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great teacher! at first you may not understand what he wants from you but listen closely. He loves questions! ask LOTS of questions in class and write LOTS of questions in your papers

Really cool guy! He wants to get everybody culturally and politically aware. Gives papers here and there, but if you stay on top of it nothing really goes wrong. Very understanding, wants you to speak out in class so do it! Also he's a food critic so say you've read some of his stuff or something, haha.

Great professor. Brilliantly intelligent. Appropriately informal and always "outside of the box." 1 paper about every two weeks (1-3 pgs). Show up and have something on your mind and you'll get a good grade. Ask questions. Doesn't give exact directions because he wants to see what you can come up with in your own. He's Awesome!

He's really helped me to develop my writing over the course of the year. He has gone out of his way to make sure I understand the assignments and how to complete them, which is important as I am not a native English speaker.

He gives a lot of work sometimes but it's not really that difficult. Every assignment you do is helpful. I know that my writing skills have improved significantly. He always makes himself available to talk if you need anything. He's very up to date with culture and is loads of fun. Attendance is required but its the same for all FI classes.

Totally committed to his students. Wicked smart. Sometimes I had to struggle to keep up but once I figured out to go to office hours I got it. Would take anything he offered

Cool guy. Uses music in class. Wants you to learn.

Good prof for FI. Values student input. Tries to make assignments/exercises interesting.

Definitely one of my favorite professors. He really makes you think and wants you to contribute to class discussions. At times he may be unclear, but he's always open to questions during class, through email or during office hours. Gives extra credit randomly for different things, which is a plus.

He's a tough grader but a generally nice guy. Ask about the Great Bacon Challenge EXTRA CREDIT assignment. It's strange but as long as you can eat copious amounts of bacon the credit is enough to pass you for the year. Note: he does a vegan version with Iceberg Lettuce.

I got alot out of this class, and I KNOW I'm not the only one. I wouldn't call the assignments confusing, I'd call them open-ended, which is the whole point of the class. I'm a better writer after having this prof. he's really dedicated to making sure students get something worthwhile out the course-people who state otherwise just don't get it.

Good prof for the FI class, especially compared to horror stories I've heard from my roommates.

Great Professor! Really made me understand what "thinking outside the box" really means. Highly recommend.

Cates rules! Loved this class. Real discussion of real issues. I actually liked my final paper, and I hated English.

Prof. Cates makes you work. No doubt. He's clear, but you have to pay attention and/or go to him with questions. He's crazy generous with time and is open to discuss anything. But you have to do the work. He doesn't suffer laziness.

I had him for my first year university classes and he was great! he helped me so much and if you speak up in class, do the journals, have humor, and you're just a fun student..he'll like you. Do well on the papers and writing assignments. He's a chill professor.....sometimes pushes his views on you but its not too bad

Best teacher ever! Really fun, and really realistic. Takes you to a whole new love of learning.

He is an awesome teacher!! I had so much fun in this class. He is very helpful and an all around great guy!! take this course

He is different than most teachers. He is very open-minded which is helpful with assignments. Sometimes he is very vague in how to do the assignments. Overall hes a really good teacher. Go to class and turn work in on time and you can get an A.

Cates is super rad! If you are pretty intelligent and don't need explicit direction from the professor, this guy is for you. He makes you think outside the box and loves multiplism. Expects your best, but isn't on your back about getting assignments in. I highly recommend him!

I Love this guy, makes my day everyday i see him, with his beard to his crazy hats lol. His work is usually short, and allows revisions which is the best way to go from a B to an A, allows unlimited submissions. Participation is usually a must, but he always keeps it fun, with his nice controversial issues. I LOVE YOU-ANKIT, PranAvi, ALEXUS, Nic0le

Loved this class. Interesting and engaging discussions and readings. I learned more about writing than I ever thought possible.

Awesome teacher! Expert on subject and dedicated to community service. We published a cook book and sold it to benefit Byrd House. Strict on attendance, but classes are usually entertaining.

