Students found the assigned topics and the flexibility in their writing to be their favorite aspects of this course. They enjoyed the class discussions where people were encouraged to express and defend their opinions, and enjoyed the professor immensely. Many students found that class time spent reading their essays was not useful, and thought that they did not learn much over the semester. Suggestions for improvement included limiting the time that students read their works aloud and instead committing more class time to discussing how to write opinion pieces. Students who are considering this course should have a strong writing skill and be prepared to present their work to the class each week.

Students praised this course for having an insightful instructor who provided useful and personal feedback to students on how to conduct interviews and write stories. Perceived issues in the course included a belief that the instructor could be pretty tough on students’ writing, and in particular being ‘nitpicky about grammar.’ Students’ suggestions to improve the course varied greatly. Multiple students thought that their experience in the course could have been improved if there were more opportunities for direct feedback from the instructor. Prospective students should know that students found that the course gave them experience working as a journalist and they found that the course was a good fit for a writer with a public health interest.