<p>I will be a freshman at Emory this fall. I don't need to take a First Year Writing class because I scored a 5 on AP Lit. I would like to fulfill the Continuing Writing requirement with an English class, but I don't know which to choose. I was a strong English student in high school but I am worried about starting with a Continuing Writing class in the Fall of my freshman year because the courses seem to be mostly 300-level, which could be hard. What are some good classes to take? Or are these classes too hard for a freshman? Should I wait to fulfill this requirement until I've had more experience as a college student?</p>
<p>For me, reading and discussing material is more interesting than actual writing ability. </p>
<p>So, with that disclaimer, I really liked Perkell’s class on Dante. It’s CPLT 389 when it’s offered. She’s super good at that stuff.
Tbh, the entire classics department is extremely highly regarded (by me at least). Every teacher is excellent and most will make you a better writer (some don’t focus much on improving writing ability. Just on discussions. ). </p>
<p>I took a 200-level writing course as a freshman and it was pretty easy. In fact, there wasn’t much writing at all (I don’t recommend any of Womack’s classes). Others may/may not be harder, but I wouldn’t count them out just because they’re on the 200 or 300 level.</p>
<p>No, hardly no such courses are “too hard” for anyone (I suppose an instructor could be a hard grader or give lots of reading, but even then, it is doable if you are serious). There are, however, better instructors and the like. Also, don’t be afraid of the 300 (especially 385) label in social sciences and humanities, it usually doesn’t mean much (it actually doesn’t mean much in the sciences either. For example, Human Physiology and Animal Behavior, 336 and 320 are not more challenging than cell biology and ecology, 250 and 247 or any 200 level courses for that matter). Difficulty and interesting content are mainly determined by instructor. Also, please note that you do not have to take your CWR in the English, Creative Writing, or Comp. Lit dept. </p>
<p>Here: <a href=“Search Classes”>Search Classes;
<p>I took a course with Dr. Payne and it was awesome. It had a kind of challenging workload (as the syllabus suggests), but is actually manageable and the writings, readings, and film viewings you do actually increase interest in the material. The classroom discussions had were very interesting as well (Payne is really good. His voice is kind of raspy but he is good at conveying the material and often uses a mixture of techniques to get students involved). I only took him at the 285 level and it was excellent (there were clearly a mixture of students from different backgrounds that could contribute their perspectives on certain elements of russian history). That course should entertain you while keeping you busy enough to learn, but not taking over your life. </p>
<p>And please do not be one of those people (like many of my silly science friends) who thinks: “I don’t much like history” based on HS experience. It is done much better in college, especially when you have a decent instructor who gives a darn. </p>
<p>Perkell is incredible; anything with her.</p>