2.4
Quality3.1
Difficulty19%
Would Retake105
Reviews19%
Would Retake
105
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
12
4
15
3
18
2
33
1
27
What Students Say
“This guy is a terrible professor”
ENG311 - 1.0 rating“Awful professor but a good guy”
ENG311 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
82%
Textbook Required
47%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.20 avg changeRatings by Course
COS220
5.0
(1)ENG
5.0
(1)ENG100
5.0
(1)ENGL000
5.0
(1)ENGL274
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
ENG472
5.0
ENGC1101
5.0
ADVCOMP
4.3
110
4.0
ADVNCDCOMP
4.0
Reviews (105)
No Comments
he's the worst english teacher i have ever had.
Very confusing man who is not clear on what he wants...tough grader
No Comments
No Comments
In spite of these other comments, Archi is a GREAT professor! VERY intelligent!
so easy
No Comments
No Comments
Very dedicated, intelligent & loves english but sometimes unclear & grades tough
No Comments
No Comments
Archy was cool...he stutters a lot and isnt clear but he is nice
Smart guy..not too bad of a class---stutters a lot...i am glad i had him for comp.
If you go to him with your papers he will tell you what to change. Very very helpful. Sorta boring but what english class isn't?? I liked it
He is a great teacher and pretty easy as long as you keep up with all the work!!!
once you get past the st-st-studdering, he is pretty good, not hard to get an A if you do the work.
Great Prof. & has a sense of humor when he gets over the shyness. Let him tell you about his life -- too cool. Tries to work with you and gets back to you if you contact him. Thanks, Archy.
No Comments
I had Archibald for advanced writing. He was GREAT! Very helpful and willing to work with his students!
Awesome
I hated him. He sucked sooooooooooo much. He was so liberal, he had a lisp and he was BORING as all hell!!!
He starts out like he wants to help you out but all he does is say ten different things and you are expected to decide whihc one is right. he refused to grade a paper of mine. I do not think he like dme very much on top of it!...not cool
He seemed okay at first. But after that it went down hill. If you want someone who is clear with their thoughts and is capable of explaining those thoughts in a way that allows you to understand, don't take him!
DR A you rule. I had you this summer and you were very compassionate, funny, and fair. You brought breakfast in for us...that was unexpected and appreciated. Awesome sarcastic sense of humor.
Had him for Advanced Comp over the Summer...easy class! Super helpful too. Got back to you as soon as possible.
Not too bad. Grades pretty easily and the paper's aren't that difficult. Times when he was a little difficult to understand but just because he knew what he wanted to say but not how to say it. Hardest thing was staying awake from 6-9pm
A good teacher. One of the best english teachers I've had. Helps you with papers and the class is really easy.
HORRIBLE< Don't take him, he is not a good teacher, all he cares about is himself, and he thinks he knows everything. I think he is **** and he is ****. HATED HIM!!!, but I still got an A because I earned it and I didn't kiss his butt.
He grades really easy, do the papers and u will do well. Really hard to follow, studders A LOT. He's helpful though so overall not a bad teacher.
VERY HARD to follow, but easy class, classes mean nothing since you are mainly graded on papers which have nothing to do with classes, overall not a bad guy
He tends to jump around a lot and has a severe anger problem. Make him made and watch him studder. It's funny.
He's a real nice guy, the class was really easy. The only thing is that he studders and its kinda annoying. But as long as you do your papers its an easy A.
No Comments
His topics were so far out in left field that I spent more time (and fellow classmates too) trying to decide what to write than actually writing the papers. Not easy to understand what he wanted to accomplish in the class. Grade inflater.
Quite simply my least favorite class at Millersville. Topics are far too vague and touchy-feely. My superior writing ability goes to waste in this class. He stands up there and fumbles around like an idiot.
Very confusing when describing work.
I never hated a professor before taking this class, and now I do. Made us write about the 60s so he, as an old hippy, could live vicariously through our papers. The assignments are worthless and he nitpicks on your writing, and not in a constructive manner.
I hate this class, I hate this professor. Never take anything from him!!!!! How can such a huge idiot become a prefessor?!?!?!?
Prof. A is just a really nice guy. He remembered my name all through my college career, and always said hi. His classes were a bit dry, but he was always there if you needed help. At times he was a bit difficult to follow, because of a stammer, but he really got me interested in good writing.
took it online and he never posted things in a timely manor
He makes me doubt the entire Higher Education System. How this angry, bitter man has a job here (or anywhere) is beyond me. He is is simply the worst professor in the history of continues education.
Terrible teacher- do not take this class if you don't have to! His assignments are very confusing and the only input you get about your papers are when he smacks a grade and negative comments on them. If you have low self esteem, he'll make it lower..
very boring class
He has a problem speeking to the class he will studer very bad.
The guy has a Ph.D in English and PETA=PITA, quiz=quizz, many=meny according to him. He stutters, probably from continued drug use during his youth. He is an old hippie fixated on the 60s-its all you'll read/write on. Assigments are unclear, and useless. Avoid this Prof like the plague.
He is a horrible professor, should never teach, i dont think he actually knows how. he helps but only if u want to know where the writing center is. Stuck in the 60's, may actaully have althimers and be mentally stuck in the time period as well... look for someone else!!! thats all i can say
Took it online. bad idea. He's very disorganized. This might be an easy class in person, but his style is definitely not suited to online instruction. Two thumbs down.
Boring as hell. The stutter was annoying. He also told me that I was too young to write because I didn't have enough life experiences. He was really boring and I hated every minute in class, however, I was able to get an A from him. (Just make sure you
No Comments
Wow, he was emotionally offended by ALL of our essays on 2 out of 3 essays he assigned and hated them. It's impossible to figure out what he wants in your essays, and he is not afraid to give the whole class bad grades, even though he knows it's his fault (and admits it). The stutter is god awful, and he's rude to non-trad students.
Took it online, during winter. Some strange writing, but easy to do. Reply promptly to discussion boards and will get a good grade, graded promptly, easy class, fair amount of work so take it during an easy semester, got nothing but As or A- in everything, if people did poorly it's because they didn't put enough effort into their writing
I'm taking it online now and I'm ready to KILL MYSELF. Totally disoragnized and unclear. Doesn't get back to questions promtly. I disagree with if you do the work you get an A and if not you didn't put effort it. I worked my ass off on the first essay and got a C. I'm just not a good writer, don't generalize that everyone is.
Excellent writing teacher. If you are incapable of abstract thought and bitter about it, don't take his class (from my experience, those who hated the class didn't really want to try). If you are intelligent, interested in writing, and want to make a potentially abysmal comp. class into a warm and creative experience, Archy's your man.
I took his class last spring (2005), and I thought he was average. The class was boring, but he did get me to come out in my writing, and quite frankly I think I needed that as far as creative writing goes. I think he was an alright prof, and for all of you illin' on his strutter...thats ignorant and rude...chill-out!
Very disorganized! He responds slowly to questions and takes forever to grade assignments. He even retro-posted announcements. Very stressful and annoying. All that said, I faired pretty well. Use caution!
I took this class online, and it was one of the most stressful months of my live. He's is very unclear in his directions, and if you ask him to clarify them, he just sends you back to the assignment sheet that confused you to begin with! I got a B+, but I worked my butt off for it.
this is the absolute worst teacher i have ever had. he told me to drop out of college because i did bad on one test.
Do not take his class unless you absolutely have to! He told my whole class we're bad writers, and that we're not geniuses like Shakespeare or, get this, Marx! He's very unclear in his directions and only gives negative comments on your papers. Also, he's closed-mindedly stuck in his extremely liberal views.
He was disorganized and unclear. He grades slow. I had to change my topic on my last essay several times merely because he did not like my topic. I passed the last essay with a B: half the class failed. There is something wrong if the class is not "average." Anyway, I found the class was generally frustrating.
Boring lectures that often had little to do with the assignment. Grading system also seems bias. If he's personally interested in your topic, you'll receive a higher grade
this guy is my hero i look up to him just like i look up to batman or george w bush
He is one of the most mentally unstable professors in Millersville University. Somehow he is the chair to the English department. I will never forget the day he starting crying in class my freshman year. Also he tells you to write papers but is never clear on what exactly he wants you to write about.
DO NOT take him. I had him for online comp. and I had no free time at all. I worked constantly on assignments. When I e-mailed him for questions he acted as if my questions were a bother. I didn't even learn anything. It wasn't about how well you could write but how well you could comply with his writing style.
I just finished taking this class online. I like Dr. A. His class was hard. A semester full of writing condensed into four weeks kind of tells you ahead of time it is going to be hard. Dr. A is very honest in his feedback. He was easy to get in touch with and returned grades quickly. This class is not for those who want an easy grade.
Fits of stuttering and his staged sob session, disorganized with his assignments, bias towards certain students (seems to particularly favor females). Failed a large part of his class on the final paper. Upon discussing my paper with him, had the nerve to ask how "the hell" I was passing his course as if he expected me to fail entirely.
Dr. Archibald is a good professor. He usually teaches online classes, so if you have him for a regular class everything will most likely be online. Yes, he stutters, but it's not like he does it on purpose. Stuttering is something that some people can't help. I would definitely take a class with Dr. Archibald again, he knows what he's doing.
Don't take his internet class. He doesn't teach you anything about the English language. You just spend all of you time learning useless software.
Professor is very unclear about what he expects of his students until after a rough draft is already completed and turned in. As long as you put forth effort, should be an easy class to pass, but it seems grading is fairly spotty. Attendance is mandatory but the lectures are meaningless.
Visual Rhetoric: I loved this class. Seems to me that the people who did well in this class were engaged and slightly older/more mature. I believe perhaps an immature student would have some challenges since they are "sometimes" more self-centered and don't have the life experience to pull into the discussions and asgnmts. Take if you like Art/Engl
This class was very challenging, however... It was extremely well organized, prof was more than helpful and I learned a lot. Thank you, Dr. Archibald for a great class.
He is difficult to listen to, and the class material is very abstract, so you have to pay attention. It is very annoying because he relies entirely on online work. This class was spread over 4 different sites, and it got very irritating. The work load is manageable, and he is a very sweet man. I would take him again.
As long as you do the work and can turn out decently written papers, then you should do fine in the class. However, the professor's instruction is unclear and his revision comments are not helpful. It isn't a hard class, but I would recommend saving yourself the frustration and just taking it with another professor.
Archibald may be difficult to understand, but he genuinely cares. Talk to him, and he'll do what he can to help. Visual Rhetoric was one of my favorite classes because it was easy but flexible enough to let me be creative with assignments. I recommend taking it.
GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN. He is not helpful. He only likes papers written his way. And honestly, I'm a good writer. I enjoy writing and reading, always have. But NOT this class. I definitely wish I wouldn't have taken him.
Engl Comp - This class was tough. I consider myself a good writer and enjoy it and this class really turned my whole world upside down. He showed us what made a paper OK and what made a paper out of this world good. He presses his students for out of this world good so be ready. As long as you do the work you'll get a B - Trust me ;)
Terrible professor. He is so mean!!! He talks and uses words that is way beyond our understanding and makes us redo papers, and tells us in a mean way. Meanest MU professor ever. I'm a good writer, but that doesn't matter. You have to write how he likes it.
Don't take this course unless you are easily manipulated into writing stupid, pointless assignments while getting vague instructions from an idiot who writes on a third grade level. There is no point in taking this class unless you are ready to hate every aspect of writing.
Awful. Run while you can.
Easy to get a B in the class, as long as you do the assignments. However, he's not helpful or clear with what he wants. He'll always find things wrong with your writing, and will always be very vague on what he wants. The writing assignments were interesting, but his feedback isn't helpful.
Be ready to use all of your printing allowances. Sure he stutters sometimes but he is still comprehensible. Just be patient with him and he will be patient with you. He is very sweet. However, he expect a lot out of your memoirs and sometimes he can be a little confusing but if you ask right away it will be fine.
Although he seemed like a sweet man, he was extremely hard to listen to. His lectures are very long and boring and he is hard to understand due to a stutter. Normally a good student, but his assignments and directions are unclear. Took paper in for his review and made me redo the whole thing because he didn't care for the topic. Avoid if you can.
Attendance and small writing prompts are stupid and take up a lot of time. Archibald copy and pastes feedback on your papers and is rarely ever satisfied. If you revise your pointless paper to his feedback, you're pretty much guaranteed an A in the class, but it almost isn't worth the stress. Don't buy the book, readings can be found on google.
Def. one of my fav. professors at MU! He's just amazing. Super sweet and seriously not hard to understand. Yes, he has a stutter but it's def. not as bad as some of these reviewers are making it out to be - you can understand him! He's always willing to help and give feedback and also is very supportive.
Goes out of his way to attempt to fail students or give them a bad grade. If you do not follow his personal views then he will hate you regardless of the kind of person you are.
I wish he never took attendance because his lectures are pointless and you won't learn anything from him. His lectures are literally him telling you how to navigate his D2L page to start the next paper. His assignment descriptions are vague but not vague enough that you can't pass with ease. The papers you write are also pointless. Easy B+ or A
He's a nice enough guy, but that's not enough to be a good professor. Often acts depressed and whines about how hard it is to deal with sad current events. Posts everything on google docs for you to read but reads it all to you anyway. Papers are graded on how well you revised according to his comments, which he gives without thoroughly reading.
Archibald is very organized and everything is easily laid out for you online. He gives great feedback that helps better your writing. Sometimes his guidelines are incredibly difficult to understand and comprehend the first time. This course has 4 major papers and many discussions. You'll be reading essays and looking at them from a critical view.
I took Archibald's online ENG110 course. He is extremely unclear with what he wants besides his way or the highway. His directions don't make sense half the time. The format for the online course is confusing and you will always have a million tabs open. There were also multiple occasions where he was very rude over D2L or email. Never again.
This class was full of so many pretentious people, and Archibald was just insufferable most lectures. Ridiculous attendance policy (4 classes missed-dropped letter grade, 5 classes missed- automatic failed class) for a 2 time a week 430-515 class. I literally couldn't take anything out of this class because it was so ridiculous.
There's a learning curve to the way he organizes things but it's easy once you get it. There's lots of work, including a weekly paper and daily assignments. He's a bit vague on what he wants on his assignments and his feedback. If you revise them as he says, you'll do ell.
He is very vague in his explanations of assignments. Basically, be prepared to write a rough draft with little to no understanding of the prompt. He's very boring to listen to and rambles on and on in his screencasts. Also, be prepared to do four or five hours of homework each night of the course.
Dr. Archibald is a good guy. The students who criticize him are the ones who don't like to write. Maybe this is a required course, and you don't like to write?? He gives feedback to students to help with their writing. He is paid to do that. FYI, that is why you are taking the course. To improve. I have learned much from his comments on my papers.
Awful professor but a good guy. His classes are pointless and his explanations for assignments do not make any sense and gets frustrated when no one understands his instructions.
This guy is a terrible professor. Hes constantly rambling about the most random things, and his classes have no structure. Hell pick your assignments apart for the smallest error, and its his way or nothing. Be prepared to fail if you dont completely parrot his ideas. I dont understand how hes even allowed to teach. DO NOT TAKE HOS CLASS!!
This was one of the hardest classes I've taken. If you're taking this because you think it will be an easy gen ed requirement, think again. Be prepared to put in the work to get a good grade. As long as you complete the assignments on time and review his feedback when you revise your papers, you'll do fine.
I took Dr. Archibald's ENG311.50 online class for the Summer Session 1 2018. Overall, it was one of the most difficult classes I have ever taken. There were mandatory assignments every day for 4 weeks. The schedule included 1-2 papers a week on top of readings, peer editing, and discussion posts. I worked HARD and received a B.
Dr. Archibald is a horrible professor. In class he just reads of his Google docs assignment pages, weekly reading response essays, essays about an essay that you're about to write (SRA), does not teach at all, can be rude at times, brings politics into class a lot, calls on you even if not raising hand. I highly do not recommend Dr. A.
Dr. Archibald is the best. It's extremely difficult to give students, me one of them, good advice about how to improve their papers. He does! I think many students have a problem with that because they don't want to actually learn how to improve their writing. It's hard for us students to be critiqued, but that is what is needed.
Dr. Archibald was very helpful when it came to how to reviewing papers. Although his class was very confusing when it came to assignments and his explanations were a bit dull. Get ready to write because his assignments require a lot of writing.
I have always been an excellent writer and love it, but this professor made me hate it. Literally no point to his lectures and always a thousand times more complicated than the assignment should be. His assignments, lectures, grading and emails are vague/unhelpful/rude. I never do ratings but do not take him. He is a good guy, pointless professor.
Dr. Archibald's class was a real asset to my writing. We learned a lot in class and he was also willing to meet with me outside class and help even further. He seems to care about his students and is inspired when our work sees improvement
The extent of the feedback I received during this class was "needs revised". Thanks. On top of that he not only once, but twice gave me a failing grade on a paper for "not submitting a final draft". When emailing him about it, he admitted that the draft was there, and then ignored me. On the bright side, he gives out like 6 extra credit points.
If you want to learn how to write more effectively this isn't your class. Instead, you'll learn to write the way Dr. Archibald prefers. Loads of busywork, little to no feedback, and the worst Google Docs experience you'll ever have. Turn things in on time, learn his preferences, and you'll get good grades.
His organization strategy is questionable at best. Good luck navigating the maze he's created through Google docs. He always looks for something very specific in the assignments he gives. He taught me that there is some secret writing rule where it's unprofessional to use adjectives. Still feels like a fever dream. Take someone else if you can.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
82%
Textbook Required
47%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.20 avg changeRatings by Course
COS220
5.0
(1)ENG
5.0
(1)ENG100
5.0
(1)ENGL000
5.0
(1)ENGL274
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
ENG472
5.0
ENGC1101
5.0
ADVCOMP
4.3
110
4.0
ADVNCDCOMP
4.0