Justin Chin

I took Justin in Spring 03 in the Writers on Writing class. 90% of classtime was given to the visiting writers who came. I don't know if Justin is gay but that theme seemed to recur throughout the semester. In fairness we only had visits from local writers as a result of the tiny budget, we are in SF as you know. Anyway, Justin is fairly lenient in his grading. We were asked to write ten papers and truth be told when I had to fudge a review from a book I barely read it was easy. The class had 60 people though. This class is a gpa booster. Take it when you need that additional steroid for your grades. I deserved a C, but got a B. I'm not arguing.

Justin Chin is a fantastic instructor. If you do not enjoy reading and writing you may not want his class though. In the course, there were 11 books assigned, and you are required to read 10. To top it off you need to write 10 papers. You are probably wondering why I am giving the instructor an A at this point. The fact of the matter is, that you will read a varied selection of writings, and you will have to look past the fact of whether you like it or not. If you do the assignments, and the writing, then you will walk away from this course a stronger reader, as well as a writer. One of the most interesting aspects of this course is that you not only get to read the book, but the author will take the time to speak with the class. The last aspect of this professor that you may find interesting is the fact the he is also a published author. I beieve that he has 4 books under his belt. If you want a taste of the reading that you will be doing, check out one of his books.

Justin Chin is a great teacher in many ways. He doesn't put up with crap from students and he can be strict, so watch out if you want a no work envirornment, but if you want to get a job done and learn, this is the guy. His grading if often on pass/fail basis (If you turn in an assignment, you'll get full credit) and he has a very clear course outline. He is not too demanding. He does speak quietly and his comments can be hard to read, but this seldom gets in the way of his teaching. I recomend this guy.