He really cares about his students..i learned a lot when i was in his class

Good professor. Helpful. Learned a lot. At first I thought he was a jerk, but as the semester passed and I visited him during his office hours, I found him to be a nice guy who really cares about his students. One of the best profesors I've had so far.

i thnk hez a really good teacher, he has really good lectures in which he makes u feel refreshed and surprised , u never know what's goin to happen in the lecture, and lastly if you put in hardwork, u will see results.

he is hard..very hard...and request students pay attention to detail. i think you can learn from him, but beware to work.

very nice, helpful, funny, caring etc. great professor! he will point out everything you don't notice, and it will surprise you!

A GOOD all around teacher, does grade harder than other teachers. Actually learn something in his class and its enjoyable to attend. Not the best class to slack in, but he is VERY HELPFUL and has interesting discussions in class. OVERALL he is a B+

He is a good teacher, caring , blah blah blah.... But you dont need to work so hard for this class. Other teachers are very easy. His teaching is good but too strict.. Not worth it.

cool after first day. comes across as really mean to get rid of slackers. lightens up after that. a lot of reading...and i do mean a lot...but the class is worth it. he relates his teaching to current events. hard but my favorite prof so far.

He knows his stuff and loves teaching but he sometimes goes too far and takes it personal. He pushes you to do your best. I wish I could take a third class with him.

He was cool after day 1. Taught me alot and kept the class interesting. He realates to students and tells lots of stories and jokes. Take him, you won't regret it!

he's a great teacher. He loves his job and impacts students. He makes you work hard but it's worth it.

He's a really good teacher. The first day of class he tries to intemdiate his students and scare away the "lazy students" He makes a lot of his students work hard, but in the end it's worth it. Dont slack off on the reading or youll get a quiz

Get a life. UR just jealous he didn't read your paper. He didn't say it was the best, just that it was creative. He loves creativity and rewards ppl who try hard. Yeah, he grades hard sometimes, but he sure isn't stupid. I changed my major to Enligh because of him!

Hes A Great English teacher.. Make sure you do all the reading and you will be fine.. Very helpful, but in the beginning of class he will try to scare you by overwhelming you with the syllabus .. anyways his class is worth it

I really liked this guy as a teacher. He is very personable and he knows what he's talking about. And this is coming from someone who didn't do all the reading and didn't try their best..He told me to imagine what I could have done if I truly tried, so try your best and you'll succeed! It's worth it

Freaked me out first day, then became like that awesome professor you see in the movies. He'll change your life in a good way. You do need to work hard but it's worth it. They should clone him for other departments! O, and he's hot too if that matters at all!

This guy is really passionate about what he does. He speaks through his soul and manages to create intrigue in any subject for any kind of student. The work seems intimidating, but this professor is extremely determined to enlighten and enrich your life...he is one awesome professor!

started out tough, but as the semester went along, he got real easy. he becomes a funny guy once the semester gets going too

great teacher.. i loved having class with him.. he really has a passion for teaching and writing. like the other person said, he WILL change your life, or at least make you think twice about things.

By far the best teacher I have ever had in my life. Motivating, encourageing and passionate. He is only difficult because he expects more of you than you thought you had to give. If you work with him, you will find that he is right and you are a better writter that you ever thought possible. I actually have taken 2 classes with him and hope to take more.

An outstanding teacher with a wonderful personality!

He is fun and engaging. I never missed class...it was a joy! Don't miss out on this Prof. Your school career will be changed forever.

Very humorous and passionate about teaching.

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Great professor. Funny, smart, extremely nice and understanding. Just do the work and you'll do fine. We even went out for pizza after the final.

The class seemed to fall apart in the middle and people became unfocused. He is passionate about the topic. If he wants more student participation, he should give more quizzes on the stories, or give homework and only collect it randomly.

Passionate, funny, engaging; unfortunately Prof's can't just trust people to read. He needs to assign homework/quizzes to ensure people will read and be prepared for discussion. I learned how to be a "good reader," which has definitely helped my writing. I suggest this class, but only if you plan on doing the work and showing up. Not an easy A.

