2.4
Quality3.4
Difficulty17%
Would Retake113
Reviews17%
Would Retake
113
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
19
4
15
3
15
2
18
1
46
What Students Say
“Bell is boring, unapproachable, and really does not talk much about the material”
EN4573 - 1.0 rating“He doesn't respect people who need disability accommodations”
ENG1002 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
79%
Textbook Required
33%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.47 avg changeRatings by Course
HUMA
5.0
(1)CEPH3010
5.0
(1)ELIOT
5.0
(1)COMICNOVEL
5.0
(1)EN3555
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BRONTES
5.0
ENG3988
5.0
EN2100
5.0
CLASS
5.0
ENG1002
4.5
Reviews (113)
Good prof. Likes what he teaches. Enthusiastic. Clear.
No Comments
Loves what he teaches
Boring as hell. Not a friendly person.
a smart man, but definately not a teacher!
Looks at drafts.
Heavy reading list.
No Comments
He's a great prof. Very knowledgable about the course content. Even though the reading list is heavy, the books are interesting. It is a very enjoyable class, aside from his marking schemes for participation. He's a fair marker.
Too much reading involved.
I took 'Business Traditions & Culture' with John as my 2nd course @ York. Am now working on a 2nd degree and I STILL reference a lot of the material we covered!
Very very dry. He's damned smart though, and the reading list is LONG. But in the end you come out learning LOTS and it's worth it. He even gets in a few good jokes now and then. Stick with it, TRY to keep up with the readings. In fact: do them early! ;)
I'm going into 4th year now, and I've taken a variety of courses. English is my major. He's a really nice guy, and knows his stuff, but just has a problem communicating it. Very monotone, and bland, but lots of good content.
An okay course. Some readings are interesting. John is very knowledgeable about subject. Most lectures are really boring and hard to follow b/c his voice is really quiet & monotonous. Fair but quiet and introverted.
He often rushes through his lectures and glosses over key points. As he's a very knowledgeable prof, I would recommend taking his class, but if you do, make sure you're in his tutorial as well - he's an excellent tutorial leader.
smart guy, very helpful and knowlegeable. lectures can be extremely boring but tutorial work very helpful. he's got his own quirky sense of humor which if you don't find funny, should at least find amusing.
His lectures are poorly organized and he is extremely boring. I took this course to better understand how to write research papers and all he does is talk about family.
Research and essay writing, thats what I had signed up for INSTEAD the man cried about his mom passing on made the entire class uncomfortable talking about sexuality AT EVERY CHANCE, rude to students with ESL issues and talked about the family non-stop. He talked about personal issues. scary man!
i thought he was the most monotone man alive until cracked a joke about interrupting cellphones. he's at times too conceptual and ridged. Overall the readings were scattered to allow a better understanding of his general purpose to the lectures as a series of ideas without a singular conclusion - loved the intergration of po-mo and po-co themes
Tells personal stories but maintains professional distance. You feel at ease because everyone else feels equally uneasy. Bright but a Stickler for MLA. Can be really interesting. Can make you cry with no visible effort on his part. Extremely fair, but pretends to be a jerk so students don't take advantage of him. Don't annoy him and you'll be fine.
Can get angry if you challenge him too much. TOO PICKY as a grader. Does not treat all students equally. Will make you feel frustrated. And, oh yea, he will make you cry.
He is a knowledgable and well-prepared professor. I did not have him as my TA, but his lectures were informative and well worth the attendance. A lot of people found him monotonous, but I didn't mind at all. I think he's a great lecturer. His tests and assignments are relatively easy too.
Bell reminds me of Ben Stein from Ferris Bueller's Day Off - "Bueller... Bueller..." but he knows his stuff, and obviously likes what he is teaching. If you can get part his droning voice he's a good prof.
Voice is so monotone, puts everyone to sleep especially on a Friday at 2:30. Obsessed with the technicalities of MLA format and has select favourites which means everyone else just watches the clock. Constantly talking about sex which makes the class awkward and unrealistic amount of course readings. Ended up dropping the class after first term.
A fascinating and knowledgable lecturer. Yes, he seems strict at first, but he loosens up as the class goes on. His jokes, though rare, are hilarious. Don't be scared away -- his course was a wonderful experience!
If you don't like hard work stay away. He can be a scary guy at first, but he is a great prof with much to share to his students. He enjoys what he teaches and makes you think about what you read. His first class had me thinking "oh great this is going to suck", but his class is not bad. Good prof overall. J
This guy knows his stuff, and you can learn a lot from him if you choose to. He is helpful if you respect him and are a mature, attentive student willing to learn... and even if not, he is a pretty easy marker as long as you know your stuff too! He's serious, and you should be too if you want to do well.
