Paul Calkins

ENG13B · ENGL1B · ENG1A · ENGL1A · ENG11A · ENGLISH1A · ENGL1C · ENG102 · ENG1B · ENGLI1A · ENGL11B · 41 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 48/100
RMP rating: 3.0/5
Take again: 66.67%
Difficulty: 3.1

The decision

if you write well, show up, and can handle a .

Best fit · Effort For RewardPolarizing lecturerTough essay graderClear grading criteriaParticipation valuedReading heavy

Students split hard between caring mentor and .
and often feel subjective; quizzes and .
Attendance and participation matter; falling behind or skipping class hurts.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

FairEffort

56/100

Many students earn A or B by doing the reading and essays, but and few graded items make a high A feel earned, not free.

and sparse assignments; in-person reviews more often say easy if you stay on top of work.

Is the course easy?

Standard

52/100

Content is standard composition and literature work with , but pace and essay standards still challenge weaker writers.

and writing; online comments emphasize weekly book reading and quizzes.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

28/100

and tag Skip class? You won't pass, so showing up is treated as required.

; online attendance notes are mixed.

Is this professor recommended?

Depends

58/100

About two-thirds would take him again, but strong warnings about bias, boredom, and .

Recent online fans balance older and in-person critics; tone varies more by student fit than by format alone.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

44/100

Clear rubrics help some students, yet Tough grader and opinion-based scoring complaints keep leniency middling.

Format shift

Online and .

Workload

Moderate

48/100

Expect , and homework rather than a light load, though some call it easier than other English classes.

Format shift

Online students stress weekly reading; .

Teaching experience

Average

50/100

Praise for passion and , weak help, and disorganization.

Format shift

Polarization appears in both formats, with .

Assessment method

FocusOnAssignments

38/100

, and a few quizzes rather than a pure exam model.

Format shift

Online notes sparse assignments that matter a lot; and quizzes.

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 Effort For Reward

some call him knowledgeable and fair if you participate, others call lectures boring, unhelpful, and emotionally graded.

Main concern

Mandatory-feeling attendance with uneven lecture value and .

What students said

“Paul is a dynamo prof, knows his stuff, and is easy to communicate with.”
ENG1A

“ , but will happily put you down.”
ENGL1A

“His class is an easy A if you do the assignments, but it's far from enjoyable.”
ENGL1B

Remote format

Online

8 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

Online students praise flexible deadlines and feedback but and .

Main concern

Few high-stakes graded items and .

What students said

“Easily one of , and one who I ended up taking multiple classes from.”
ENG1B

“He graded based off if he agreed with your opinion rather than the quality of the assignment.”
ENG1A

“ and a lot of .”
ENGL11B

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Assessment centers on essays and reading quizzes more than high-stakes proctored finals, with .

QuizzesEssay-heavy gradingMultiple choice quizzesReading-based quizzes

Assessment risk

Standard

52/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person reviews mention quizzes that are not hard and .

Quizzes not hardEssay-focusedParticipation matters

“ , but the so.”
ENGL1A

“ .”
ENG1B

Online

Online comments highlight weekly reading quizzes and .

Reading quizzesEssay gradingDiscussion grading

“You will only pass the - so do it!”
ENGL11B

“He grades harder in .”
ENG11A

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“ if you want an easy A, he's not your man.”
Voice snapshots generated from 42 reviews spanning online and and grading themes. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

50/100

“Calkins is excellent, but an acquired taste.”

👍 Recommendation Split

58/100

“I don't know why this professor is rated so low! He's great at setting reasonable times to complete the essays.”

⚖️

44/100

“ if your opinions weren't aligned with his rather than the quality of your work.”

📚 Workload Reality

48/100

“Any English class requires extensive reading and writing, but his schedule made it easier to manage than most.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

His lectures can be boring, but pay attention
He is unenthusiastic and monotone during his lectures
Liked his style.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

Easy if you stay on top of things.
and a lot of .
His class is an easy A if you do the assignments, but it's far from enjoyable.

Theme 3

❤️ About Character

He really cares and understands that students have lives outside of school.
Seems like a .
Stay far, far away, those that care about English.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

84/100

Evidence confidence

42 reviews across many years with detailed, polarized comments give a stable picture despite some older sparse posts.

Inside 42 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 513

4 out of 58

3 out of 54

2 out of 57

1 out of 510

Course coverage

ENG1A9 reviews

ENGL1A9 reviews

ENGL1B9 reviews

ENG1B6 reviews

ENG11A2 reviews

Show 6 more courses

ENGLISH1A2 reviews

ENG1021 review

ENG13B1 review

ENGL11B1 review

ENGL1C1 review

ENGLI1A1 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

20 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 2 · A 9 · A- 1

B range

B+ 2 · B 3

C range

C+ 1

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Drop/Withdrawal 2

Paul Calkins

x x x if you write well, show up, and can handle a x x x x.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

FairEffort

Standard

Mandatory

Depends

See how this professor fits your week.

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

In person

Online

See what students actually said.

🎯 Teaching Quality

👍 Recommendation Split

⚖️ x x

📚 Workload Reality

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

❤️ About Character

See exactly what the AI read.

Quality ratings

Course coverage

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

A range

B range

C range

D range

F

No letter grade reported

if you write well, show up, and can handle a .

⚖️