Nice guy. Pretty laid back - made coming to class more bearable....also had interesting stories about his time in the Navy. The books we had to read were boring, but he tried to make class interesting. I'm excited to take Eng 71 with him.

Great teacher.Ten on Ten short story book is a bore.Not too much busy work except for reading.Most credit comes from essays both in/out of class."Things They Carried" novel is a great book.Easy to read.Fun to discuss.BE READY TO DISCUSS.No discussion = quiz.He does not follow his own syllabus so be aware.Wants U 2 be a better writer & U can be.

Easy to warm up to, didn't like him at first but after two semsters he grew on me. Grades fairly and will always be willing to help.

Grades well; grades more on content than grammar. As long as you do the journaling work, you'll get the grade you deserve. Funny in a sarcastic, parodying-self-righteousness kind of way.

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He was a great teacher and a lot of help.

This guy is seriously overworked, but a great professor nonetheless! If you ask for help or clarification, he'll provide it. Very passionate about writing and education and it shows. He was teaching a lot of classes at the same time so I think that held us back from getting a lot more accomplished.

best teacher yet

Awesome teacher...down to earth...cool guy...and funny as hell!!!

He definitely has a different approach to teaching English. He is pretty funny, cracks a lot of jokes, makes the class a lot more fun. However, he expects a lot from you and your writing so be prepared to work. Sort of hard to get in touch with, never answered any of my emails. The best way to talk to him is through his office hours.

VERY HELPFUL...SUPER FUNNY...AND VERY PASSi0NATE...HE RESPECTS ALL ViEWS AND PUSHES Y0U T0 Y0UR LiMiT...Y0U CAN TELL HE GENUiNELY CARES AB0UT BETTERiNG HiS STUDENTS...L0TS 0F WRiTiNG BUT iiT iiS ALWAYS ENJ0YABLE M0RES0 THAN CHALLENGiNG

by far the best teacher i have encountered at sjsu. he is so inspiring and extremely entertaining! the only class i really looked forward to attending. thank you RFJ (cause i know you check this) ;-)

ONLY TAKE HIS CLASS IF YOU LOVE WRITING. THE MAN IS SERIOUS AND CHALLENGING BUT IT IS WORTH LEARNING FROM HIM.

THANKS FOR AN INTERESTING CLASS FILLED WITH INSIGHTFUL DISCUSSIONS. GAVILAN DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE LOST. YOUR A GREAT TEACHER JAMES. IF UR NOT OPEN MINDED, THIS CLASS IS NOT FOR YOU...

Professor James is a wonderful teacher. He is funny and trys to make class as fun as possible. He likes to have lots of discussions and will give an impossible to pass pop quiz and be very irritated if people do not participate. This is KEY! Come on time to all his classes, do the reading and participate. Very enjoyable class.

Professor James is a wonderful teacher. He is funny and easy to talk to. He likes to have lots of discussions and will give an impossible to pass pop quiz and be very irritated if people do not participate. This is KEY! Come on time to all his classes, do the reading and participate. Very enjoyable class.

Great teacher! Super nice and really funny. Very few assignments and a few in-class essays. Make sure you voice your opinion on the readings if he asks you to. If no one speaks up there will be a quiz. Overall, he is super easy and extremely nice!!

Professor James is one of my favorite professors so far. He gets to the heart of English, and what really matters about it. It's not about over analyzing literature, and popping out a 5 paragraph essay. It's about appreciating literature, and learning how to articulate yourself. He expects you to write well/clearly, but for your sake not his.

This class was enlightening. Go to class, do the reading, and participate in the discussions, it'll make the class a lot more interesting.He loves teaching and he tells funny stories.His grading is tough but the class is awesome. Definitely take a class with Prof. James. and he's hot too!

I had a ton of fun in his Writing Fiction class. He didn't "teach" much, but if you like writing you know that teaching someone to write isn't really possible. He was very funny, cool, and I liked being in class with him. What more could you ask for?

