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Excellent class, very helpful, encouraging; he really cares about each student and takes the time to help you as an individual.

A very good and interesting teacher. He really wants students to learn how to write better. I guess thats why he is such a hard grader. A great learning experience.

really interested laid back guy. really really nice. fair amount of work.

This is the coolest writing professor.He is fair and understanding person. His class isvery adventurous. Keep up the good work Mark!!!

Easy going, intelligent, & engaging instructor who genuinely cares for each student. Workload was fair & none of it was just busy work. Great class that addressed important/interesting issues. He's a really nice, friendly guy.

I disagree with the posting below. The class was engaging, and my classmates were fun to work with. I very much enjoyed our discussions. The assignments were challenging, though meaningful.

This was a great class. I found Mark's comments on my papers to be thorough, respectful and definitely helpful. This class inspired me to look at my writing more closely than any class or teacher had asked of me. Discussions and texts are very engaging

I really enjoyed Mark's writing about social justice class! While I don't think the class was at all easy, Mark gave me a lot of help and feedback all through the quarter. He took our writing seriously, and gave me great feedback. I learned a great deal from class discussions, too!

a really, really good class. Mark expected a lot out of us, and his assignments were challenging, though he has always been willing to give lots of help. He challenged the class with tough questions, but these were always meaningful. My classmates also inspired me.

Mark's Writing 1 class on travel was a really good class. The writing was intensive and he required a lot, but his feedback was always constructive and useful. The class discussions were also very good. I enjoyed the readings, too.

a good class (even if required!) by a nice, mellow, and very helpful instructor.

A lively class with a lot of work, though Mark put a lot of time into his teaching and to helping us grow as writers.

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Nice guy--really interesting readings--very helpful. The class discussions were extremely interesting.

Mark has really made a writer out of me. He is brilliant in his teaching methods and gives every student the opportunity to express his/her passion. This the best course i've taken at UCSC so far.

Mark is probably my favorite teacher at UCSC. He's not a professor, but I think his teaching quality and clarity surpasses most of the resident Ph.ds that I've encountered. Better still, he cares strongly about the material he assigns and takes a genuine interest in arguments of student essays. All in all, I highly recommend his writing classes.

had him for writing 1 on social justice. He was extremely helpful and really took the time out to help you as an individual. The readings were also awsome and really makes you feel passionate

Mark Rocks! he is hella cool! good ass teacher!

he nods a lot so watch for his head. a lot of the people in my class dont like him because he really expects a lot out of you and he just seems a bit strange. some essay topics are ew.

I found Mark very helpful with my writing. He read and commented on my papers in ways teachers have not done so before. He demanded a lot, but was helpful andsupportive.

Mark is a inspiration to anyone who wants to improve their writing. He is THE teacher role model.

nice guy. no matter how hard he pushed me, i do have to say that he improved my writing.

He is an excellent teacher.He pushes you to improve your writing!!

Mark's love of writing and teaching is apparent in the classroom. He is warm, funny, kind...always prepared and concerned about his students. Wonderful teacher. I was challenged in my writing and my thinking about education.

excellent amazing teacher. best at ucsc at what he does: improve your writing and helps you gain confidence in it

basically, i love mark baker. best writing teacher ive ever had. he is so passionate and wonderful.

Mark Baker is a great instructor who truly cares about what he is teaching. He constantly weaved in the class's theme (social justice) into everything he taught. The amount of writing in the class is managable and the topics given for the essays are interesting.

Mark has helped me out a lot with my writing, and he's also helped me to understand the topics better. The course is interesting. I'm thinking about issues I've never before considered.

really easy if you do all the work and read. very nice and motivating. gives you great advice. gives you confidence in your writing

Mark is a compassionate guy who cares a lot about his students and the subjects he teaches. Very approachable. Overall this class was easy and Mark led some interesting discussions.

I had him for Oakes Core, and decided to take another 2 credit class of his the next qaurter. Such a nice guy, and great professor! Will give core students a whole page typed of comments/suggestion on how to revise your paper. Has really interesting lectures and discussions, too. HIGHLY RECOMMENED!!

He is the best writing instructor at UCSC because he provides and dedicates his time in helping students improve. By taking his class, your writing will definitely improve.

