Carney Curve

Boston College course evaluations · every published number, ranked class by class

Positions account for how many records stand behind each number, so one perfect review does not outrank a semester of them. Every score shown is the real average — only the ordering is adjusted.

Class record · JOUR · MCAS

JOUR 2235

Writing about Sports · 1 instructor on record · 8 sections

What the course score is made of
78BC evaluations8 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Fall 2025
Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute
RateMyProfessorsno ratings — does not contribute

That is the class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it. Who taught it, and how each of them scored, is the board below — that is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between.

What the challenge rank is made of
31stMore challenging than 31% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
87BC — “Intellectually Challenging”8 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question for this class only — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score.

What the workload rank is made of
33rdMore work than 33% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
48BC — “Workload”8 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College reports workload for this class only as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.

Note to Journalism minors: this course satisfies the requirement for an elective with a craft" orientation." Sports writing has long been the home of some of the best writing in journalism, and it's easy to see why: In sporting events, we have drama and conflict, compelling characters and settings, winners and losers, and sometimes even good and evil. And what's more, the stakes are high enough to grip our attention but not -- in spite of how it might sometimes seem -- a life-or-death matter. In this class, we will take sports as a lens for honing our writing skills, using clear and engaging writing to tell stories that not just sports fans want to read. Guest speakers from the industry will visit to discuss their careers and their craft. The class will also include discussions relevant to journalists, from media contraction to clickbait. You will learn what makes a good story and how to construct one, with the goal of becoming proficient in sports writing, from story idea to final draft.

The only instructor on record

8 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record
InstructorOverallWorkloadChallenge
Jimmy GolenUniversity and Capstone788 records33rd31st

There is no ranking to read here: Jimmy Golen is the only instructor with evaluation records for JOUR 2235, so the number is a record, not a position.

Other JOUR classes

All of them
ClassInstructorsCourse score
JOUR 2000Introduction to Journalism619 records86
JOUR 2226Writing About Popular Music112 records89
JOUR 2223Sports and News Broadcasting110 records86
JOUR 2225Journalism and New Media110 records86
JOUR 2231Feature Writing210 records94
JOUR 4942Senior Seminar410 records91

The line

All 13 items · means across 8 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
8821st pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
8716th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
8824th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9233rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8522nd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8518th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
8926th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9254th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9149th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9039th pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.
4833rd pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8731st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9568th pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.

Game log

8 sections · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
Jimmy GolenFall 202501838940
Jimmy GolenSpring 202501909340
Jimmy GolenSpring 202401898040
Jimmy GolenFall 2023016370
Jimmy GolenSpring 2023016363
Jimmy GolenFall 202201737360
Jimmy GolenSpring 2022018683
Jimmy GolenFall 202101747760

How to read this boardInstructors are ranked on their record in this class only, never on their average across everything they teach. Scores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Workload is BC's own five-band figure, not a number of hours, and is shown as a rank. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero.