The contents of the course are not bad, but the peer review system is an absolute failure. If you enroll into this course get ready to get absolutely no useful feedback. It is ridiculous that the course is called English composition and yet 70% of my peers were unable to speak or write english properly. I'm not an english native speaker but I consider that my english is decent enough to do my assignments properly, that's why it is so frustrating that I spent time reviewing carefully other people's texts only to get absolute crap in return either by people who can't speak english, or by english speakers that are so lazy that they can't make a little effort to give you any sort of useful feedback. So don't waste your time. You can find all the knowledge that this course offers in other sites without having to waste your time with dumb or lazy peers.

I don't recommend this course because it is not well constructed. There is obvious mismatch between what is taught and what is tested. For example, in week 5, the content is about annotated bibliography, but the assignment is a case study and the evaluation questions consist of how effective introduction and conclusion are. It confused many students.

The class offers only links to online sites on how to write a case study. There are plenty of business classes devoting the entire class on how to write a case study. How can the teacher in this introduction to writing class expect new student to write a case study without at least a lecture on what it is, what it consists of and how to write it.

Furthermore, it is only a week later (in week #6), there are lectures on introduction and conclusion. Shouldn't they been taught in week #5 if students are asked to evaluation others' works on introduction and conclusion in week #5?

There is fundamental issue (Chronology between lectures and assignments) in this class and it should be reviewed and corrected before given to the public. It is only one of the two classes I took in coursera as tests. I would say "buyers beware". Don't be fooled by the universities.

I suggest the provider to review the course material and improve quality. Because at current offering, it is below standards. It is confusing, like confused writing to readers or students.

Sincerely,

Amy

I am so very disappointed and angry with Coursera. The peer review and grading methodology must seem good as a theory but in practice, it has been an absolute fail. Add to that, the inability to have my work graded promptly - especially when it's turned in on time - but also add in the impossibility to get someone to respond to my questions or concerns. My peer reviewers seem to be unable to comprehend the basic fundamentals of the English language. It is very frustrating to receive feedback that is inaccurate with nothing objective to add. This happened not once or twice but over and over again. I've had my wife (who has several degrees and writes as a profession, along with my GED teacher, to review my work and they are baffled right along with me as to why my peers fail my work assignments. If this is the best Coursera can do - you have a failing model. My experience has taught me not to bother with purchasing a course either. This has been a HUGE waste my time and energy.

Very helpful for writers and future career writers. Plus the professor is extremely down to earth. Was not expecting that and I forgive her for being a Duke fan. Go Tar Heels!!!! jk jk

Helpful, informative, and engaging! I've always been at the top of my classes in English, but this is helping me sharpen my skills even more and apply them to my life.

Hard work and worth it! Grateful for the opportunity. Fully recommend it for anyone who is serious about learning to write clearly and improve their prose.

The course hardly taught me anything about academic writing. Very little was taught about how to actually write a piece and random aspects were discussed. Only in week 8 is the basic structure of how to write an essay even touched upon. Everything is peer reviewed and there is no standardization. A very over rated course and it was terribly disappointing to do.

going through 10 weeks study, I learned a lot., this course is quite helpful. though I am major in biological science, I still learn a lot from this class, especially in other fields. thanks~

I would highly rate this course to anyone interested in writing, professional or otherwise. I started out taking this course thinking that it would help me on a creative side. I never paid attention to English writing and decided to make amends with the course. In first few classes, I was a bit disappointed to see focus on citations. But then I persisted as I liked Dr Comer's patient teaching style. By week 3-4, it all started to make sense. I learned how to have a strong opening and closing, how to make a case, how to keep reader engaged, how to weave personal stories to humanize a topic, how to write for technical/ scientific readers, how to weave in images, etc. Dr. Comer, thanks for an engaging course! Good luck to all others who wish to take this course to improve their English Composition, I'd highly recommend it.

It is a beautiful course where you will learn about the wonderful thing about creating with your words and how to transmit it to the public. Highly recommended.

I am so lucky to get enrolled in this course. It introduced me to the nuanced ways of Academic research writing and Publishing the Papers. Thank you so much to the Instructor and course coordinators.

This course was a blast to learn through, I've learned so much about using methods of how to write effectively which fundamentally changed the ways of how I should approach writing my own story.

I very excited to get this certificate and improved my knowledge writing and skills to get better understand for create a fiction with rules that I learned in Duke University

This course is another gem on coursera. This must be the best site for academic studying, especially when that entails getting somebody from zero knowledge to an almost advanced knowledge of the topic in question.

The tutor is extremely friendly, helpful and accurate in establishing a framework for writing, on which, we, as students, can build slowly a "scaffolding" (as one text refers to it), and, as a result, become better writers. The best way to learn writing is through continuous practice and the practice of a variety of genres, both of which are present in the course :)

This course is extremely manageable, simple, concise and teaches us skills which are required and that enrich writing growth. This went above and beyond my expectations. The peer reviews are effective and the feedback is great. Professor Denise Comer went above and beyond with this course.

I considered the course as a great introduction to the process of scientific writing and its codes. We develop an awareness of the act of writing, according to an argumentative structure with texts aimed at specific audiences. The course increased my power and pleasure in writing.

It was an invigorating experience, as I learned and will continue to learn how to express my ideas better, for different purposes, as well as to address them to different readers.

Interesting course, introducing writing for different purposes and encouraging participants to offer and receive valuable feedback. Challenging assignments, enchanting journey! I gave 4 instead of 5 stars because of the structure: the order of lessons, videos etc is rather inconvenient. Great pieces of advice are left for the end, after all assignments are completed (had they been put in the beginning, we might have had an opportunity to actually reap the benefits and improve our writing). Also, make sure you watch/read everything a week has to offer before you move on to the assignment (the stuff following the assignment is the most important).

When I chose this course named “English Composition 1”, I didn’t know nor was I expecting that I will gain so much from this course, that I will leave as a confident writer who can write anything whatever given as a challenge. From writing about personal feelings, my goals and fears and to writing an Op-Ed article, I learned Creative Writing. I started this course from a common literature student and ended up being a writer myself.

After starting this course, I was asked firstly to write under this heading “I am a Writer”, this thing created so much confidence in me, because before that, I was not considering myself a writer, but when the instructor told that how I am also a writer, my confidence in writing increased.

I gained so much knowledge and skills from next 3 Major Projects. I got beautiful feedback from Peers. Throughout this course, I enjoyed writing and getting feedback from different people who new nothing about my own self but analyzed my writing. Nothing can be more neutral than that. I must say Peer Review system is a great success. We come to know about our short comings and strengths and I am thankful to the "Self Reflection" Quizzes which made me reflect on my writing.

Now after this course, I have confidence in my writing that I can write about anything. This course is so beneficial for the beginners as well as other writers who want to enhance their writing skills. I am so much great-full to the team of this course. They have created a beautiful course for writers. I recommend everyone who want to become a writer, to choose this course. It's sublime.

This was a very enjoyable course. If you do all the work seriously you can really stretch your skills. Dr. Denise Comer has worked very hard to provide all the prompts you need to explore your skills as a writer. She is encouraging at all times and has a very friendly and relaxed style and also an immense amount of knowledge on the subject.