Winn, Michael  

I had him for coms and i thought he was pretty great. you have to do about 4 speechs within the quarter. we also take one midterm but its not really going to affect ur grade if u fail it. basically hes a really funny and smart guy. the class wasnt boring at all. i like how he critiques our speeches. i promise you will do perfectly fine in the class as long as you show up and put a little effort into your speeches.

I love Michael Winn! He\'s hilarious, and a really fun teacher to have. His class is easy [4 speeches 2 tests], and he\'s completely understandable when it comes to speeches. His tests are hard but they only count for 16% of your grade or so, so you can pass the class even if you fail the final. His speeches are interesting topics and very easy to research. Overall this was a great class and i really enjoyed Professor Winn! Oh and try to be the timer, it gets you 5 percentage points extra.

He\'s very good at teaching and helping students speak more effectively (I had him for COMS 101) but he has one problem: HE GIVES A TON OF WORK! seriously, you have to write a huge paper for each speech, plus a ton of reading to do every other night. its ridiculous for someone with 12 other units of \"real classes\" they have to work for, but get stuck writing bs papers for a class that has no importance whatsoever. if you can help it, DONT TAKE MICHAEL WINN\'S CLASS!!!!

dont even think about taking this teacher if your not in theatre and cant give a flawless speech. you WILL get a B or C in this class if you are not one of those people. being smart doesnt matter to him. i saw multiple people gets C\'s on speeches i thought were closer to A\'s. this is one class you do not want to take, trust me.

Michael Winn is a good guy lets be honest. But his class is complete Bulls***. If you want to waste 2 hours of your life sitting and listening to his life stories and random tangents than this is your guy. We all know those teachers that take 45 mins going off on a 5 min lecture i mean comeon! I could say every one of his classes were pointless but you have to sit through it (or sleep) seeing he takes attendance every day. The way he teaches his class is ridiculous! if last option good luck but take a different teacher please..

Winn is a very intelligent man. His class is designed so that his midterms and finals aren't worth anything compared to his speeches and papers. You have 5 speeches due every 2 weeks. Personal insight = 7%. Inspirational person = 12% Informative = 20% Persuasion = 20% Impromptu = 3%; Midterm = 6% Final = 9%, and the rest comes from your papers. It's quite lame that you have to write papers for a 101 class...but he grades really easily on them. As long as there is no grammar errors, you get the full grade. But be careful, he finds all kinds of grammar errors. He circles words that he doesnt think belong in the sentence even though they are valid. And he's quite biased on speech topics. He's a republican too. I felt like if he approved of your topic, you'd get a good grade. A speech class shouldn't be about what you deliver, but how you do it. Overall, if you put in minimum effort, you'd get a B.

Professor Winn is a great guy. Here's how the class works: Midterm is 6% of your grade. Final is 9%. There are 4 speeches that add up to 60% of your grade and 3 essays that add up to 25% of your grade. His lectures can be boring, but overall he's a likable guy. There is no homework, and you honestly don't need to buy the books. I bought them, but never read them. I got a 65% on the midterm, but it doesn't even matter, it's only 6% of your grade. I definitely recommend taking him.

First off, I took Mike Winn's class last year, with no idea what to expect. He had horrid polyratings, and that worried me. I was even more worried when he walked in first day with this old fashion suit and briefcase. I learned not to judge a book by it's cover that quarter. I have never had so much fun in a class, high school or college. You have to give a speech every 2 weeks or so, but the speeches aren't very long and he doesn't grade very hard. You have to write papers on your speeches, but they don't have to be more than a few pages, and those are even easier in terms of grading. There is both a midterm and a final in the class, but don't worry, combined they are only 15 percent of your grade. I failed both of them, I want to say 38% on the first and 43% on the second, but it's okay, because it's almost funny. The midterm and final are based out of a book that nobody.....nobody read. Mike understands this, so tends to make jokes about his tests as well. Honestly though, by far the funniest teacher you will ever have at Cal Poly ( and I've taken Tony Garcia's class). His tangents are Grade A, and some of the most hilarious things I have ever heard in my life. He was really helpful in office hours helping me prepare better speeches, but also was really kind in taking the time to talk to me about the rest of my classes, because he knew that I was having a hard time. In conclusion, take this guy, even with the low Polyratings, I have never had so much fun in a class. He cracks so many jokes that will just have you balling if you take the time to understand his humor. I also suggest fully researching your topic, you really can't give false information because this guy knows everything about everything. If you talk about how bottled water is cleaner than tap water, you'll surely get Winned because he is on the Nipomo county board in regards to water. Don't think twice, just take Mike and enjoy.

Professor Winn was a pretty cool guy. I can't complain too much about him because he laid out exactly what we were going to have to do in the beginning of the quarter, but it was definitely not easy. We were required to write an essay to go along with every single speech and the last research paper was 8 pages. Honestly it was a lot of work for just a GE but he didn't grade super hard so that was a plus. The midterm and final were jokes. He assigns super long readings and then pulls the most minuscule pieces of information out of them for the tests. They were both only worth a tiny bit of the grade but it was unnecessarily stressful. I would recommend not taking Winn if you want to breeze through Coms 101.

Professor Winn is great. He is incredibly smart and knowledgeable on just about every subject. His class is insightful and allows students to improve their speaking skills. Expect to work hard in the class, but an overall great experience.

Mr. Winn is a great teacher. He does ask you do a lot of reading, but the midterm and final are only worth 6% and 9% of your grade respectively, so you can succeed in this course one of three ways: 1) do poorly on the exams and do fairly well on the speeches and written portions and get a B; 2) Do poorly on the speeches but write, read, and test very well and get a B; 3) just kick ass all around and ace the course. It is not difficult my friends, this class will be background noise compared to your other courses, but you will still love going to class and listening to his lectures.

First of all, do not take this teacher if you are a liberal. Michael Winn is blatant in his political beliefs and your grade will suffer if you have opposing views. For a coms class you will have to do way more work than you will have to do with other professors. His classes consist of listening to him flaunting his knowledge on random subjects where everyone pretends to be amazed. He is a smart man, but he really loves the sound of his own voice and it gets old. He is sexist as well, you will get an A if you are a girl, but if you are a guy and don't have flawless public speaking skills do yourself a favor and take someone else.

Very knowledgeable teacher with great stories that kept the class entertaining. My only problem with him is that his tests have nothing to do with what was taught in lecture, but rather on what he assigns as reading. The readings are very boring and dense. On the upside, tests aren't worth that much in his class. For a 4 unit class, the workload wasn't unreasonable, but compared to other professors, yes, Winn does assign more homework.

I named my bong after this man.

Professor Winn is a very knowledgeable man. He knows a lot about a variety of subjects such as philosophy, politics, and other academic subjects. He is helpful and I really enjoyed this class. During speeches, he makes you feel more comfortable and helps you improve.

Michael was a ridiculous teacher to have. He is extremely biased and if he doesn't like the topic you give your speech you will inevitably to poorly. He is ridiculously biased and there were several times I wanted to clap him in the jaw for his ignorant beliefs. He would insult students casually, and he would follow up his insults by saying it isn't fair because students can't fire back. Don't take him unless you need coms that bad.

