Unorthodox teaching style; amazing professor who wanted us to learn through trial and error, so he wouldn't let you off the hook and was often vague because he wanted you to come up with your own ideas and develop your voice. Had to put in a lot of effort (5 unit class), but everyone's writing improved and get ready to get called on every lecture

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.

took him over the summer during fssp and wouldn't do it again. very very picky with writing style and won't help much with improving your writing. he has you buy an online subscription to work on your essays that costs $25 :/ a lot of what was reviewed during class was not necessary for your writing assignments so sleep in and work from there

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.

There were three main papers throughout the quarter, they were relatively easy once you figure out what he wants. He has you work on an online browser while you are in class so there were times I would just stay home and do the assignment. But participation in class is part of your grade so do not do it too often. Two hours is wayyyy too long.

Challenging yet rewarding course! Donelan is the best Professor I've taken classes from at UCSB.

Donelan is awesome! You are super lucky if you get him as a Writing 2 teacher. He will really help you with your writing! Just participate in class and follow his advice and you will greatly benefit.

Donelan really cares about our writing and if you put in the effort, you will learn a lot from him! Go into office hours and make a connection. He gives you lots of feedback but not any answers, you have to think! Would definitely take his class and he usually lets us out like 30 minutes early to go get coffee!

Great professor! Must put in a lot of time and effort in your writing if you're a horrible writer(like me). Incredibly insightful and caring. Loved him as a person and teacher. Extremely eloquent and smart. Would recommend because he will definitely help your writing skills and get to know yourself better. I went to every class because I enjoyed it

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!

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

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.

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

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.

Donelan is a wonderful writing professor. His Writing109SS class is excellent, grades fairly and he allows you to resubmit the past essays for a better grade. Definitely recommend.

He's a wonderful professor. Presented the subject matter in interesting ways and also included many interesting additional facts, which I enjoyed.

Great guy

My favorite professor at UCSB. Im not a Comparative lit major, but I got a ton out of the course. Donelan is funny, makes lectures interesting and fun, very fair grader, midterms are easy if you study and go to lecture. It was my second class with him and will always recommend his classes to anyone.