I HAD WRITTEN IT!" so, never expect anything high from her!
i agree w/ the one below. Expects so high! dun take 100-level courses w/ her since she used to teach 300-level courses. and i really hate taking notes down w/ listening to what she says. u can never catch up what she talks about since u'r already busy copying notes!Lots of notes,too lil time to copy
Her tests are fair and well written and her notes are extremely straight forward. She was great!!!
kinda hard to understand. her notes are not very organized.. and hard to catch up.
Interesting and lively lectures, but material is confusing. Seems approachable and open to suggestions/criticisms. Tends to go off-topic.
Her lectures cover only very simple examples, yet she gives very complex problems to solve on an exam. This is a FORMAL LOGIC intro course - if you don't like logic, and aren't very good at math, don't take it. If P, then Q, If R, Then T. therefore P. If that doesn't make sense, don't take this cour
Not a great lecturer, goes off on tangents. As noted prior, tests tend to be waaay more difficult than notes. Uses multiple answer, multiple choice questions!!! WORST OF ALL...i found that there wasn't even enough time to think on the midterms, most people that i talked to in the class didn't finish
nice prof. but very repetitive on minor things... like handing in hwk and such. wasted too much time on easy, simple things and not enough time on complex topics.
I like the first part of this course. She is a good professor, knowledgable, approachable, but dont expect a high grade from this course.
An absolutely brilliant teacher. If you're having trouble with any of the material take advantage of her office hours and she'll be glad to help you. Jill is awesome, and knowledge and reality is a great course!
she has good notes, but goes through them too fast. had a hard time copying all of them, but she posts them on the web too. i just needed to read the notes to do the exams, good prof. the homework was only marked on completion.
bad lectures, she posts lecture notes online but they make no sense! she is very unreasonable and expects too much out of a 100 level course. exam is easy but she instructs her TAs to mark very hard on essays. Also, she pauses 50 times to tell people to be quiet, even tho no one is talking!
I think she's fair, what i dont like is the TWISTED MULTIPLE CHOICE PART. Damn, we get 0 even if we miss one? wtf? midterms are reasonable but final sucks, too many damn twisted MC and hard too...
Tries hard to ensure you understand the ideas, but just to restate everyone else, the exams are quite difficult. Has too high of an expectation for a 100 level class.
She gives basic concepts and hopes first year students will be able to apply concepts on an advanced level test. Good job of simplifying text book concepts but sometimes can make them too confusing, however, if you're good at real logic and actually thinking - course will be easy. Not recommended.
nice prof. easy midterms, the final is a little harder tho. Clear notes, lectures are fine...^^
she's really nice, but her exams are quite a pain in the neck. her questions may seem easy, but she likes giving misleading questions that makes you think twice about what you think is the correct answer! overall, a fun teacher, had her for 001, too.
A wonderful teacher, but not particularly talented at writing concise exams. Take her class if you're interested in learning for the sake of learning rather than for the sake of boosting your GPA.
Absolute disaster.Notes and tutorial material do not relate in any sense to the exams.Exams do not test you on your knowledge;they are more of an IQ test.Expects you to know what and probably the only think she has learned (or thinks she has)in a semester.no kidding!so discouraging.Dont recommend
shes awesome
Probably the worst class I have taken. The material is boring, the way that Dr. Mc taught it was boring and it wasn't exactly easy. Not a great class for GPA ****s like myself. I don't reccomend taking this class by any means. It doesn't really have much value, I found it hard to maintain a B and..
i took both phil001 and 100, 001 is easier than 100.but final is sucks,so tricky.100 is a writing course, the essay grading is not fair. good luck to you if you have a angel ta. these courses ruined my gpa. Dr. Mc is a killer......
God..the class sucked, the final was impossible, went in with a B came out with a C in the end. The TA's for this class are an absolute disgrace!! Took it as a breadth req for business, biggest mistake ever. Dont take this unless you have the last registration appt and nothings available!
Philosophy is scarred for me because of this prof. Never knew a course could be this hard, should have taken english intro fiction...ruined my gpa...
worse teacher ever, hard mt and finals
As others have said: ridiculously twisty exams, she misses the whole point of teaching philosopy. She should take a course in pedagogy, and reasses her theaching skills. Her exams are fitted more for IQ kind of tests. Very disappointed by the way this course was tought. Hard marker!!!
It's all about IQ, the exams are irrelevant to the lecture material. She seems play the IQ game on the exams. Don't recommend if you wanna high GPA.
her exams are brutal. there's no point in reading her class notes, cuz they're so vague. the only way to do well on her exams, is too be a TA. doesn't test on the "big picture", only really deep concepts. very tricky sentence structures. if you want a high GPA, don't take this course.
phil 001, there is no way that i can say this is an easy course. so, taking this course as ur elective is not a good idea. (This was the one required in my case) Her exams are just so fair and her lecture and notes were clear. Not an easy course, but it's scaled. so it shouldn't be a problem!