Appears uncaring but really he's not. Always willing to chat about the books, papers or whatever. Generous marker if you give him what he wants - just ask him and he'll tell you what he's looking for! Off beat sense of humour - not for tweens, but if you're older you'll get it. Heavy reading list but mostly worth the long read
great
One of the best professors I have ever had. I am not typically an A student, but thanks to him I am now. His course was inspiring and enjoyable. He is always encouraging you to do your best and is always there to help. He will look over completed drafts of essays for you. He does seem a little callous on the outside, but he is really a stand up guy
It's hard to be objective with this prof; I am one of the students he made cry. His lectures would be great if not for his monotone, he is knowledgeable. But he is extremely rigid; I think he is not socially adept; he marked a question wrong on a quiz- student put "T" instead of TRUE. If not sensitive and drink coffee you may enjoy this prof.
Don't be fooled by his appearance, he's a friendly helpful guy. However, there will be times throughout the year where he will make you feel frustrated at one time and very excited the next. He takes off marks for the most ridiculous things on papers and presentations. Also he's a stickler for MLA much more than any other prof I've had before.
I've taken two courses with Prof Bell, and he's great - he has a very dry sense of humour, and can be playful too. He can seem a bit mean or distant at first, but I assure you he's not. An easy marker too, if you follow his directions.
just follow his instructions, do the work, and you will be fine. I enjoyed his lectures very much. He was very encouraging as a TA as well. He may seem a bit distant at first, but just give it a chance, he really knows his stuff and it's always very interesting.
All you need to do is attend class and do the readings!
Professor Bell is the worst professor i have ever had. We started the course with a full class of twenty something and ended with less than ten students. He is rude, sarcastic and has no compassion. If you do not fit into his image of what is acceptable he dismisses everything you have to say. How in the world did he become a professor?
Proff Bell is the WORST. He is so moto tone, you might actually die of boredom in his class. His lectures are slow, unorganized, and irrelevant. He is way too critical for a first year class and pretty much aims to make things much harder than necessary for everyone. If you're required to take this for your major TAKE IT WITH ANOTHER PROFF!
avoid at all costs
run away
If you're a baby and need to be hugged every time you arrive to lecture, then don't take this class. He's not friendly but he IS helpful. He wants you to do well. You have to do the readings to be successful in this class, but the readings are GOOD. If you are serious about being an EN major, you won't be scared off. This man knows his stuff.
John is disorganized, the farthest from helpful and his curriculum will bore you to tears. I switched to his section from another at the start of the semester and there wasn't a minute I didn't regret doing so. You're expected to read a novel every week. John assumes we have no life outside of school. Save yourself the trouble, avoid at all costs.
the material taught was very good, but he can be very rude sometimes.
Professor Bell is slow to warm up to and definitely not for people who need to be coddled. His rules are reasonable (e.g., don't talk until the quizzes are collected), but some people disobey him and then say he's rude when he calls them out? Keeping up with the readings and great essay writing skills are required to get a good grade.
God forbid you spell his name wrong, you lose marks. You spell ANYTHING wrong, you lose marks. It's one thing to be a tough professor and it's another to be this man. No one expects to be coddled, but John is rude, cold, disorganized and not helpful. He takes forever to return emails. Don't take his classes. I mean that with emphasized sincerity.
One thing you need to know going into his class is he will NOT baby you, and this is a good thing. He IS tough but he only wants you to do well, he's funny at times but he is also very dull, his biggest flaw is that every little thing spelled wrong gets you some marks off, but overall he is an easy marker.
If you need to be babied, don't take a class with him. Truth be told you're in university, grow up. He's a great prof and very knowledgeable. He brings amazing insight to the books you read. He teaches you what you need to know. You want to be an English Major, take a class with him. You're at university to learn, and that you will do in his class.
Theeee worsssst,,, do NOT take any class with him
He wants you to fail ,very hard marker and there is alot of readings ! His lectures are very boring and he doesn't seem very nice . He does give feedback after class if you approach him or if you have any questions !
Avoid if you can. Incredibly boring, rude, and pretentious. It's almost like he tries to bore you to sleep, and then punishes you with crazy hard tests. Loves talking about sex, even when it's totally unrelated to the text. Rude and judgemental.
John mumbles through his lectures, which isn't aided by his refusal to use visual learning assets such as power points or even projected word documents. Doesn't post lectures, extremely unapproachable, and seems like a generally grumpy person. Don't take courses with him unless required, in which case choose a different prof at all costs.
