No course-specific feedback yet.
Fall 2026
Critical Thinking and Expression
ILS 200 explores verbal, visual, and numerical modes of argument and expression through critical thinking and practice.
Summary
1 / 7
Historical reviews of Craig Werner, George Clark: The course is described as writing-heavy, with assignments given every other week requiring significant speaking and writing. Lectures are often non-mandatory, though attendance may be incentivized by quizzes or extra credit.
Grade history
↗ average GPA
letter grades
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F
All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapSatisfied Communications A
- Satisfied Communications A
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- Satisfied Communications A
Professors
Fall 2026No course-specific feedback yet.
No course-specific feedback yet.
No course-specific feedback yet.
No course-specific feedback yet.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Historical reviews for Shifra Sharlin describe her as an amazing, sweet teacher who arranges curriculum around student interests, though one reviewer found lectures worthless and discussions boring. Another review notes a terrible TA who was unprofessional and frequently canceled class.
GEORGE CARLO CLARK is recorded teaching in Fall 2023, Spring 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
GRANT NELSESTUEN is recorded teaching in Fall 2022, Spring 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
KIRSTIN ANDERSON is recorded teaching in Fall 2021, Spring 2022. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
SHIFRA SHARLIN is recorded teaching in Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011. 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 2026Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | Classroom Instruction | 151 / 160 | 3 |
| DIS 301 | Classroom Instruction | 20 / 20 | 0 |
| DIS 302 | Classroom Instruction | 19 / 20 | 1 |
| DIS 304 | Classroom Instruction | 15 / 20 | 0 |
| DIS 306 | Classroom Instruction | 18 / 20 | 0 |
| DIS 307 | Classroom Instruction | 20 / 20 | 1 |
| DIS 308 | Classroom Instruction | 20 / 20 | 1 |
| DIS 333 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 0 | 0 |
| DIS 309 | Classroom Instruction | 20 / 20 | 0 |
| DIS 310 | Classroom Instruction | 19 / 20 | 0 |
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.
Meeting source records
Student experience
the class
Historical reviews of Craig Werner, George Clark, Grant Nelsestuen, Shifra Sharlin: Reviews describe ILS 200 as a challenging but rewarding Comm B course that significantly improves writing skills. While some find it life-changing, others view it as a manageable credit requirement with varying levels of engagement.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.78 GPA, 94.7% A/AB (n=150 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.60 GPA, 84.9% A/AB (n=139 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.93 GPA, 97.2% A/AB (n=109 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
Historical reviews of Craig Werner, George Clark: The course is described as writing-heavy, with assignments given every other week requiring significant speaking and writing. Lectures are often non-mandatory, though attendance may be incentivized by quizzes or extra credit.
Historical reviews of Grant Nelsestuen, Kirstin Anderson, Shifra Sharlin: Lectures are frequently criticized as boring or irrelevant, while discussions are mandatory. One review notes lectures comprise 30% of the grade, while another states discussions vary based on the TA.
Topics
Skills
Grades
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 · 0.10 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.
Selected offering source records
Critical Thinking and Expression
Recorded 2026-09-07Raw records
[
{
"run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
"semester": "1272",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"offering_id": "1272:500:010473",
"course_id": "ILS 200",
"course_uid": "course_d36506bb8ebe07b832e1c3a3",
"term_id": "1272",
"source_course_id": "010473",
"source_subject_id": "500",
"title": "Critical Thinking and Expression",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"typically_offered": "Spring"
}
]Rate My Professors
Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
Madgrades
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesModel outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
{
"model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
"model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
"task_version": "14",
"output_id": "3ef3f5d98ae3ad93a0bc3a9fe992f296c8cadb26df4b1bdf46a5f258063c3108",
"requirements_status": "needs_review",
"dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}