Western Kentucky University / S / James D. Skaggs

Dr. Skaggs is a very eccentric man. He says wild and strange things. He had our class arrange the chairs in a circle everyday. The class is very discussion oriented. He gives a quiz at the beginning of every class period making attendance vital. The quiz will be of essay form. He will ask a few questions about the story you were to read for class and expect you to write all you can. He seems to value quanity over quality a little bit. He grades these pretty easily. He will promptly return your paper with a grade the next class period. He does not post grades to BB or give you a newmerical grade. This can be a little confusing but you will be able to have a good feel of where you stand in the class. If you read the stories and attend class you wont have any issues. He also gives extra credit opportunities every class period which can be turned in at any time. If you are willing to do some work and attend class there is no excuse not to get an A in this class.

Be creative, open-minded and imaginative. All Dr. Skaggs asks of his students is that they put their best effort towards his class. He definitely prefers students who participate in class discussion, seem to have completed their reading assignments prior to class, and those who know how to put their thoughts and opinions into their writing. I personally like to write, but there were many assignments where I BSed and received an A mainly because I was involved with the very easy conversations in class, and portrayed some effort. Make sure you do your homework, they are never hard - mostly reading stories/poems/plays, attend EVERY class (you can make it fun), and participate in class discussion. Make sure you know your literary terms for the first exam, the second exam we made ourselves (if you're lucky you'll get the same), and take advantage of daily quizzes over homeworks!! (EASY POINTS!!) Also you can do extra credit all the time, as long as it has to do with what you're talking about in class. You will receive an A if you do all these things. This is not a hard class if you appreciate education. I highly reccommend him for ENG 200!

Dr. Skaggs is by far the best English professor at WKU. There is no way you can come out of his class with lower than a B as long as you show up because he offers extra credit everyday. You can write a poem or short story or monologue for him anytime during the semester and if it's decent he will give you extra credit. He is also very enjoyable to be around and is very friendly and happy all the time. Class discussions are awesome and he is not boring when/if he lectures.

Mr. Skaggs is one of the most interesting professors I have ever had at WKU. I took this course as a bi-term course so we met everday starting in mid-March. Skaggs knows lots about English, but he can be a bit scatter-brained. If you can catch on to what he wants out of the essays, then you will do pretty well. I would suggest this class and this teacher, but it's not a class that is extremely simple.

At first I didn't care much for Skaggs, but as I got understand his ways of teaching I like him a lot better. He's very random and scatter-brained, but still pretty easy. He lets you out of class early all the time. The notes you take are on your own, but I would recommend taking them because most of the time he lets you use them on quizzes. He assigns papers often, but makes them pretty open-ended, so it's not difficult. I would definitely recommend this class.

Dr. Skaggs is a great Intro to college writing teacher. His grading is kind of interesting and can get a little confusing but overall, the course is very manageable. Attendance is not required but it will help you out to go to the classes. I loved his class...learned a lot...and encourage you to take him!

Dr. Skaggs is an incredible teacher and really wants you to reach your full potential. The course mainly consists of writing papers, as do all ENG 300 courses. He is very willing to help students but insists you attend class. He is a very nice man and talking about world issues is also a common class phenomenon. TAKE Dr. SKAGGS!

Dr. Skaggs is a very interesting person. He is quite liberal and makes this known; however, you can speak out with another oppinion and he accepts it. If you can write well, take this class and you are guaranteed an A. I watched my two friends, who both write at about a B level, get nothing but B's the entire semester, despite improvement. The first day of class everyone writes an essay. That day, he makes his judgement as to what your grade will be. Also, in his grade book, he has no columns or points; he just has a box with your name on it and a bunch of letters (A-F). In the end, he looks at how often you have been to class and his little box, and the overwhelming number of grades in that box decides your final grade. REMEMBER...Do not take his class if you can not write well, you will recieve as a final grade the grade on the first peper you wrote all semester!

At first this class seemed really hard....but after a few weeks it got to be a lot better! There are daily quizzes in the class but as long as you read what you're supposed to and show up to class it's fine. There is a whole lot of work and reading to do outside of class. I really enjoyed taking this class with Dr. Skaggs.

Skaggs is the worst teacher I've ever had. I was in honors eng. throughout midle and high school, and got a 29 on the english portion of the ACT. I recieved an A in english 100 and 300, yet Skaggs handed back every paper with an arbitrary grade of C- ...every time. At first, I though he just spun a giant wheel (like on the price is right) and assigned grades according to what the wheel landed on. If he likes you, he spins it twice and adds the points. After much thought, I realized that he did not spin a wheel. Spinning a wheel would cause too much strain on his arm. So instead, I think he uses a dart board. If you do take his class, you had best kiss his a**. I hate Skaggs with all my heart.

Dr. Skaggs is one of the nicest professors I have ever had. Even after I let myself fall behind in his class and only came up to him the week before finals week asking for help, he was more than willing to help me. He even invited all his students to his house for a Christmas party. However, he does know literature very well, and his expects his students to do the same. Participation is required in class, evem though his grading system is off a bit, at times it works in your favor. I would strongly suggest taking him if you are willing to take good notes (he collects notebooks), don't mind essay tests, and like participating in class.

Mr. Skaggs definitely loves English, however, he has a messed up grading system. If he likes you, and you are a boy, you will receive an A. You must participate or you will not survive this class. He does let you make up work and has plenty of extra credit. He also will be very rude sometimes. Overall the class is fairly easy but its just alot to put up with.