Michael Burduck

School: Tennessee Technological University
Department: English
Location: Cookeville, TN
Overall Rating
rated by 8 students
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Easiness
Rating Comment
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Interesting professor to listen to. It's worth going to this guy's class because his dark humor is absolutely hilarious. I found myself suppressing laughter on many occasion in his classes. His deep, booming voice and giant stature can be intimidating at first, believe me I was scared to death of him the first time I took him for a class. He's actually very helpful to those with decent study skills and class attendance.
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Pros: He's funny and enjoyable to listen to in class.
Cons: If you miss ONE class, you fall behind. His tests are also VERY hard. They are all written and essay questions.
One of my questions for the first exam was:
Which passage used the terms "high church"?
essay format answer. this wouldn't have been so hard except for the fact that we read 5 stories and they ALL dealt with religion.
If you can take someone else, do so. If you absolutely have to take his class, be there, take as many notes as you can, listen carefully, and study hard.
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Pros: Learned Alot
Cons: Hard Test
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Pros: He keeps your mind on class. It is rarely boring.
Cons: He is sexist. He gets off task.
DO NOT USE TO BE VERBS IN YOUR PAPER!!!!
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Pros: He tells you exactly what he expects and sticks to it. His exams are extremely straightforward, but can be difficult if you don't listen in class.
Cons: He's extremely strict on attendance, and will count you absent if you don't bring your book. He's also extremely strict on talking, phones, etc. things most professors don't care about.
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Pros: He is very passionate about Poe. Gives "bonus points" if the Yankees make it to the World Series and WIN. Has a twisted sense of humor. He's actually nice and helpful if you have a question. If you do bad on the first test, okay on the paper and great on the final then your final grade will be what you made on the final. That is, if you show improvement on your work throughout the semester then you will be rewarded. His tests only cover the quotes he goes over in class so know those inside and out. It gets more difficult on the final so study hard!
Cons: Do NOT let your cell phone go off in class. Buy the texts he says to buy, don't cheap out and try to buy a different version. He'll pick on a few people in the class but it's usually the ones he favors. Do not use "to-be" verbs in your paper and make sure you answer test questions in the form of complete sentences.
All around excellent teacher. One of the few I've met at TTU that doesn't "baby" students. You actually have to EARN a good grade in the class.
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Pros: Very theatrical and easy to pay attention to during lecture. No assigned homework (A LOT of reading though)
Cons: 3 hour class gets very boring. he says he's going to give a 10 minute break but they're rarely over 5. He yells at you for no good reason. He shows favor to only the nerds in the front row and hates everyone else and openly shows it. He holds a grudge and will grade your papers more strictly if you get on his bad side. His exams are nearly impossible and you will spend a lot of time out of class trying to keep up with the readings.
I got on this teacher's bad side apparently. I didn't even know I had. He made the class hell for me. I generally enjoy literature too, but this professor killed it for me. I have to retake the class because I got a D and I know for a fact that I earned at the very very least a B...
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If you are looking for an easy A, this is not the guy. If you actually want to learn something about American literature and not be bored to death in other lectures, then take him!

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