This prof is ONE of the worst profs and york u. He does not genuinely care for the students AT ALL. strictly cares about the formatting and does not feel pity for you whatsoever. DO NOT Take a class with him i think it's time he drops dead. BUT you can get an A if he is your only choice, just work hard and ignore his stink face and attitude.
Not very good.
Class could have been way more interesting than what it turned out to be. Reading a novel per week for an elective just isn't practical for people in upper years that just needed a HUMA class to fill the requirement... Lectures were not very helpful at all, doesn't use slides and there isn't any help on Moodle.
This is my second course I took with Bell. I extremely recommend having him as a tutorial leader as he is extremely helpful during office hours and will point you in the right direction. Although his personality scares many off, I really enjoy him as a prof as he helped my writing grow and I actually learned in his courses.
I wouldn't recommend taking this class unless you have to. His lectures can be very dry and boring and he isn't the friendliest. This course requires a lot of reading (usually a novel a week), and he gives quizzes to make sure that you did the reading. He is very knowledgeable about the subject, but his lectures can often go over your head.
He's a good professor except he rambles on too much that I find myself just browsing through whatever and doing whatever I want while I listen to his lecture videos. If you plagiarize, don't bother taking ANY classes with him. He'll literally murder your college life. He really stresses that out. But fair marker and gives average feedback.
Don't take his class unless necessary. In his online course he said for the forum discussion that grammar and spelling don't he took marks off anyway. Very, very hard marker. His feedback in lecture is unhelpful as it's just the basics everyone learns in high school and he shows off the students who get A's. Don't bother asking for an extension.
Prof seems scary at first, but overall, he's pretty good. You pretty much have to follow his instructions, and you'll get a good mark, so make sure to listen carefully to what he wants from you in class. He also gives extensions when you need it and is honestly pretty interesting in his lecture, but I know some people found him boring.
Other than excessive mark reduction i.e. presentation too short: A - C, B - D, grades are fair. Will answer questions. Talks about having knowledge in specific areas of study but no examples. Lectures seem thrown together wiki-style. Extremely bland and drawn-out speaking. Seems like the course was engaging before he took it over.
Didn't learn anything Relied on wikipedia for his lecture material The course focused too much on student presentations Dry lectures delivered in a monotone voice, not engaging , dull & boring He didn't even seem interested in the material he was teaching You can do well if you're willing to read a lot and do the work but would not recommend
He wants you to be precise even though he himself is incredibly vague in his lectures, test, assignments, emails ect.
He doesn't respect people who need disability accommodations.
Extremely precise in what he needs. You need to carefully consider his instructions otherwise you will lose many marks. He seems unapproachable just because he isn't overly friendly/personable, but he's a good lecturer and you learn how to become a better writer. He provides appropriate feedback. Would be better if he was more accommodating.
Extremely unobliging when it comes to questions about anything. Assignments are detailed but organized/lecture on in a way that makes it impossible to know what he's asking for, and when asked to clarify he does so condescendingly/with frustration or not at all. Not a great learning environment for anyone, esp. if you need accommodations.
I did pretty well in his class, but if you have any anxiety or depressive orders, DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. Bell is boring, unapproachable, and really does not talk much about the material. Class consisted of: Useless Victorian info and whether the ghosts in the story were real or not. Generally a fair marker, but not too clear on what he wants.
The course was supposedly designed for IT students by him but it holds little relevancy to IT. He chooses to focus on aspects of "the family" instead. He often rambles and his class is very dull and drawn out. Class discussions are incredibly dull and he doesn't engage with students. Participation is marked so attendance is mandatory. Avoid him.
His lectures are long winded yet cover little ground. He gives detailed biographical & background information about the writers we studied but avoided a deep study of the works themselves. This presents a problem for essays because he's very picky with what he wants but he didn't teach it in class. I learned more on wikipedia.
I took one of his courses as an elective and thought I would love it. I absolutely hated my life. His lectures are extremely slow and could be condensed into a 20 minute spiel. He is an extremely hard marker and is beyond rude. He once commented on a student's test answer laughing and saying how "ridiculous" it was.
I've had Professor Bell twice & I agree with the comment that his lectures are long winded & too broad. I wish he would focus on the readings a bit more. He's a fair marker so long as you apply his feedback . Also a great deal of the grade is based on participation. If you do the readings & make the posts on time you'll get an A for participation.
The key to doing well in any of Bell's classes is to participate. In his online classes, a huge chunk of the mark comes from making multiple postings each week. Do them, and you'll be fine in the class. His lectures are a bit long winded and probably could do with a bit of editing down.