Best professor I've had thus far at Cal Poly. He is one of the most knowledgeable people I know. Definitely take this class.

Where can one begin with Mr. Winn. Well to start, I have to say the ratings seem to be rather unfair to Mike as this is a public speaking class, and being that nobody wants to take this, I think any Coms professor will be treated a bit harshly. From my prospective, Winn is one of most intelligent and knowledgeable men I have yet to meet in my lifetime. Expect to become a much better speaker in public, but also note that this man knows a little about a lot and will quickly catch any untruthfulness in a presentation. I admired his stories, his wisdom, and had an honest liking for his class lectures and also my classmates I now call friends. This class will involve several writing assignments that are rather basic, and all that attend this school should have no problem with them. He does however grade heavily on grammar rather than content. This is not an easy A class, but I don't pay thousands of dollars just for an A. I feel far more comfortable in front of a crowd than I ever could have imagined, and it is totally worth that in the end. I have never written a rating for a professor, but Winn deserves it. Do whatever you can to get in his class.

Mr.Winn is such a sweet and intelligent man. The class is very straightforward, and he is a pretty easy grader. I loved talking to him and getting to know him throughout the quarter. My only complaint is that I felt some of the lectures were off topic/ unnecessary. Overall, great class and great experience!

Professor Winn is an extremely good teacher. He is very clear with what he expects of students, which is a lot. He assigns a lot of work, probably too much for a GE course. You do have to write write a bit and the midterm/final are difficult, but fair in what he expects from the coursework assigned. Winn will make you a better speaker, but it will require lots of outside work and effort.

Professor Winn is a caring, kind, and definitely interesting guy. For my class, he really made us all feel comfortable with not only him, but also with one another. He does tend to get off topic with some of his lectures but still presents us with the information that we will be tested on. His midterm is very straight forward if you study exactly what he tells you to study. Also, he gives each student the opportunity to opt out of the final if their grade is high enough. Overall, he grades more on the quality of a presentation rather than the content of the topic. The class was very straight forward and will definitely help you improve your public speaking skills. I highly recommend taking his class!

I would first off like to say that I have never met anyone more intelligent than Mike Winn. The guy should go on jeopardy because there is no way he would lose. He told the class he can speak 7 languages and reads 5 books a day which is crazy talk! I am currently in the class and it is definitely a lot of work. It's college though so I guess its to be expected but I feel like there is always a speech or an essay due. He doesn't grade too too harshly but he does expect a lot. Overall, your public speaking will drastically improve. He is definitely an opinionated guy, super super conservative, so I avoid speech topics that he probably would very much oppose too. I don't think he would grade based on something he didn't want to hear but just in case. In the end, you will learn a lot, grow as speech giver, maybe learn a couple few interesting trivia facts(which helps on trivia crack) and have a lot of homework

Gives almost no homework. If you can speak well you'll do fine. He's also fricken hilarious and if you can take a joke you'll love him! But he'll probly want to make you cry if you a SJW.

Professor Winn has been one of the finest educators I have ever had. I had a lot of nerves about public speaking but he makes his class so incredibly comfortable and pushes you to come out of your comfort zone by letting you choose what you can talk about passionately. He brings all of the knowledge he's ever come across in his life and experiences into the class and it just totally makes it better than I ever anticipated. He taught us more than just how to give speeches. I would recommend him to anyone, and despite how I was in the beginning of the quarter with giving speeches, I would totally take this course over again.

Although not a terrible class, there was much more work than you would think for a basic GE. The three essays and five speeches took up more time than I was thinking, and the midterm was very random, unrelated material. He also criticized everyone after their speech in front of the class, so it was not the best learning atmosphere. Overall it was not the worst experience, but it definitely could've been better.

Probably one of the smartest people I have ever met in my life. There are 4 speeches in this class, with feedback he provides afterward. If you follow the rubric for his speeches getting an A/A- shouldn't be too hard on them. Where I had a tougher time was with the writing assignments but that was also because I had a lot of units this quarter, and simply did not put in my maximum effort. He is a very interesting person to talk to, he's very conservative, he will make that clear from the start, but also very open to discussion and will provide you most likely with an insight you had never thought of. Honestly some of the stuff he knows simply amazed me.

Professor Winn is an excellent instructor. At the beginning of the quarter I could hardly stand in front of a class and at the end of the quarter I was giving speeches with ease. He really cares about his students and takes the time to get to know them, at the end of the quarter he even told our class we could put him down as a reference. If you want a class where you'll learn more than just the course materials (meaning things related to the real world) this is the class for you since Professor Winn is one of the most knowledgeable people you will ever meet. He can get off topic with his lecture sometimes but his stories about traveling the globe are far more interesting than his lectures on rhetoric. Overall it's a pretty easy class and if you put in some effort you should get an A, definitely would recommend Professor Winn.

Take any COMS teacher but Mike Winn. He tells you on the first day of class that he is a conservative and will spend the rest of the quarter giving you conservative propaganda out of blue waste class time. You have TO give 3 speeches in class and some impromptu ones if he calls on your name. He also gives you feedback/critique in front of the entire class and that can be a bit intimidating. He also thinks he's funny by making you take a quiz in class and then PSSYYYYYHHHH HAHA IF YOU ACTUALLY LOOKED ON THE SYLLABUS THERE IS NO CATEGORY FOR QUIZES.

At first, when I saw the low ratings on Winn, I was hesitant to take him but in the end thought he was an excellent professor! He's a witty, knowledgeable, and really funny guy! His class consists of 4 speeches (three alone, one group), a midterm, a final and a few impromptu speeches in between. Oh, and there's NO TEXTBOOKS. Every speech you give, he gives critiques on in front of the class which can be a bit intimidating but if you listen to them, they really help you improve on future speeches. You also have critique partners all year long that give feedback in front of the class and notecards from classmates listing your pro's and con's for you to keep. Though, he does like certain things done within a speech (i.e. having a set every speech, lots of movement, etc.) but he will tell you beforehand and it will be on the rubric. Every single speech I gave had improvements. My first speech was at a solid B and i eventually got it up to an A+ strictly sticking to his rubric. There are no surprises with this class (no pop quizzes or even quizzes at all for the matter). The midterm was kinda hard but it isn't going kill your grade if you bomb it (it was worth less than a speech). There will be about 2 essays due and Winn is pretty strict on the length and grammar. There are a few homework assignments but he doesn't check them. Another thing about this class is that at the very end, if you have a solid grade in his class, he explains this unique system of how detrimental the final is to your grade and depending on that you might not need to even take the final. All in all, I thought Professor Winn was a great professor and he truly cares about the success of his students. I would definitely recommend taking him!