Amazing teacher! Harding can be hard, especially for first year students who might not have been exposed to college level writing. He is an awesome writer himself, and is so delicate on editing your paper. He writes alot of comments and even types a whole page of sugggestions that pretty much tell you what yo revise! =] HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Baker would make an excellent 8th grade teacher. He treats his students as if they were 13 years old. He's a really nice guy and his comments are very helpful... when you can read his handwriting. I had a big problem with the fact that 95% of his handouts had typos in them.. He is a writing teacher! I thought that was a very bad example to set.

I've had Mark for two different classes at UCSC. He's a very helpful, friendly instructor. His classes are challenging, but engaging, especially the classes on writing and social justice. I only remember one typo. He actually criticized himself for it! Nice guy, very helpful. Highly recommended.

He's a great teacher. Extremely helpful. You can go to him to talk about your writing and he really tries to help. He takes a while to respond to emails sometimes but when he does, he answers your questions well. Pretty much 2 essays and one research paper. He requires some response papers but it's not that hard. His comments are really helpful too

Mark is a beast. Writing tutors do not really help. Might as well go to Mark himself. He is dedicated and commutes from the Bay everyday. So going to class is worth it. He helps you with your writing and truly cares for his students. Small class=small family. Dedicated teacher and basically down to earth friend.

He is a very kind person and really enjoys helping his students. Not only does he teaches according to the topic of the class, but he teaches writing techniques or structures that maximize the effectiveness when writing essays. The class was really engaging and it opens the mind to a new perspective. Great for people who enjoys writing.

Really interesting topic (travel)+nice, helpful, engaging instructor+fun classmates=all around good class and learning experience.

Mark is an excellent teacher who really cares about helping his students progress in their writings. The class requires a fair amount of reading, weekly journal writes and essays, but if you are prepared to do the work you will learn a lot. Very interesting discussions and Mark is very helpful and approachable.

Class sessions could get a little boring, some were interesting, he's a very nice person, very available to talk to... his feedback on your essays is the best i've ever had from a teacher... he literally writes a whole page out analyzing what you wrote, and it helped so much. i highly recommend him for writing 2!

Mark Barker is an awsome instructor. He has great enthusiam to teach the class. He always walked in class with a positive attitude and was always willing to help anyone at all times. He really cares for his students. HE is the best.

MARK IS THE BEST CORE TEACHER! He is fun to work with and really pushes you to think about the theme of the course. In class discussions are fun and engaging. I enjoyed his class a lot!

Mark is really a great teacher. I believe my writing has improved a lot after taking this class. He provides a lot of feedback on your papers to work with. There is a fair amount of work but nothing out of the ordinary for a writing class. The readings were intriguing and provided for some good discussions in class. I'm glad I took WRIT2 with Mark.

HE IS AN AWESOME PROFESSOR I LOVE MARK BAKER..HE REALLY BELIEVES IN YOU AND DEMONSTRATES PASSION TO HELP HIS STUDENTS.

He picks interesting readings to write about and gives a clear understanding of each prompt. He likes student who participates alot,and students who run their mouth the death look. Yes he will comment all over your essay, but theyre useful. He will give a decent amount of work, but thats how we improved on our writing.

took this class pass/no pass because i had to take it for tutoring and i put absolutely no effort into it and passed.. i recommend doing what i did and taking it in addition to 3 other classes

Mark is an excellent Professor! His class really impacted the way I view social issues.

Mark is awesome! Not a very difficult class, but he really makes you think about writing. Overall, he's a very sweet guy. COmments on our essays were very helpful. Essays were "informal", so they didn't have to be all perfect (tho he still expects good work). Very easy class, though if you don't like grammar, take it P/NP. Some tests were challeng

Mark is such a nice guy! He is very helpful and always seems really happy to be in class! His class was a lot of work though and I felt like I constantly had homework but, it was worth it. Very fun/ interesting discussions and I learned a lot! He is over all a great teacher and person!

He's a really nice person. He assigns a few essays and a research paper, but besides that, it's just mainly reading and writing journal entries. We had some interesting discussions in class and it was a really nice experience. He also isn't that hard of a grader too. He's really engaged with the subject and it was a really nice class.

