ENGL 23
HILTNER K C
Kenneth (Ken) Hiltner
3.8
296 reviews

297
3.8
ENGL24 . Hiltner K C 3 Months Ago

Although this class has 140 pages of reading every week and a film assigned every week, it is totally doable if you keep up. The guest lectures might be a bit boring, take notes it helps. During the TA strike he actually included many curves, some people's grades were raised a whole letter grade.

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ENGL24 . Hiltner K C 4 Months Ago

If you are one of the people who knows they are great at remembering things and multiple choice tests, this is a phenomenal GE. Not the most interesting class, but tests are always curved and if you're not lazy and actually do the work they should be pretty easy. People complaining here must be either mid test takers or simply not up to par.

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ENGL24 . Hiltner K C 4 Months Ago

this class had the potential to be interesting but the tests were super tedious and difficult for no reason. over 150 pages of reading per week which was usually not interesting, overall a difficult class to manage if you are taking other hard classes. ken doesn't really do much in this class though its all speakers and readings.

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ENGL24 . Hiltner K C 4 Months Ago

There are about 150 pages of reading and a 2-hour film every week, so if you don't want to put in the work, do not take the class. Ken did not handle the TA strike well and canceled the final leaving many students with failing grades due to poor performance on the midterm. He did little to help students do well in his course and had no sympathy.

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ENGL22 . Hiltner K C 5 Months Ago

He gave too much reading. He gave a very difficult exam. I nearly failed this class.

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ENGL24 . Hiltner K C 5 Months Ago

Good class to take if you complete the weekly films (1-2hrs) and readings (100-150pg). Taking notes during lecture is also important. Most of the people complain that it is difficult, but this is because they didn't do the work. Attendance is very important for grade and taken with iClicker. Ken is very nice and understading

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ENG22 . Hiltner K C 5 Months Ago

The class is definitely unique and one of a kind. The subject matter is interesting for most people at UCSB but the class is massive which makes the grading weird. It's based off his YouTube which we comment on and tests. Very fair but honestly the tests had some extremely specific questions that were opinion based which low key made the class hard

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ENG22 . Hiltner K C 7 Months Ago

Exams are based on random facts from random lectures and readings, but as long as you actually do the assignments you can phone it in and get a passing grade, which if you are taking his English classes for GE like me, is all you really need. I like him otherwise, good lecturer and seems like a nice guy.

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ENGL22 . Hiltner K C 7 Months Ago

This class was a lot of reading with some randomly specific facts that you were required to know on tests, which was tricky. But hey, its Hiltner, you gotta love the guy.

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ENG22 . Hiltner K C 8 Months Ago

I love him. He's an icon. Only 1 midterm and a final and the final isn't even during finals week (don't trust what gold says). Only homework is a lot of "mandatory" readings and 1 documentary per week that you have to write a relatively well-thought-out comment for. Final isn't cumulative and you can just rewatch his lectures in 2x to study.

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ENGL22 . Hiltner K C 8 Months Ago

Ken was amazing, definitely would recommend taking his class. One midterm, one final exam, both were 60 multiple choice questions. Exams were fairly easy as long as you paid attention to the lectures. Lecture attendance was taken by two iClicker polls.

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ENG22 . Hiltner K C 8 Months Ago

Ken has a lot of passion for the environment and literature. The class requires ~30 pages of reading, a film, and a comment a week. 2 ~60 MCQ tests, which can be passed if you have a good understanding of the readings and films. The lectures can feel long at times, but if you listen, the content can be really interesting.

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ENG22 . Hiltner K C 9 Months Ago

This class has a minimal course workload. So, I recommend pairing it with heavier classes. There's no section and your grade comes from 2 midterms, noncumulative, daily attendance, and weekly comments. Lectures are boring but not too bad and he curves the midterms.

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ENG22 . Hiltner K C 9 Months Ago

Knowledgeable and passionate about the climate. Unfortunately, he has a monotone voice that makes it hard to focus in lecture. I focused on reading lecture notes and did well on the final. Usually curves the exams to help out the grades. Takes iclicker in class so participation is required. I would take him again just bc I know what to study.

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ENG22 . Hiltner K C 9 Months Ago

Recommend for good test takers and ppl who don't have time for heavy homework. I didn't read anything in the second half of the course but got a good grade on the final simply by memorizing all lecture notes. Would've gotten an A if I did the same for the midterm instead of spending time reading. Tests weigh so much but he curves.

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ENGL22 . Hiltner K C 9 Months Ago

Professor Hilter classes are great for completing GE's. The only difficulty was both exams making up 30% of the grade and YouTube comments only 20% each. The exams are quite wordy and tricky, and quite specific. Make sure you listen to lectures, and keep up with the content each week. It is a class you can get behind in quickly.

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ENG22 . Hiltner K C 10 Months Ago

Lecture can be pretty boring, as he repeats ideas multiple times. Try to pay attention to them. Understand the readings and the main points of the documentaries as well. Mandatory attendance as part of your grade.

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ENG22 . Hiltner K C 10 Months Ago

Very boring lecturer but by no means bad. He believes the material is much more interesting than it actually is and is incredibly repetitive. Each new lecture often fails to bring a single new idea into the course. That being said his lecture style is incredibly helpful to actually take in the course material, boring as it may be.

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ENGL22 . Hiltner K C 10 Months Ago

Most complex info out of the climate crisis series (engl 22,23,24) but very interesting. 1 middy, 1 final, weekly YT comments. Has good stuff to say but lectures/slides are all over the place. Don't buy course reader-can get good grade w/o it. J write everything he says and memorize it, and you'll do well on exams. Course is overall easy

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ENG22 . Hiltner K C 10 Months Ago

All classes are mandatory with IClicker used as attendance. His tests are difficult, having you memorizing the textbook word for word. His lectures can sometimes be interesting but most of the time he's droning on and often times boring. Good luck to future students, you're gonna need it.

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ENG22 . Hiltner K C 10 Months Ago

Ken clearly cares about what he is teaching. Attendance is mandatory and lectures can get kind of boring, but work is not too difficult. Homework is watching a documentary and writing a comment or reply once a week and a few readings a week. Midterm and final consisted of 60 multiple choice questions about the documentaries and readings.

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ENG22 . Hiltner K C 10 Months Ago

LOVED taking eng 22 with ken. You can tell he is very passionate about what he's teaching and genuinely cares about the topic. Lecture heavy because you are also graded off attendance and the only things you get points for are attendance, exams and leaving YouTube comments. Easy to understand his material and overall just an awesome prof.

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ENG22 . Hiltner K C 11 Months Ago

Ken is a great person and professor, but THIS CLASS WAS HARD. Readings & tests were torture. Thankfully, the films and comments help pad your grade. You must pay attention to do well in the class. I hated Iclicker, but it was the only reason I showed up. There are easier GEs to take, but I did learn a lot in this class.

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ENG22 . Hiltner K C 11 Months Ago

There are weekly reading assignments and film assignments where you have to watch a documentary and submit a commentary. His lectures are boring and makes me sleepy because of how monotone his voice is. Most of the materials are organized on his website which is nice.

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