3.8
Quality3.0
Difficulty67%
Would Retake93
Reviews67%
Would Retake
93
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
45
4
19
3
10
2
5
1
14
What Students Say
“I would absolutely take another course with him”
ENG1121 - 5.0 rating“Graves really cares about his students”
ENG1121 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
35%
Textbook Required
9%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.30 avg changeRatings by Course
ENG3194
5.0
(2)ENG1100
4.0
(56)ENG1121
3.9
(9)ENG1120
3.3
(26)Difficulty by Course
ENG1120
3.5
ENG1121
2.9
ENG1100
2.8
ENG3194
2.0
Reviews (93)
Paul is very nice. He gave me help with a thesis by email. The class was interesting, even though I don't normally like poetry.
I had Professor Kenneth Campbell as my professor but I feel like it was more Paul because he explained everything, graded everything, ect! He explains everything extremely well, he's nice, funny, and he doesn't keep us in the classroom for too long.
Professor Graves was incredibly helpful. I could not have asked for a better professor. I worked extremely hard in the course and received a grade that I'm very happy with, however I would not have been able to succeed without Professor Graves.
He's really passionate about teaching. He's very invested in his student. Now that I am third year student, I realized he has more enthusiasm and connects with his students more than some of the tenured profs. HE really made poetry enjoyable. He was always so willing to help students during office hours. Amazing prof. He is going places!
AVOID HIM IF YOUR COURSE IS NOT MANDATORY OR IF THERE IS AN ALTERNATE PROF. He is a terrible professor. His expectations are not clear and he is a very hard marker. His class will ruin your GPA. He has a smug sense of importance about what himself and what he teaches(which is ridiculous because nobody would take his class if it was not compulsory)
He really goes out of his way to help his students. I worked hard and it paid off. He's a good prof.
Great prof. Makes the class really interesting and goes out of his way to help as much as he can, both in person and in email. Encourages reflection and discussions. I would definitely take another class with him.
Terrible.
Prof. Graves really cares about his students! He's funny, smart, and easygoing. He's a bit of a tough marker, but he also helped with my work and I did pretty well.
He cares about his students, and his lectures can be quite interesting if you actually attend class. He appreciates the students that dedicate themselves and is more than willing to help when you ask. I would absolutely take another course with him!
Expect to be graded tough (every english teacher does so) and don't leave essays to the last minute (they know). Just have a good train of thought, NO SPELLING ERRORS, and fair evidence. Grammar quizzes SO EASY (but study for at least half an hour). TALK TO HIM, he's nice if you are. He gives points if he can see you are making a solid effort
Pretty good, got the info across and engaged the class.
Nice Prof. Gets the points across and seems to actually care.
Lectures are dry, but if you want a real analysis on how to improve writing he is your guy
Difficult questions and lectures, however he takes care of his students, if you want to improve your English writing and reading, this course is a pretty good idea.
Worst prof ever. AVOID by all means. Extremely tough grader alongside his TA who look for very specific details and follow a strict criteria while marking the essays. These people expect you to be a poet/ publisher/ author by nature and they set the bar way too high while marking for a first year class. Final grade was B, even LOWER than orgo 1/ 2
This prof seems to really care. Lectures explain the material really clearly and feedback on the essays was good.
Nice prof.
Honestly, I tried to like him and engage in his class but when it came to the essays, grading was strict. Class averages on the essays were horrible and it said more about them than it did about the students. You have to have a talent for writing to impress him. Tried everything and only manage to get decent near the end. Find another prof if u can
The class helped me figure out what profs are looking for in writing. I'd take another class with him.
Trying to teach essay writing can be a dry job, but he did an excellent job at trying to make it interesting. Though the class was a bit tough to get a good mark in, he was fair in his grading, and gave very clear feedback. If you take his class, study for the grammar quizzes! It will really boost your grade at the end.
