Professor

Richard Ellis

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4.4
Overall Ratings
Based on 17 Users
Easiness 3.4 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Workload 3.1 / 5 How light the workload is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Clarity 4.2 / 5 How clear the professor is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Helpfulness 4.2 / 5 How helpful the professor is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

Reviews (17)

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Feb. 2, 2024
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A-

There were a lot of assignments and reading for this class. Often times the readings felt unnecessary. The class can be fun, but when it comes to the assignments it can be confusing. I found myself wanting to get ahead when the assignments were posted, but then I would have to rework my drafts after he said something in class for what he was looking for from the assignment. He didn't go over the assignments with much detail, just briefly mentioning them in class and then moving on to lectures. The lectures have A LOT of text and it can be hard to keep up with what he's saying. He's very passionate about the topic and can keep you engaged, but I feel like this class would be more fun if the assignments weren't so hard. The study guide for the midterm had about 70 pictures to study and other key terms. It helps if you know greek, otherwise you will have to do a lot of flash cards and memorization. Quizlet was useful for the midterm and final for me. If this subject interests you I'd say it can be worth a shot taking this class, but I would only do this class again if I were only doing a maximum of 12 units to handle everything. There's a final paper and final exam so it feels like two finals around finals season, so keep that in mind too.

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Nov. 18, 2023
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A

This class has so much work, blue book midterm and final, 2 writing assignments and final research assignment/paper. I don't know if it was worth it to take because the subject was really hard to find interesting. His lectures are not recorded and his slides are very text heavy. Lots of readings and many images to remember (ie: first midterm about 70 images to remember details about)

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April 19, 2023
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A

I really liked this class, and would recommend for anyone interested in mythology and people's belief systems. There was a moderate amount of reading to do, not too much but it would be difficult if another class you are taking also has a lot of required readings. The professor is really cool and makes the lectures pretty engaging. The workload isn't too bad, although there are two projects that require some creativity, which was challenging for me. The 'exams' were just timed analysis of some passages from what we had read and gone over in lecture.

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March 13, 2023
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A+

I really liked Professor Ellis. His lectures are really engaging and he has a fantastic british accent. There are three PATs in this class, which are passage analysis tests where you have to respond to two quotations from the texts. If you go to lecture and read the texts, you'll be fine. It was kind of hilarious because my TA (Shoutout Lena) was lowkey beefing with him throughout the quarter over grading stuff, because he was apparently swooping in and giving people different grades than what the TA did. I didn't really notice any of this though, and didn't have any problem. Overall I really liked Professor Ellis, and he really cared about teaching and the subject matter.

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March 13, 2023
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A-

I would highly recommend this class for anyone interested in learning more about ancient human beliefs and historical mythology. Professor Ellis' passion for the subject is wonderfully contagious, and while he can sometimes spiral into rants nobody quite understands at times, he always finds a way to circle back to the subject. The assignments are clear and manageable, and many of the TAs for this class are just hilarious and so helpful (I had Lena Barsky). Many of the stories we learn in class are fascinating and implement themes familiar in our modern life, revealing what patterns humans have gravitated towards since the dawn of storytelling.
I will miss this class's lectures and sections. If you can, take it!

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Nov. 24, 2014
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A

I initially didn't have any interest in Greek civilization, but I took the class because I heard classics 10 is pretty easy. After taking the class I definitely have a much greater appreciation and interest in Greek civilization. Ellis' interest and passion in the subject make his lectures much more interesting. He's also very nice, which helps too.

Class structure:
Discussion: 15%
Three quizzes (lowest score dropped): 20%
Two response papers (2 pages each): 15%
Paper (6 pages): 20%
Final: 30%

Studying:
You HAVE to go to lecture in order to know what's important about certain quotes, images, etc. I recommend bringing a laptop just because you can take notes faster. His lectures are very well organized, so it's not too difficult to figure out what's important. There aren't any previous exams at the test bank except for maybe the short quizzes because there's no midterm and people don't usually get the final back. The exams are all writing, so if you're a fan of multiple choice, this probably isn't your kind of class. Ellis said the final should only take 1.5 hours, but I was writing for 2.5 hours straight lol. My wrist cried. :( :( I'll admit the exam was pretty difficult and there were definitely parts that I didn't know what to write (even though I did well on quizzes and prepared pretty well). But there's a very generous curve. The final was out of 92 points or some weird number in the 90s...There was a total of 250 points on the exam, so I don't know how that worked. Either way, with the curve I ended up getting over 100% on the final. So yeah...go to class, put in the effort, and you'll probably do much better than most of the class lol.

Overall: If you're going to take classics 10 and plan to put in the effort (just do the readings and pay attention in lecture), take this class with Ellis. He makes the stuff seem very interesting!

