is there a lot of writing and reading in the seminars which are sponsored by maths or computers departments? is the average grade higher or lower than in a ordinary course? is it a good idea to go for an ESL student
seminars are always a whole heaping whack of writing. in fact, for the most part, they generally are based entirely on writing and class participation. they do tend to have higher marks than most other ‘ordinary’ courses. i had a seminar in first year that was a class on utopias, and got something like a high 80 in it, while my average was somewhere around 70.
as far as being an ESL student, i’m not really sure what to say. i’ve spoken with some of my non-English-as-a-first-language friends and the best they had to offer you was try to take a stab at it. while learning the course material you’ll get an opportunity to develop your writing skills. and besides, the way UofT is set up, there is no way you’ll graduate without having to confront your english skills in essay form. so it might be best for you to tackle it in first year while your course load isn’t ignorantly heavy (as it will be in 3rd and 4th year). also, you’ll find that UofT has a ton of writing tutors (free of charge) all over the place. there’s even a writing centre in our international students centre. So if you end up getting screwed by your writing skills, some one will be there lend a hand. in short, its your call but you’ll have to do it at some time or another. better now than later.
cheers and giddyup.
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