Everything in this class was really straight forward and the lectures are designed to help you succeed in this course. You do need to read at least 1 book a week and there is a little quiz in the beginning of each lecture (they are meant to boost your grade and are pretty easy). Overall, he knows what he's talking about and lecture is interesting
Honestly, I am avoiding John Bell for the rest of uni, i wont take a class if he is teaching it. He is extremely boring, just stands there and literally speaks at you, its not engaging and no power points or anything. It's horrible. Extremely hard marker.
His lectures mainly cover biographical info about the authors which we didnt need for any assignments. I wish he covered a deeper study into the works themselves bc when he did, those lectures were helpful. EN 1002 was heavy reading. Dont recommend unless ur an English major or minor.
All the negative reviews are true. In my four years at York U and having had so many different professors, I can honestly say John Bell is the worst of them (at least in the English dept). His lectures are boring and monotonous, his grading is complex for no particular reason, and he seems like he really doesnt like students. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND!!
I really disliked John Bell and his class. There were over 15 books to read, lectures are monotone and so boring (he doesn't use a PP or anything). Each pop quiz was four questions, super specific and each were worth half a mark. Exam was insane, there wasn't an essay bank and it could have been on any of the books we read.
I've never had such a mean, discouraging prof in my four years at York. If you require extra time for papers and accommodation, don't even think about taking his class. If you submit a paper even an hour late, he will not accept it and there goes a HUGE chunk of your grade. His lectures are long and dry, and useless, and his voice is v monotonous.
Would I take this prof again? Yes, only because I had an amazing TA, and im now in another class of his with a TA. They are the saving grace of all John Bells classes, they all hate him as well so you will not be alone.
Professor Bell was a horrible communicator. He had very unrealistic expectations for a class that is open to non-english majors. He marked assuming that everyone was at a 4th year English Honours level and did not provide proper feedback in regards to confusion on assignments. Assignment questions and explanations did not meet his expectations
He does not care about his students at all hes ignorant and rude. Dont ever ask for an extension because hes not Lenient at all and will give you a hard time for even asking. His lectures are boring and non sense, he expects way to much from Lower year students and fives everyone a hard time about their writing abilities
He bad.
Made sure we had to work for the grade and He did not know ho to get the point across. He failed successfully engage students in his lectures.
He expects you to take university seriously. Do not expect an extension on essays for slacking so be organized. He gives great feedback on essays. He does not go through texts in details so you need to study a lot on your own. He is big on voluntary participation. You need to be sincere with your work and follow his instructions to do well.
Mr. Bell wasn't bad, but not the best prof I've had at Uni. He seems really serious and strict, but really he just wants to make sure you don't plagiarize. His lectures move at a molasses pace and he gets into personal stories a lot. Just make sure you thoroughly know MLA format and you're well versed in essay structure, then you'll be fine.
Had a class with him on campus and he was okay, but for an online course he is EXTRA BORING! Trying to watch his recorded lectures was so painful. I couldn't get through them easily. If he's teaching on campus he's fine but DON'T TAKE AN ONLINE COURSE WITH HIM. You will be bored to tears.
Very boring teacher! He also will talk about eerie, dark subjects which was kinda creepy. I took EN1001 (Intro to Literary Study) and it was easy. Didn't go to half the lectures and still got an A. The final exam is like CRAZY easy.
Not a good prof for an online class. Doesn't seem to know how to use the technology effectively and the lectures come out very boring. Possibly the worst online class I've had.
Anyone writing anything bad obviously didn't try with this professor because that's literally all he asks. He provided us with a checklist to do for discussion forums and if you did the things, you'd get an A every time. He answered every email I ever sent, even if I thought my own question was dumb, and provided so much help and feedback.
Lectures are quite dry. Overly intense in marking papers. Lectures are thorough though.
One of those profs who can't seem to figure out online teaching. Hope he goes back to the classroom after covid because he's not good at this at all. If you want really long lecture videos of him looking confused in front of a webcam then take his course, but there are other profs who know how to be effective online who are way, way better.
The only thing Professor Bell likes more than Victorian ghosts is a good plagiarism hearing. He is very strict about academic honesty and makes it known! He demotivates students about their writing ability and is an extremely hard marker. He is very discouraging and needs to get with the times! Avoid at all costs!
One of the profs that York should never have allowed to teach online. Lectures go on for HOURS and he's not good at connecting with students in this format.
Rude and condescending to students, with very unprofessional and snide remarks in emails and forum posts. Incredibly unapproachable and instructions on assignments are unclear. Very harsh marker that severely punishes small mistakes. Would absolutely never take a course with him again unless I had no other choice.