Great Guy--interesting if a bit rambling and off-topic at times--always good for a story. Assignments are a little fuzzy but if you talk to him after class it all makes sense. Would take him again if I could!

Crazy in a good way. Assignments are open-ended and that makes some people uneasy, but creativity is what he's shooting for. If you like to think "outside the box" take Cates for Food.

I cannot say enough good things about Cates. He's an amazing guy and an amazing teacher, if you are willing to learn. He is not going to babysit you and tell you how to do every single thing, so if you need that, too bad. But for open minded people, he will take you and your writing far beyond the "box"-if there is indeed a box.

Awesome class. Awesome prof.

One of the smartest and coolest guys I've ever met. If you ever need help in class, go see him.

Best FI Prof. Super-supportive and creative. Loved the class--the whole year.

Awesome class to take with Cates

Best professor I have ever had. Wants people to succeed and will go out of his way to give students help. Attending class is super important for your grade.

Great guy and great teacher. Will really take your writing to the next level. Great teacher to have as you're transitioning to college.

Cates is AMAZING. I never thought that I would be able to write as well as he's taught me. He's super easy to talk to and he will open your mind to SO much. I can't think of a better professor to have. He made my transition into college so much easier. I can't recommend him enough!!

Great professor and person, treats everyone with respect, makes you feel like he wants you to succeed. Totally awesome course, wish I could have him every semester I'm here

Best Professor I have had yet. I am taking him again this fall and he is really good at discussions and provoking thought. You will leave feeling like you learned a lot.

He expects you to doing the thinking. Do expect to be spoon-fed directions. Very supportive when problems arise.

If you do the work, he'll help you become a better writer. If you don't then you don't get the point of the course. This is the best FI prof.--totally changed my approach to writing and studying.

Cates his the best! He can be a tough grader but he gives you all the tools you need and great feedback in order to get an A. He's easy to talk and willing to work with you. He's full of passion and really knows his stuff!

Professor Cates is AWESOME! Favorite teacher at VCU so far. He helps you learn poetry, and actually cares about your work and how you're doing. Take him!

Prof Cates has been one of my favorite teachers ever! As long as you show up to class and do your best to participate as much as possible he is an easy A. Participation is KEY to get on his good side. Cates also doesn't give as much work as the other profs or at least that's what it seems after talking to other students. TAKE CATES TRUST ME

100% I would take more of his classes if I could.

I took Cates for UNIV 111 along with UNIV 112 and received A's in both classes. Show up for class and turn in your work and you'll pass SIMPLE. If your someone who doesn't like showing up for class, you will make the course harder than what it really is.

I had him for both 111 and 112, and I can confidently say that he's one of the best professors this school has to offer. As long as you speak up during discussions and actually do your assignments, you'll get an A. Definitely take him if you have the opportunity to do so.

Awesome course to take as service learning. Cates is serious about connecting the classroom to the community. Can be confusing when he's really into what he's talking about, but if you get lost ask questions- that's what the course is all about. I hope to take other courses with him beyond FI.

I had a chance to TA for cates after taking UNIV with him a few years ago. Still the best learning experience to prepare me for teaching that I've had and I graduate in a couple weeks. Show up, work hard and you'll be rewarded. If you really extend yourself, he might even ask you to TA for him.

Honestly, Cates is the best professor I've ever had. I really didn't think I would develop a relationship with a UNIV professor lol. You really have to participate in class and do response journals by the due date to get an A. Attendance is mandatory as are all UNIV classes. Super caring, will work with you, empathetic. I can't wait for UNIV 112!

Expectations in class are clear. Do the work, work hard, and you'll be fine.

Great Professor. However, tedious, vacuous, and redundant class. Focused Inquiry needs to be wiped out the face of the earth.

