Clarence Williams | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Clarence Williams JOUR320 Anonymous 06/20/2024	I'm going to start this off by saying that your experience in Professor Williams's class will depend heavily on your ability to "buy into" his style. JOUR320 is already one of the most jarring classes for students in the major, and his class may at first seem like it is making it even harder. This is because he wants you to reach out and talk to him, and if you want to have any chance of doing well in this class you have to do that. The class's structure is designed to force you to communicate with both him as your editor and with the people contributing to your beat assignments, and he is constantly reinforcing this through his words and class materials. He may seem intimidating at first, but I promise he is not, and he wants to talk to each one of his students. His style is unorthodox, but as someone who took the time to adapt to it and get to know him, I can safely say that it offers a truly unique and fulfilling experience. Assignments are complicated and intimidating at times, but they become much more manageable and enjoyable if you are in communication with him consistently, as a journalist would be at a publication. He also does not post assignment details on ELMS and announces all assignments in class, so you have to be paying attention and taking notes so you don't miss vital information. All of this is done to simulate the experience of being a reporter, and although it can be hard to adapt to at first, it has truly helped me develop positive habits for reporting. Additionally, he focuses a lot on intangible qualities and emotional intelligence as well, which personally helped me become a much more comfortable reporter and interviewer. It is also almost never too late to reach out and talk to him, but he expects accountability and honesty. The most important thing that student's need to know about Professor Williams is that if you are able to show him that you are committed to his class, it will not only be much easier but you will have also gained a committed and empathetic mentor who will do everything within his power to help you succeed. ALSO DON'T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE FOR PUBLISHED CLIPS!
Clarence Williams JOUR320 Expecting a B- Anonymous 05/28/2024	Professor Williams is a tough professor, I won't lie. However, I would say that he is one of the best professors I have ever had. Though he can be harsh, his constructive feedback has significantly helped me. Going into 320, I wasn't prepared and didn't have much experience. It was an issue at first, but the more I worked with him, things started to make more sense. He is always available to help via Zoom or a phone call. The live edits are especially helpful. The deadlines creep up fast, but if you stay in touch with him and, most importantly, are honest with him, he almost always will give an extension if needed. At the end of the year, you will complete a profile and enterprise story, each worth 10% of your final grade. Start talking to him as soon as possible to see what advice he has to offer. The only reason for the four stars is that he doesn't use ELMS, which can be very frustrating. Sometimes, I forgot about an out-of-class assignment because he just told us in class and didn't post it anywhere. This resulted in me feeling like I had to rush through the assignment at the last minute and not do my best work. Although this is an adjustment to what most college students are used to, it is manageable. Overall, I think he is a great professor, and if you're up for a challenge and want to improve your craft, take the course with him.
Clarence Williams JOUR320 Anonymous 05/17/2024	For starters, let me just say that this class is incredibly difficult. If you want to take an easier route in the short-term I would not fault you, as the other 320 professors have been known to be less harsh on work. He is a guy who will rarely give you a straight answer, rather ask questions to get you to think of the answer yourself. He can be a little intimidating at first and will probably scare the shit out of you, but he's genuinely a nice guy. With that said, let me just say that Clarence is one of the best professors I have ever had. He has not only taught me a lot about journalism but a lot about myself. Your writing and reporting improves drastically in his class, but you have to buy in because he is not an easy A nor do people rarely get A-'s. He is not a powerpoint professor, rather using different strategies to get learning across. He makes himself very available to meet with students and get to know them, but beware it is usually at an incredibly late hour and every time you text him you will have to say who you are. I understand why everyone is not a fan of him but genuinely if you want to become a better writer, reporter, and thinker, he is your guy.
Clarence Williams JOUR320 Anonymous 05/17/2024	I'm going to start this off by saying that your experience in Professor Williams's class will depend heavily on your ability to "buy into" his style. JOUR320 is already one of the most jarring classes for students in the major, and his class may at first seem like it is making it even harder. This is because he wants you to reach out and talk to him, and if you want to have any chance of doing well in this class you have to do that. The class's structure is designed to force you to communicate with both him as your editor and with the people contributing to your beat assignments, and he is constantly reinforcing this through his words and class materials. He may seem intimidating at first, but I promise he is not, and he wants to talk to each one of his students. His style is unorthodox, but as someone who took the time to adapt to it and get to know him, I can safely say that it offers a truly unique and fulfilling experience. Assignments are complicated and intimidating at times, but they become much more manageable and enjoyable if you are in communication with him consistently, as a journalist would be at a publication. He also does not post assignment details on ELMS and announces all assignments in class, so you have to be paying attention and taking notes so you don't miss vital information. All of this is done to simulate the experience of being a reporter, and although it can be hard to adapt to at first, it has truly helped me develop positive habits for reporting. Additionally, he focuses a lot on intangible qualities and emotional intelligence as well, which personally helped me become a much more comfortable reporter and interviewer. It is also almost never too late to reach out and talk to him, but he expects accountability and honesty. The most important thing that student's need to know about Professor Williams is that if you are able to show him that you are committed to his class, it will not only be much easier but you will have also gained a committed and empathetic mentor who will do everything within his power to help you succeed. ALSO DON'T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE FOR PUBLISHED CLIPS!
Clarence Williams Expecting a C- sadboi 04/20/2024	If anyone told you to take him, don't. They lied. You could have a semester worth living, or you could take 320 with Clarence Williams. Your choice
Clarence Williams JOUR320 Anonymous 04/26/2023	I’ll start by saying that Clarence is a genuinely nice person and I’ve learned a lot from his class. He is pretty reachable, giving students his phone number and inviting them to text him at all hours of the day. However, it feels to me as if he makes an already difficult class unnecessarily more difficult. He doesn’t post assignments on ELMS which makes it hard to understand what is needed, good note taking is a must because of this. The main thing that I found tough was that it seemed like some other professors were very flexible with what their students wanted to write about, this didn’t seem like the case here. The profile story at the end of the semester is made unnecessarily complicated by very strict guidelines. Is his class the worst thing in the world? No. Would I personally take him again? Also no.