Honestly Grandpa Mike is a homie. He definitely grades girls more easily, is candid about the fact that he's a Jesus loving conservative (I'm a Bay Area liberal) and has read more books in the last month than any of us have read in our lives. He's nutty and makes you email him (a plus for me but potentially a minus for others) and the good thing for me was he didn't set a minimum length for any speeches, just a maximum, and general suggestion. Earning his respect was a good feeling.

always want to debate with this guy when he brings up politics. can't stand that.

Honestly first day of class, thought this was going to be an older guy that was really sweet. He's actually just very dumb and it's his way or the highway. He has favorites and he doesn't grade consistently because of it. It was just a ridiculous amount of work and you could never fully satisfy him unless you were his favorite. Also, he just told us how we might not have to take the final because its 9% of our grade which is cool to not have to take it, but for some reason he doesn't want anyone to care about if they have a B+ B or B-. It's just the letter he cares about. There were four essays, and 5 speeches. Midterm was all fill-in and on topics that had NOTHING to do with public speaking. I think I'm going to end with a decent grade in the class, but there's easier coms classes out there that won't make you want to rip your hair out for not being a complete sweetheart.

Winn was a great professor to have for COMS 101! He's really funny and knowledgable on so many topics it's crazy. I felt that he laid out his expectations very clearly and presented all the material we needed to know. The speeches are worth a lot more than the midterm and the final and both the midterm and final are on articles that he posts on his PolyLearn and some assignments here and there. Most of them don't have to do with public speaking so a lot of people bomb the tests, but they can't say he doesn't give the information to us because he does, it's just a choice of how hard you study it. The speeches are graded pretty easily, but not always consistently. Sometimes I felt he criticized one person for five minutes on one thing, but the next person did the same thing and he wouldn't say a word about it. Other than that, he was a great professor and I'm terrified of public speaking so he made this class easier to deal with! If you're a good speaker, getting an A in this class is possible, and if you put a moderate amount of effort it even if you're not a good speaker, it's an easy B. Highly recommend his class.

Professor Winn is great. A lot of people get scared off because they think he won't like them if they are liberal (he's pretty conservative) but truthfully he doesn't grade based on your views at all. He is reasonable, with a decent work load but not bad compared to the other horror stories of COMS 101. He forgives easily and makes his requirements clear. Winn is a funny guy, and his humor is a bit off sometimes but overall he is a good professor. His midterm is not hard if you listen to the hints he gives you throughout the quarter. To do well on your speeches try as best as you can to memorize them, walk around the room, make good eye contact without relying on your notecards too heavily. If you do well on most of your speeches you don't have to take the final. Make sure you highlight all his deadlines from the syllabus because he will not remind you when something is due.

Professor Winn was an awesome professor. His class irritated me at times because there were some pointless assignment (to me at least) that were basically just busy work. Other than that, he was one of the coolest and most interesting guys I have ever met. He is also very intelligent and will literally put you down if you ever get into an argument with him. If you are a hardcore liberal, I would not recommend this guy at all because he will make his political standings very clear the moment he steps into class. Other than that he was a great professor and would recommend him to anyone who wants to get a B+ or higher for a GE. I got an A and put in minimal effort to get that grade. Just make sure you deliver your speeches well and sound confident and you will get an A on it.

I took this class with my roommate at 7 am because she got blocked into it and I just wanted to get it over with. I'm sure it goes without saying but I'm gonna say it anyway--never take a COMS class at 7 am. Having a 7 am is bad enough, but having to get up in front of a class and give a speech makes it 100 times worse. Mike is honestly one of the most interesting people I have ever met in my entire life. He really cares about his students and makes public speaking so much less intimidating. He always has nice things to say about your speech even if you think he did horrible. He is super conservative and a Jesus lover but he doesn't try to push either onto his students. There are 6 speeches total (4 that you prepare for and 2 impromptu). One of the speeches that you prepare for is a group panel speech but the other 5 you do alone. For almost every speech, you have to turn in an outline and a manuscript and he grades both. Besides that, the only writing you have to do is one paper with the group speech that while seems pointless, isn't nearly as bad as it could be. All around, mike is a super nice and helpful teacher and made my experience with COMS much less stressful.

Do not take this teacher at all costs. He plays favorites so badly and is a horrible professor. His grading is unfair and he has to show how he knows everything. He’s the biggest tool I’ve ever met and I strongly suggest you don’t take this class. You could be a great teacher but if he doesn’t like you, you won’t get an A.

He's a pretty cool professor. He is conservative but this shouldn't bother you unless you are hardcore liberal. The speeches are fair and it's fairly easy to get a B+ or an A- in them if you are confident and know your material. The lecture and reading material is pretty boring and unclear so this affects the midterm and the final. However, the midterm and the final are worth so little (6% and 9% respectively) that it doesn't really matter. It's an easy B if you put in effort in your speeches.

Okay, Winn is definitely knowledgeable in pretty much every subject.. he claims to read 7 books a day. However, he never lectured on the material that would actually be on the test. He takes his class way too seriously, yet does not fully prepare his students for his very hard midterm & final. He has gotten in trouble in the past for grading students lower than they deserve based on religious beliefs & the first day of class he said the “n word” about 8 times. If you are okay with possibly TRULY earning a B but polylearn reflecting a C, a obviously racist & very politically driven and opinionated professor who really only cares about the students knowing how many languages he speaks and obscure facts that do not help you be successful in the class, Winn is YOUR guy!

When I first read his polyratings I got excited because I finally would be having a conservative teacher in a class where politics is often talked about. And at first things in the class were going fine (I got A's on my first two speeches) but I felt that I was beginning to be set up to fail after my first speech because I gave it on Monday and he emailed me (monday night or tuesday morning I can't remember which) to tell me I was giving another speech on wednesday (1st day of the next speech)- as in the next day. Then the midterm came where he gave material on the test that was irrelevant and there was a section that he forgot to lecture our class about which at the time was frustrating, but in his defense he did give us the points later. Don't expect to pass the midterm or final. As for the third speech, he informed me the night before we were going to give our speech that our topic could not be used. So we had to redo everything the night before. And to add to it, we had to go first on the first day for the speech. I got a C on that one. And the last speech he emailed us 3 days before the speech to tell us which day we were going- I of course was going on the first day again and I waited a day to pick a topic, emailed him, he took a day to respond which one again gave me one day to come up with a speech. Overall, he is not a hard grader but at times in this class I felt frustrated because I had to give my speech on the first day for the last 3 speeches and I felt that I could not give my best effort in the class. Not to mention the midterm and final are very random and irrelevant to a speaking class in general. Also he would often not explain what he wanted on the write up of the speeches which led to a lot of confusion in my class, but then again I turned in some write up that did not follow code and the lowest I got was a C+, so once again he isn't a terribly hard grader. I ended up with a C+ in the class because I failed the final and if I had to give Winn a grade I would give him around a C+/B- as well. I probably would have disliked him more if he was liberal leaning due to myself being a republican, but if you are liberal do not shy away from this class; he is a fair a nd knowledgeable man; just keep in mind everyone is entitled to their own viewpoint. Tips for success in this class: learn what a set is, don't expect him to post grades on poly learn and get a head start on things as much as possible.