Jill's exams are a bit tricky, but the grades are curved and everything works out nicely in the end. I'd much rather be challenged, get 85% on the exams and end with a good mark, than not be challenged and end up with the same mark. I really enjoyed the course and would recommend it to others.
The Best Porf in Philosophy. (it is sad that she is not teaching in summer) Good explaination and teaching tech. Her requirement are a little high. But if you really paid attention to her explaination, the concepts are not that complicate.
In my case, she is a very good lecturer. I couoldn't understand anything in textbook. I never read any. However, her notes are extremely clear and easy to understand. For paper part, then you have to have a good TA. Anyways, I enjoyed this course. She is excellent :)
she's a great prof
GPA BOOSTER =)!
She's great.
She made jokes that weren't funny.
avoid taking this class first thing in the morning or you will end up sleeping in it or through it. dr.mc was pretty fair about test material but watch out cuz mult.choice is tricky! also, she was very approachable and open to suggestions and even emailed out partial notes before every class.
STAY AWAY....STAY AWAY! DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE. THIS COURSE WILL CAUSE YOUR GPA TO DROP. THE MATERIAL IS BORING AND EXTREEMLY POINTLESS. JILL MAKES BAD JOKES. SHE DOES SEND LECTURE NOTES PRIOR TO CLASS, BUT THE CLASS WILL STILL BE YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE. WANT PROOF? ASK ANYONE!
Yes, the class was boring but I don’t think that was necessarily the prof's fault. But, the class material was quite easy. I'd like to also point out that she mentioned this site on the final exam and I got the impression that she doesn’t like it. After reading some of these posts I can see why.lol
Enjoyed Jill as a teacher for XX1, but Phil 100 was just WAY over my head. I somehow did well, which is shocking seeing I had no clue what was going on! Confusing class.
very organized and clear lectures
The course was actually quite okay. Midterms werent that hard. She is organized, and her notes were very helpful. I didnt even need to read the textbook. She is not bad, it is just that sometimes she might not sound that friendly.
confusing class...note are confusing unless you read every part of the textbk..dont take this class unless you can study everything by yourself...
Disturbingly easy course. I found the prof's explanations made things that I already understood more confusing if anything. Really boring, and she whined too much about kids talking at the beginning of class. Seems like a nice person though, and plays good music before class starts.
I have taken all 100-level courses with Jill Mc. If you pay attension in class, you will notice that she tells u exactly whats on the exam. Course materials are very dry thou and Jill Mc doesn't really try to make it fun either; but she does make concepts straight forward. But if you don't put effort on it, you won't get it no matter what =P
i found this course quite easy. didn't read the textbook cause she gave us great notes. i studied off the notes which can be found online. they were straight forward and easy to understand. questions can be tricky but fair overall. TAs were good too. i enjoyed the course
easy on 1st midterms then hard for the rest; this is a self studied course; good if you are a fast thinker
This class sounded very appealing before i took it but really the lectures and tutorials are extremely tedious and boring. You'll have to know how to study for urself considering a class average of 50% on the first midterm. The prof seems like an interesting person but she just doesn't bring that to the lectures.
WARNING!!! Extremely hard class. Teacher seems nice and happy, but the course is very boring and hard to make sense. Notes are very good, assignments are easy, but midterms uses very tricky English. Overall, this is NOT a GPA booster, do not take this course if you are on the merge of getting probated.
Dr. Mc is a man! [laughter]
I didn't even buy the book, and still got in the top 5 in the class for the 2 midterms. It's an easy course if you can think logically.
terrible prof, nuff said
The prof is extremely nice and willing to help but the course itself is a pain. Her notes are very clear however her midterms are tortures!!! If you wana lower ur GPA, be my guest and take the course.
she is very nice, and her notes are awesomes. I think her notes are much more helpful than the text. However there are some memorization and be familiar with all the material. He tests are not hard, but it is difficult enough because the time is so limitted. I suggest you boost up your writting speed before taking this course
She's a very nice professor. Her midterms are fair. One of the few courses I can stay awake in.
very nice prof, and very clear and organized. gives partial notes making it easy to follow in class. you always expect to get better on the midterm than you actually do, must pay a lot of attention to wording of the questions. the text was easy to read. i thought the course was pretty easy, many people tend to have trouble with it though.
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didn't like this class at all
The ratings here are childish. Grow up. Dr Mc is a great professor. Her midterms are fair and she gives us partial notes so we don't have to write out everything.
Her class is interesting
Jill McIntosh is a great prof! She tries to make lectures as entertaining as possible. Her partial notes keep you engaged in the class so that you can keep up with what she's saying. Exams are really tricky though. Know your stuff really well or you won't have time to finish. You really need to think in this class (hence "Critical Thinking").
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Just because this course is a little tricky, it doesn't mean that Dr Mc hasn't done her job well. The wordings of the midterm and finals SHOULD be confusing and hard.. after all, this is a critical thinking course.. she isn't trying to trick us or anything!