Extremely bad lectures. No communication skills. Horrible class all around. Biggest challenge in this course is the prof who teaches it. This is a mandatory course for majors so it is hard to avoid but don't take it with this prof. Choose any other prof who teaches it. Anyone.
Extremely rude towards students. I couldn't bear it so I dropped instantly.
This professor is very rude and I would say he is discriminating as well. He is intimidating to say the least. He does not provide any examples of how to format essays, lectures are dry and his only focus is on plagiarism. I did not benefit at all taking this course. If you want to suffer and receive bad grades even with maximum effort than enroll
Mr.Bell was an amazing prof. If you attended lectures and listened carefully, it was an easy A. He gave amazing feedback on essays, and went over exactly what he wanted from us for each essay. He graded fairly and was great about extensions. As long as you actually attend lectures and tutorials and take good notes you'll be fine.
Had him in 1986 for first year English. Shaved his head to support the whales. Nice enough. Did well on essays. Poorly on tests.
Where to begin? Prof can't teach online. Complete lack of diversity in course material. Can't teach online. Rude to students. Can't teach online. Extremely boring lectures. Can't teach online. Did I mention that he can't teach online? Avoid avoid avoid at all costs.
I consulted Professor Bell with my essay thesis and rough drafts; he always gave helpful feedback and helped me improve my essay writing. The material he covered was definitely very diverse. He is clear with his instructions and has high standards and expectations which helped me to improve in terms of my writing and also study habits.
Professor chooses boring material and records boring lectures. In lecture often uses outdated terminology for identities. It made me uncomfortable and it makes me cringe to think of how others students would feel. His teaching belongs to a different era. Students deserve better.
He was a great professor! We completed discussions which were easy marks to boost our grade. We completed 2 essays on fun topics and they also boosted our grade. The final exam was only worth 20% of our grade and it was open book. He was an easy grader who gave good feedback on assignments and had amazing lectures.
Awful professor, avoid at all costs.
Avoid him online, in person, anywhere - Ive never met such a rude professor in my life. I have never seen a demotivating professor. He uses old content and does nothing new - hes so boring its excruciating
Absolutely terrible. No diversity in the readings and no acknowledgement of diversity in the readings we did. Maybe this was okay 30 years ago but it's not okay now. Lectures were also exceptionally boring. This prof has no presence or charisma online.
This course was called "intro to literary studies". It should have been called an "outro" course because after one class with him you will want to get out of literary studies for good. Boring and outdated material, not engaging, and has no idea how to teach online.
Half of what this Prof did in lecture was try to instill fear in his students. "I've made so many students cry"..... ok? I swear, every lecture there was 10 mins of him talking about what he'd do to us if we were caught plagiarising... it's almost like he wanted us to. incredibly odd, boring, outdated, and frankly a weird professor overall.
I deeply regret taking this class with this prof. Interaction with students was virtual nonexistent and for an online course this is unacceptable. Lectures felt outdated, and possibly recycled, or possibly just the same old lecture notes he's been using for decades. Some terminology he used was outdated and offensive. Terrible for an intro course.
This class was a very unpleasant experience overall. Prof seemed uninterested in actually teaching us anything and instead spent a lot of time trying to instil fear in his students. I don't really like being treated this way. I came here to learn, not to hear someone rant.
We had a strike during my time in the class and the professor has been fairly unaccommodating and dickish coming out of it. When I reached out with a question, he misspelt my name in his response and had typos, something that feels inappropriate coming from an English professor.
I just found him incredibly lazy and inattentive. In the email I received upon joining the class, he said "you have made a bad decision", and I should have known to drop the class then.
Professor Bell was overall a good professor. I will say the lectures are long and there is a lot of reading and novels you have to buy, but the structure of the course is laid out nicely. If you just participate in the discussion forums, and follow along with the lectures and reading, you will do well! Many of the topics are also interesting!
Professor Bell's EN1001 class was a mixed bag. While some found the material outdated and the lectures dull, others praised his feedback and fair grading. To succeed, you'll need to attend class, take good notes, and use tools like Unstuck study for study prep. Overall, it's a challenging but manageable course.
He replies rudely when you email him with questions! His lectures are useless and he gives a lot of readings! He gives a lot of homework and is a tough grader! He does not like being accommodative even to students with accommodations! If your discussion posts are inaccurate, he points it out by replying to your post where other students can see it!
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
79%
Textbook Required
33%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.47 avg changeRatings by Course
HUMA
5.0
(1)CEPH3010
5.0
(1)ELIOT
5.0
(1)COMICNOVEL
5.0
(1)EN3555
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BRONTES
5.0
ENG3988
5.0
EN2100
5.0
CLASS
5.0
ENG1002
4.5