This class is useful. It is also long and possibly the hardest 7:00am-9:00am class to ever sit through. Winn is an interesting man with many stories to tell. He is deaf in one ear, and that is evident at many times as he will completely fail to hear some aspects of speeches. The papers that go along with the speeches are annoying but if you put a little effort in, the essays are easy points. his midterm and final are very difficult and are completely unrelated to the class. They are only worth 15% of the grade together, though. If you have a high enough grade in the class, the 9% final does not change your grade, and Winn will tell you to not take the final at all. Prepare for speeches; the final 2 speeches are 20% of your grade each. Winn cares a lot about your visual and tonal speaking aspects. As long as you stand tall, move around the floor, speak loudly, and make hand gestures, you're guaranteed a good grade on your speech, regardless of content. The class is not fun, but that is because of how it's designed. Winn does his best to make the class interesting and useful.

Professor Winn is definitely different than most professors. He starts the first day by letting you know he's very conservative and will make jokes about liberals throughout the quarter, but it shouldn't be too much of an issue if you don't make a big deal out of it. Also, be warned that he will often make sexist or racist jokes/comments. But honestly, I really enjoyed his class and he is truly an interesting person to talk to as he has many great stories. However, his class is not the best coms class, and it will require a good amount of work. He makes you write essays for every speech that you give and then gives no feedback on how to improve your essay grades. Also, he doesn't do the best job of teaching you how to be a better speaker, although he will give you comments after every speech. The midterm and final are worth basically nothing, and you can even get out of taking the final if you have a certain grade. He doesn't curve anything either. Overall, this class is fun but don't expect an easy A. You can expect to pass as long as you do all the assignments.

Michael Winn is a cool guy. He's full of lots of random facts from his life and he's brilliant to put it lightly. My problem with this class was that he didn't actually teach us much about how to preform a successful speech. We talked a lot about rhetoric, ethos logos and pathos, and random historical figures but I think the only thing I improved in during this class was how well I can memorize a speech, not actually giving it. Nonetheless, I got mostly As on all my speeches but I ended up getting a B in the class because there is an essay due with every speech and he grades unnecessarily hard on them. The midterm was all about the overview of rhetoric, how to use a semicolon, and how to punctuate sentences which, again, I don't see the relevance of. The final is basically optional: if you get above a certain grade in the class you don't have to take it or if you get between two grades you have the option of taking it although it won't change your grade.

I honestly really liked him. He is definitely very transparent with his beliefs politically, but he is a really nice man that actually helped me grew my public speaking skills. Some people don’t like him because of how outward he is about how he feels about things (speeches) but don’t be scared I tried, practiced my speeches, and got an A. The midterm is crazy, and if you have a high enough grade you don’t have to take the final, but overall, I would recommend this professor. He is an old man, has a lot of knowledge about everything, and is conservative.

Professor Winn is homophobic. A student filed a complaint in 2015 about Professor Winn, and talked about the professor making homophobic remarks, as well as telling the student (who is a part of the LGBTQ+ community) that "homosexuals are immoral, and they are going to hell." Professor Winn also made sexist remarks in class, telling students that women need to cover up, as to not distract the men in the class, but that it didn't matter what the men wore. The fact that he is still a professor at this university after student complaints about discrimination in the classroom is horrible. Please do not take Winn!

My feelings go back and forth on Winn. He grades essays unnecessarily hard but speeches very easily. You have to work your butt off to get an A in the class and he doesn't go over anything that is on the midterm in class. The final is pretty much optional though if you get above a certain grade. The one thing that makes him different though is that he does care about making his students good speakers, if you care about becoming better at public speaking take Winn. If you're just in it for the grade, I would look into other options.

DONT TAKE HIM IF YOU'RE A GUY! HE IS TOTALLY SEXIST! he is one of the smartest guys i have ever met but his tests have nothing to do with his lectures and he always goes on random tangents about god knows what.. dont take him if you are a guy!

when i read the poly rating for this guy after i took the class. (now) i laughed my ass off because ever part of it is true. he always slips in useless information about himself or personal experiences. like "when i was your age i was in my 2nd year at berkley reading 5 books a day" congratulations cunt. or "i noticed that study group are mostly asian people" are you kidding me? racist. one time i rode a scooter to class when it was raining and i was like yea it doesnt brake that well in the rain. and he says "ah yes because the wheel becomes lubricated and it reduces friction." and im just like uhhh yeaa. douche.. also hes hates liberals so unless you really know what youre talking about dont argue politics. hes also a politician for his town.

Interesting class. Speeches were fine. Essays were fine. Tests were pointless. I would have had a solid A if it werent for the tests. We have to read about speech and then be tested on it. He loves quotes. Overall he was an alright guy/professor. I definitely did learn some good things about public speaking.

Avoid this teacher. He gives more work than any other public speaking teacher i have heard about. His impression of you greatly affects your grade. He knows a ton but spends most of class showing off with pointless facts. If you do take this class be very careful with grammar and do not do anything that might hint that you are liberal. He is very conservative. I would suggest waiting and getting a different professor.

First of all COMS is a joke class. Mr. Winn makes you write something for every speech including an 8 page paper for the final one. This is much more writing than any other teacher requires. He claims this is because 25% of the class HAS to be written by state law, but he\'s the only one who follows that. He\'s nice and somewhat interesting, but he\'s old and only getting older. He thinks he knows everything and if you do stuff his way you\'ll get a good grade. His midterm and final are worth nothing (6% and 9% respectively) I took the class CR/NC and didn\'t even take the final and bombed the midterm. Admittedly the tests are hard and require a ton of studying for a small percent of the grade but if you want an A you have to earn it. Of course I still passed because he\'s a generous grader on the speeches. I suggest you take this class CR/NC like I did and just barely put in any work because he basically gives you a ton of free points but in order to get an A it takes a lot of work.

Overall, Prof Winn is a great teacher. Prof Winn kept class interesting, he\'s really smart and super nice and willing to help you. I\'d definitely recommend him for a teacher. 4 speeches and 3 papers including a long research paper at the end, but everything is spaced out so you\'re fine as long as you don\'t put everything off until the last minute. Midterm and final are harder (open-ended questions not multiple choice) but they\'re not worth that much so they won\'t kill your grade. Worst thing about the class is that the textbook is incredibly dull...

hrmmmmmmmm well i hate this man. Dont take Winn! his political and personal views bar many students from picking speech topics that they are genuinely passionate about that would in turn transfer over into a more devoted interest in excelling in public speaking. but i will give him this hes pretty funny and lighthearted, but his "vast knowledge of the universe" come off as condescending. i dont recommend him at all and would at all cost stay away from his classes and any classes taught by him. his has no concept of the idea that COMS 101 is a GE and supposed to be not as intensive as say a major class. DONT TAKE HIM!

You would think that in a class about public speaking, you would learn at least a little bit about how to speck in public. He is very narrow minded and believes he is always right about literally everything. Terrible teacher. If you already hate giving speeches, he only makes it worse.

prof winn really knows his information. he seriosly knows everything! he explains hi sinformation well and also knows alot about public speaking which is what i took. his does grade the speeches hard but still fairly. i liked and thought he was a really great guy. he was easy to talk to in his office hours.