MC hammer makes this class very confusing..... midterms and final exam is very unfair as this basing wasnt clear.. questions where asked wasnt clear at all! however she does respond to emails :) but overall class was a bummer and this class will lower ur GPA a lot kk
Dr Mc is a great prof. Those that complain about the "unclearness" of the questions are not taking to consideration that this is a "Critical Thinking" course.
If you want to go on academic Probation then take this course. TA's and Profs dont seem to understand that Less than 60% in any course is practically a failing mark. The first midterm is designed to fail you and lower your self esteem so much that you fail your other courses as well. However she does provide comprehensive partial notes which help.
Smily, but jumpy and hasty. She expects a lot from students, to the point i wonder if she has a life outside school, but expect to deal with the material on your own. Her lectures do not provide the notes to get an A, nor a B, and to top if off she is a hard marker.
Jill is very nice and funny. She made lectures enjoyable. The marking was a bit tough and she was very strict on deadlines. I recommend her but be prepared to work.
She is great professor but the midterms are not that easy. TA are hard markers and my TA didn't respond the email at all. Other TA cannot help at email too. But fortunately, Dr Mc answered my question fully in email than my sucks TA. He didn't ever look at the student's email or even deleted them as well, what he said. Even we complained to him
She is a fairly good prof; organized, funny, and explains the text well. Her exams though are another story. They are tricky!!!!! Don't let the lectures fool you, this class is harddddddd. class avg was approx 50%.
Very funny, confusing tests that probably aren't a great evaluation of your knowledge, intelligent, extremely casual.
I HATED this class!! Her notes are SO disorganised and jump between subjects. The content was terrible too (nothing like I expected). The essays are marked VERY hard (I have an A average in English and bombed the essays in this class after a lot of work). Just don't take this class. Really.
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Exams were VERY tricky, period. Mid-term class average was 50%. Lecutres were easy to follow but they don't prepare you for exams. Dunno whats the point of those homework assignmnets because people always fail them, but luckly they only coumt for completion. Don't take the course unless its compulsory
Just the worst course ever and useless too. Do not take this course unless you have to period.
MUST attend all tut to get a good mark.. MUST read & dun be afraid to question the TA... TA is ur hero in this class...
Well for business students planning to take this phil because they think its easier than english, dont. The course requires a lot of work because of the draft copies and you have to be interested in the material. Which for me i wasnt so it was the worst experience ever. Her tests are pretty tough but dont worry the class is curved by the phil dpt.
this course is useless? well, it's not her fault. Notes are great but MTs and final are freaking hard ..study more might not help coz the examples providered are too easy... u might not fail it coz its scaled but don't expect a good mark
You have to pay attention at the lectures and read through the textbook. The lectures is the basic concepts and the foundation. In fact, the lectures and the questions in the textbook are much easier than that in the exams; however, they are necessary. If you want to get a high scores, practise the execises by yourself.
Unless you are interested in figuring something that you will never figure out, try to take another course instead. the exam is ok if you really study extremely hard for the notes. For the essay........you will never know why you always get a low mark if you are an international student.
Dr. Mc does an excellent job of teaching VERY difficult material. However, alot of students seem to blame her teaching ability for their poor marks. HELLO! This is why the course is curved--your grade reflects your RELATIVE performance amongst your peers. Be prepared: the midterm and final were the two toughest exams I've ever taken.
BEST PROF EVER. I LOVE U DR. MAC!!! MARRY ME!!! :D :D :D
Very Well preparared prof with an awesome personality. Some people say the course is hard, i say it requires more than just memorization. Must be logical to succeed in coursem, cant just memorize everything... Tests may be tricky, but its all pretty simular to lecture material. So study lecture notes.
She's okay. Not great, not terrible. Just okay. Boring lecturer, and boring paper topics (and I liked my other phil courses). A lot of busy work. But she cares about her students and is helpful, which is nice.
I'm very good at writing courses, but was abysmal at highschool math. This course is effectively... well.. algebra. It's construction of logical arguments via math-ish alebraic formulae. If you don't have a mind for 'abstract' concepts, such as those from math or science, DO NOT take this class. Nice professor, but purposely tries to trick you.
She teaches the material really well and yes her tests can be tricky but she and the TA's emphasize this and even point out the ways she's going to trick you, so you should be able to do well. Just follow her notes and the readings and go to tutorials - you'll get sample test q's that show the patterns she follows - always the samet type of qs.
AWESOME PROF!!! She prepares 'fill-in-the-blank' notes and emails them out to all students the night before each lecture - how amazing is that???
Lectures were quite dry and more confusing than the philosophical readings themselves. Paper topics were weirded kind of strangely, but ask her to explain in class and it makes a bit more sense.
Not the most exciting lecturer. She also doesn't seem to understand the articles we looked at. Her midterm had a 40% average and the questions were totally bizzare. Her grading scheme was also incomprehensible -- A+ is 87% and above, but she said she would never give an A+. An A is 83-86, and so on, but a D is 50-60%. AVOID IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.
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She takes what could be interesting material and makes it boring, and then she tests you on the most unimportant parts of the material. The class average on the midterm was below 50% and then she told the class how surprised and disappointed she was. I was not surprised, since she asked questions about things we hadn't even learned. Stay away.
