Honors English Language Arts Reviews

AMAZING class

This class was one of my favorite classes this year. I really liked the structure despite being concerned about it being asynchronous, and Mr. Stewart was super understanding and supportive. The asynchronous structure allowed for well thought out discussions, and allowed students to spend as much time focused on the language arts without having to participate in a class. Mr. Stewart did a really great job of helping people of different reading and writing levels, and was super accommodating when I got sick or forgot about an assignment. I would definitely recommend this class.

Amazing class, teacher, and experience!

What did you enjoy about this class? 

Honestly? Everything! The daily Morning Messages taught me so much about literary tools, such as how to craft a strong thesis statement and how to start analyzing symbolism and diction to understand what a piece might mean; the discussion questions (which is what most of the weekly writing assignments consisted of) allowed me to practice some of these skills, interact with the other students, and see how our interpretations differed from each other; and the book clubs encouraged me to try out books that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise read but that I ended up enjoying immensely. 

One of the main reasons I took this class was to get detailed feedback about my writing—and I’m glad to say that it exceeded my expectations here, too! Basically, most of the essays go through two drafts, and Mr. Stewart will go through the first draft and give you feedback on how good your introduction, thesis, analysis, diction, etc. is. He will also sometimes give you feedback on other assignments, like certain discussion posts. Mr. Stewart’s feedback was extremely detailed and thoughtful, and it helped me figure out how to improve my essays for the final draft.

In general, Mr. Stewart was just an amazing teacher! He clearly wanted everyone to succeed and benefit from the class. Also, whenever something came up, Mr. Stewart was extremely understanding as long as I reached out in advance to request extra time.

What kind of student is this class for?

You will be expected to read and write a lot, so if that is something you really dislike/have difficulty with, then this class may not be the best fit for you. However, I believe that most self-driven students—as long as they are willing to put time and effort into the assignments and really try to incorporate Mr. Stewart’s advice into their writing—would gain a lot from this class.

How much of a time commitment does this class require?

I would say that this varied a lot depending on the weeks because, while each of the discussion posts usually required the same number of paragraphs at minimum, the readings varied from short essays to several chapters of Jane Eyre. Also, I spent a lot more time on this class during the weeks when we had essays due. In general, I would say one to two hours is a reasonable range, but be prepared to spend a bit more or less time depending on that day’s assignment and (when it comes to turning in the essays) how consistently you’ve been working on a given assignment.

One thing to note is that this class requires daily interaction. I was initially unsure how well I would like this aspect. However, I usually have a bit of trouble staying on track with weekly deadlines, and I actually grew to appreciate the more rigid structure of this class after I’d adjusted to the daily workload.

Final Thoughts

If your search for an amazing English class and a passionate, dedicated teacher brought you here, look no further! I had an amazing time (while I enjoy all school subjects, this is the only class that I’m truly sad to see end), and I know that you will too!

Highly Recommend!

I enjoyed Mr. Stewart's English class because I received great in-depth feedback on my work, and the assignments were not stressful but fun and challenging. The essays, reading, and discussion topics were paced reasonably; this was the first English class I had fun in! It pushed me to think more creatively and critically to form my opinions and arguments, which helped me become a better reader and writer.

Honors English Language Arts Class Review

This has by far been the most lucrative literature class I have ever taken and among, if not the first in, my favorite writing classes I have ever taken. Mr. Stewart is an amazing teacher who gave great advice throughout every aspect of the class. He always responded to questions through the class page and through emails in a very timely manner. The assignments really helped me advance as a critical reader and a writer. Thank you for a great year, Mr. Stewart!

It will take your writing to the next level!

This class will boost your reading, writing, and critical thinking skills immensely. It is not the easiest of classes, but it will challenge you and improve you in a big way. The assignments are a great mix of reading, big essays, and discussions about the readings; not to mention the always helpful Morning Messages. If you work hard, you will be rewarded. Expect to spend at most an hour a day on the assignments.

Low stress class and very helpful

I'd definitely recommend this class. Mr. Stewart was a great teacher and always provided great feedback on each of the assignments. His morning messages were incredibly helpful in explaining the assignments. I blocked off about an hour each day for this class, but I usually didn't need all that time. The essays were challenging but mixed in with reading and discussion questions days which really helped keep the class low-stress. Mr. Stewart was very responsive. The book clubs were really fun, they introduced me to books I would have never read before this class. I'd recommend this class to anyone who wants to become a better writer and and expand their reading tastes. 

Honors English Language Arts (HELA) review - highly recommend!!

I cannot recommend this class enough! My writing and reading skills definitely strengthened, and I was more confident by the end of the year. I was terrified by the first essay of the year, but by the end, they were an exciting challenge! Also, the essay prompts were genuinely interesting and meaningful, even though they challenged me! While the daily assignments could occasionally feel overwhelming depending on my workload for the day, I am positive they paid off! On average, I spent close to an hour every day on this class. Sometimes I only needed 30 minutes, or if there was an essay or a long reading assignment, I spent closer to 1.5 hours. Mr. Stewart was a wonderful teacher. He gave detailed and extremely helpful explanations of everything. His extensive, thoughtful, and personalized feedback was invaluable to me, especially the in-depth comments he provided for everyone's essays. Taking this class as a 9^th grader intending to later take higher and harder level AP English Language and Literature classes, I’m sure any success in high school writing started because of this class. 10/10 – highly recommend!

