MDST 2700

Professor Kelly has been teaching this class for a while, and he's definitely an expert in the field of print journalism. The class requires 1 or 2 2-paged papers per week. Grading can be tough in the beginning, but once you figure out what Prof. Kelly is expecting, your grades will improve. The key to getting an A in the class is showing improvement! Definitely only take this class if you're okay with writing every week, but overall it's worth taking!

This is a fantastic class. Prof. Kelly is an expert in his field-- he has been a journalist for more than 30 years, and it shows. Not only does he understand (and aptly teach) the craft of news writing, he is chock full of entertaining anecdotes about people he has interviewed, tough deadlines, and dealing with editors. The class structure is one day a week discussing a "type" of writing (features, obituaries, speeches, etc.) and one day writing a 2-page article in that style. The grading is tough and sometimes inconsistent, but Kelly is primarily concerned with your effort-- as long as you gradually improve, he'll be happy. There's not much reading or hw outside of class. I highly recommend this class-- pretty easy and very worthwhile.

Professor Kelly is a legend in his field, and it shows. Getting anything above a B- on any of my first few assignments was a blessing, but in time, you learn to write exactly how he wants you to. My grades improved over the course of the summer after learning to write in a short, consistent manner. Ended up with an A-.

I loved Professor Kelly, but some students were frustrated with his teaching style in the beginning of the class. You will probably not get consistent A's, especially on your first couple papers, but that doesn't mean you won't end up with a good grade in the class. Be patient and listen to his instructions during class about each assignment and you'll get a lot out of the class! ‪#‎tcf2016‬

There is no outside work in this class; but I struggled because I would edit my paper and my professor would tell me to change something so I would, but then later he would ask why I changed it... It sounds cooler of a class than it is- didn't really take anything out of this class. #tcf2016

Professor Kelly's teaching style is quite hard to understand at first. For the longest time I could not figure out what I was doing wrong with my writing assignments, but eventually you pick up his writing style. Be prepared for one or two weekly assignments, no more than two pages, half of them done in class. It was impossible to get anything higher than a B- on the first few papers, but he grades on an "improvement" scale, not a numerical one. He lets you rewrite papers if the grade is under a C-, and is very helpful if you just ask. However, sometimes I would edit something he told me to rewrite, and he would ask why I changed it. Overall, would definitely recommend his class to anybody looking for a second writing requirement or interested in working in the media.

More of an unconventional, older-style course but overall not too bad. Never once used Collab for class and all of the assignments are submitted by email to Professor Charles. If you miss class, you will miss instructions for the weekly Thursday assignments, so it's important to be present. Most important thing for this class would be to write down exactly what Prof. Charles says about an assignment and then follow those instructions to a T. Overall, I felt that this class helped me improve my writing and wasn't a huge stressor in comparison to other classes, so I can't complain!
#tCFfall2021