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Back to Memoir and Personal Essay: Managing Your Relationship with the Reader

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Memoir and Personal Essay: Managing Your Relationship with the Reader by Wesleyan University

4.3
stars
246 ratings

About the Course

The blank page can be the most daunting obstacle in writing. In this course, aspiring writers will assemble a “starter kit” for approaching the blank page by developing constructive ways to think about the writing process as a whole. While subsequent courses in this series will focus on the mechanics of good writing, this course offers ways to think about the writer’s relationship to her material, and ultimately develop a writing style that is uniquely her own....

Top reviews

SL

Aug 4, 2019

The information was given in such a way that I found myself re-thinking all of the stories I've written, wanting to explore other options and re-write from a clearer perspective. Truly valuable.

K

Sep 3, 2020

I really appreciate the professor and his classes I have enjoyed every single video and every assignment It is really useful course which will allow us to know how exactly to write a memoir.

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101 - 120 of 120 Reviews for Memoir and Personal Essay: Managing Your Relationship with the Reader

By Lisa Z

Apr 7, 2019

Lots of insightful tips and thought provoking ideas for my memoir.

By J M

Mar 23, 2023

sbmit my essay for this section.

By Alice G

Apr 6, 2022

The lectures on video were somewhat rambling and made understanding the concepts presented difficult to understand and put in practice. I ended up researching other video lectures on each topic online to get clearer instruction. The assignments were also difficult to understand and would have benefited from short examples to clarify meaning. The last week's assignment to interview two family members is exclusive to those with living family members to talk with and would have been more inclusive to allow interview of anyone known to me as the writer. Getting assignments "graded" by other students was also difficult and involved begging on the discussion forum for another student to do so. All in all, a somewhat disappointing experience.

By Jorge A C C

Jul 9, 2020

Great videos. Great explanations by author Greg Pardlo. That alone made it worth it. On the other hand, there is no moderator, no one to ask questions and have a clear view of the assignments. No professional to give a few pointers. That was too bad. I was looking forward to taking all four courses, but that element does make me rethink and look for another option.

By Fernando A

Aug 11, 2021

El curso es bueno, el instructor tambiné, pero me interesa un curso impartido por un escritor que domine elidioma español. Deseo cancelart mi inscripcinó. Segu ílas instrucciones de su "tutorial", pero no me muestra la opcinó que indica "un- enroll"; solo muestra la opcinó de "calificar"

By Joe H

May 29, 2020

The lectures were a bit wooden and not particularly inspiring. But the assignments were not easily understood and without example for many and did not fit what I thought I would be learning or writing about.

By Sarah M

Jul 11, 2023

it was difficult to perceive what the intent or requirements for the submissions were. Also, I did not receive any reviews or comments, peer or otherwise.

By Maggie B

Aug 10, 2019

couldn't find how to apply for finaincial aid so I haven't proceeded. Hate the money up front model.

By Naima M

Jul 25, 2019

Perfect for newbies. For the already writing practitioners, it still is useful as keep us on track.

By Wendy C

Mar 11, 2022

The writting assignments were not very challenging.

By lisa b

Dec 19, 2023

The professor's taped lessons were all very good and helpful. He is a qualified teacher and the writing exercises were generally good. The problem was the quality of the peer submissions and grading. It often took weeks to get any feedback and when I finally received reviews they were generally unsophisticated and not helpful at all. I received 1-2 comments that were actually helpful over the one-month course but the vast majority were irrelevant and a waste of time. I felt that they belittled the effort I put into my writing. Also, the quality of the work I was asked to review was generally poor. There were 1-2 good submissions but out of 17 assignments that I reviewed I would say 13-14 were poor. This was my first creative writing class and it was a good way to sample the idea of memoir writing and see whether I liked it. But if you are at all serious about writing and improving I would not bother with this class.

By Lori M

Jan 15, 2024

You get what you pay for. I was grateful this class got me writing again but found the content too brief and choppy and did not always connect to the assignment. I found it especially odd that a writing class wouldn't have written materials to read or download as examples of the concept being taught. Perhaps that's a licensing issue but it would have added a lot more depth and value. Also, if a class is going to require peer feedback, there should be more checks on what is allowed - I had one commenter fulfil his obligation with 100 characters of -------------------------------------------------------------. What's the point? For the price, it was worth having a series of prompts to start writing again, but I found the instruction lacking.

By Jocelyn R

Apr 23, 2021

While there were some interesting points of view, the lectures lacked depth and half the assignments were not well linked to that week's topic. The assignments were often unclear and I was really frustrated by the peer review grading criteria. The criteria laid out in the assignment description were not reflected in the grading criteria and new criteria were often introduced.

By Carolee F

Apr 13, 2022

Suggestions, but not structure, format, or style, voice, idea, conventions, organization, sentence fluency, or word choice instruction.

By Marie-Eve B

Jun 16, 2022

I found this course dissapointing

By Sunny W

Jul 19, 2020

This course could have been great if there was any control over how assignments were graded. Students who peer-reviewed, for the most part, did not read the essays instead just wrote either "good" in every section or simply put a letter like "P" or "D" so that they can move on with the course and get credit . There was no one to talk to about this. Discussion forums were dead. How do you run a good course like this? I think I totally wasted my money and time with this course. I will never ever sign up for a coursera session. I will ask my friends to boycott coursera as well.

Don't just try to make a business out of this. Do a good job with Coursera because it can only bring a bad name to the university.

By angela b

Dec 16, 2021

I have been begging someone to review my edited week 3 in the Creative Writing Course. I have searched for any moderator; none is available to answer any questions. I will not pass this course based on only one peer review. This is why I am giving this course a 1.

By kidneythief91

Oct 28, 2022

So stupid, wouldn't even let me submit my assignments.

By Eva N

Oct 21, 2021

Audited only. Won't let me complete course.

By Ellen G

Apr 6, 2024

Cancel my free trial!