This teaher was the BIGGEST JERK EVER. He gave stupid ditzy girls who gave HORRIBLE speeches A+'s and guys who actually did things B's or C's. He made us write essays along with the speechs. After I gave one of my speeches he told me that lip rings (I have one) are distracting. When I got my speech paper back he graded me down from an A to a B- because OF THE LIP RING!!! The next week I took it out and the jerk didnt even notice. He is a big "know it all." Also you get 2% off your grade for every day you miss.... DONT TAKE HIM!!!! Besides his MIDTERMS AND FINAL ARE SOOOOOOOO HARD!!! RUN AWAY FROM THIS CLASS

Well, I am not going to lie to you, but Mr. Winn is a tough professor, but you can handle him. He does require you to write essays for every speech usually ranging from 3-5 pages. For these, he does grade them hard, but personally, I thought that he was fair. I never did get a single A in anything in his class, but I did get an A- on the midterm so it is possible. Just remember to keep on top of the reading and lectures and make sure you go to class even if it is at night becuase for ever hour you miss that's 1% of your grade, ouch. The midterm is really tricky, but he does give partical credit for most stuff so as long as you are keeping up, you will do great, just remember that Mr. Winn knows EVERYTHING....there is nothing that he does not and when you get to class you will know what I am talking about.

If you are a girl, and can look cute, take this class. It isn't that hard anyways, but it pisses you off after a while the way he favors girls. This guy is still a pretty neat professor, and seriously knows EVERYTHING. I would reccomend this class only if your scedule is pretty light.

What does burning thousands of dead cambodian bodies, comparing rough-housing teens to Nazis, and knowing almost every language ever spoken have in common? These are all things that crept up in my class with Mr. Winn. Aside from him knowing everything like more about you and your last name than you do or the pH level of soil in Peruvian rainforests, he is also a politician. He teaches in his free time once in awhile. But he has a lot of free time since he doesnt sleep and manages to read several books in addition to every newspaper ever published EVERY DAY. He dresses like it is the 1950's. An interesting guy, not a great speech teacher. His "lectures" consist of him ranting on something or getting lost on a tangent while throwing in a random quotation or fact that will be on the midterm. Also if you are a male student, I advise against this class. He is old and likes to look at girls. Hence girls give shitty speeches and get an A whereas any guy will get a C for a good speech. So if you are a girl who can put up with him talking in Thai and about how his wife is Thai and how he has been everywhere and knows everything then you should take him. If you are a guy then do not take him.

Mr. Winn is an intersting man. He is a Christian but doesn't ever grade speeches based on their morality, in that way he was very fair. He does however grade hard on speeches and the midterm was quite difficult. I liked how he set us up with speech partners. It was nice to have someone to practice with and have one person critique you as opposed to an entire class. You should try to come to every class because he does take off percentage points. I know that a lot of people think he is a know it all (and he is) but I kind of enjoyed his random stories about reading 5 books a week, leaving in Thailand, and being a politican. He is deaf in one ear so often someone will speak, and then he'll look confused and say "whose talking" because he can't percieve the depth of the sound. Overall I thought he was a good teacher. I feel like I did become a better speaker and learned a little bit.

what a dick.

I'm not sure really how to describe professor Winn. If I was a girl, I would call him creepy, but I'm not a girl, and I don't have a chest for him to stare at, so I'm not going to call him creepy. His teaching method is quite unique. He has a broad knowledge about a lot of things, and being a politician, he wants you to know that. Hence, his lecture is filled with tons of irrelevant examples for a very simple point. In fact, it gets so ridiculous that you forget what his point was, until he reminds you at the end of class - after spending two hours on outrageous tangents. He mentioned something about the class having to be 25% writing, so instead of having you write one essay for every three speeches, he has you write one essay for each speech, but only counts the essays 25% of the grade while the speeches are much more. This is irritating in two ways. First, most of the time is spent writing the essay. Second, when he grades the essay, he checks only for grammar and mechanics, not on content at all. He's a spelling/grammar machine, and nothing more. Aside from a few comments, he doesn't really teach you anything about speaking in this class. You will get better, but not from anything he does (he may actually slow down your progress), but just from practice. His midterm is on a book that you read which provides some helpful hints on speaking (a lot more in one chapter than he ever gives you). However, he doesn't test you on the important parts of the book. He tests you in the irrelevant side points that you aren't supposed to remember. Most of the time, I let teachers slide by with a lot. I try not to bitch unnecessarily like a lot of people do. But Winn is a different story. I am warning you - do not, under any circumstances, enroll in his class. Michael Winn is the worst teacher at Cal Poly.

I got an A, but not because I had good speeches. Others had way better speeches and got worse grades. He's kinda ugly so it's hard to pay attention in lecture.

Great guy... I am a guy and I have no breasts and I got an A. Hot girls are self-confident thus they speak better and get good grades... so there's a bit of a hindsight bias looking at it as others have... if you get up there and give an awesome well-thought out rehearsed speech and get a C on the midterms and A-/B+ on the papers it's really easy to get an A. He's so awesome to talk to and he knows EVERYTHING... dont BS a single word in your speech... he has 5 majors/degrees from UC-Berkeley... awesome guy... take him.. its fun and laid back...

Professor Winn is a funny guy. He will talk a lot about politics and Thialand. He is a tough grader but if you do the work he won't fail you. Don't expect quick grading.

Prof. Winn can seem very intimidating, but he's actually really nice. As long as your speeches show improvement, I think he'll say it's fine. Grading standards are very clear. He reads a lot, so he knows all sorts of weird trivia and you shouldn't try to BS him on anything. That much is for sure. He used to live in Thailand and has a Thai wife. He's very Christian, but not in the usual judgemental way. If you're liberal, don't get cocky with him. He won't be mean if you are, though; he'll just jest with you. This guy is really funny if you're nerdy. Speeches are 60% of the grade, writing is 25%, and tests are 15%. The nice thing is that the midterm is worth twice as much as the final. It made it much less stressful during finals week. Good guy.

Prof. Winn is a very smart man and knows just about everything about everything. Unfortunately his lectures don't relate to any of the material which is being covered on the midterm or final so unless you like lots of reading I would recommend staying away from this teacher. Also it seems like this teacher likes to play favorites. Don't piss him off with your first speech since the grading in this course is mostly subective or you are surely going to get a poor grade since he is republican and it seems like he cant give a fair grade to speeches related to topics he disagrees with. Also when he grades your writing he grades harder than any english teacher i have ever had did. plain and simple mr. winn shouldn't be taken.

