This class isn't the kind that you're going to "enjoy," but it is probably worth it to take it anyways, especially if you're coming into UVic with limited writing experience. If you're not already a good writer, expecting your writing to get critiqued like crazy, and expect weekly writing assignments (although usually only a few hundred words). Its also not the most interesting content at all - do you want to attend a whole lecture on just topic sentences? However, the class is definitely worth it in the end if as you'll gain the confidence to write good essays, something you'll have to do sooner or later. Also, if you're scared of the library or doing "research" (like me!), you'll find the class very useful as research skills is one of the major topics of the class. Whether you like it or...read more

All the basics of academic writing: summarizing, rhetoric/writing persuasively, research skills, editing skills, citational practice, writing research papers.

Dr. Day is the kind of prof that you'll hate at the beginning of the semester but he gets better toward the end of the semester. Compared to some of the other ATWP profs, he was often deliberately vague about some of the assignments, but this was beneficial in the end as his lectures were applicable in a more broader sense - he taught how to write, not how to succeed in ATWP. On the whole, his lectures were interesting (for a writing class), and were generally quite useful. He's also a very hard grader (especially about grammatical errors), but gives good feedback that you can use to improve your writing. Don't take his class expecting an easy A if you're not already a good writer. Dr. Day also held 3 office hours/week and was very open to questions, which was great.

If you've not naturally a good writer, expect to get bad grades on the first few assignments (that was me). However, it does get better! Be prepared to make serious changes to your writing process and/or spend lots of time editing your writing, but it is possible to improve your grades if you do poorly on the first few assignments.