Patrick, John  

Dr. Patrick is a pretty cool guy. If you are looking for an easy A in a coms class, this is your guy. His lecture is really easy to follow, and he grades REALLY easy. I pretty much came to my speeches totally unprepared and still got an A in the class. He also likes to curse... a lot, but he is super funny so it doesn't really matter.

TAKE THIS CLASS. I REPEAT, TAKE THIS CLASS. Dr. Patrick is chill as fuck and he is soooo funny. He is always cracking jokes and being in class was always so much fun. There are 4 speeches that aren't difficult if you prepare, and a final. The final was difficult so make sure that you buy the book and read it. Don't cram for the final. But anyway, chillest professor at Cal Poly, hands down! Take him!!

When he grades you after your first speech, the following grades for the next three speeches are based on whether you've improved or made the same mistakes. I got a B- for the first one and an A with the next three with that system. His final is really hard though but not worth too much.

JP was so awesome. I had him my freshmen year in a class where I didn't know anyone and I was super scared. Coms is a really simple idea so make sure you just pay attention to how he grades and his outlines! Definitely read the book! Even if you have to cram, you must read the book or the final would be impossible. I hope to have him as a teacher again. Super chill guy.

John Patrick is an extremely chill professor. He has lenient due dates for assignments other than speeches and is very likeable and approachable. My greatest advice is to sound confident when you give your speech. He hardly cares about what you say as opposed to how you say it. As long as you sound confident, loud, and passionate you should get an a for all the speeches. John Patrick however grades his peer reviews very difficultly and has a final that kicks everyone's ass. I studied for hours before the final and still got a c. His final and peer reviews lower your grade an unfair amount making all the effort you put in to your speeches merely a way of anchoring your grade so that your grade isn't totally butchered by these. He's not the worst but can definitely be frustrating. I spent a lot of time got A's on all my speeches and still got a low b in the class. I thought this was a speech class guess not.

John Patrick was honestly a cool guy, he was funny and very loud and outgoing. However, he did not treat this class seriously. He was late to half of the classes, and let us leave 30 minutes early every class. You perform 3 main speeches throughout the whole quarter, and I planned each one the night before and still got a B or C on them. The speeches were relatively easy, however the final was nearly impossible. He did not teach ANY information that was on the final- literally NOTHING. He expects you to read the book throughout the quarter, and to teach yourself the extensive vocabulary list. I studied for HOURS the night before and got a C- on it- with the curve. If you take this class, READ THE BOOK THROUGHOUT THE QUARTER, and then ALSO study for it a TON the night before. I know - since he never checks where you are, it is tempting to save all the reading to the end. DO NOT DO THIS. As you read, take notes on EVERY vocabulary word, and anything else you find important. I made a flashcard for every highlighted term in back, and I still got a bad grade on the final.

There are meant to be six five minute speeches which progressively get worth more and more points. Two impromptu speeches, most embarrassing story and a how to. Two informative speeches about your major and lastly, two persuasive speeches about your controversy in your major. The guy always lets the two hour class out early and always is canceling it for some reason or another, we didn't even make it to the last speech which is fine by me. He lectured a total of two times probably for a period of thirty minutes each, literally do not take notes just listen, you will not be tested on it. The final is ALL on the book, however he just had the final be online and google is your friend for probably 95% of the questions. I'm not sure if the online final is standard for this class but if it was an in class final, I would have probably gotten a 40% on it, if that. Pretty straight forward and easy class especially comparing it to other COMS 101 classes in which you have to get your topic approved, use only peer reviewed sources, follow your outline exactly, etc.. He's a funny and smart fella, mindfucks you a few times with some interesting speeches on things, but definitely is aware that COMS 101 is just a required course at Cal Poly for all students, he's not out to make this a huge burden to you. If you're really blessed and an amazing public speaker like some humans are, he will fish you out to be on the Debate Team.

He is a super chill professor, cancelled class a lot and let us out early every time. Cussed a lot and made classes fun. Hard grader but I would highly recommend him.

JP is the shit. Cusses a lot. Super chill guy, and lets me leave early.

