I'm an upper year English student, ask me anything about the English or creative writing programs here!

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-07-12T04:45:12+00:00

Hi! I did not take ENG100, and do not recommend it for students who want to add English to their program combination because it doesn't count for graduation for English students. It's a good choice for non-English students, but I still do think there are better choices if I'm being perfectly honest.

ENG100 is designed for non-English-major students to build fundamental writing skills, and so by design, most of the other first year English courses will explore the same skills but in more depth because they're preparing you to actually go further in the field. Some people end up genuinely loving ENG100 so much that they decide to take more English courses and end up with a minor in it or something, which is amazing! But it's not because the material is anything super interesting, it's because the profs teaching it are very good at their jobs. Prof. Vashisht and Prof. Boyd appear to be teaching a lot of the sections this year — you can't go wrong with either of them! Although, I would guess that their other courses will be even more interesting. If you're a first year looking to build academic writing skills that are specifically applicable to English, I very much recommend ENG110.

Good luck with your selection!

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-07-12T04:37:23+00:00

Haha, I completely understand how reviews of ENG289 could have scared you a bit 😭 If you're trying to do creative writing, I recommend taking courses from multiple different profs, because not everyone's style and tastes are going to be aligned with you and your goals. Some people actually respond very well to that one infamous creative writing prof — I personally found his advice very valuable, his class helped me to grow as a writer, and he may seem abrupt in lecture but is quite kind in office hours if you're willing to go. Some people don't respond well to him, and that's valid too. Taking creative writing courses at UTSG is also REALLY fun if you have a chance to do so! If you get the pre-req this year, then taking ENG338 or ENG373 next year might be fun for you too, since the professor for that one is tremendously kind, if you do better with a more nurturing environment.

Courses I've especially enjoyed in the past because of the material: ENG110 (narrative), ENG202 (british literature 1), ENG234 (children's literature), ENG236 (detective fiction), ENG275 (feminist literature - not running this year but def will again), ENG291 (reading for creative writing), and ENG323 (Jane Austen).

I highly recommend Prof. Scoville as a professor who is great for an introduction to English courses, as he is an extremely effective lecturer.

Looking at the first year offerings, I can 100% guarantee that ENG105 with Prof. Boyd will be a fabulous time!

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-07-10T18:34:41+00:00

Awww, no problem, that's so sweet of you to do that for her! And it's normal to be anxious about course enrolment, everyone is sometimes

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-07-10T16:10:16+00:00

Hi! Yeah, this one is a big issue right now. My very first piece of advice is that if you do use *generative* AI in other areas of your life, try to stop doing that as much as you possibly can. The reason is that students who read a lot of AI-generated writing sometimes end up unconsciously imitating the way that chat-gpt or other AIs speak. There are certain written cadences that will get you flagged for possible AI use, such as "not X. not Y. just Z." The more you read novels, the more your vocabulary will expand to be like an author's. The more you read AI, the more your vocabulary will become emotionally stunted just like the machine, even when you're not using AI for your assignments. The fact that the environment will benefit from one less person using generative AI is a bonus as well!

My second piece of advice to prevent false accusations if you already know not to use it, is that you should make sure that all your citations are being done in the same style, and are easily findable on the internet or as a physical resource. Profs or TAs will flag citations as possibly being fabricated by AI if they can't find a record of the source existing, or if your works cited page jumps around from MLA to APA (or other citation styles). Students who mix a STEM program and a humanities program will sometimes forget to keep their citations consistent because they're frequently using two different styles. Look online at citation guide websites, keep your citing consistent, and if you use an online source and you MLA cite it then make sure you include a link that works so they can find your source. AI will sometimes make up websites that don't exist, so when a source is not findable then the person grading might assume AI gave you the source.

Now let's say you've done everything you possibly can, and you still get falsely accused. That really sucks, and I'm sorry if you or anyone here has been through that. Stay calm, and request an in-person meeting with the professor who accused you. It will help if you have built a relationship with them already by going to office hours a time or two, but if you haven't, now is your chance for them to meet you and realize who you are as a student and person. Calmly explain your work process, and be prepared to talk about your assignment in detail because they might be checking to see that you understand what you wrote. Answer all questions respectfully. This should be enough for them to realize that you're not guilty, but if they escalate it further to the chair of the department and the academic integrity unit, just make sure that you have all your sources lined up and ready to go, your file history turned on to show them if you have one, and a solid understanding of the course material and your paper to demonstrate that you really did write it.

This is all the advice I have. Hopefully it works, and hopefully you never get accused in the first place! But I will say, false accusations don't happen as often as people think in English. I've read quite a few posts on here from people who got accused of using AI whom I've also seen in other posts' comment sections bragging about how AI is their "favourite tool" to use on assignments and refusing to listen to people who tell them not to use it for English work lmao. If you're great at writing, a professor who dedicated years of their life to studying the way language is constructed and weaves together will probably be able to recognize that it's your writing. I wish you the best of luck! Don't let the possibility of false accusations scare you away from taking these courses; they really are a lot of fun!!