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April 8, 2016
Quarter: Winter 2016
Grade: B+

Your grade is completely dependent upon your TA. If you take this class with a friend and their TA seems chill, switch sections because mine was a hardass and graded as such. Ellis is is a quirky British dude who is very knowledgeable about the material and very approachable. His lectures are good but frankly boring unless you care about ancient Greece. He is lowkey pretty funny too because some of the stories the class deals with are plain outlandish. The grading scheme is different than most Writing 2 classes; You have three essays due throughout the quarter but you get a provisional grade on these. Your final grade is mostly dependent upon a "portfolio" you turn in finals week. This portfolio consists of two of the three essays you wrote (you choose the two) that have substantial revisions from the initial copies you turned in and a two-page commentary explaining your changes and why you chose those essays. All in all this class is one of the better Writing 2s imho but be weary of your TA

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May 31, 2016
Quarter: Winter 2016
Grade: A

this class is easy as fuck for a writing ii. literally only 3 papers, and you get to hand in rough drafts and fix them, so at the end your grade is based on what you feel are your two best papers. you really don't need to read honestly, i didn't, just go to lecture and write down what he says. you have to do 4 discussion posts total which are nothing.

grading is also probably dependent on your ta, but mine was cool. ellis is a chill guy, he's british and looks like milo from atlantis and is super passionate about what he's talking about, which makes it easy to listen even if you don't care about the topic. overall, i highly recommend this class. ellis makes it very easy to succeed

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June 26, 2017
Quarter: Spring 2017
Grade: A-

Grade depends on TA. Apparently I ended up with one that does not like to give out 100%'s for anything, including section participation which could have put me over the edge to an A. If you can tell, I'm pretty salty about that.

Other than that, this was a very good class. Professor Ellis, is, in my opinion, a great lecturer. However, that goes to say you'll only stay awake during lecture if you are interested in classics, if you aren't you'll probably die of boredom. He picked out some good books for us to read, with this class being primarily centered around The Odyssey. There are a ton of readings and only 3 essays.

He did something different this quarter and made the last paper a 12 page collaborative one with a partner, which was a weird assignment. However, the amount you actually write for this one, and the other two are about 4-5 pages. The prompts are pretty straightforward and he gives you way more than you need in lecture to work with and succeed on them.

To succeed in the class, attend lecture because he rambles on about his own ideas and other people's that you can take and use for your papers. Discussions are mandatory (it's a GE) and he has you post on CCLE as well. There is a final exam as well, but that one is more of a check to see if you read the books, and he usually takes out important passages that were talked about in lecture, hence why going to lecture is important. Just remember all the important character's names, some of the books can get a little muddy with similar naming.

But, like I said grade depends on the subjectivity of your TA.

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July 6, 2017
Quarter: Winter 2016
Grade: A

Selling required reading materials for this class.

Gods, Heroes, and Monster - $20
Sophocles, Oedipus the Kind - $5
Euripides Bacchae and Other Plays - $ 10

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CLASSIC 165
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A-
Feb. 2, 2024

There were a lot of assignments and reading for this class. Often times the readings felt unnecessary. The class can be fun, but when it comes to the assignments it can be confusing. I found myself wanting to get ahead when the assignments were posted, but then I would have to rework my drafts after he said something in class for what he was looking for from the assignment. He didn't go over the assignments with much detail, just briefly mentioning them in class and then moving on to lectures. The lectures have A LOT of text and it can be hard to keep up with what he's saying. He's very passionate about the topic and can keep you engaged, but I feel like this class would be more fun if the assignments weren't so hard. The study guide for the midterm had about 70 pictures to study and other key terms. It helps if you know greek, otherwise you will have to do a lot of flash cards and memorization. Quizlet was useful for the midterm and final for me. If this subject interests you I'd say it can be worth a shot taking this class, but I would only do this class again if I were only doing a maximum of 12 units to handle everything. There's a final paper and final exam so it feels like two finals around finals season, so keep that in mind too.

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CLASSIC 165
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A
Nov. 18, 2023

This class has so much work, blue book midterm and final, 2 writing assignments and final research assignment/paper. I don't know if it was worth it to take because the subject was really hard to find interesting. His lectures are not recorded and his slides are very text heavy. Lots of readings and many images to remember (ie: first midterm about 70 images to remember details about)

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CLASSIC 30
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
April 19, 2023

I really liked this class, and would recommend for anyone interested in mythology and people's belief systems. There was a moderate amount of reading to do, not too much but it would be difficult if another class you are taking also has a lot of required readings. The professor is really cool and makes the lectures pretty engaging. The workload isn't too bad, although there are two projects that require some creativity, which was challenging for me. The 'exams' were just timed analysis of some passages from what we had read and gone over in lecture.

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CLASSIC 30
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A+
March 13, 2023

I really liked Professor Ellis. His lectures are really engaging and he has a fantastic british accent. There are three PATs in this class, which are passage analysis tests where you have to respond to two quotations from the texts. If you go to lecture and read the texts, you'll be fine. It was kind of hilarious because my TA (Shoutout Lena) was lowkey beefing with him throughout the quarter over grading stuff, because he was apparently swooping in and giving people different grades than what the TA did. I didn't really notice any of this though, and didn't have any problem. Overall I really liked Professor Ellis, and he really cared about teaching and the subject matter.

