If you are looking for a straightforward kind of grammar class and writing style, you may get bored.

too many references to make note of. Could've been simpler.

it was a good one.

The course is really weak! I just finished two other courses, one by Google and another by Arizona State University, and comparing these two to this one is like comparing gold to dust! The videos are boring and unengaging, the instructor is boring, the design f the course is bad, the quality of the video and audio is low, everything is just TERRIBLE! I was so motivated to take the whole specialization, but after just checking the first course, I lost any interest I got (yes, that's how bad it is!) The only good thing about this course is that it has many downloadable resources; that's why I am giving it 2 stars instead of 1 star.

So much information - relevant or irrelevant and crammed into this course. Organization of the elements is poor. I know what empathy is no need to reexplain every word. Or repeat every quote. Tests are irrelevant, no systematic order, presentation material not nice to look at... just overall confusion. Ironically from someone who speaks about effective writing.

The course is too slow. The material covered is often irrelevant. The illustrations are completely off and the message that the professor is trying to convey does not get through very easily. It is painful to follow.

Slides are a real mess. The class is unorganized and assumes that the student has previous knowledge on the subject. For instance, half of first few classe uses football examples. I am not american. I know nothing about football. On the next week, it starts discussing grammar and comma splits. The lecture never defines what a comma split is but ask us to identify one.

The trainer is so annoying! He does not seem to talk but to shout all of the time!

Awful. This course appears to be a plug for the instructors book.

I got on to this course to improve my writing. This first course totally met my expectations; the structure of the course in which the weekly core topic together with other segments such as Punctuation and Professional, Nuances, Good Sentences, delivered me to the next level of writing better through the great teaching by Prof Barry. The various teach media used - the teach videos, Prof Barry's reference books and many useful links for readings, the polls and quizzes was just right and effective. The sharing of writings by great writers all along the course exposed me to what great writing is. Thank you, Prof. Barry.

I really enjoyed this course. I liked the pace and the material. The teacher was very interesting, thought-provoking, and entertaining in a good way, which kept the course flowing at a good pace. The only issue I had was at the beginning when I didn't know how the structure of the course worked. So nothing to do with content, but course structure. This is kind of stupid on my part, but I listened to all of the videos in Week 1. It was a lot of material and I couldn't figure out how the course was organized. This took me hours. So perhaps I could suggest a short tutorial on how to take the course.

I really enjoyed the Writing and Editing: Word Choice and Word Order, by Patrick Barry.

I really enjoyed the reading materials, discussion boards and video lectures that he used to help drive specific writing points, communicate grammar efficiently, and to use our creativity to "write sentences that nobody else could write".

These skills can apply to any career to help when driving a point, or expressing a view, and sharing our opinions in a streamlined and authentic way. I also enjoyed cover letter suggestions for diversity and standout statements that can help reel in any suiters.

I really want to appreciate and thank Professor Barry for his wonderful lessons. His lessons help me understand how to use words effectively in order to create attractive sentences. I greatly enjoyed the videos of him lecturing in his classes. I am also grateful for getting access to a wide range of books and other resources which are very valuable. By effectively studying Professor Barry’s lessons, I am starting to gain confidence in writing. I have learned a lot from Course 1 and now I am so excited to continue Course 2 of Good with Words: Writing and Editing Specialization.

After five decades of writing one would have thought that there might have been a few things in this course that I had already learned, or didn't need to know. But, that wasn't true even an iota. I relished every moment of every lesson, from contemplating the provocative question, "What value am I bringing to the reader?" to exploring the value of the particular in great writing. One total surprise...I learned to love learning grammar. How did that happen?!?

Amazing course with lots of useful information! It is simple, well structured, and easy to follow. Professor Barry was born to be a teacher. His patient teaching and his clear explanations are a true inspiration not just for students but for other teachers as well. I liked that he kept the videos short, yet detailed enough to catch my attention. I even used some of the techniques presented in this course for one of my recent lectures.

It was such a valuable course. I’ve been working to improve my English writing skills, I’ve learnt about:

- What questions should I before I start writing.

- How to structure my texts.

- How to use text connectors to improve my writings.

- What are the most common grammatical errors in English.

- What are the most common punctuation errors.

I am very grateful to my tutors for this interesting experience.

Elsa Inés Orsi. Balcarce, Argentina.

The Uni of Michigan is such an amazing university. Professor Barry is one of the best teachers on my list from now onward. His way of teaching is very unique. He is very experienced and a good nature teacher. He knows well how to engage students even far away hundreds of kilometers. Eventually, Thanks Coursera to give me this opportunity. Strongly recommend this course to non-native English writers, especially Asian people.

Great class on writing with helpful observations on different fields of writing and general good habits. There were also great sections on grammar where I learned new things that will be very useful to crafting better sentences and prose.

Another note, I really loved the diversity and range of the examples the instructor, Patrick Barry, uses. If you pay attention you might learn some insights about life too!

O curso é incrível. Conteúdo interessante, apresentado de forma didática e leve. O professor é didático e engajado. Apesar de ser dedicado a alunos do curso de Direito da Universidade de Michigan, pode ser aplicado a qualquer área do conhecimento. As dicas sobre o uso da língua inglesa são muito boas e proveitosas. Recomendo este curso para todos(as) que desejam escrever de forma persuasiva.

This is a wonderful course. I took this up out of curiosity, in order to figure out how much better can I write? I already considered myself a good writer. But, Professor Barry's course is designed to teach at ALL levels. I have started looking at words with new eyes. Highly recommend this course to ALL, but especially those who think that they are already good with words!

I loved it; Professor Barry is my idea of what a teacher should be - entertaining, interesting, caters to every age group.

The course made me re-think a lot of my writing, and how I want to go forward making the transition from technical writing to content writing.

Best part is I've already started using much of what I've learnt in writing work for others.

This is a great course for writers at every level! I'm a graduate student in the humanities, so of course I had fairly decent writing skills already, but this gave me a much needed little boost in skill and motivation. Try it, whether you're a non-native speaker who wants to learn the basics, or a polished writer who just wants a few more tips and hints!

Hi!

Professor Barry was the BEST. His style of teaching was incredible; It made the concepts to understand very easy. I really enjoyed the workshop videos. It would have been so fun to be in his workshops.

Overall, I will give 100/100 rating to this course.

Again, Professor Barry's teaching was too good......Very friendly.....

This is a dynamic, useful and interesting course. It incorporates a variety of learning material and styles. I would recommend it to people who want to brush up on skills and learn new ones. Prof Barry combines a diversity of learning examples to keep the course fresh, interesting and practical. I'm glad I took it.

I enjoy taking classes that challenge you. Writing and Editing is the type of class you will scream at your computer but determining it was not going to beat me I met the challenge and passed with a 90. If you need a class to kick start your skills, challenge your personal growth and take this class.