I took his online class, so I only met him once, but I know for a fact that he's a really cool, laid back guy. His grading methods were easy, but he always provided really positive feedback. He really enjoys writing, and his examples were always really insightful and interesting. Would definitely take him again if I was an English major!

great guy, on the first day he had a 6 inch mohawk and sleeves of tattoos so he is deffinently different.. but great professor and an awesome guy, i learned a lot but he does not put too much feedback on your papers and did not respond to my emails too quickly sometimes.. overall i would recommend him

great teacher. enjoyable class if your on his good side. got to earn your grade, but he was a good teacher! way better teacher than my english 1A professor, i would definitely recommend him

I took the online class. Don't buy the books that are required for this class. I bought them and we didn't even touch them. Waste of money. This class was really easy if you know how to manage your time wisely. I only met him once and i had a stereotype of what I thought he'd look like. I really liked this class and i would take it again.

GREAT professor! He is very clear on what is required from his students. He is very insightful and treats you with plenty of great stories. He is one of those teachers that make you want to go to class every week.

Professor James is awesome! He's got a booming voice and has great stories. Lectures were never dull. Very straightforward. Grades fairly. Just do all the work and don't do anything that will make him upset!

He made me LOVE writing again. I had him for Creative Writing. Good sarcastic humor too lol

An awesome professor! He knows how to teach and he does it well. I took his technical writing class six years ago, and I've been a professional technical writer ever since. Wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for him, that's for damn sure.

He is a great teacher! I would take another class from him in a heartbeat! He was helpful and kept class fun and interesting! Take him if you can!

He is a really good teacher who knows what he is talking about! I'm an english major and i took him for both creative writing and english 1b. I recommend his classes to anyone! If you don't understand an assignment, he is definitely more than willing to help. take his classes!!

Prof. James is AWESOME! Have a discussion with him & you'll keep him happy. He's very laid back and chill during his lectures. Just go to class, it's worth it every time. He's not much about rules and following a calendar, which makes class more enjoyable as it goes. He's really intelligent and has a lot to say about the world outside of english.

he is one of the best teachers on campus !Take him !

He was the best teacher I've had so far. His mind is just full of so many opinions and he's always open to listen to other people's opinions. There was never no right or wrong answer in his class. He inspired me to speak out in class and inspired me to like my bike a lot more. lol He's a bicyclist so I kinda looked up to him cuz of that

JUST TAKE HIM ! you will definitely not regret it. He'll make you fall in love with the subject..

Robert is a really chill professor. He's different from the other English professors and makes class fun. He helped me better analyze a story and it's characterers. However I didn't learn anything new grammar and essay wise. Over all pretty good professor.

I really enjoyed this class. The writing assignments were fun and the workshops were helpful and overall he made the class one you didn't dread going to. The only thing I'd say you needed to do was show up - and on time! other than that he was super chill, funny and I would defs take another class of his.

The class is very laid back. Everyone gets an A as long as they turn in their assignments and final portfolio. I would take him again.

Cool professor. Actually learned a couple of life lessons from him. Pretty simple class, ended early frequently and several we're canceled. He makes a big deal for you to participate. Whole grade is kinda dependent on the last week when the only assignments the whole semester: the research paper, final exam essay, and analytical essay are due.

You have to take him. He has been my best English teacher as of yet.

Robert James was a very laid back professor, but he was very good at lecturing. He likes to relate his lectures to the real world or will even relate it to his own personal life. This makes it so much interesting. We had a couple of essay, per usual... it's an English class. Would take again.

Take him. He is relaxed and engaging. He is my favorite teacher in my whole schooling career. All you have to do is show up to class and get the assignments done that are as hard as they should be for a GE class. I took him for English 1A and English 2.

