Grade was made up of a 2 papers (5-6 pages ; 8-10 pages), midterm, final and participation. His class is pretty standard in lecture formatting but he tends to not take himself seriously, which is refreshing. I didn't think he graded tough at all, but then again I did the reading and I found his comments fair. If you come to lecture you will pass.

Donelan is an extraordinarily bright teacher, he lectures quite well (might digress on occasion) and has a good sense of humor. Really passionate about teaching and is clear with what he expects out of his students. His testing is not hard at all, yet he is a little bit of a hard grader when it comes to papers/essays.

The best! Pay attention in lecture as you're tested on some minor details. I recommend bringing a laptop. He's a very generous grader and provides great comments on your papers. Take him!

There are better teachers that will actually teach you. Had no motivation to go to class cuz you learn nothing. It's just students reading each others papers. He is very picky on the words you choose if he doesn't agree. He's kinda funny. Avoid if possible.

He needs to keep be more open minded and inspirational and not to crush people's dreams. Office hours professor? no sorry I'm busy. He doesn't cares about students.. It if you write about something he agrees with. In college this is unacceptable. Not a professor you want to have unless you are forced to. Don't lose your interests

Donelan is the man! He is willing to go to out of his way to make sure you get the assignment done correctly. He is full of interesting stories and facts. The class is easy going and fun. If you take writing 2 take it with Donelan! He's awesome!

He is so nice! Grading is fair. His lectures do not really go into the readings much, just a lot of background information, which can easily be missed, that he expects you to know for exams.

Great guy

Great professor! He had us read literature pieces from different lit areas, from epic poetry to geology. Overall, I learned a lot about both writing and the chosen areas of literature, including historical context and etc. I also really enjoyed the class discussions and a 5-minute coffee break each class! Surprised that i liked writing!

Prof. Donelan's class is not tremendously difficult and he's not bad guy. That being said, I have a hard time convincing myself to attend lecture because I feel like he doesn't give any insights into the text - just context. Also, he received a Ph.D. from Yale and mentions it often. Fair prof., but nothing outstanding by any means.

fair enough but likes his own style. he is a fair grader but is still set in his ways. he docks for word choice if he doesn't agree with it. webworks -ugh. it is a major pain to post everything and its strange read your graded comments online. but he tries really hard to get to know the class and make it fun.

A very enthusiastic teacher that wants to help the students. Awesome guy who even cracks jokes every once in a while. I only took the class because I have to, but glad I got him as a teacher.

Would recommend the law class and Donelan as a teacher. Assignments were difficult but he gives extremely clear instructions and offers support to students. He's smart, articulate, and knows what he's talking about. Get ahead of reading and assignments or you will fall behind. Learned a lot!

(I took 105R which wasn't an option for some reason on here) Prof Donelan is amazing, he is so kind, funny, and understanding. the class was really easy as well, i got excellent feedback on my writing and it was so entertaining to take! i love this professor!!

Took class online (COVID.) Absolutely the worst professor I have had at UCSB/for English. We had a group chat to talk about the class and EVERYONE got an A- on every assignment regardless of the effort you put. He is unavailable outside class, does not respond to anyone's emails. The essays are turned in stages like we are babies. Avoid.

What a lovely guy!! He helps you develop your writing and is really passionate about what he teaches. It's a good class if you like writing from the Romantic Era and he teaches it really well. If I were a law student I would take his legal class just to take another class with him!

Donelan is a solid professor. He is a nice guy but he had his moments in which he was passive-aggressive or seemed annoyed. He has great insight into the legal profession since his father was a lawyer. He is well versed in the principles of legal writing. I also highly recommend reading the textbook, the class will be way easier if you do.

Amazing professor who has great experience and knowledge of the legal field. Definitely take this course with this professor if you want to glean insight into how lawyers think and speak.

Donelan is a good professor but he's picky with essays; this can help if you actually are looking to improve your writing. The readings are fantastic and the essay prompts are enjoyable, though there are a lot. Doesn't do lecture slides which is hard if you aren't an auditory learner.

Grade was 2 papers, midterm and final, and participation. I wouldn't say attendance is necessary to pass, though. Donelan is a genuinely nice professor. He is engaging and funny in his own way. Generous grader & covered exam material in class. Emphasis on the listed books and not different versions

Donelan is awesome. Seriously the best. I highly recommend his writ 105G class. He is so helpful and genuinely wants to see his students succeed.

Got an A in his class but that because I'm a really good writer already. Take if you're a really confident writing because he won't help you much. Don't go to class

Avoid

Don't know why he is rated so high...yea he makes some funny jokes but he's far from being a good writing teacher. I wish he was more like my other professor in a sense that they care about you