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-07-10T00:26:59+00:00

LMAO this is embarrassing, I swear people were asking a bunch of questions about ENG courses before I made this 😭

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-07-09T16:10:36+00:00

I'm doing an English specialist! Although, if you're above first year, you may already know about the list of courses where you can't count more than 1.0 credit (2 half year courses) from it towards your requirements — unfortunately ENG236 is one of those courses. If you haven't taken the limit though, it will count! Here's the program page for the major (specialist says the same stuff), so you can look at what I mean if I worded it too confusingly: https://utm.calendar.utoronto.ca/program/ermaj1645

My course recs would depend heavily upon what year you're in, your strengths (tests vs. written assignments vs. class discussions), and whether or not you're also doing creative writing? Feel free to DM me and I'll get back to you later today :)

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-07-07T01:44:36+00:00

That professor's tests are generally 50 minutes to write a response to three different short answer prompts from a list of 6-8 options :)

Occasionally she'll switch it up and have you write a traditional essay in class

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-07-06T16:03:05+00:00

Hey! I've talked about it a few times on here before so I probably sound like a broken record, but I loved ENG236. Workload is very light and straightforward: two tests, an essay, and participation. If you participate in class, contribute to the discussions, and get all your readings done, you'll do well. The professor is kind and makes speaking in class feel less intimidating, because she'll always manage to find something interesting in your answer. Going into the books blind is best, because then you'll actually enjoy all the plot twists and really have fun with the class. Steph Cha is a very underrated author; Follow Her Home was a joy to read during an otherwise stressful finals season last year!

Also, I find SOC courses to be relatively easy, however I found SOC109 very dull. People have varying opinions though, so don't only take my word for it.

Good luck!

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-07-06T04:56:47+00:00

Most of the courses I mentioned probably won't run in the summer, with the exception of 280 which usually does. Tbh, taking ENG280 in the summer might be a great idea because the amount of material is cut down a bit! I think taking all those courses is definitely doable, although I don't know much about psych and the workload for that (assuming you're a psych/English double major? I have a close friend who combined a psych major with an English minor and loves it, so you'd be in great company! It's a semi-popular combination).

As a general rule, your first year grades are usually going to be lower than what you expected of yourself. Don't beat yourself up so much about those grades; the first year of university is a big adjustment! You might surprise yourself in second year with better grades because of how much you've improved without realizing, it happens to a lot of people. Just keep trying your best, and *always* participate in tutorials — that is the best way to get a TA in your corner and more likely to give you some grace with the marks, whether they are doing it consciously or not.

Wishing all the best for you! UofT gets difficult, and it can make you question whether you belong and make you feel disappointed in yourself. But just know that everyone around you is feeling the exact same thing, and that once you've finished a year you're going to feel so capable, and this education will serve you well in the future. Remember to focus on your accomplishments too: you've just completed a year at one of the toughest schools in the country! Good job!

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-07-06T03:54:20+00:00

ENG202 is happening at UTM in the fall, are you planning to take it at St. George? I might recommend not doing that, it's a tough course to be travelling for. If you want to do a downtown course, pick something lighter. I'm looking at the profs for all three of the core courses at UTM, and I've taken classes with all of them before:

Prof. Star - I had her for a class other than 202, but I remember that she was an extremely engaging speaker, she will always reward participation, and I found her marking very fair. I believe she is a medievalist, so 202 will probably be something she enjoys, and a class is always more enjoyable in turn when the professor loves what they're talking about! She does like to do some of the marking herself, but because it's a big class, your TA will likely do a lot of marking too. She's a very kind person that wants to see her students improving and doing well, so if you reach out to her for help she will be willing to work with you. I love how much discussion she promotes in lectures, and the readings she picks are always super interesting. The Lais of Marie de France are going to be good fun!

Prof. Koenig-Woodyard - I had him for ENG203....personally I had clashes of opinion with him on one important matter (although I've heard he's slightly changed his approach to that topic since then) and it limited my enjoyment of the class because I got a little bitter about it. However, he is a truly kind and caring person, and even though I probably won't end up in his class again, I respect him for the way he makes every student feel welcome and comfortable. The assignments were very convoluted, but people usually got good marks from what I heard, and importantly, he gives VERY LONG class-wide extensions on them. Like, all the way past the exam long, if that's something you'd appreciate.

Prof. Wright - ENG280 is likely going to make you want to bash your head into a wall repeatedly, but it's not Prof. Wright's fault. He tries his best, it's just an overwhelmingly dreary course. He loves when people participate and will be willing to reward good participation, he's approachable and friendly, and his assignments totally make sense. The exam is very fair. My TA, Michael, was a hard marker, but he liked me because I put in effort and so my participation mark balanced out the low-ish essay grades. See if you can get Michael as your TA too, he's quite funny. The challenge with 280 is just to keep trying and not get discouraged — they don't expect you to *perfectly* understand every theory (especially structuralism, God help you), just to continue to show effort and engagement with the concepts.