Prof. Graves is a solid professor. I didn't have any problem with him, just the course I was taking. He did a good job of simplifying grammar concepts, and my TA gave lots of great feedback on the assignments Prof. Graves gave us. I wouldn't take the course again, but I think Prof. Graves as the professor for another course would be interesting.
A real gem, was definitely my favourite professor this year. His expectations are very clear and he's a really nice guy.
barely went to the lectures because they were pretty basic and can be learnt through bright space but he's a good lecturer with actual feedbacks and teaches at a reasonable paste.
I really struggle in english and I was able to get a lot of good feedback and learn a lot from Dr. Graves' class. Definitely a good choice for ENG 1100, gives good feedback, sometimes hard to understand the first time you read it but once you read his feedback a couple times it makes more sense! Also the TA was amazing!
Professor Graves was my worst professor in first year. Due to Covid-19 I took the class online and he was very unhelpful and would not accommodate any technical difficulties. He gave me a 0 on a quiz that I had completed but it would not submit due to poor wifi. Extremely hard marker expects you to already be an author. Would not take again.
The class was easy to follow and well organized. He gives a lot of feedback on the essay and he was really helpful over email and after classes.
Nice prof. He helped a lot over email.
He is a very tough grader. His lectures are boring but will not help you much outside class. This was supposed to be an easy class for first years but because I had Prof Graves, it was my worst mark. I would avoid taking him for eng1100.
He's a tough grader, but I learned a lot about how to write and I ended up doing pretty well in the course. No regrets.
Great!
Please if you want to have a good grade never take this class. He is a very tough grader and didn't really give any good feedback either. I would avoid at all costs.
This class is VERY useful and the material can be used in all other subjects. The prof does a great job explaining every piece of info and giving examples for clarification. Tough marker but it's not impossible to do well if you've followed his instructions.
Very nice Professor. Was very helpful when I asked. Most kind.
pretty decent prof. very accessible outside of class and does care for his students.. however, the class is not exciting or interesting in any way and he truly does make you work for your grade. would not recommend taking it as an elective.
He seems pretty nice and engages students during class but he's one hell of a hard marker.
I have taken Prof. Graves for both ENG 1100 and 1120. He is a really solid, knowledgeable professor. You definitely get out what you put into this class. I liked how he chose different works around a theme every week and found his lectures super helpful. Not an easy A but it is possible.
I took 1100 with Graves. He was really helpful over Zoom. He actually cares about students and I ended up doing great!
EXTREMELY vague with his work. Does not give us any guidance at all and highly do not recommend him.
He's a horrible professor. I stopped watching his lectures because you won't benefit from it and he explains things very vaguely. He does not repost his notes. He's just a terrible professor! Choose another professor for English if you get him. He was not even clear about the discussion group attendance being for marks until last minute.
An extremely kind-hearted professor. Breaks the material down in a clear way. Very helpful!
Prof Graves is really supportive and noticed when my writing got better. The class helped me for sure.
Prof Graves seems to be an overall nice but often comes off as passive aggressive in emails and during discussions. He opens up the space to speak but can unintentionally make you feel inferior to him when you interpret something wrong . He is extremely vague about assignments, sometimes only giving helpful instruction hours before the deadline
DON’T DO IT TO YOURSELF. He’s Awful. If i could give a 0 I would. He’s very unclear. Not helpful at all. Will simply give you passive aggressive responses and is super vague with everything. Avoid at all costs.
Prof. Graves is one of the nicest professors I've had! As an upper-year student, I can say that he seems to care more than a lot of other profs - and the readings and discussion are really interesting, even if they can get a bit complicated sometimes. The online class can be a bit awkward but that's not really his fault.
He acts as if minimally helping us is incredibly kind of him! As if providing some support to students and clarifying questions is not part of his job! If you do get feedback it’ll most likely be impossible to read because of his handwriting and unhelpful if you can manage to read it. AVOID!!!!
Prof gave me an extension with no trouble.
My favorite professor from this semester. He explains what profs are looking for in essays and clearly explains how to approach writing them.
