<p>Yes, a simple comparison of teacher-student ratio should give you a sense of how much writing is required for a course. Reading a paper and commenting in depth takes more time than most people imagine; it simply cannot be done for a large course. There must either be a choice that papers are not required, or TAs will do the work the prof cannot. TAs are not necessarily bad, of course; I was a TA once, long ago; but it’s not the same as having the professor who leads the discussion grade the papers. But don’t assume that classes are the same across the school, either: there are some courses that are readily taught in large format, that offset smaller classes. You need to do the research to find out what the schools you like are like.</p>