Clarence Williams
JOUR320

Anonymous
06/20/2024

I'm going to start this off by saying that your experience in Professor Williams's class will depend heavily on your ability to "buy into" his style. JOUR320 is already one of the most jarring classes for students in the major, and his class may at first seem like it is making it even harder. This is because he wants you to reach out and talk to him, and if you want to have any chance of doing well in this class you have to do that. The class's structure is designed to force you to communicate with both him as your editor and with the people contributing to your beat assignments, and he is constantly reinforcing this through his words and class materials. He may seem intimidating at first, but I promise he is not, and he wants to talk to each one of his students. His style is unorthodox, but as someone who took the time to adapt to it and get to know him, I can safely say that it offers a truly unique and fulfilling experience. Assignments are complicated and intimidating at times, but they become much more manageable and enjoyable if you are in communication with him consistently, as a journalist would be at a publication. He also does not post assignment details on ELMS and announces all assignments in class, so you have to be paying attention and taking notes so you don't miss vital information. All of this is done to simulate the experience of being a reporter, and although it can be hard to adapt to at first, it has truly helped me develop positive habits for reporting. Additionally, he focuses a lot on intangible qualities and emotional intelligence as well, which personally helped me become a much more comfortable reporter and interviewer. It is also almost never too late to reach out and talk to him, but he expects accountability and honesty. The most important thing that student's need to know about Professor Williams is that if you are able to show him that you are committed to his class, it will not only be much easier but you will have also gained a committed and empathetic mentor who will do everything within his power to help you succeed. ALSO DON'T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE FOR PUBLISHED CLIPS!