HE IS AWESOME! Perfect teacher for my first semester in college. His course is super easy! We get the best assignments. They are all interesting like "Write your own obituary." One time, we walked across school and stood on top of the olympics statue. We also made PB&Js and paper airplanes in class! HE CANCELS MORE THAN HALF THE CLASSES! I loved it

Great teacher. Wrote one page essays throughout the semester and for the final wrote a 2.5 pg essay. His lectures are super interesting and calls upon his life experiences, really engaging. Barely any hw. Cancels a lot of classes. One of my favorites, really amazing. No textbook.

Awesome professor! Make sure you participate, comment, and ask a lot of questions. Try to ask one question a day and you'll get a better grade than 90% of the students in class. That is the key to success and receiving an A in this class. All the essays are fun and Professor James has a fantastic character.

To this day I'm yet to find a professor with as captivating lectures. Very interesting discussions and an open-minded environment. I was actually excited to write essays for this class and would definitely recommend this class to anyone. (When I rated the textbook use section, we read paperback books/course reader, not an actual textbook)

Definitely a great professor! He really cares about students and their opinions, which makes class discussions interesting.

TAKE! My favorite professor! He's so inspirational & changed the way I look at life & the way I think. Love ending my days w/ him. Only 2 papers & reading a book that we have a class discussion about every class. Fairly easy as long as u show up to class & write decent. Show that you want to be there & participate. Love him. Makes it enjoyable. A!

Professor James is the BEST. He really cares about his students and understands that we have a life & other classes. The class was mostly class discussions from the course reader, the book we were assigned for the semester, and social issues. There is no midterm, but there is a presentation final. There is 1 research paper, 1 in class essay

One of the best professors I've ever had. He is so invested in his students and wants them all to achieve their dreams. The class was easy overall with 2 in class essays, 1 research paper, character analysis paper, a final presentation, and a lot of in class discussion. Participate because it will help your grade and it's really interesting .

James is probably the best professor I've had in the English department. Really connects with students and not afraid to get personal with someone if they have issues outside of class. Attendance, mandatory. Your grade is heavily affected by participation, so show up.

Professor James is with no doubt my favorite professor. He tries to connect with students on a personal level. You need to do the reading assignments and participate in class in order to get a good grade. Go to his office and have him proofread your papers for you - he's more than happy to do that. he's just an amazing person.

Professor James was so cool and inspiring. The class consisted of discussions from readings, group project, a few (2-3) writing assignments towards the end of the semester, class presentations, necessary purchase for a book. Highly recommend taking his class, Rob is very encouraging, funny, and philosophical in a way.

Classes aren't too serious, usually we go through a class where we talk about an assignment then do it then we go into critiquing one another. It's pretty easy and as long as something is turned in he's cool with it. Class gets cancelled upon occasion and it's a good way to end the day.

You need to speak up in this class, participation is 20% of your grade. Rent the book from the library, spend extra effort on the papers b/e you only have a few assignments. Show up to office hours to show that you care. He really is a great lecturer. Cancel classes a lot, ends classes very early at times too. Not an easy A if you don't talk.

PARTICIPATION MATTERS. There are only 2-3 main assignments. Pretty sure I ended up with an A because I made sure to speak at least once every lecture. You won't know your grade until after the semester. His grading criteria isn't very clear and he cancels class a lot. Overall, super cool and gets really personal and wants the best for students.

One of my favorite professors at SJSU great class with great lectures. He really cares for the students. PARTICIPATION is key in this class. Participate and you will pass the class. Only a couple major assignments.

He does not explain concepts for the essay very well, but will explain better if you ask him. He really does care for his students though his first impression is rather confusing.

Hes a real great guy! He has interesting stories to tell and you wont get bored. He has a sarcastic humor. He grades you on participation and other stuff.

Professor has great personality, cares about his students, assigns relatively few essays besides for a few major ones towards the end. If you want an A you have to participate every lecture. Only con is he cancels class a lot and doesn't give rubrics for essays. Show that you care about his class and you will at least get a B.

