Fall 2026

Introduction to Speech Composition

Introduction to Speech Composition teaches audience-centered public speaking and writing to build confidence and research skills.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Mary Lu3.7/5Aubrey StudebakerAuguste Schuliar +21 more

Summary

1 / 6

Historical reviews of Caitlin Mayer, Katherine Trotter, Kenneth Lythgoe: Writing speeches is described as brutal, and midterms require heavy textbook study. Students must follow instructions exactly to succeed.

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Students required to take the MSN ESLAT cannot enroll until theESL 118requirement is satisfied. Not open to students who have credit for COM ARTS 105 or 181.

    • Students required to take the MSN ESLAT cannot enroll until theESL 118requirement is satisfied.
    • not eligible with
    take all
COMARTS 100

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • All of
    • Students required to take the MSN ESLAT cannot enroll until theESL 118requirement is satisfied.
    • Not eligible with

Professors

Fall 2026
/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 5.00/5 from 1 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 3.72 GPA, 92.0% A/AB (n=25 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2025: 3.50 GPA, 85.7% A/AB (n=28 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2025: 3.75 GPA, 93.3% A/AB (n=30 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

No course-specific feedback yet.

No course-specific feedback yet.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.54 GPA, 76.9% A/AB (n=13 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.63 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=15 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.70 GPA, 80.0% A/AB (n=15 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2025: 3.80 GPA, 86.7% A/AB (n=30 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.82 GPA, 92.9% A/AB (n=28 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.91 GPA, 96.6% A/AB (n=29 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.87 GPA, 96.7% A/AB (n=30 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.53 GPA, 80.0% A/AB (n=15 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.60 GPA, 80.0% A/AB (n=15 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.60 GPA, 80.0% A/AB (n=15 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2025: 3.57 GPA, 75.9% A/AB (n=29 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.45 GPA, 75.0% A/AB (n=28 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

No course-specific feedback yet.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews of Linwei Ding: Linwei Ding is described as kind, supportive, and enjoyable, with students looking forward to her classes. She provides treats for presentations and is highly recommended by reviewers.

ASHTON LEACH is recorded teaching in Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

AUBREY STUDEBAKER is recorded teaching in Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

CAITLIN MAYER is recorded teaching in Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2021, Spring 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

DAPHNE GERSHON is recorded teaching in Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

GARY LU is recorded teaching in Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

HAMIDREZA NASSIRI is recorded teaching in Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

HAMIN LEE is recorded teaching in Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JENNIFER WANG is recorded teaching in Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2018. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JOHN BENNETT is recorded teaching in Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KATHERINE TROTTER is recorded teaching in Fall 2022. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KENNETH LYTHGOE is recorded teaching in Fall 2011, Fall 2015, Spring 2016. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

LINWEI DING is recorded teaching in Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MACIE THOMAS is recorded teaching in Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

NICOLE PACELLI is recorded teaching in Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

PERPETUA OWESE is recorded teaching in Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SARAH MAE FLEMING is recorded teaching in Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SHANNON SKELTON is recorded teaching in Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2013, Spring 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SHAWN HANNAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2022, Spring 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

STEPHANIE CHUNG is recorded teaching in Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 002Classroom Instruction14 / 150
LEC 003Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 005Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 009Classroom Instruction0 / 00
LEC 010Classroom Instruction16 / 150
LEC 011Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 012Classroom Instruction14 / 150
LEC 013Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 014Classroom Instruction16 / 150
LEC 015Classroom Instruction16 / 150
LEC 018Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 019Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 020Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 021Classroom Instruction14 / 150
LEC 022Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 024Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 027Classroom Instruction17 / 150
LEC 028Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 029Classroom Instruction0 / 00
LEC 030Classroom Instruction16 / 150
LEC 033Classroom Instruction16 / 150
LEC 034Classroom Instruction16 / 150
LEC 038Classroom Instruction16 / 150
LEC 039Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 040Classroom Instruction16 / 150
LEC 041Classroom Instruction18 / 150
LEC 043Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 044Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 045Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 057Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 058Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 062Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 059Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 023Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 031Classroom Instruction18 / 150
LEC 056Classroom Instruction14 / 150
LEC 055Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 052Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 051Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 053Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 054Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 004Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 036Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 037Classroom Instruction0 / 00
LEC 042Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 064Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 016Classroom Instruction16 / 150
LEC 060Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 065Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 063Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 049Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 046Classroom Instruction15 / 150
LEC 067Classroom Instruction16 / 150
LEC 068Classroom Instruction0 / 00
LEC 069Classroom Instruction0 / 00

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Students report varied experiences under historical instructors like Shannon Skelton and Hamid Nassiri, with some praising supportive teaching while others cite harsh grading.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.60 GPA, 82.7% A/AB (n=381 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.72 GPA, 89.0% A/AB (n=826 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.53 GPA, 77.0% A/AB (n=396 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Historical reviews of Caitlin Mayer, Katherine Trotter, Kenneth Lythgoe: Writing speeches is described as brutal, and midterms require heavy textbook study. Students must follow instructions exactly to succeed.

Historical reviews of Ashton Leach, Caitlin Mayer, Jennifer Wang, Kenneth Lythgoe, Perpetua Owese: Reviewers value clear syllabi and upfront feedback, though some find grading stringent and feedback meaningless when strict structural adherence is enforced.

Topics

  • Audience-centered public speaking.
  • Library research skills.
  • Digital literacy.

Skills

  • Written and spoken communication skills.
  • Audience-centered public speaking techniques.
  • Library research skills and digital literacy.

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.09 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
COMARTS 100 · Fall 2026

Introduction to Speech Composition

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:250:003760",
    "course_id": "COMARTS 100",
    "course_uid": "course_391fcb703c547d7e79b0643f",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "003760",
    "source_subject_id": "250",
    "title": "Introduction to Speech Composition",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

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Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "b5745a5613da9b693e957986f1fed3cccc648c182fe926bdfb6098f874e355f0",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}