I think I'm the only guy EVER to speak about a topic that Professor Winn didn't know about---Yes, parkour! This professor doesn't give below a c it seems, if you actually do the work! His midterm and final were extremely easy for me, yet I still got a d on each. You have to go to every lecture, but believe me, each one's worth it. Prof. Winn always has a story about a time when he was in Thailand, and seems to know everything about everything--you can pretty much ask him anything, and he'll know it--so don't try to b.s. your way through a speech or essay!

if i could edit my last post i would but thats not a feature of polyratings. firstly it was scoms 101 not eng 101 and i dont know if i got a c or not but i got c's and b's on all my papers and speechs. even though everyone else seemed to be getting a's. maybe he hated me or maybe im a dumbass. whatever. besides mr winn being nerdy and annoying i wanted to add that if the class was called sit around and argue/talk about random things he would be a great teacher, but its coms 101 and doesnt really need the extra element he puts in it.

Mr. Winn is an interesting character. I had him last quarter and it wasn't the most difficult class. But, what other people say is true. He thinks he is god's gift to earth and feels that he knows everything and if you have a different opinion than him, he's right because he has so many degrees and went to Thailand and reads 8 books a day and he is basically the most amazing person you will ever meet. Also, he wants you to know how big of a deal he is because hes an elected official. I did well on most of my speeches, until my final speech. My final speech I argued a liberal point of view and Mr. Winn is very conservative. I put many hours of research into my final paper and speech and I felt I had an educated strong point of view and after getting A's and B's on all my speeches before. He gave me a D-. Mr. Winn let his personal opinion get in the of my grade. He's a decent teacher, but not a good guy.

Honestly, this class was terrible. I received a good grade but with an abnormal amount of effort for a communications course. Know this: when you write your papers, check grammar and spelling and that only. Don't concern yourself with being imaginative/ writing a well thought out paper. He doesn't care. However, grammar mistakes take your grade down a whole bunch. Give speeches on Republican topics. Welcome to college: give your professors what they want. I disagree with previous postings about how he grades liberals harder. This wasn't my experience. However, he does cut you some slack if you give speeches on topics that he agrees with. Don't take him if you don't have to, but if you end up in this class, use these tips!

The grading was a little tough, and the sheer amount of writing/speaking was a little daunting, and the midterm was hard for sure... but Professor Winn was definitely one of the best teachers I've had. We had so many awesome (though usually irrelevant) conversations in class, and the guy is so damn smart it's hard not to admire him. I always came out of that class smiling. He has a blatantly conservative point of view, and though his logic is usually un-biased, you could tell he always loved the conservative speech topics much more. You're gonna have to earn your grade for sure. His requirements for a good paper are pretty standard, but when it comes to speeches you really need to listen to his tips, and be extremely self-confident. And study like hell for the midterm and final, they are quite detailed.

this guy really needs to step back and look at what his class really is...a speech 101 class. the 5-6 page essays we had to write per speech is way too much work for such a useless class...the midterm and final were very detailed and had no bearing whatsoever to public speaking or life in general. He was nice enough...but really conceited and i think he was full of shit half the time. He pretends to be modest about everything he has supposedly done...but really he tells you everything so he can show off his intelligence. Personally...i dont think he's that smart...he just never shuts the fuck up. and if you have an opinion that doesnt match with his COMPLETELY...dont say anything cos all he will do is bullshit his way to make you sound wrong. o yea and he hates anything that isnt nerdy: he hates sports, games, parties, and even sleep. and i am not kidding with the sleep part. overall...dont take winn unless you like beating your head against a brick wall on a daily basis

Ok here is the run down. DONT TAKE HIM. Clear and simple. He grades the class exceptionally hard, will make you write 4-5 papers between the lengths of 4-10 pages and you will work your ass off for a grade you feel does not reflect the amount of time, effort, and improvements in speech that you have made and put into this class. Ok, your a bad registration group and you really want to get speech out of the way (like me). WAIT ANOTHER QUARTER. It will be worth it. I put so much effort into the class, got A's on all my big speechs and papers and still got a B in the class. He is not a terrible guy, but teachers a rather terrible class in a less than satisfactory manner. Ask anyone who had him. They will say avoid this guy. So once again, don't take him.

Honestly, all of the other people that have commented on this professor need to grow up a little bit. College is going to be work, you\'re not in high school anymore. Yes, he gives quite a bit of work but it is all relevant. All you need to do to receive an A in his class is at least show improvement through the course of the quarter. You do NOT need to be abel to give a perfect speech. He actually emphasizes the fact that you are in the class to LEARN how to give a better speech and by NO means does he expect you to be able to give a perfect speech. The papers submitted for each speech are not even papers half the time, most of the time they are just outlines. The papers that you do have to write are ridiculously easy because all of your research and prep for them is already done because you had to give a speech on the topic, they are essentially mindless writing assignments because the state legislature mandated that a \'speech\' class needs to be graded 25% of the time on writing... He is a great guy and fun to listen to as he tells stories of all of the places he\'s been and interesting events he\'s had happen to him. If you\'re trying to get an easy A where you don\'t have to work, then don\'t take him. But if you want to ACTUALLY learn something, this is the best professor for the job. and isn\'t that the point of college?... to learn..???

Professor Winn is a very smart person, but he uses this to bully people. Overall, very arrogant and sexist. I got A's on the two most important speeches but still ended up with a B+ in the class because his midterm and final require pointless reading from a book that will not teach anyone to be a better public speaker. Overall I learned to be a better public speaker in his class, but did not enjoy it much on the way.

Professor Winn is a decent teacher. At first, his speech and paper grading may seem random and unfair, but after one or two assignments his requirements become clear. The midterm and final combined only account for about 15 percent of your grade, so do not stress if you do poorly on them. He made the final optional for my class, it could boost your grade or drop it if you took it, and would not count against you if you didn't take it. Mr. Winn likes to talk about his political opinions and such, which gets annoying, but don't let it take away from the fact that he is a fairly good speech teacher. I suggest making powerpoints for the last two big speeches, he seems to give better grades if they are done well.

So funny. I had this guy 7-9pm tues/thurs and he made it feel like an hour. I hate public speaking but i got lucky with this class. Because no one wants to take it our class was relatively small and so I got to know the students well enough that I am not embarrassed giving speeches. I mean its a boring class in general but it goes by fast and if you enjoy teachers telling stories instead of teaching lessons than this guys for you.

He is an interesting professor. He is very open about his political views and his hate for liberals. If you contradict him and engage him in debates, the class can be pretty entertaining. He knows way too much for his own good and will often flaunt his knowledge, but overall I found it to be an enjoyable class with a fair amount of work.

I thought Professor Winn was a fantastic teacher. I am not a speech person in any way, but by the end of the quarter I felt so confident in my presentations. He lays everything out pretty clearly, and if you need clarification on something he is fairly quick at responding to emails. His stories are hilarious and he goes off on tangents all the time, its extremely entertaining. You only have to do 4 speeches and turn in an outline or paper with each one and the midterm/final is only worth 15% of your grade. Some people don't even have to take the final depending on what they're grade is up through the last speech because it is worth only 9% and would barely affect their final grade. I would definitely recommend taking his class if you have a chance, its definitely a new experience.

This instructor is not only full of himself, he is also arrogant and opinionated. Instead of making students feel comfortable giving speeches, he makes you feel like you are a failure. If you are not great at giving speeches, take someone else.