I wont say shes bad at teaching or anything, just I never understand how the midterm average be that low..( most people fail ) queations are way to tricky
really good prof, but a really difficult course. she explains material well, also prepares slides which are extremely helpful. exmas are hard, with tricky questions; understanding of the material, and practice are important. my TA was really helpful as well(his blog has lots of examples and answers to assignments)
good prof, difficult course. did pretty well only because of the bell curve... class avgs are very low. practice is necessary because tests are extremely tricky! try to get old MTs from your friends, it will help a lot.
This course is too hard, and this is not her fault. She is a very good prof and very organized. Her notes are very helpful, but midterms and finals are still hard. The material is just too hard to understand. Try to avoid phil xx1 if possible. It's very very helpful if you have previous exams.
She's actually a pretty good prof, she really cares for her students and helps them grasp difficult concepts. Remember that philosophy isn't for everyone and don't take it thinking it's easy credit.
Notes are amazing, no need for textbook except for homework questions. The course itself is hard, cant blame the prof. My TA, Shula, was helpful, provided great examples that were on the midterms.
VERY HARD, I recommend no one take her classes, her tests is going to destroy your GPA.
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She is good at what she does, but the course material is just awful ( p then q then p then not p then p then p). Paper topics are strange but the T.A. is a good help.
I don't think anyone was as frightened as myself to take a critical thinking course. Philosophy and especially Math were not my thing. Dr. Mac was so helpful and I ended up with an A+ (Not sure where people get the idea she doesn't give A's)I think with a lot more depth than I ever have and I am thankful I took the course with her last year!
She is a very good prof that knows what she's talking about. I just think I was not compatible with the course itself. Notes were good but the actual course was so confusing.
Queen of Philosophy, the twist section of her exam is undoubtedly difficult, Master of Notes, read her notes before reading the text!
she is simply horrible. she makes the concepts harder than they really are. Does not teach very well, and is VERY boring. I would avoid this professor at ALL costs.
Two hard papers to write. First is 20% second is 30%. Hard mid terms. If you r not good at writing papers - DO NOT TAKE
This class can be a challenge if you're not into philosophy or just like to coast. However, when I put the effort into it, I found that she had a lot to offer. As well, she makes her notes available on the internet, and we had the opportunity to rewrite out papers. It's a good course if you put the work into it.
Don't take Philosophy as an elective. It's really hard, and Jill's not the easiest marker either! AVOID, AVOID, AVOID PHILOSOPHY.
great prof! cares about the students and the class. As with all phil classes, class will be hard if you cant write
The miderms were extremely difficult and so will the final. Textbook is useless and studying off her notes won't help you for exams. Thank god this course is curved with midterm averages of 55% and 48%. Some people understand the material instantly but it can be quite challenging for others.
Great Pro! Clear notes and fair final~However, the midterms are really hard~ Texbook seems not useful, but the materials will help you a lot when you doing preview and review.
I suggest that anyone not interested in getting a degree in phil stay away from this course at all costs. It will drop your GPA. The prof is great but her notes nor the textbook can help you understand. The material in this class makes no sense and exams are very hard. The class average is always 45%...BEWARE
I thought the Prof had a good lecture style, and also made it clear that she was available for help. HOWEVER, the exams were much too difficult when compared with the material and questions we studied in class. A little ridiculous for a 100 level class. This one is just an added stress with no reward.
A lot of people seem to dislike her, but I find her explanations quite clear. The midterms are fair, and easy if you attend lecture. If your not a critical thinker then you'll probably flunk out and end up blaming her. The TAs are good too.
This is a hard class. Test avg is 50%. Being good at math will aid you in this course because logic is somewhat similar. The prof seems like a nice person but she gets pissed if she hears people talking during the lecture. Also the material is not very interesting, very very dry stuff.
Decent teacher, horrible use of text. Horrid exams that does not reflect on lecture notes, but rather in a philosophy textbook that's near impossible to stay awake reading. My advice is to stay away from her XX1, because it's definitely no GPA booster.
Do not take this class just for a Q requirement! It is my most difficult class, the material is boring and a struggle to sit and read. Midterms seem unrelated to work covered in class, I dread to think what the final will be like. McIntosh herself is very helpful in emails, TA does try but not being able to speak English fluently is a major problem
Professor Mc is not the best lecturer, she left the whole class confused many times at the end of lecture and often rushes her thoughts near the end of class. The midterm was pretty difficult and unfairly marked. My TA was also extremely unhelpful. Unless you have real interest in Philosophy, DON'T take this course!
Lectures were boring though you can clearly see how enthusiastic the prof is. Material was dry and incomprehensible most of the time. Asking the TA didn't help at all. The papers were odd and difficult to write to get a good mark. Midterm was VERY DIFFICULT, and dreading the Final tomorrow.. Horrible class. Do not take unless you have to!
