Review:
Marci is a really awesome teacher. Her comments on writing samples are extremely insightful and helpful. Her classes are carefully designed to get the day's point across as are her readings and excercises. When deciding whether I was going to register for this course, a lot of people complained to me that Marci is a very tough grader who doesn't give out A's. Ultimately, I found this to be untrue. I recieved an A in her class and I in no way claim to be an excellent writer. I can't say for sure why people have consistently evaluated her this way, however, if my classmates were in any way representative of the population taking English 005, the majority of people who enter this course are humourously bad writers. If you would like to get an A in her class, there are only a few rules to follow. 1) Get rid of all extraneous prepositional phrases. If the point comes across without it, remove it. 2) "Kill your darlings" as Marci says. If you write your stories around a few sentences which you thought were clever and the rest is lacking, stop. You will not be rewarded for being clever in this class.

Workload:
The workload is minimal. 2 short pieces, 3 shorter pieces, 1 re-write, 1 "turn-around". The readings are short and genuinely enjoyable selections. Students were supposed to hand back commentary and criticism to their peers on their stories, however, it was my experience that about 40-50% of the class failed to do so without being caught. Attendance is supposedly important in this once a week class, however, I skipped 3/13 classes without repercussion. I hope this review was helpful, if not, I blame it on my drunk.

review a class you took with Marci Hershman - help your classmates make informed decisions!

Review:
Professor Hurka is a great guy and a great writing professor; he has real advice about how to improve your writing, and he seems genuinely interested in how to get your writing published. Out of all of the writing classes I've taken over the years, I have my best work from this course.

Workload:
The workload is really minimal. There are only two stories you have to write--and one of them is less than 500 words. There is a little bit of reading towards the beginning of the course, but it's okay not to do it ahead of time because he lets you read the short stories in class. The "final" is just an improved version of your stories.

review a class you took with Joe Hurka - help your classmates make informed decisions!

Review:
He shows great concern for students' progress and he really listens to what the students have to say. My writing definitely improved. I love this professor and this class so much that I wish I could take it again.

Workload:
The workload is pretty manageable, but don't wait till the last minute to write the short stories.

review a class you took with Michael Downing - help your classmates make informed decisions!

Review:
Everyone in the world should take Creative Writing with Michael Downing. He cares a great deal about writing, and a great deal about his students; you're lucky to get one of those in a professor, and two is incredible. Apparently, he smokes cigarettes, but you wouldn't think it to look at him.

Workload:
Fifteen pages of writing, in addition to short technical exercises every week.

review a class you took with Michael Downing - help your classmates make informed decisions!

Review:
I did enjoy the class and it was very interesting to hear my classmates' writing. However, I think Professor Hershman likes things to be her way or the highway, and that is unacceptable in a creative writing class. If you attend all classes, are truly interested, participate, and write in your own style, a B- seems ridiculously obnoxious.

Workload:
Not bad at all.

review a class you took with Marci Hershman - help your classmates make informed decisions!

Review:
Simons is a wonderful teacher. She is thoughtful, concerned, encouraging, and critiques well. This was one of my most enjoyable classes at Tufts. Sharing stories and workshops were done in a very comfortable atmosphere, and I learned a lot about not only fiction writing in general but about my own weaknesses and strengths and styles as a writer.

Workload:
Workload was standard, never felt rushed or stressed. Assignments were flexible but often had guiding themes to help you get started. Work up from short short stories to longer short stories over the semester.

review a class you took with Michelle Simons - help your classmates make informed decisions!