Scott Stein

School: Drexel University
Department: English
Location:Philadelphia, PA
Overall Rating
rated by 20 students
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 Pros: He's decent for the mandatory English classes
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 He is a very nice guy. It's an English course, and there are going to be essays. However, he is a fair grader and while you do have to earn your grade, you don't have to submit your essays online; only in person! He tries to keep class interesting and I liked him so much I took him for 101 and 102!
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 One of my favorite teachers at Drexel. I actually learned a lot from Professor Stein and he really helped me to improve my writing style. If you follow what he wants, it's pretty impossible not to get an A. Just make sure you go to class; he takes attendance and cares if you're there or not.
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 Pros: Interesting class, he's nice
Cons: It was sort of awkward to have critiques within the class (that's not really a reflection on him), sometimes he gave low grades with no real explanation
Nice guy, kind of a weird class.
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 what is all of this nonsense about stein being a bad teacher? i had him for my first time for persuasive writing and he was FANTASTIC. i have gotten so much better at reading/writing persuasive essays and analyzing arguments its awesome. he really makes persuasion into an interesting subject. he does sometimes go on for a while about stuff and can be a rough grader but honestly if you put effort into the work and actually analyze the essays you will do fine and actually come out with something at the end of this term. also, participating during workshop days is key to doing well on the projects, you can basically take notes on all of the points people make against your argument and use them to bolster your essay :)
definitely looking forward to taking another class with professor stein, and i hope these other reviews don't discourage you from taking a class with him. he will definitely make you a better writer and reader. best of luck to students looking for english professors.
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 He's a good guy and has a lot of really helpful advice as far as writing. He is not an easy grader and sometimes he doesn't really explain why he takes points off, which can be annoying. All of the negative reviews I have seen have been related to his general English classes; I did not have him for one of these but I can easily see why one would have issues with him in this respect. He is definitely better as a writing-specific professor rather than a basic English professor. Keep that in mind with regards to enrolling in one of his specific classes.
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 I have no idea what these kids are talking about. Stein was the funniest dude! For one, he is a comedy novelist and has published two books and I think one even won an award. He does care about you and he makes class interesting as I remember we always had good and deep conversations. I received an A each time I took him (I took him twice). If you FOLLOW EXACTLY his rubric about what he wants on the paper you will get an A. If you start going off and summarizing a piece of writing instead of analyzing it than you will no doubt get and deserve a C.
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 the highest grade that he had given in my class is a B-
he refuses to proofread students' essays, claiming that it would take away his time. this proves that he does not care for students.
he is really lazy. this term, he had cancelled class twice. the first time was because the weather was too cold and he just didn' want to go to class. the second time was because of 3 inches of snow that he refused to come to class.
he does not give you any grading critera, so you don't know what to expect.
his jokes are not funny at all.
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 Hardest grader on earth....boring...makes jokes that aren't funny....
That pretty much sums him up....
I spent dayss on my paper and even went to the writing center and still only got a B-!
He needs to realize that we are just college freshmen....
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 Stein is a writer himself, published twice over, which qualifies him well for this course.
Given that one would hope any professor teaching about writing was so qualified, this doesn't really say much.
Stein, however, goes beyond merely citing himself as an example, but actively engages himself in promoting interest in writing throughout Drexel campus. This last year, the 2005-2006 school-year, saw him aid in the introduction of the Week of Writing. He really does live for this stuff.
As to his teaching, Stein is nothing if not fair. He won't give you the A just for showing up and putting in the time, but if you're willing to devote the effort to actually polish your work a bit and write something compelling, Stein is able to see that. He's also understanding of concerns you may have, whether about the course or your own writing, so long as you go to him and clue him in on it.
I've taken him twice already, and only wish that there were more courses in line with this one, taught by him.
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 Professor Stein was one of my favorite English professors. He's hilarious and makes classes fun. My writing improved alot and I definately want to take more classes with him.
If you can't handle constructive criticism when it comes to your writing, then I don't reccommend taking him. He'll flat out tell students if they wrote something that sucks, but then he'll tell them how to improve it. He is good for breaking the terrible writing habits a bunch of us picked up and got away with in high school.
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 Professor Stein is considered a "hard" grader by many because he grades fairly. As long as you actually do the in-class edits and get some peer response, he'll give you a C or better on your three per term essays. Easy and fun.
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 Stein is a very hard grader. He work is light but it also requires a lot of reading...and not just light reading, "comprehensive reading." Even for the better students who write really good essays, so far I've only seen give B+'s. I think the only way he'll give an A is when the paper is really polished, professionally sound, and ready to be published. Which...sounds nearly impossible for an incoming freshman. I do think he makes for a good professor. He makes very good but insightful points about a lot of topics being discussed in the class. Usually, he can grab everybody's attention even on the not so interesting topics. Just do the readings and the papers assigned and really try even if you have a feeling you might end up with a C anyway. Also, he's very strict about the attendace. His rule is...if you miss more than three classes w/o some legitimate excuse...you'll fail; "It's as simple as that", he says.
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 steins class was ok... the only homework required is to read the stories assigned... easy enough. the classes were fun bc you have an open discussion of the stories... but the essays and papers are tough, cuz he is a hard grader. the class average was a C. he grades on grammer alot of times, and that counts for alot of your grade. but i think the reason he is tough is bc he is a writer with his own novel, which you read btw. oh, and he started his own publishing company too, so if you are interested in writing or becoming an author, definitely take his class or talk to him. nice guy tho.
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 This class will require work and prompt attendance. If that's not you, don't waste your time. If you do take this class, you will learn to think analytically and outside of the box. You will learn to form an opinion and you will learn to argue. The material is interesting and Stein is quite animated. You won't regret this class.
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 Very decent teacher.
Found the discussions very useful, however, he is hard on grammar, but if you are looking for somebody to learn from and improve your writing skills, I recommend taking him.
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 Stein was okay. I found his grading method to be a bit unfair though--particularly toward the essays. He does not really care about how well you write the essay in terms of organization and focus; instead, he cares more about the grammar. I don't really know how he determines what grade to give his students. Oh well, but my friend decided to retake him. I guess he was alright.
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 He's a pretty good teacher. He likes having disscussions which are pretty good i guess. He grades kind of tough, but it's fair. Just work a little on the essays and youll be find. And you can get away with not reading somtimes cause he likes talking. only thing make sure you show up. You can only miss 2 classes before you fail.
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 Definately take him if you are a "good" writer, or someone who really wants to improve your writing. I got an A both terms, and he noticed little errors in my writing that I now have fixed. He does grade fairly hard on average writers. Discussions are useless. You dont need to read or participate. Just show up, work hard on all 3 essays, and the journals are SO easy.
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 Fun class to attend, interesting discussions, only work are the 3 essays and reading some 1-3 page essays before each class (and a journal to hand in at the end of the course, no big deal). He has set views on the debate topics but really does let anyone debate it out from their side without having any ill will against them... he likes debate, obviously.

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