John Patrick is a great guy and really does love what he teaches. This class is definitely more than just a public speaking course, especially when compared to other professors who teach COMS 101. JP is incredibly smart and goes into a lot of philosophy about public speaking and it's super cool, especially as we were talking about the presidential election. He tries to make class exciting and you will almost never stay the entire two hours.

He really knows how to teach a gen ed class in an interesting way, without overloading on assignments. Great at teaching public speaking for those who do not like public speaking.

JP is definitely one of the best professors at Cal Poly. He is always there for his students, lectures wonderfully, and is very passionate about the field he teaches (he is the Debate Coach). His grading is very fair & encouraging and I would recommend everyone to take him. He really understands how the world works and is a very practical and fair grader. He is also a pretty funny guy and wears fedoras sometimes so that's cool. Also, most of his lectures are super mindfucking and woke so get ready for some good stuff.

I loved this professor all quarter long and definitely learned a lot about the real world but he screwed everyone over on the final. It dropped by grade 9% so I ended with a B which maybe was deserving but then I talked to my friends in my class and he dropped their grade a shit ton too so thats a bummer. Otherwise loved the guy and recommend him just be sure to clarify what he wants for the final.

JP is a great teacher, he's laid-back, funny and gets the material to the students in a manner that is both engaging, interesting, and useful. Personally I didn't do anything for the first 8 weeks and crammed several essays and all the chapters into three weeks. Avoid this strategy and this class will be easy. Final is DIRECTLY from the book. Overall if I had to take a COMS class again JP would be my number one choice without a doubt.

JP is very confident in his teaching abilities. With that being said, he is one of the most arrogant professors I've had at Cal Poly. He knows his material and is very competent, but his arrogance and favoritism overpower these strengths. He doesn't hesitate to show who his favorites are, and I have never felt more intimidated or uncomfortable approaching a professor. He can be quite harsh when grading assignments, so just know this is not an easy A. It is however quite easy to get an A if you do not procrastinate. As long as you stay ahead on reading, the assignments, the debates and PARTICIPATE, you should be golden. Participation can make or break your grade, and in my case, broke it. The class is not too difficult, but if you want a good grade be willing to put in the time, and go to office hours to see if you are on the right track. As intimidating as he may be, this really will help you. If I could retake this class, I wouldn't. I should have taken English 145, as I much prefer writing over arguing. Just something to consider when selecting your A3.

Oh boy, this class was certainly my least favorite of all the classes I've taken at Poly. JP is arrogant, not very approachable, and rips his "lectures" out of the book or off of Ted Talks episodes without giving credit to them. I regret taking this class instead of ENGL 145, especially since I prefer writing to arguing. That said, the class didn't have very much work. At the beginning of the quarter, he made it seem as if the class would be difficult and time-consuming, but it really wasn't much at all. There was only a couple real assignments. So if you want an easy B, this class is great for you. However, he grades very inconsistently and does not make it clear AT ALL what he wants out of an assignment, and apparently participating in every assignment and class's activities warrants only a B in participation. The class itself might have taught me some useful things, but the textbook and his lectures may have well been titled "Common Sense for Too Much Money". If you can deal with mediocre professors, I'd say take this class, but just know that I regretted it just about every day in that class.

Funny teacher, he cusses a lot and gives you a warning about it the first class and its honestly pretty amusing. He is very straight up and cuts through the bs. There is no midterm per say just a paper and its not hard just follow the instructions. He's very helpful in office hours too, he will tell you whether you did it right or wrong straight up. The final has everything to do with the textbook, make a quizlet of terms from the book and you'll be set. The final debates are not hard either its fairly informal and as long as you follow the rubric you will get a good grade. If you need an A3 GE i would recommend Prof. John Patrick - his class is not hard and does not require EXTRA work you get a fair amount of work for a GE, 4 unit class. His lectures are not difficult he just goes on tangents a bit so its hard to pay attention.

JP is the biggest homie of all time. I took both COMS 250 and 350 with him and Skiles, and they were easily 2 of my favorite classes in college so far. They changed the format of the class recently, and it's kind of a pain in the ass. But that aside, JP is an awesome, thoroughly entertaining professor, and he's super willing to work with students if they're struggling.

During this entire quarter all I could think about was how this professor reminded me of that small little dog that runs through the back of scene 23 in The Incredibles by Pixar. Seriously, if you look it up you will only be able to see it...