He is a gentleman and a scholar.

Mr. Winn is an awesome teacher for public speaking. He makes you any and every question or problem is clear before you write an essay or prepare your speech. If you need to fulfill the A2 GE then I would highly suggest taking him! Midterm and final are only 15% of your grade together and the final was almost exactly the same as the midterm so just study for the midterm and you'll be good!

Mr.Winn is the most interesting person you will ever meet. His stories area captivating but yeah he does go off on tangents. He's super chill and hes very good at making people feel comftorable at public speaking. Great for an A2, really awesome teacher, a bit conservative and jokes about liberals but it doesnt affect your grade.

I don't doubt that Winn is smart, he's actually extremely knowledgeable. As a half Asian, I was impressed by his Thai vocabulary! I didn't bother to try hard in this class because I'm shy, so I let my grade drop from an A to a B. I did notice he's really biased... He favored conservative views in class. Unless you speak calmly and effectively, I'd suggest you present your topics with a Republican edge. I did that for one of my speeches, and I still don't really know what I'm talking about, but he gave me an A. Just act like you know what you're talking about. Winn is moving on in his senility, so it doesn't take much to fool him. Also, he's super boring. The tangents he goes on are ridiculous. You'll probably want to take someone else, but he isn't a nightmare like some other professors.

mr winn is the absolute best. he's extremely helpful and understanding in all aspects. he's very clear in what he wants in essays and what he wants in speeches. 100% recommend him as a coms teacher

Mike Winn is a ridiculous man. About 80 years old, extremely conservative and doesn't hesitate to make fun of liberals. The class is based on a number of speeches, essays, a midterm, and a final. I thought the class was graded pretty harshly, although the midterm is worth only 6% and the final 9%. One thing I can say about Winn is that he cares about the subject and his students. Not a bad professor, and certainly entertaining enough.

Professor Winn is flat out awesome. He tries to keep this class interesting and passable. Plenty of good advice for giving speeches. He tries to weigh as much of the grade as he can on the speeches/presentations instead of tests (I got an F on the 1 midterm and passed with a B without having to take the final; yes I didn't have to take the final). As for any comments about his conservative point of view: Nothing he says is harsh at all and they are relevant examples, furthermore it is refreshing to hear what is generally the opposing view at a public university. The class definitely takes some work but is by no means hard. TL;DR: Winn is a good teacher and the class takes some work but isn't hard.

Mr. Winn is an interesting person. He is about 75 years old and deaf in one year so sometimes you have to shout for him to hear you. He constantly makes political jokes and likes to make fun of students, so don't take this class if you aren't capable of dealing with him poking fun at you. He is also ready to argue with you over any information you convey in your speech, so be ready. Overall throughout the quarter Mr. Winn was a decent professor. He graded fairly on speeches, but definitely focused more on how you moved and gestured than what you said. He graded the essays the same way, only correcting grammar rather than the actual material. His lectures were incredibly boring and on topics that in no way helped public speaking skills. For example one lecture was on the history of written communication and basically discussed how first we wrote in caves, and then on portable stones, etc until we reached electronics. The midterm was ridiculously hard and specific. It was mostly on a book he said was "optional" and an extremely long and boring reading he posted online. One of the questions required that we write two quotations from Socrates. Needless to say, nearly everyone I talked to got a C or lower. But in the end he curved it a whole three points, which did not affect our grades at all. In his syllabus it says that you only have to show up on speech days and days when your critique partners are giving a speech. It turns out that he meant any days that anyone is giving a speech. I talked to nearly everyone in my class about it and they all thought the same thing, that attendance was only mandatory when you or your partner is giving a speech. At the end of the class he calculates your grade before you take the final, and if you have between an 84 and 86 or above a 93 you don't have to take the final. As I missed one class because I was not aware that doing so would make me lose points, my overall class grade was lowered from an 84 to an 83, which meant I had to take the final. Also, he didn't let me know whether or not I had to take the final until 12:03 a.m. the day of my final. In summary, the class was an average difficulty as a GE, but I learned very little useful information and feel that this class has been a waste of time.

This class was completely detailed. Along with every speech, you have to write an essay with it. For the persuasive speech you have to write a research paper and he grades very easily on the essays and very harshly on the speeches, which are 60% of your grade. He is so smart and he knows like seven languages. He will correct you after you do a speech if some of your information was invalid, so don't slack on the research portion. He lectures about random stuff that I had never heard of before and the midterm and final were hard. They were all short answer with an essay on the back and everything came from the book and lectures. Hard class but I learned a ton.

"Tau, tau TAU tau tau!!!" That's him speaking Vietnamise. Turn and run the other way, my freind. TURN AND RUN.

Great professor, but he is very intense. I do not know if coms 101 is easier than coms 102 in general, but this class was rather intense for a GE. My friends who had other teachers for coms 101 definitely had an easier time than I did because Winn assigns just as many writing assignments as speeches. He is, however, very devoted to teaching, very accessible, and very interesting. He really cares about teaching you and getting you to be a better writer and public speaker. If you are interested in public speaking and willing to do a little bit more work than your peers, take this class. If you are just interested in getting an easy A for a GE, look somewhere else. The only negative aspect about this class (and I mean the only) is that Winn easily goes off on tangents during lecture (a common topic is his and his family\'s accomplishments), but he only digresses if asked to by his students; hopefully you don\'t get meatheads in your class. I put a lot of effort into this class (just as much as my other Freshmen classes), but I grew as a writer, a speaker, and a disciplined student. This was a great experience.

Professor Winn was one of the most fascinating people I\'ve ever met. Not only did I learn many applicable public speakings skills in COMS 102, but I was entertained and enjoyed attending his class.

professor Winn is not only a great teacher but hes also a very interesting person as you will find out in his class, he reads a book a day at least, he sleeps 3 hours a night, his daughters a world class ju-jitsu master or something, anyways, his class is not easy but its doable, I thought it was fun. he definitely has reasonable expectations of how well a person can speak and grades accordingly. he grades a little harshly on essays but im assuming thats because he edits papers for a living as well so, in short i recommend Dr. Winn to anyone looking to take a speech with a professor who knows what hes talking about and is a fare grader.

Winn is a great professor. His midterm and final are hard and you have to really read the text and take good notes during lecture. He goes off on tangents during lecture which keeps it interesting but isn\'t relevant to coms. Print out anything he sends you through email because he will expect you to know all of it.

Mikes not as much of a jerk as people make him out to be he has his opinions and he will voice them but don't take it too heart he's also not too stubborn and will not grade you too hard if you go against his beliefs. This class is a ton of a work be prepared to do double what most comms classes do as each speech has an essay attached. He will grade your first speech the hardest guaranteed don't sweat it though they all get successively better.

Prof. Winn knows so much information that it's sometimes overwhelming. He assigns papers for each of the speeches, which seems unnecessary. He grades the speeches hard and he grades the papers based on grammar. Your grade is based on speeches, papers, a midterm and a final. Overall, the class is ok and you do learn a lot, but the papers are extra work.