Had him for Eng 1A, great professor, learned so much about life in this class. Really funny and makes class fun to go to. Pretty laid back but make sure you do the work. We only had a few essays but as long as you try you'll be fine. I had a lot of fun in this class and normally dont like english, oh and always bring your course reader!!

BEST TEACHER EVER !!!!! please take him .. i wish i could take him again. inspired me every day to make the world a better place

He's overall inspirational. The classroom was a good atmosphere. However, I do say it's really important to work on crafting essays because he can be strict in terms of format. Annotations is one of the most important parts of the drafts he will check. It's always best to stay on top of assignments because grades aren't disclosed until the end.

He is one of the best teachers you will ever take! So funny, limited amount of work and is just an overall great person. He is so great at teaching as well. Best to take if you just want a chill class!

Robert is one of those professors that really care for their students and really show that he is there for them whenever you need him. The course overall doesn't follow your typical english course path, BUT you're going to like where he goes with all his lectures and life decisions. Participation REALLY MATTERS so be sure to always speak up.

I've despised English literature before, I was scared of Engl. classes. lol I am now in LOVE with books and cant wait to read for leisure. Yes! prof. James is inspirational! He enjoys teaching and really cares for his students. make sure you go to all his classes and do your homework. He's available if you need help. I dunno how to thank him..

He's a nice guy that's definitely approachable and who you could be friends with. He makes you buy a composition notebook and folder which we used like twice. (I don't even remember getting my folder back after turning it in midsemester). You really don't know your grade at all throughout the semester since he doesn't use Canvas. Cool I guess.

Go to class and participate in the conversation and he'll like you and give you a good grade. You do not need to be good at writing for this class. He is super cool and sometimes we go off topic the entire class but it's great conversations and gives life advice. Minimal reading and writing. Always lets us out early. Respectable man.

I absolutely LOVED his creative writing class. He was so engaging and funny and actually cares about your success. He is a very interesting person, and his assignments aren't hard. Doesn't use canvas so its difficult to know your exact grade, but he gives you an A if you do all the work and show up; there is extracredit to make up missing stuff

Got an A+ so it was pretty good! Love the books!

Professor James is an amazing professor. He doesn't use canvas and your grade is unknown for the whole semester, however, you can determine your grade based on your interest for the class. There are 2 major essays: research paper and character analysis. He will guide you step by step, so don't worry. He is an amazing professor in a unique way.

Love Robert James!!! Actually cares for his students and forms relationships versus some cold teachers that you cannot speak to. If you attend class you will get a good grade. He just wants you there to participate in classroom discussion which are super motivational a lot of the times. Don't need to be an awesome writer either. He is the best!

Prof. James is absolutely amazing. Spring 2020 semester took a huge turn obviously bc of COVID19 & he has been very supportive & understanding & caring. His lectures in person as well as online have been great and his personality makes for exciting lectures. He is very intelligent, so anything he talked about is interesting & engaging. Hes great!

Really nice prof. Participation matters more than work, make sure you talk. Very few assignments, but they were all easy. I liked the structure of this class, it's different from the normal "english type" class where you would do grammar and such. It was more of a free flow conversation class on topics that he would suggest.

Amazing professor!! He talks about real word stuff. Theres 2 or 3 bigger assignments towards the end but your grade is really based on your participation in the class! If I have one word of advice is to voice your opinion during discussions. You won't want to miss out on taking this class.

He's funny and would talk about his life a lot (mention his farm and he won't stop talking). Lots of papers and writing to do. A few group projects. Participation matters, he wants to hear discussions and questions. I would say he's a tough grader. No feedback on papers.

Awesome professor, this is my second class with him, I took a different class w/ him before. I appreciate the different approach to lecturing English, as through my educational career it has taught been dryly and often a bore. Professor James used engaging topics for our assignments and lectures that make them impactful and meaningful.

He's really great at making you think critically. He is the type of authority that makes you not want to let him down. He is very friendly, funny, and wants you succeed. He wants you to have the grade that YOU want, basically judged by how much you participate and how you develop your writing skills throughout the semester.