DO NOT TAKE THIS AS AN ELECTIVE. Her midterms are very hard. The book is horrible. you need to put a lot of work in to it. Definitely not a gpa booster.
midterms and finals are really hard, not a GPA booster like you would expect, material is definitely interesting but the requirements are way too high for just a first year phil course. don't take if you think it will be an easy class to boost your GPA
HORRIBLE CLASS I'VE EVER TAKEN
I hated this class. The midterms and the final are impossible. The only chance for getting some marks is participation because the tests are so difficult. It takes a certain person to be able to understand this material. Do not take this class as a GPA booster as it will probably plummet!
If you are planning to take this course as your GPA booster, think again. Philosophy is not an easy subject; especially when you get a professor and TAs who have no idea what they are doing. Oh, not that it matters to honest students, but I hate how she seems to make catching students who plagiarize her hobby.
She makes it sound very easy with no-brainer examples(with lame names too) but then the exams are completely beyond what is possible. I totally understood the textbook and her notes and everything and managed to do TERRIBLE. Made my gpa look pretty bad
fAir prof! Got A without much effort bcuz avg for Midterms was 50% and she curves grades (gives "high C or low C+" to avg)Goes slowly in lectures, and is very helpful in office hours. Final exam had a Q on this website...looks like she wanted to make us critically think why the comments here cannot be used to accurately judge an instructor hehe
I tried handing in an assignment the day it was due to her before class. She yelled at me for not handing it in her box even though she would be collecting this assignment in 5 minutes. That pretty much describes her. Save your money. Trust me
I consider myself blessed to have been her student. Not only is Dr. Mc an outstanding lecturer, she is capable of tremendous empathy--she is among the most compassionate people I know. It was a pleasure to be in her class and it is still always a pleasure to talk with her and bask in the warmth of her presence. I love Dr Mc. To me, she is flawless.
An example midterm question (I wish I was kidding) If most ppl like the olympics, then most vancouverites ride bicycles, since most plumbers are electricians only if most vancouverites ride bicyces, and unless it's false that most ppl love the olympics, then most plumbers are electricians. If you understand this, stay. If you don't, LEAVE NOW!!!!!!
This course is too hard!! The material is just too hard to understand. Try to avoid phil xx1 if possible.
This is by far the worst class I have ever taken. This is a warning to all those who are taking this class as an elective or as a class of interest, DON'T. The midterms were hard and if you don't believe me then check the average marks for them. The average was below 50%. The questions were ambiguous and difficult to systematically decipher.
Hardest marker ever. Her lectures confused myself and most classmates more than actually explaining things. She assigns us very technical papers and explains absolutely nothing. The lectures have nothing to do with the readings, and then she expects us to write long papers about these topics. The midterm average was 50 per cent. AVOID.
Pretty good B-Sci course for a Social Science student (or anyone), does not require any background in science. Gives notes and online recordings, but do NOT study off the notes - they are very fragmented and idiosyncratic. Beware of the second paper - essays are very technical in her class. Summarizes contemporary science much better than Sci 300.
Most difficult midterm I've written in University. Questions were ambiguous and unfair. Avoid her at all costs, especially if you're looking for a gpa boost. Your GPA will go down, not up.
I totally flunked this course because i slacked a little in the beginning.... DO NOT SLACK OFF IN PHIL 110!!! Its very difficult to catch up with the material! If you are not pumped about logic and philosophy, DONT think this is an easy course! the midterms are KILLER HARD! MUST BE DEDICATED TO STUDY and DO THE HOMEWORK in order to do well!
her exams are killers.
Excellent Prof. Dr Mc is strict on attendance because assignments are based off of them. Her exams are extremely challenging, but if you have a genuine interest in the topic, you will do well. That is, if you enjoy philosophy of science, you will appreciate the difficulty of the content.
Good course for any science major. Papers are slightly tricky to write because the topics quite broad, but the midterm and final have no essays, and are easy if you have a good sense of logic. For short answer questions, be sure you know and can restate the conclusions reached by each author and the punch lines of each of the readings.
I felt like crying in this course. You don't need to attend the lecture because her notes are pointless anyways, and although the book makes the material easier to understand, her exams are difficult and the questions are ambiguous. Just... don't take this course.
Jill is great! Her lectures are very helpful and she is always open to any and all questions, whether it be during class or otherwise, and will answer them promptly and well. This is really important in a field like philosophy. She is also a very fun professor and, as long as you keep up with the reading, you'll find that she is a joy.
Stay away from this class. The tests are impossible, avg was in the 50's. Each multiple choice question was a-f and f being none of the above. I am a good student and barely walked away with a c-. Def a gpa killer. If you do take this course, do not fall behind and do the practice problems in the book thats what helped me.
Easy to follow in class and tutorials are also easy, yet most everything learned is irrelevant on the test. The most convoluted and hardest exam Ive had in post secondary. Ive taken everything from physics/chem/calculus/poli sci/law/psych, so.. Tries to trick students at every question. Mid term % was 45, with the mode being 40 and median being 42
Lectures aren't well coordinated and don't flow well, information is very fragments and topics seem to skip around. Keep on top of the readings to do well in the essays and you'll do well.