One of the nicest profs ever!
I learned a lot in the class He did a good job
He breaks down essay writing in a really clear way. It makes a lot more sense to me now!
Dr. Graves tried to make the lectures enjoyable for students, which was nice! We had biweekly grammar quizzes, a midterm, an annotated bibliography, and a final essay. Definitely not a hard course -- show up to the lectures and you'll be fine! A tip for the essay: put effort into the annotated bibliography. It'll write itself after that.
A really kind, helpful professor who clearly enjoys what he teaches. He was great, and I would totally take another course with him!
This class was really easy. The lecture were well-organized, the professor was available to answer questions, and the assignments all built towards the final essay. He was always easy to deal with and pretty funny.
The course was clear and pretty easy. The assignments all built towards the final essay, which was pretty easy given the work done ahead of time. When I asked, the prof met with me for almost an hour to talk about my essay idea. He was surprisingly chill and helpful.
You better pray that your assignments are graded by the TA.
He's a bit of a tough grader, but he helped me be a better writer.
Dr. Paul James Graves does not know how to teach students how to write a good essay. Instead, he spends most of his time talking about grammar and citing sources. He should focus more on actual writing instead of the more useless parts of it.
A much more interesting class than I thought it'd be. The prof was nice and made the stuff we had to read interesting.
I like his class styles. He is very dynamic, he is good at inspiring you to think. His class is very interesting and can cultivate your habit of wide reading .
mediocrity
He is a great prof. Tried to make the class as interesting as possible. Everything you do leads up to the final exam which is a take home essay. The feedback he gives really helps you with your work. Definitely recommend.
Prof Graves is engaging and keeps his lectures interesting. Yes, he is a tough grader and very picky. However, he offers much help outside of class and is clear about what he seeks in an essay. Overall, good prof.
Tough grader for midterm and final essay, but you get free points from the quizzes and some assignments. Focuses a lot on grammar during the lectures and less on essay writing. There's much better profs for this course
Great professor. He will let you know EXACTLY what he's looking for. Accessible outside of the classroom. Great class, great guy.
DO NOT TAKE HIM....he is incredibly boring and is rude towards his students. His lectures were not engaging at all and many students would leave halfway through his class. He takes forever to grade papers and is critical about all your work. He shuts your ideas down quickly and almost laughs at you. AVOID HIM
He was good! I didn't think I'd like the readings, but the discussions made them interesting, the prof was really nice, I liked the music at the start of class, and they offered a lot of feedback on the assignments.
Great teacher, lets you know exactly what he's looking for. However, he is a hard marker, you really gotta put in effort to get a decent grade. Understanding and responds to emails pretty quickly. A bit passive aggressive sometimes but entertaining if you're not the one he's arguing with. Somehow managed to make a boring class engaging. Good music.
Great discussions, but, I do not care for post-modernism, which is what his ENG 1120 is. I only took this class because I need it to graduate. Positively, Prof is accessible outside of class and does his best to support you with assignments. He's a tough grader. Avoid if uninterested in literature, but overall decent/okay class, just boring.
Idk why everyone says he's a tough grader. I feel like my writings were only decent and I got pretty great marks for them. He was really flexible in terms of handing in assignments with me and made my semester so much better because of it. Responds well to emails. Also, ofc it was gonna be essay heavy, it's an English course lol. Great teacher imo.
Super great guy, super boring class. The class is about essay structures, and he really did try to make it interesting. If you care about improving your writing, he is super open to helping you. The assignments aren't hard, but he does have high expectations. Make sure you have really good structure and grammar, as he focuses on this. Good prof.
20% of your final grade is already 100% because he marks in class assessments as 100s. But he is very boring lecturer and it's really difficult to get through this class because of this. He is also not very helpful in his feedback for assignments, but there is very few assignments. (An essay and 2 short assignments before it).