I thought Prof. Winn was a pretty good teacher. He does know almost Everything, but I thought that just made the class more interesting, you were always waiting to see what insane fact or story he was going to throw out next. The only homework is the reading and the essays for your speeches. The essays really aren't that hard to do but you need to practice them for your speech. Make sure to keep up with the reading, though the stuff may seem like common sence sometimes, read it! I procrastonated and it sucked when it came time for the midterm. Overall his class isn't that bad if you keep up with the work. Yes, giving speeches suck, but everyone has to do it so you might as well learn how and Proff. Winn is a good guy to learn from.

Mr. Winn is a really nice guy. He is kind of a hard grader, but really he just wants you to become better at public speaking. My first speech I got a C on, but after that it was A's because i started practicing my speeches. He only lets you have one 3x5 card to look at so this class is really about knowing what you're going to say and presenting it well. His midterm was kind of hard, but if you study hard it is all in the book so you can pass easily. I enjoyed this class, but he rarely lets you out early so it can get boring.

Prof. Winn was an excellent instructor. I really enjoyed my speech class and feel like I came out a much better and more comfortable speaker than I was before. Prof Winn is increadibly knowledgable about just about anything actually. It is fascinating to listen to him speak. The only bad thing is that his midterm and final are extremely difficult BUT, they are worth a small percentage of your overall grade. On the midterm I was also expecting to get an F but I recieved a C+ which I just didn't deserve. He was actually a nice grader when it came to speeches. I would definetly recommend this teacher to anyone who has to take speech.

I enjoyed Mr. Winn, moreso in the second half of the quarter than the first. The test are a bit lame in the sense that you're tested on a book that he has you read but don't discuss in class. He didn't make me nervous for the speeches, and he always gave good advice. And he's a book worm...very knowledgable.

Mr. Winn is generally a nice guy. He has decent humor, which is oftentimes very subtle. His grading however is ridiculous. Not that he graded hard, he just didn't grade well at all, nor did he grade consistantly. If he likes you, he will give you an A on your speech even though you did a horrible job, or give you a C even though you had a great speech. He also does not know how to grade essays AT ALL, even though he said he has before. If you aren't any good at public speaking, Mr. Winn doesn't care. He just grades you a whim, even though he makes it sound like he is grading you with some meaning. His lectures are hard to follow. He goes off on some WILD tangents but somehow he gets them back to the main point. The workload isn't too much, just 4-5 speeches, each with an essays, and a research paper. As mentioned, he knows EVERYTHING. He reads about 4 books a week. So don't try to make up BS in his class, even though he seems pretty gullible. The class starts off pretty hard but it mellows out after the first midterm. He takes roll so make sure you go to class or you will lose points. Good luck in this class.

Mr. Winn is a nice guy and a pretty good teacher. 5 different types of speeches and he requires papers to be written for 3 or 4 of them. I heard in other Speech class papers were not required, so I thought the papers were a bit much. Definitely use 1 or 2 notecards for the speeches, he really marks down if you look at your notes a lot. For the 1 midterm and the final read over the book and his lecture notes - that makes up a majority of the them. Not sure if I would take him again, but overall not too bad.

Professor Winn... He is a very knowledgeable person, and he makes sure you know it. He knows a few good speaking tricks and grades pretty fairly, but seems to favor girls to an extent. Prof. Winn can also ramble like hell about anything, because he's read books about everything. Ya, I wouldn't suggest taking him if you are a guy or if you will be bothered by a politician who sleeps 4 hours a day.

Firstly, i'm a guy and I got an A in this class, so it IS possible to do. Mr Winn cares more about whether you give good speeches than whether you're a guy or a girl. It's true, however, that Mr. Winn knows everything. That's not even an exaggeration, he reads so much that he's familiar with every subject known to man. This means two things: First, he loves to go off on tangents about random subjects (boring more often than not), and second, its impossible to BS anything, because he knows more than you do about whatever subject you're talking about. The workload in this class was probably above average. We had to write a paper in addition to every speech, while most other SCOM classes didn't have to do papers. On the bright side, he gives you plenty of time to do the work. The tests are also pretty tough, but at least there are no surprises. He gives weekly "quizzes" (not graded or collected) that give you a sense of the type of things he wants you to know. If you can memorize those things you can ace the tests. Mr. Winn is not an easy teacher, but he knows what he's doing. If you take his class, you WILL get better at giving speeches.

didn't like this teacher very much, he didn't lecture very well. He tells some jokes but most weren't funny, even though I "got" them. He's a politician and dresses kinda old fashioned. Grades too hard and doesn't explain why. One time he actually lied to me about something when I came to his office hours. I didn't know until I went home and looked it up.

He's a good teacher, he'll tell you exactly what you did wrong and how to fix it. The final is a test and an impromptu speech. Not too bad I'd say. If your a girl and have no problem with old men staring at your boobs to get a good grade, I would advise this class. Thats an easy way to pass. Oh and he knows just about everything in the world. He's great with stories and has a ton of them from all around the world. He's a pretty interesting guy, you know, the kind that you WANT to talk to at the old folks home.

Winn is a good teacher. This class requires a good amount of time but isn't too bad. There is a midterm and a final which are written they were hard but not impossible. For every speech you have to write a paper so be prepared. If you are a good speaker you will have no problem if not you will have to work hard. He is very easy to tlak to and very reasonable. You have to go to class because he takes off if your not there.

if you take this class be prepared for a lot of writing and DO THE READING! if you want a "A" the class wasn't too bad, but we did twice the amount of work the other speech classes did.

I looked up Winn on polyratings before spring quarter when I took him and got freaked out because he sounded like a creep, but I am so glad I took him because he is not--at all! Winn is a good teacher, and overall this was a great class. As long as you follow guidelines you can get an A. Just make sure you have structure and organization...and even if you have differing opinions he will still give you a good grade if you present your information clearly and reasonably. He wants to hear what students have to say, even if it is different than he would say himself. I am really glad I took this class, it is low key and does take alot of pressure off finals week.

Wow. Where should I start? This guy is a genius, but that's exactly why you shouldn't take him. His grading on the speeches wasn't that bad, but his midterm and final were pretty much impossible. Their scope was simply too large; for example, he made us correct sentences that were grammatically incorrect IN A SPEECH CLASS! He made us know some philosophy crap that we will never need to know ever again! Oh, and the average class grade on the midterm was a D. TAKE ANOTHER PROFESSOR and you will find this class a breeze. DO NOT TAKE WINN AT ANY COST!

douchebag.

Attendace is crucial: don't take this class if you plan to skip. Also, every single thing in the syllabus, lectures, and reading is fair game for the midterm and final. He likes when you're confident during your speeches, so if you're not, fake it! Also, ask questions about your specific speech, and you'll get a better grade. Follow his rules for the papers, and double check spelling and grammar (big no-no). His rules are very straight forward, just follow them and you'll be fine! He's not a creep, and his life experiences are very interesting, and he tries to relate everything to speeches.