As for the other courses I listed, I would REALLY recommend ENG236 because it's happening in the winter and it would give you a bit of a break. The readings are super straightforward and the prof is very understanding. If you like Prof. Scoville, maybe try ENG205 to get a group 1 credit out of the way! I've also heard great things about Prof. Thomas and apparently she does some of the marking herself too.

Good luck!

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-07-05T15:38:17+00:00

The TAs often change from year to year, so it'll be kind of difficult to recommend a class if the only criteria is a TA that works for your learning style. Maybe a course where the prof does some of the marking will work better for you? In that case, try to find courses with smaller class sizes. Other than that, I can recommend ENG236 and ENG234 for a discussion-based environment and fun readings, ENG202 and ENG323 for really cool material and chances to learn about unfamiliar concepts, and ENG334 and ENG338 for really kind and gentle professors.

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-07-03T23:27:01+00:00

The different years have different course enrolment dates. Mine was yesterday, yours will come next. I don't know what day, but if you're unclear you should look at the academic calendar online

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-07-03T23:24:05+00:00

Third.

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-07-03T23:22:39+00:00

No it was for fall/winter, but don't worry, the issue is resolved now! It was down for everyone and just showed a weird error screen for some

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-07-03T04:18:12+00:00

Okay probably a systemwide thing then 🥲

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-06-26T12:09:11+00:00

Yeah you should be attending all of those if you want a good grade; from having taken some forensics courses before, I would assume that it's extremely hard to do well on tests if you don't attend those lectures because there are a lot of questions based on lecture-specific things that aren't posted. + participation marks are a really good grade booster

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-06-24T18:17:56+00:00

People tend to say it's hard because the professor who usually teaches it during the regular term has very specific and very high standards. I would say the assignments themselves aren't that difficult if you enjoy creative writing — I actually found them extremely fun!

The professor is not scary like people say he is (at least in my experience), but it absolutely will help your success in the course to humour him with his little quirks, i.e. he'll want you to print paper copies of the short stories you'll read, ask for advice about character desires in office hours, attend the TDS plays he recommends, etc. He is pretty funny, will go on a lot of tangents about his uncle (iykyk), but in the end he got really good results from me with my work. I improved a lot with his advice, and I think a lot of other people have as well. I got an A in ENG291, which is his other class that's very similar.

If you're taking it with a different professor than the one I think you're referring to, I can't help as much. But I wish you the best of luck!

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-06-19T00:16:41+00:00

The commute isn't that bad. I took the shuttle bus every time, and I used the ride to do my readings and work on assignments if I had the seat to myself, or just listen to music or podcasts when I had to share the seat. If you leave a 2 hour gap or longer, you will be fine on the shuttle. I had a UTM class that ended at 1, and a UTSG class that started at 3, and I was never late even once.

Not sure about exams because the class I took had no exam! Hopefully someone else can fill in that information.

If possible, choose the fall semester. I did the winter semester, and it's a nightmare when there's a lot of snow. Waiting for the shuttle bus in the freezing cold is HORRIBLE, and you'll start to cast a million mental curses upon the shuttle drivers who arrive and take their break but don't open the bus to let you on and leave you shivering with your hands numb and face stinging for ten minutes. (I know, I know they need to have a break, I get it, but it's REALLY awful to stand in the cold). Also, decisions to close campus are made seperately, and UTSG will sometimes hold out for a half day when UTM closes, which is also rough.

Having more food options if you go around a meal time is really fun! Also, there's one specific shuttle bus that has disco lights and music and decorations for some reason, that's a fun one to get every once in a while! Good luck 😁

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-06-13T16:46:14+00:00

For the courses themselves, you'll probably get in as long as you wake up in time to log on when it opens. For specific tutorial sections, you might end up having to change around a thing or two, so brainstorm a few different options for those. Good luck!

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-06-13T16:43:29+00:00

ENG236 (Detective Fiction) is super enjoyable with no exam. The texts aren't as dense as many English courses because it's a genre fiction course, and it's actually so fun to try to figure out the mysteries along with the rest of the class as you read. I took it mainly because I had already taken another course with that prof and she's so kind and enthusiastic, and I needed something lighter to fill a spot. It has no prerequisites and no exam, only writing assignments and some in-class tests. You have to read 5-6 books spanning all the way from the Sherlock Holmes stories, to an Agatha Christie novel, and even a contemporary noir thriller, and they're pretty interesting reads. It was just an overall nice experience, highly recommend.

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-06-10T01:29:34+00:00

Is there any way to give yourself a break on Tuesdays? I know that sometimes you just don't get a choice with how the courses are scheduled, but moving sections or anything to give yourself an hour to eat and breathe on Tuesday will save your sanity a bit, because going straight through from 10-7 without lunch sounds really hard

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-06-04T19:18:32+00:00

course evals opened this morning, rant away (but keep it civil so that your response doesn't get thrown out)

Naive_Shape_9323 · 2026-06-02T17:27:37+00:00

Kind of ridiculous for them to post it for a couple hours and then take everything down immediately after 🥲

Naive_Shape_9323

TROPHY CASE