This prof is super nice and relatively clear about his expectations + he gives a lot of free marks for in class stuff. He does have pretty high expectations but is pretty understanding, his lectures are super boring but it's just cuz the content is so dry he's pretty engaging.
This class is VERY technical, given that it's an English class it is definitely not what I would say most first year students are used to. It is focused on essay writing and while I didn't 100% agree with how everything was structured, once I gave it my full attention it became much easier to navigate. Go to class. Do the quizzes. Ask for help.
You will get grammar lessons 1 week, a quiz on it, a reading, and then on your final essay. It is all over the place. I would've rather spent more time submitting writings and getting feedback and focusing on the final essay but there was always something to do for this class. Out of the 4 classes I took, this was the hardest. No structure.
The content was kinda boring, but he was really nice and engaging and gave me two extensions. I thought the course was organized enough.
He's great. The content's a little boring and he knows it, so he tries to keep it fun. He sets you up well to write the final essay at the end of the course, and he's always accessible if you have questions. There are a few writing activities where you need to go to class but otherwise attendance isn't mandatory cause he posts everything online.
He is very interesting when discussing the readings; which are max 3 pages long. He does not give long readings for a LIT class he's probably the best prof.
Very interesting and engaging lectures, but a pretty tough grader. Don't take his reviews personally
Harsh grader with very little flexibility. Expectations aren't always clear, and feedback can be more discouraging than helpful. You're expected to understand complex material on your own, and the way things are marked feels overly strict, especially when the instructions aren't well explained in the first place.
This was a fun and chill class. The conversations we had about the novels were interesting. I would definitely take another class with him!
Most chill professor ever, fun reading list, and he gives really good feedback. Total G.
This was one of the worst professors I've had. His feedback often felt discouraging rather than constructive. He seemed more focused on pointing out flaws than offering guidance. Additionally, he was not receptive to differing perspectives; if a student offered an interpretation that challenged his own, he would dismiss it in front of the class.
Professor Graves class was one of my favorites. He's easy-going, and the discussions made me like the lit. I also liked the music he played before class. It set a good vibe.
Pickiest professors I've ever had, his feedback is discouraging rather than constructive. He expects flawless writing for the midterm and final. He assigns long readings and expects you to remember random details for the quiz. In one of the lectures, a student offered his interpretation that challenged his own, and he dismissed on the spot.
One of the nicest professors I've had. I would totally take another class with him.
I have taken a class previously and tried to go above and beyond this time. I received the same grade! This was a tough class and the random pop quizzes asking you about the finest detail in a 15 to 80 page reading made it worse. The readings and lectures were interesting, but the TOUGH grading and random quizzes made it terrible.
Hes actually hilarious and keeps you entertained. He's basically teaching everything he wished he knew when he was a freshman. He's very understanding but he has a lot of expectations.
-A very kind teacher who actually wants you to pass! -Open to answering questions both during and after class. -No reading overload but the few we had mattered a lot because they helped us understand the material he'll be teaching in the following session -Fair marking (+ he's got some good music as well)
This guy might be the GOAT, he knows people doesnt try and care but he still teaches rhe class with enthusiam and if you joke with him hes gonna joke with you
This guy he's pretty good at everything. Good teacher really enthusiastic about the boringest things. He's the best for people who want to learn. But he gets disappointed if no one shows up and if no one does readings that you can just put in ai to understand.
He was a great prof who's very interested in the class. He always played music at the beginning of class and jokes around. His grading was fair and made sense. 2 of his assignments were worth 10% and were guaranteed 100%'s so long as you attended class and put the effort in. English was my worst subject in HS, but it is my highest uni mark so far.
Good professor, boring subject
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
35%
Textbook Required
9%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.30 avg changeRatings by Course
ENG3194
5.0
(2)ENG1100
4.0
(56)ENG1121
3.9
(9)ENG1120
3.3
(26)Difficulty by Course
ENG1120
3.5
ENG1121
2.9
ENG1100
2.8
ENG3194
2.0