AI Rate Professor

Foothill College · English

James McDonald

ENGLISH101 · ENG1A · ENGL1A · INTRO110 · ENGLISH110 · ENGLISH1A · ENG110 · ENGL1 · ENGLISH100 · ENGL110 · ENGLI110 · 34 lifetime ratings

AI rating
52/100
RMP rating
3.9/5
Take again
35.29%
Difficulty
4.1

The decision

, but if you need an easy grade or a GPA-safe transfer class.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerTough graderHeavy writingStrong feedbackGrammar focusedGPA risk
  • Students often respect McDonald's knowledge and feedback, but many describe the class as harsh and time consuming.
  • Getting an A is difficult because and many students report mostly C-level outcomes.
  • , not students protecting a transfer GPA.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

30/100

Students repeatedly say A grades are hard because and often gives C-level grades.

, while the lone online review reports an A+ but still says work is required.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

32/100

The course is intellectually and practically demanding because it , and many essays.

In-person evidence shows a consistently challenging writing course, while the but is more positive.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

25/100

Reviews mention quizzes, paper-based work, lectures, and .

In-person reviews show attendance matters, while the .

Is this professor recommended?

Depends

48/100

but warn against him for GPA protection and transfer goals.

In-person recommendation is polarized, while the single online review is positive.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Harsh

18/100

Many students call him a tough or and , and low A rates.

Format shift

, while the online review suggests some deadline leniency but .

Workload

Heavy

24/100

The class has lots of essays, grammar work, quizzes, and writing practice, making the workload heavy.

Format shift

Both formats mention substantial writing, but and more consistent workload pattern.

Teaching experience

Average

68/100

He is knowledgeable and can improve writing, but his teaching style is polarizing, strict, and sometimes unengaging.

Format shift

and strong frustration, while the online review is positive.

Assessment method

FocusOnAssignments

22/100

Grades , and writing assignments rather than exams.

Format shift

Both formats emphasize essays and writing work, with .

Luni fit check

Weigh these signals against your actual schedule.

Get help balancing workload, grading, and timing when no option is an obvious fit.

Course format

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Classroom format

In person

34 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

In-person reviews describe a knowledgeable, demanding teacher with , and strong learning outcomes.

Main concern

work hard.

What students said

“ and if you are a transfer student like me.”
ENG1A
“Lots and lots of writing!”
ENG1A
“It's a challenging course but the .”
ENG110

Remote format

Online

1 reviews

Low confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

The single online review is positive and says he was flexible with one deadline while .

Main concern

The course still includes long essays and requires steady work.

What students said

“ and you really learn a lot in his class if you put in the work.”
ENGL110

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Reviews focus on essays and quizzes more than exams, and they do not clearly prove proctoring, open-book rules, or a .

Essay HeavyQuizzes MentionedFinal MentionedNo Clear Proctoring Evidence

Assessment risk

Varies

55/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

and a final, but exam rules are not clearly described and papers dominate the assessment evidence.

QuizzesFinal MentionedPaper-Based Work
“ .”
ENG1A
“Dude gave me a B in the class when I had As on 4/7 essays and aced the final.”
ENGLISH1A
“old-fashioned and .”
ENG1A

Online

The online review mentions a 6-8 page research assignment but does not clearly .

Research Essay
“third out-of-class essay (6-8 page research assignment)”
ENGL110

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“You will learn a lot on how to improve your writing, but you also learn a lot of unnecessary things like history of the language.”

Voice snapshots generated from 35 reviews, highlighting key themes in , and recommendation fit; credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

68/100

“He actually teaches you! ;)”

⚖️

18/100

“Need to be close to perfect to get an A.”

📚 Workload

24/100

“Lots and lots of writing!”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • He is very smart and knowledgeable, he has been teaching at Foothill since 1970s.
  • He actually teaches you! ;)
  • The professor is very knowlegable and kind, and I definitely learnt a lot in this class.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

  • and if you are a transfer student like me.
  • He gave more failing grades than As.
  • This guy knows everything about writing. He LITERALLY only gives you a though.

Theme 3

📝 About Workload

  • Class includes 8 essays.
  • The class entails a lot of writing (I mean it is an but not if you want to keep your GPA high for transfer.
  • hard class lot of material to digest in a short time.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

35

Recent reviews read by the AI

34

Lifetime ratings

92/100

Evidence confidence

The analysis uses 35 reviews across a long time span with detailed and highly and heavy writing.

Inside 35 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 518
4 out of 58
3 out of 53
2 out of 51
1 out of 55

Course coverage

ENG1A12 reviews
ENG1109 reviews
ENGL1105 reviews
ENGLI1102 reviews
ENGL11 review
Show 6 more courses
ENGL1A1 review
ENGLISH1001 review
ENGLISH1011 review
ENGLISH1101 review
ENGLISH1A1 review
INTRO1101 review

Reported outcomes

B range results lead the reported letter grades.

16 reported outcomes

A range

3

A+ 1 · A 1 · A- 1

B range

5

B+ 2 · B 3

C range

4

C+ 2 · C 1 · C- 1

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

4

Drop/Withdrawal 1 · Not sure yet 2 · Pass 1