Lectures were engaging however the material itself is difficult to understand. Studying for the midterm and final doesn't mean you'll pass or do well. Questions were tricky and not at all straight forward. Definitely not a GPA booster..don't take it unless you have to or you love philosophy!
She is one of the worst professors I have encountered. Her grades based on participation marks is something I thought we gave up in elementary school. Her grading is difficult, but only in that the expectations are not clear. She lacks objectivity; after speaking to a multitude of other students, she may vie for worst philosophy professor at SFU
The course is hard in itself, but the professor is very helpful and she put forward her ideas pretty clearly. The mid-terms are not easy, but if you are a regular to her lectures, you'll do just fine.
Midterms and Final is unreasonably hard and confusing and tricky. Theres so many places where u can get marks off. GPA killer!
Worst professor I have had as of yet. She is completely confusing, looks down upon students, and she rarely corresponds to the textbook. The material she covers is displayed in a very confusing and disorganized manner. Avoid her if possible. She's boring and annoying.
I found prof Mc to actually be one of the better profs, she keeps her lectures interesting for the most part and is always organized, prepared and finishes on time. The course material itself can be tricky but for those who have a very logical thought process it should be fairly straight forward. All in a great prof but don't expect an easy A.
She's fine but THE TEXTBOOK IS SO DISORGANIZED. Ugh. I think they are changing it so that's good. It's not too bad final was kinda hard though.
Never had such a condescending professor. Never had such an unorganized professor. Never had such a boring professor. So, unless you're interested in having a condescending, unorganized, and boring professor--stay away.
Totally and completely unorganized. The second paper was due before she was finished teaching the topic. The textbook was totally useless, used the first chapter and that's it. She moves really fast through the slides and puts a lot of text on it too. May or may not upload slides online. Midterm was ambiguous, TA's are more confusing than helpful.
The course material is boring and ambiguous coz it's philosophy. If you actually ever go for her office hours, she is really helpful and gladly understands your point of view. She is NOT condescending. Second paper's 1 revision was due early to give us more time for final revision, which is better in my opinion. Midterm was cakewalk.
She doesn't want to make ANYTHING easy! Be prepared to study like crazy. Her 100 level classes are more like 400 level!!!!!
Jillian is by far the worst Phil prof I have had at SFU. The lectures are disorganized and confusing and her condescending responses are totally uncalled for. I could have studied until the cows came home and it wouldn't have made a difference. Extremely hard material with terrible lectures and an impossible hard midterm. GPA killer.
She's alright. Study the Slides, READ the material. I mean really READ. She will ask you things like what is the Knowledge Argument? What is the Modal Argument? These are all questions from Epiphenominal Qualia.
midterm is easy, final is hard. go to lectures and pay attention and you will do well.
Jill Mcintosh is a horrible teacher. Don't take a class with her, I did not learn anything. Her lectures do not make any sense and she is all over the place. The exams are unreasonably difficult. Exams and papers are very ambiguous, one does not know what is expected of him.
Horrible course! Never take this esp as a B-Hum credit because your CGPA is likely to get negatively affected. TA's don't give good grades, they expect totally out of the blue stuff from you on the midterms and essays! If you are an A grade student, then DON'T take this course, it will only give you heart attacks, no matter how hard you study !! :/
If you're good at math and logic, want to be a lawyer or doctor, then I recommend this course. However, it's a hard course. The prof isn't clear about her teachings, lots of examples but definitions are very unclear. Marking scheme is unfair. TAs care more about their work than students needing help. Prof is kind of patronizing and out of her mind.
She's a hilarious professor and one of my favourites that I've had at SFU - that said she makes jokes at the expense of about 70% of her class almost every day. Most of the people in this 200+ person class appear to have zero logical reasoning skills and expect an easy grade however, so it seems justified. iClicker questions so attend lecture.
Clear lectures. Tough term papers. Personality galore.
Probably the worst decision ever to pick this class. The Class average for the first two midterms were less than 50%. The material itself is rather straightforward but the way she structures her tests make it nearly impossible to do well. Tries to trick you with every question, and the multiple multiple choice is brutal. Total GPA killer.
Taking PHIL 110 as an elective with Dr. McIntosh was the worst decision I could have made for my GPA and my sanity. Her lectures are hard to follow and she moves through material (particularly examples) extremely quickly. Expect lots of trick questions on exams. The marking scheme makes it very hard to do well, getting part marks is near impossible
if u find math easy then maybe u'll do well, but the stuff didn't naturally make sense to me. Definitely practice & ask for help. Her lectures were good, but her tests were hard. Its the usual where in class it feels like 2+2 then on the exam its calculus. But like i said if u practice & ask for help u should be able to do pretty well. Use textbook
She doesn't follow 100% with the textbook which makes it hard to fully understand the material. Her lecture notes aren't always super specific so resources are limited. The assignments are hard but they are credit or no credit so they are easy marks.
Uses a the text "Reason and Argument", but tells you to disregard certain parts of it because "We'll be doing things a little differently...". Overall she is a very confusing prof, and really teaches the course to her own accord. A very different course than when a friend of mine took it the semester before.