Cates is a great teacher and great guy. But God how I abhorred this class!!!! So much pointless tedious work. Focused Inquiry is just vacuous. And and insult to human intelligence.

I loved having FI with Cates! Great teacher.

Super helpful in all areas of writing poetry and basically writing anything worth reading. Funny and makes class personal to each and every student, gives hope to his students as far as succeeding with words. The prompts he produced were unlike anything I had ever seen, extremely advanced ideas and backgrounds. Showed some sick poems in class.

really liked him! well respected professor, and willing to answer questions until you fully understand.

I've had Professor Cates since Univ 111 and he is amazing. After taking his class, I learned a lot about myself and the city of Richmond as a whole. He is a wonderful person and lectures very well. You should definitely take him if you want an easy class that also gives you a good significance in life.

Service learning with Cates opened my eyes to the world around me. Through serving with food not bombs I had the opportunity to do work with the local community and learn so much about the city and myself. Excellent course. Excellent prof.

by far the best option for univ

The skills I learned as a freshman in this class wound up getting me a job straight out of college three years later. Don't believe the haters. Show up and do the work and you will learn how to be as better professional writer. Seriously.

this was the most college course of all the courses I've taken at VCU. The discussions we had really made me think.

Professor Cates is thorough & inspiring in his lectures & class as a whole. I've taken both 111&112, &each class made me a better person, which I hadn't experienced before. His prompts invoke thought beyond what is the standard & it shows that he is caring and empathetic. His inclusivity gave me a safe space in class, which I didn't have otherwise.

Dude's rad. Creates really cool writing prompts and gives great feedback!

Cates is a really awesome prof. His class requires 20 service hours, but they are not hard to obtain. It's a pretty interesting and fun class, I looked forward to going to it. Class is pretty easy, there is a paper at the end of the semester, but its not that bad. He's good at responding to emails and is there to help you always.

As of this writing, I am taking Professor Cates for Focused Inquiry II and I am loving it. He is very insightful and clear on directions, is very fast and communicative through email, and has an interesting class. The class is a bit more progressive (which I am totally cool with), but the material is engaging and the assignments are straightforward

Honestly for my first year, he's been a lifesaver when it comes to managing time. He gives out homework that consists of 20 minutes worth and usually all the projects are essays that build off of each other. If you have no problem in typing essays and doing certain assignments that builds off of eachother then this is the perfect class for you!

Cates is neither vegan, nor does he push any agenda-course is literally like an independent study. I got to choose my own research about lobbying efforts in the food industry. he's supportive all viewpoints and his knowledge in the food industry is pretty deep. lectures and conferences he gives are often funny- some people might miss his dry humor.

He usually does not give us many assignments and does not take off points when turning in assignments late. Towards the end of the semester there are more heavy point assignments, but he is there to help you. You get to go at your own pace for the most part but there are due dates

Professor Cates will mostly give you an A on your assignments as long as they're completed and submitted, whether on time or late. He is always willing to work with you if you have any issues and will give you more time for submission if needed. It was an asynchronous class and we only had to meet twice to discuss midterm and final. Easy A

Professor Cates is very kind and flexible, especially with due dates and late work. However, as an FI course I had a lot of writing projects, even more so than core classes like English or Psychology.

I took Focus Inquiry 1 online with Professor Cates and it was easy, he's very lenient with deadlines and gave ample opportunities to turn in late assignments or redo assignments if you got a low grade.

Professor Cates did an amazing job facilitating the poetry workshop. I learned more about poetry and poetics than I thought I would. And the class was incredibly inclusive and accepting of all points of view. Definitely would take more classes with him!

Best prof for univ courses!

Amazing professor, very understanding of students and will work with them to ensure success. This class is writing heavy, and most work will be completed as readings for homework. Most of class time is discussion; even though it isn't graded, you should always participate. Truly 11/10, Superb class, I learned something new from every conversation.

Very lenient and understanding.He lets you make up missing work and will meet with you to explain what you've missed in class.