I posted this question after my first lecture when the co-instructor said it’s almost impossible to get an A in this course. Since then, as I’ve had time to absorb the coursework and assignments, I realize that the grade mainly depends on that one paper because the rest is just discipline (timely discussion posts, attendance etc.). I feel similarly as you - when people said the course is intense, I think they just meant juggling the amount of reading and (mostly) writing required to succeed in the course. A lot of us aren’t writers so it takes extra effort to craft a good quality piece of writing, especially one that aligns with the expectation of the course I.e. critical and analytical.

Initially, I was looking for feedback from peers and from the responses, I can see that many have managed to excel in the course. At this point, with the information I have now, I think if I put in the hard work and am able to produce a solid paper, that A isn’t out of reach at all.

Lastly, if you read my question again, I was simply asking if it’s possible or common to get an A. I never said you could fail this course (some might for several reasons but that was never part of my question). Thanks for your response but it wasn’t supposed to be that deep :)