20 students submitted evaluations for this course.
83% of the students enrolled in this course submitted evaluations.
| Zero | One | Two | Four | Four + | |
| 1. Approximately how many times were you absent from this class since the beginning of the quarter? | 12 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| I wasn't absent | Time Conflict | Illness | Did not deem class attendance worthwhile | Other | |
| 2. What was the usual reason for your absence? | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Never | Rarely | Usually | Always | Other | |
| 3. Indicate how often, on the average, you read the assigned materials prior to classes. | 0 | 1 | 14 | 5 | 0 |
| Strongly Agree | Agree | Neutral | Disagree | Strongly Disagree | |
| 4. This professor stimulated my interest in the subject matter of this course. | 14 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 5. The assigned readings were valuable to my understanding of this course. | 5 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 6. The professor covered the course material in depth. | 13 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 7. I found this course to be well organized. | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8. The professor held my attention in class. | 9 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 9. This professor is always prepared prior to class. | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10. This professor was willing to assist me outside of class. | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11. This professor was responsive to my questions. | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12. This professor makes good use of class time. | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13. This professor taught the class at a level that challenged me. | 15 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 14. This professor effectively communicated the content of the course to me. | 12 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 15. I would recommend to others that they take this course. | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16. This professor motivated me to do my best work. | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17. I was able to keep up with the work load for this course. | 12 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 18. I would enjoy taking another course from this professor. | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Positive and Negative comments about the professor: | Positive and negative comments about the course materials: |
| Professor Thompson is extremely good about adapting to the various learning styles of his students. He really takes time to understand what they need and has his students give him feedback to make the course better. He is extremely respectful of student input and ideas. He is very respectful of everyone and it's clear he cares very much about teaching. The class atmosphere was always good. I enjoyed coming to class. He used many different techniques to teach the concepts of LP such as hands on activites, visual analogies, etc. His class definately worked for me and I feel that I've learned to appreciate the study of law more because of his course. I'm glad we get to have a year of it. | The books that were assigned to the class were extermely helpful when you needed to consult them. The readings were helpful, but not crucial. I don't feel that they helped the course move. They seemed to be more supplementary than anything. |
| Professor Thomson did a great job of being available to students outside of class, and was very helpful. You could really tell that he wanted everyone to succeed. | |
| His commitment to teaching with purpose was obvious from day 1. | My only feedback (as the spouse of a writing teacher) is that there are limits to what can be gained by talking about writing. I would suggest more in-class writing activities (maybe one a week) with opportunity for quick feedback. They need not be extensive and probably should not require out-of-class preparation so as to not detract from Memo writing. |
| Professor Thomson was always well prepared and communicated a willingness to help to all of us. However, frequently questions were answered very vaguely and didn't give us the guidance we were looking for. Additionally, there were times when the class was to scripted and came across as unnatural. | The course materials were good, however I think the order of things such as the casemap and ICW exercise could have been ordered better. |
| Prof. Thomson approaches teaching very creatively, effectively drawing in students of all learning styles. His real world experience brings a lot of value to the course, and his endless search for new pedagogical methods enhances the level of interest he fosters in his students. | As a technical writer I found it surprisingly difficult to adapt to the legal writing style, but the course materials were very useful during the transition. I think the true value of the course will be revealed this summer during my first legal job. Overall, a very worthwhile course. |
| Professor Thomson was a helpful resource in class and out of class. He spent a lot of time out of class to assist students one on one, which I found very helpful. | |
| Prof. Thomson is caring, friendly, and is always welcoming student questions and input. I appreciated his motivation and encouragement this semester - especially when work began to pile up. | I know many students have already expressed their opinion regarding the ICW exercises, but I will just say again that I think that the exercises should have been assigned MUCH earlier in the semester - perhaps even before our first memo! I think it really would have helped our overall understanding of the bluebook and citations. Also, please consider doing the presentation/library exercise using the hard-bound materials PRIOR to the Lexis and Westlaw classes. Once I started using the online research tools, I was hooked! |
| Professor Thomson was a great professor. No one has ever pushed my writing as much as he did. I have never spent so much time and effort on a paper. Professor Thomson forced us to learn legal writing through our own mechanisims, which I think will greatly help us in the future. | The only suggestion I have in regards to course materials is that the books weren't extremely helpful. There were few examples of multi-issue memos and that made it a little challenging to have working models. Other than that, everything was great! |
| Thomson was very dedicated to teaching, and it was evident that he wanted everyone to do well, because he believes Legal Writing is very important | Course materials were helpful, and hand outs and power points were very useful when it came to drafting the memos |
| Absolutely loved Professor Thomson, he helped not only with this course, but with all of my classes for first semester. | |
| I thought Professor Thomson was very effective in teaching this class. Combining his teaching methods with his consistent availability outside of class, he clearly seemed very concerned that we learn how to begin mastering a new style of writing. I stress this, because instead of going over in-class materials and having us figure it out for ourselves, he was ready, willing and able any questions about writing style, structure and content when we approached him for help. His knowledge and expertise in legal writing was evident and he truly cared that we learn to write effectively. | I thought the course itself was good with one major suggestion. Conducting the ICW exercises and teaching citations (& Bluebook familiarity) should have begun earlier in the semester. I think that the ICW exercises were very helpful, but to have learned about citations earlier would have made for greater attention to and knowledge of citations in Memo 3. |
| Professor Thomson is a role model for his students. |