HELA Review

I thought that I wasn't ready for this at first, but I tried it anyway and I'm really glad that I did. The assignments were fun but challenging and Mr. Stewart was always ready to answer questions. I learned a lot more on defending arguments and better writing style. Mr. Stewart also gave great feedback on what we did good and what needed some work. This class is the best writing course I have taken, so I would recommend HELA to anyone who is willing to work hard to get good results!

HELA Review

This whole class has been so valuable to me in terms of improving my reading and writing skills! Mr. Stewart is a fantastic teacher, and he gives great feedback, which has really made a difference in helping me get better at reading and writing. The class is organized in a fashion that makes it very student-centered, such as independent book clubs, and this adds to the enjoyment of the class, in my experience.

HELA Review

The class is very doable even for people who don't like writing. No assignments come too fast. The essays push you a little bit, but not so much that it feels impossible. The feedback I got was always very useful and encouraging even when I had lots of revision ahead.

HELA Review

The class is very doable even for people who don't like writing. No assignments come too fast. The essays push you a little bit, but not so much that it feels impossible. The feedback I got was always very useful and encouraging even when I had lots of revision ahead.

So much fun!!!!

I would definitely recommend this class to other students. I've read awesome things this year, and had a lot of fun writing and discussing. Since Zoom meetings usually leave me feeling drained, it was nice not having them, and I still made a lot of friends.

A hard-working, deep-thinking student will go far in this class! Good luck!

HELA Review

This was a very low stress class, only taking about 3 hours a week of time. I would definitely recommend the class, as I learned a lot about reading and writing well. Mr. Stewart was a very good teacher!

HELA Review

This was a very low stress class, only taking about 2 hours a week of time. I would definitely recommend the class, as I learned a lot about reading and writing well.

HELA Review - Mr. Stewart

I did not take the AP exam, but I do feel like the course prepared me well for the English sections of my end-of-year test.  I think this course also helps with the reading section on the SAT.  During the spring semester, I put about 5-12 hours per week into the course (it varied a lot week to week, depending on when major assignments were due.)  You can work on major assignments ahead of time if you will be busy the week they are due, which I did a lot.

I learned to read literature as literature, rather than mindlessly reading the words.  I thought the literary tools essay taught me how authors create their stories, and how we can find those patterns that they place in the finished product.

The one drawback to this class is that a few of the assignments in the first semester are very personal, especially the personal essay and the personal news audit, which are both posted to the entire class.  If you are willing to do those personal assignments and work hard on all of them, this is a great class.  Mr. Stewart is a great teacher, and he gave me lots of wonderful feedback.  At the end of the year, I looked back at my first few posts, and then I looked at my most recent posts.  It was a night and day difference.

Honors English and Language Arts

First, this was definitely one of my favorite classes that I have taken. I felt like this class has definitely prepared me for future English and Language Arts courses that I may take. I spent about one hour everyday on this class. I think that all of the assignments were very helpful and they helped solidify the new knowledge that I was learning. I think any student who is willing to put in some hard work would do well in this course!

I loved this class.

This was one the best classes I took this year. I always enjoyed English as a subject and writing, but this class increased my interest and knowledge in the subject exponentially. Mr. Stewart is amazing teacher; He is extremely kind and helpful when it comes to teaching and his feedback and support is very helpful and I learnt a lot because of his patience and teaching methods. 

I would not say this class is hard, but genuine effort and honest work is a must. This class focuses on so much more than basic English and reading, so if you want to sign up - and you must - be prepared to work hard and honestly.

I would recommend this class to anyone who wants to take English. I have nothing but praise for this class. This is one of the best classes I took this year and in my schooling.

Best online class you will ever find!

I have done online class basically my entire life, and I have to say this is probably the best one I have ever taken! The work is not overwhelming, but still manages push you, the organization is phenomenal (Mr. Stewart sends out weekly updates, that describe what should be done each day), the morning messages are interesting and engaging, the essay are creative and enjoyable to write, and the group projects and discussion are actually a blast (even if you are not the most social person, they can be a lot of fun)! Whether you are interested in English as a profession or just want to improve your writing for daily life, this class is top notch and highly recommended!

Awesome English class!

How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

I typically put around 30 minutes to an hour into this class per day, depending on the specific workload. Sometimes it's just reading and answering a question, and sometimes there's discussion questions that require some more thought. It's definitely manageable, though, and it would definitely be possible to put more or less time into the class. It depends on what you want to get out of it. I found that the more time I spent on reading or discussion questions, the more I grew and got out of the class.

Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?
Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

My personal favorite assignment was our personal narrative essay, where we talked about a relationship we had with someone by showing the reader what our relationship was like through experiences and memories, rather than just telling it all. It was wonderful to figure out what subtext will serve which purpose in my writing. All of the essays helped me learn something, though. Usually I hate essay-writing, but Mr. Stewart's instructions are very helpful and clear, and he almost always goes through your essays line-by-line to show you what you can do better rather than just slapping an "A" or "C" on top without explaining why.

As for the enhancement of my interest, I already loved English before this class, but this definitely helped me get a wider and more broad view on it. It also helped me branch out from things I usually do, such as creative writing and fantasy reading, and helped me understand things such as older novels and critical writing and appreciate them a lot more than I did before. This was definitely one of my favorite classes this year!

Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

Absolutely! Getting feedback from other students on my essays and discussion questions seemed intimidating at first, but it was super helpful to see different views besides my own. Leaving feedback on other people's work also was unique from what I had experienced before. (with only the teacher seeing the student's work and giving feedback on it) Seeing other people's work helped me see multiple interpretations of a piece of text and understand it better.

What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)?

Any student who is willing to put in work to improve themselves would do very well in this class. Here, it's less about the grade and more about the effort you're willing to put into your assignments.

Overall, this course is very clear and easy to follow, and Mr. Stewart is very understanding and flexible if you need, for example, extensions on an essay, or if you're confused about something! Definitely would recommend this class!

Top notch English class!

This class was truly a highlight of my year. Not only was it enjoyable, but it challenged me to become a better writer in every possible way. Mr. Stewart is a phenomenal teacher, adding life and energy into his teaching with every morning message and grade you get. Overall, it can't get much better than this for an honors English course.

How many hours of work per day or per week did you generally put into the course?

On a usual day, I would spend roughly an hour on assignments. It would vary now and then based on how much reading was required, or depending on how much I had procrastinated, but overall, it is a very doable workload for most students. It is always possible to spend more or less time on this class, but that will reflect how much you get out of it. An hour a day is enough to see potentially big changes in your writing over the course of the year.

Are there any particularly favorite assignments that you found especially valuable?

The majority of assignments in this class can be made enjoyable, and all of them are definitely valuable. My favorite assignments, though, were the essays. Usually, writing essays wouldn't get my hyped up, but Mr. Stewart lays out the framework well with clear direction and teaching to make the process easy to understand and carry out. My favorite writing project was the poem that we wrote at the very end of the year. Poetry sounded daunting to me, but Poetry Monday's saved the day! The ability to express myself and my ideas through my writing was also very valuable in all assignments, even if some boundaries were in place.

Did the course enhance your interest in the subject?

Definitely! I never would have considered myself to have a love for writing, but this past year, my opinions on English have shifted. I now enjoy everything from poetry to lengthy Victorian novels. This class has also fostered and developed a love and comfort around writing.

Did you find your communications with other students to be interesting or valuable?

Yes! This will vary from student to student, but if you do decide to put yourself out there, you'll find a warm and welcoming community. Often, we set up communication outside of class on Skype or other messaging platforms, and if you have a question, chances are someone will have an answer. Or, if you want someone to look over your work, others are willing to devote their time to offer feedback. Inside of class (a.k.a. the message board and discussion questions), students are always welcome and often required to respond to other's posts and there are assignments for reading other's essays and giving constructive feedback. This was a unique part of class and added extra perspective to most writing assignments. It also added critical thinking to the mix, and challenged one's ability to express their thoughts in words.

What sort of student would do well in this course? Would you recommend this course to other students (if they are willing to work hard!)

I'd recommend this class to any diligent student. Even if you don't see yourself as strong in the writing department, you'll be able to grow in all aspects of language from reading to writing and expressing ideas clearly and thoughtfully. If you do consider yourself a good writer, I'd still recommend this class! It covers a wide range of English related topics. The year I took this class, we studied novels, plays, opinion pieces, scientific writing, critical essays, personal essays, short stories, news reporting, poetry, and much more! This class offers a strong foundation, and is perfect in preparation for any AP Language Arts class.

Highly Recommended

This Honors English Language Arts class is one of my favorite classes I took this year! We covered a lot of different topics and writing styles (from critical essays to poems!) without feeling rushed and I enjoyed all the major assignments we were assigned. My favorite assignment was the "Literary Tools" essay because I love reading different stories by one author and trying to see how they fit together. Another thing I really like about this class is Mr. Stewart's grading, because for all of our first drafts, he gives us a lot of helpful and encouraging suggestions and tips. He grades our first draft essays line for line, which may seem intimidating but in reality is not. Instead it is extremely helpful! For this course, I generally put in around around 30 minutes to 1 hour of work per day. I would definitely recommend this course!

Honors English Language Arts Review

   This is an excellent class! Mr. Stewart is super helpful and knowledgeable, and I enjoyed having him as my teacher. My writing skills vastly improved over the course of the school year, as well as my understanding of the English language. The workload was not too rough, either. I spent about an hour each day on this class. I definitely recommend taking this class if you are at all interested in improving your English and writing skills, or if you plan on taking any English AP courses in the future!