She makes the content really confusing and expects you to know a lot beforehand. Also, her papers have ridiculous topics and she is really picky about citing. She'll consider it plagiarism if you use a different kind of referencing style, but she doesn't give us an exact paper style to follow.
This Professor is condescending, unhelpful, spiteful and rude. She makes everything on the exam tricky, with a section of multiple choice with a twist! Make sure you understand everything before taking this class because it definitely is not an introduction. She is a dragon lady so don't ask questions in class or else she will humiliate you.
Pay attention, take your notes and study them, everything on the tests is covered in class.
Everything you need to know for the tests are covered in the lecture. If your new to philosophy might be a bit rough. Take notes, review them often.
I loved her class. At first I was a little weary -she seemed very specific and particular, however I realized she was only setting ground rules so the students would know what to expect from her, and it really did gain respect from the class. She is an excellent prof -her lectures were always engaging, witty, and interesting. Thank you dr Mc!
Horrible lecturer. Not clear whatsoever. Easier to just read the textbook. Even that won't help though, tests are unbelievably difficult and very tricky. Never take this class, especially as a first year course, it is not a GPA booster.
Most difficult class I've ever taken. Unnecessarily difficult for a first year course and WILL kill your sem GPA. Literally the only C I've ever gotten, and that's coming from a straight A student. Avoid at all costs. Lectures are convoluted and confusing. I only passed thanks to my TA. Jill literally RIPS the exam away from you when time's up.
She is quite interesting and can make lectures fun! However, her marking is tough! You definitely need to take notes in class and really understand the content.
Her notes aren't specific and they are pretty vague. BAD PROF. NEVER EVER TAKE PHIL XX1!
she is a good teacher
Took philosophy 144 and felt it was taught in the least interesting way. It was quite difficult for a one hundred level course.
Most confusing class! 2 term papers, first topic was alright second one was super confusing! Mid Term class average was low.. Don't take this class if you don't have to
her notes are basically useless and she's extremely rude and condescending. never take a class with her, especially not phil xx1!
loved it! she shows interest in the material, engaging, interesting topics, thought provoking, clear but challenging notes/lecture - it is hard material if first phil course so take time each week to understand the material. Found it useful to listen to the recorded lectures online. Quick to post notes online. she is condescending though at times.
Her lectures are interesting, but her tests are ridiculously hard. She tests random little details, and won't ask about things that we spent multiple lectures on. On the written, she'll deduct marks for not writing certain things EVEN THOUGH IT IS NOT ASKED FOR IN THE QUESTION. I had a good grasp of the material but her tests didn't let me show it.
her final made me cry
DO NOT TAKE IT. I REPEAT. DO NOT TAKE IT.
Jill is an amazing person as I've seen her a few times at her office hours, but the course itself is ridiculous. Even after studying and practicing the textbook questions over and over, I still manage to do poorly on both the midterms and final.
Professional teaching with clear logic. However, you should do all the readings and remember all the details in order to get a good grade.
Dr. Mc gives lots of examples which is really helpful when trying to understand the concepts. That being said, whenever someone gets the answer to a question wrong, she tends to be rather condescending rather than helpful. There are weekly assignments which help you keep up with the lessons, but overall it's a pretty tough and confusing course.
piece of shieet prof. avoid at all cost
Terrible teacher yes she does explain content if needed, but if you don't get it she isn't supportive. Office hours do not help; TAs are mildl more helpful. If you are taking PHILxx1 for the Q credit, I recommend you to drop that thought. I thought that I would learn something interesting in this course.
Nitpicky marker, condescending when students ask questions, went on tangents in class which made even the simplest material seem confusing, disorganized syllabus and assignments, and gave zero directive on the "midterm" (which was the second to last class, meaning we had to study every reading ever assigned to us to prepare). Avoid her at all costs
This is probably one of the worst profs I've ever taken. She does not test for knowledge on the exams, and on top of that they are way too hard for a 100 course, yet alone any course. Theres a reason why the course average on midterm was well below 50%. I would DEFINITELY try to avoid this prof at all costs. Nice person, but HORRIBLE TEACHER!
less explanation in the notes. hard to understand the concept . hard midterm and tough paper marker
Will be using clicker for participation grade. Try to understand and memorize her lecture notes, midterm and final weren't easy. She gets really upset if you take pics in class, so big NONO. Also, she will move you around during exams and don't allow you to seat close to your friends so try not talk to your friends before the exam.
This will sound like truism, but work hard and get on her good side. The rest is letting your work do your bidding. She will be on the lookout for errors, but don't get too upset over them because she has a pretty keen eye for them and you aren't the only one.
Dosen't go over terms well enough, but if you do your textbook readings you'll be fine
She explains concepts POORLY. Lots of irrelevant talks going on during her lecture. She tries very hard to be funny but she is just not good at it. Questions on the exam are extremely vague. I have ABSOLUTELY NO idea what she is asking for!! Her example does not captures the concept at all. So don t take PHIL110 with her!!