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CLASSIC 30
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A-
March 13, 2023

I would highly recommend this class for anyone interested in learning more about ancient human beliefs and historical mythology. Professor Ellis' passion for the subject is wonderfully contagious, and while he can sometimes spiral into rants nobody quite understands at times, he always finds a way to circle back to the subject. The assignments are clear and manageable, and many of the TAs for this class are just hilarious and so helpful (I had Lena Barsky). Many of the stories we learn in class are fascinating and implement themes familiar in our modern life, revealing what patterns humans have gravitated towards since the dawn of storytelling.
I will miss this class's lectures and sections. If you can, take it!

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CLASSIC 10
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Nov. 24, 2014

I initially didn't have any interest in Greek civilization, but I took the class because I heard classics 10 is pretty easy. After taking the class I definitely have a much greater appreciation and interest in Greek civilization. Ellis' interest and passion in the subject make his lectures much more interesting. He's also very nice, which helps too.

Class structure:
Discussion: 15%
Three quizzes (lowest score dropped): 20%
Two response papers (2 pages each): 15%
Paper (6 pages): 20%
Final: 30%

Studying:
You HAVE to go to lecture in order to know what's important about certain quotes, images, etc. I recommend bringing a laptop just because you can take notes faster. His lectures are very well organized, so it's not too difficult to figure out what's important. There aren't any previous exams at the test bank except for maybe the short quizzes because there's no midterm and people don't usually get the final back. The exams are all writing, so if you're a fan of multiple choice, this probably isn't your kind of class. Ellis said the final should only take 1.5 hours, but I was writing for 2.5 hours straight lol. My wrist cried. :( :( I'll admit the exam was pretty difficult and there were definitely parts that I didn't know what to write (even though I did well on quizzes and prepared pretty well). But there's a very generous curve. The final was out of 92 points or some weird number in the 90s...There was a total of 250 points on the exam, so I don't know how that worked. Either way, with the curve I ended up getting over 100% on the final. So yeah...go to class, put in the effort, and you'll probably do much better than most of the class lol.

Overall: If you're going to take classics 10 and plan to put in the effort (just do the readings and pay attention in lecture), take this class with Ellis. He makes the stuff seem very interesting!

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CLASSIC 40W
Quarter: Winter 2016
Grade: B+
April 8, 2016

Your grade is completely dependent upon your TA. If you take this class with a friend and their TA seems chill, switch sections because mine was a hardass and graded as such. Ellis is is a quirky British dude who is very knowledgeable about the material and very approachable. His lectures are good but frankly boring unless you care about ancient Greece. He is lowkey pretty funny too because some of the stories the class deals with are plain outlandish. The grading scheme is different than most Writing 2 classes; You have three essays due throughout the quarter but you get a provisional grade on these. Your final grade is mostly dependent upon a "portfolio" you turn in finals week. This portfolio consists of two of the three essays you wrote (you choose the two) that have substantial revisions from the initial copies you turned in and a two-page commentary explaining your changes and why you chose those essays. All in all this class is one of the better Writing 2s imho but be weary of your TA

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CLASSIC 40W
Quarter: Winter 2016
Grade: A
May 31, 2016

this class is easy as fuck for a writing ii. literally only 3 papers, and you get to hand in rough drafts and fix them, so at the end your grade is based on what you feel are your two best papers. you really don't need to read honestly, i didn't, just go to lecture and write down what he says. you have to do 4 discussion posts total which are nothing.

grading is also probably dependent on your ta, but mine was cool. ellis is a chill guy, he's british and looks like milo from atlantis and is super passionate about what he's talking about, which makes it easy to listen even if you don't care about the topic. overall, i highly recommend this class. ellis makes it very easy to succeed

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0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
CLASSIC 40W
Quarter: Spring 2017
Grade: A-
June 26, 2017

Grade depends on TA. Apparently I ended up with one that does not like to give out 100%'s for anything, including section participation which could have put me over the edge to an A. If you can tell, I'm pretty salty about that.

Other than that, this was a very good class. Professor Ellis, is, in my opinion, a great lecturer. However, that goes to say you'll only stay awake during lecture if you are interested in classics, if you aren't you'll probably die of boredom. He picked out some good books for us to read, with this class being primarily centered around The Odyssey. There are a ton of readings and only 3 essays.

He did something different this quarter and made the last paper a 12 page collaborative one with a partner, which was a weird assignment. However, the amount you actually write for this one, and the other two are about 4-5 pages. The prompts are pretty straightforward and he gives you way more than you need in lecture to work with and succeed on them.

To succeed in the class, attend lecture because he rambles on about his own ideas and other people's that you can take and use for your papers. Discussions are mandatory (it's a GE) and he has you post on CCLE as well. There is a final exam as well, but that one is more of a check to see if you read the books, and he usually takes out important passages that were talked about in lecture, hence why going to lecture is important. Just remember all the important character's names, some of the books can get a little muddy with similar naming.

But, like I said grade depends on the subjectivity of your TA.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
CLASSIC 30
Quarter: Winter 2016
Grade: A
July 6, 2017

Selling required reading materials for this class.

Gods, Heroes, and Monster - $20
Sophocles, Oedipus the Kind - $5
Euripides Bacchae and Other Plays - $ 10

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
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