Mark is a professor who takes his job seriously and by that I mean he genuinely cares for the progress of each individual student. His assignments are thought-provoking and you will find yourself thinking of the topics a lot on your own. I got a C in core but an A in his class. I always felt like I had second wind leaving his writ 2 class.

Mark is a very inspiring professor who genuinely cares for the progress of each individual student. His assignments are thought-provoking and you will find yourself thinking of the topics a lot on your own. I got a C in core but an A in his class bc he immersed us in the readings. I always felt like I had second wind leaving his writ 2 class.

Not an easy class, but it is worth it to take

Very great instructor. He treats every student as a friend and very kind to students. I never met a nice writing instructor like him.

Challenging class but nice and helpful professor. gives lots of useful feedback. really pushed me to improve. also, really helpful at online office hours. he seems to really enjoy helping students. lots of work, but I would take again.

Go see Mark at his office hours. I meet with him a lot during the quarter. Really helpful. The class topics were really interesting, and I ended up being able to write on topics that mattered to me. He's a nice guy. There's a lot of work. I improved a lot and feel more confident with my writing.

Mark is an amazing professor. He is really interested in your work and always provides great feedback on your essays. This class requires attendance, and is very interactive, and requires some reading. I loved this class, it was like a breath of fresh air during these times. Mark is wonderful and truly cares about his students.

I had Mark for Writing 2 and I won't lie, this class wasn't worth taking. He sets it up as if it's a class that is significantly more important than it is, so it is a ton of work considering the fact that you have to take it for a general education requirement. Also, if you want the A, you are gonna have to work your ass off to get it.

Mark is a great professor and seemed to really care about students and their mental health. He gives a lot of feedback on your writing, and I was surprised by how much feedback he gave for each paper. My only problem with the class was that there were a lot of informal writings, but we didn't have much of these in the second half of the quarter.

I learned a lot in this class and saw my writing improve. Mark gives a lot of feedback which is helpful. The workload was heavy, but all for two main assignments. He cares about his students. Probably my favorite professor so far.

This was a good class for me. I was able to write on topics that I cared about. His assignments gave us a lot of freedom, including the major research project. The class was challenging, but Mark was friendly and helpful, especially in office hours. I'd take again.

Professor Mark has been the only teacher I've had who has gotten to know me. The feedback was helpful for revision, and I feel more prepared with writing. The storymaps project was good and an interesting assignment.

Mark always gives back good feedback and cares about your progress as a writer. Most complaints pertain to the amount of work but this class would be hard regardless of your professor. You get time to work on readings/papers so it's really about time management. I would definitely take this class again.

Though he is a bit of a tough grader, professor Baker is actually a really nice guy and is super lenient about late work. If you are feeling overwhelmed with the workload just let him know and he won't mark you down for turning things in late.

Mark is a great teacher and grader, He does give you kinda a lot of hw but he does give you a lot of time to complete your work. I would 100% recommend and plan on taking his writing 2 class.

Overall, the class is good, you just have to perpare yourself for the pace of the class as well as with the amount of work you'll have to be doing. If you miss one class you will be far behind. I just personally prefer if the grading wise in the class was different because then I think I would have done a better job. Rather than out of 3 points

Prof. Baker is one of the few teachers in my life that have had a huge impact on the way I write and communicate. He has a great approach to teaching the craft of writing, but it's very intense. If you put the work in, you will be rewarded with an A. I'd highly recommend this class, but not if you have other demanding classes on your plate.

Great teacher. If you're not used to contact grading, it takes a bit to get used to. Assignments require some thinking and take time but are relatively easy. The longest paper we had to write was 1300-1600 words. He is big on revision, so you have an opportunity to review and improve your writing.

Best professor for writing. If you put in the effort and work, he will also respond with the same if not more effort. Ex: My 5 page (doublespaced) essay came back with 2 pages (singlespaced) feedback plus lots of feedback in the margins. I improved as a writer with his revisions. However, it was a very hard class with a lot of work.

Mark is very nice guy but omg doesn't he just assign so much work like ik some ppl taking writ 2 with different professor that are having an easy A n barely do anything in their class but if u enjoy writing so much u should take his class but if u tryna just fulfill n get over it or a stem major pls do urself a favor n run