Clarence Williams
JOUR320

Expecting a B-
Anonymous
05/28/2024

Professor Williams is a tough professor, I won't lie. However, I would say that he is one of the best professors I have ever had. Though he can be harsh, his constructive feedback has significantly helped me. Going into 320, I wasn't prepared and didn't have much experience. It was an issue at first, but the more I worked with him, things started to make more sense. He is always available to help via Zoom or a phone call. The live edits are especially helpful. The deadlines creep up fast, but if you stay in touch with him and, most importantly, are honest with him, he almost always will give an extension if needed. At the end of the year, you will complete a profile and enterprise story, each worth 10% of your final grade. Start talking to him as soon as possible to see what advice he has to offer. The only reason for the four stars is that he doesn't use ELMS, which can be very frustrating. Sometimes, I forgot about an out-of-class assignment because he just told us in class and didn't post it anywhere. This resulted in me feeling like I had to rush through the assignment at the last minute and not do my best work. Although this is an adjustment to what most college students are used to, it is manageable. Overall, I think he is a great professor, and if you're up for a challenge and want to improve your craft, take the course with him.

Clarence Williams
JOUR320

Anonymous
05/17/2024

For starters, let me just say that this class is incredibly difficult. If you want to take an easier route in the short-term I would not fault you, as the other 320 professors have been known to be less harsh on work. He is a guy who will rarely give you a straight answer, rather ask questions to get you to think of the answer yourself. He can be a little intimidating at first and will probably scare the shit out of you, but he's genuinely a nice guy. With that said, let me just say that Clarence is one of the best professors I have ever had. He has not only taught me a lot about journalism but a lot about myself. Your writing and reporting improves drastically in his class, but you have to buy in because he is not an easy A nor do people rarely get A-'s. He is not a powerpoint professor, rather using different strategies to get learning across. He makes himself very available to meet with students and get to know them, but beware it is usually at an incredibly late hour and every time you text him you will have to say who you are. I understand why everyone is not a fan of him but genuinely if you want to become a better writer, reporter, and thinker, he is your guy.

Clarence Williams
JOUR320

Anonymous
05/17/2024

I'm going to start this off by saying that your experience in Professor Williams's class will depend heavily on your ability to "buy into" his style. JOUR320 is already one of the most jarring classes for students in the major, and his class may at first seem like it is making it even harder. This is because he wants you to reach out and talk to him, and if you want to have any chance of doing well in this class you have to do that. The class's structure is designed to force you to communicate with both him as your editor and with the people contributing to your beat assignments, and he is constantly reinforcing this through his words and class materials. He may seem intimidating at first, but I promise he is not, and he wants to talk to each one of his students. His style is unorthodox, but as someone who took the time to adapt to it and get to know him, I can safely say that it offers a truly unique and fulfilling experience. Assignments are complicated and intimidating at times, but they become much more manageable and enjoyable if you are in communication with him consistently, as a journalist would be at a publication. He also does not post assignment details on ELMS and announces all assignments in class, so you have to be paying attention and taking notes so you don't miss vital information. All of this is done to simulate the experience of being a reporter, and although it can be hard to adapt to at first, it has truly helped me develop positive habits for reporting. Additionally, he focuses a lot on intangible qualities and emotional intelligence as well, which personally helped me become a much more comfortable reporter and interviewer. It is also almost never too late to reach out and talk to him, but he expects accountability and honesty. The most important thing that student's need to know about Professor Williams is that if you are able to show him that you are committed to his class, it will not only be much easier but you will have also gained a committed and empathetic mentor who will do everything within his power to help you succeed. ALSO DON'T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE FOR PUBLISHED CLIPS!

Clarence Williams
JOUR320

Anonymous
04/26/2023

I’ll start by saying that Clarence is a genuinely nice person and I’ve learned a lot from his class. He is pretty reachable, giving students his phone number and inviting them to text him at all hours of the day. However, it feels to me as if he makes an already difficult class unnecessarily more difficult. He doesn’t post assignments on ELMS which makes it hard to understand what is needed, good note taking is a must because of this. The main thing that I found tough was that it seemed like some other professors were very flexible with what their students wanted to write about, this didn’t seem like the case here. The profile story at the end of the semester is made unnecessarily complicated by very strict guidelines. Is his class the worst thing in the world? No. Would I personally take him again? Also no.