She's a good prof. She's always available for extra help outside the class. Her midterms were fair. Do the homeworks, attend the lectures/tutorials and read the textbook you'll be fine.
Worst. Class. Ever. By far the most difficult class I have ever taken. Dr. Mc does a less than poor job at explaining concepts and ideas and tests are excruciatingly difficult with failing class averages. Unless you have a fetish for logic or this course is required for something, DO NOT TAKE IT...
One of my biggest regrets in life is taking this class. I took this as an elective thinking it would be fun to learn but the information is too dense and her slides aren't engaging at all. She goes really fast during lecture and does't make her notes fillable on word so its hard to keep up. If you're thinking of taking this class, DO NOT.
terrible class. biggest mistake. 1st class that ive ever done poorly in. tried very hard, attended hours etc etc, but still failed as her exams are BOGUS, insanely vague, misleading and marked unfairly. lectures also do not help, and concepts are poorly explained, if at all. trust me and DO NOT TAKE
The subject matter she teaches is very difficult but I think she is doing her best. There is every opportunity to go to her or a TA with any issues you are having. She is also pretty friendly albeit intimidating. In this case blame the course not the teacher.
DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE. Her lectures completely suck. Either you skip, or fall asleep during lecture. The exams are tough, very hard to understand, and are set up so that you fail. Unless you are going into phil, DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE. Trust me!! you will fail or get a D. Hardest class ever. harder than calc...
Like to put students on spot. Especially those primary or first language is other than English.
Although attendance was optional for tutorials I do recommend you attend them, because the content is heavy and confusing. Class average was 40%; it was a difficult course. She essentially read off her written notes during lectures which she emailed us each week. If you're confused, GO AND SEE YOUR TA because the grading criteria is very specific.
in my opinion, the material of this class is not hard but super confused. it is important to have a tutor outside of school if you want a good grade. but the professor is suck!! she is not nice at all!! she used the words such as " don't bother your TA""that's not you business""i'm not repeating myself" and reject to answer you or help you.
I am in her PHIL105 class and she goes very slowly. Without showing up to a single tutorial, I've had no problem getting an A on the tests. Most of the class was common sense so long as you can remember the important vocabulary. Although her slow progression through the material is boring, it is very clear and you are sure to understand it.
this prof is the worst prof I ever had, she goes through materials really quickly, does not explain things well. her lectures are boring ah... but u are encouraged to participant in lectures by doing iclicker quizzes, highly recommend u to do that so u can gain as much credit as u can even u dont know the answers, just randomly select one.
she was alright, not the best teacher but not the worst, i thoroughly enjoyed showing up to her classes, mainly because it was fun because of the students i got with my group!
Where to begin... PHIL 100W requires class attendance because she makes iClicker questions and some of the material from class discussions ends up on the midterms and finals. The term papers are very hard to get a good mark on. Average of the class for the midterm was 16/31. Tutorials didn't help at all, made the material even more confusing.
lecture material is often overcomplicated, leading to confusion on course material
There are lots of iclicker questions so participation in lectures is mandatory. Lectures move really fast so dont blink or youll miss something. TAs always say theyre confussed and stressed when you go for help. Grade scale/curve is TERRIBLE, you get little time to do exams, exams are marked SO HARD mc with a twist is absolutely horrible!
Do not take this class. Her explanations are all over the place, not only that but TAs are no help. Regret taking this class.
The material interested me, including both of the textbooks. But when 55 min feels like an eternity, something is wrong! The lecture slides felt incomplete and dry. Her expectations regarding exams or essays were non-existent. I love philosophy, but not enough to sit through these lectures.
Don't do this to yourself. Take something else.
She's the best
I do just fine at stats but couldn't crack this weird pseudo-programming philosophy. I passed the class & still have no idea how; lectures vary between horrifically byzantine & yawn inducing. No time for midterms, which are themselves a nightmare. Book isn't helpful, neither is she. Absolutely murdered my GPA. Abandon hope all ye who enter here.
This is too difficult for a 100 course. Her lecture is not high-quality compare with what she expected to her students. Do not take her class.
Very knowledgeable, she has interesting lectures. iClicker questions during class for credit. It doesn't matter if your conclusion is wrong, as long as you defend it.
This was hands-down the absolute worst course I have ever taken, and Jill was hands-down the rudest, least available, least helpful, and worst profs I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. Do not take any classes with her. She is stuck up and selfish. Our class averages for exams were all below 30%. Gives no time on exams. Wish I could give a 0
Awful teacher. The lectures and readings were inaccessible. Some students really struggled. When she handed papers back, one person got an F, and others could see. She joked that some students are incapable of 'doing philosophy', but need to fail miserably to find out.
I went to office hours. She told me I wasn't intelligent enough for university and should go to trade school. I was on the Dean's List during my undergrad, and am doing a PhD. Her class was damaging. By the end of the semester, she dehumanized me and undermined my sense of capacity so badly that I almost left university without finishing my degree.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
82%
Textbook Required
76%
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