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EMLS 129RWritten Academic English

Units
0.50
Faculty
Arts
Subject
English for Multilingual Speakers
Cross-listed
ENGL 129R

Not in the current Undergraduate Calendar. Shown as it appeared in 2025–26.

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 6 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Designed specifically for students for whom English is not the first language, this writing skills course provides instruction in grammar, sentence and paragraph structure, elements of composition, and academic essay writing, including a focus on theme, development of central ideas, exposition, and argumentation.

Prerequisites

None listed.

Antirequisites

  • Not open to fluent writers of English

Leads to

Reviewed on UW Flow

53% liked it72% easy66% useful

From 73 ratings and 17 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Remember to study the course notes given to you well. They are very helpful for your roughly bi-weekly online quizzes, each of which worth 3%. Also, this course is very suitable for you if you are not too confident in writing essays. The instructor can assist you and answer individual questions related to the writing topics.

    Feb 2016 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • no comment

    Mar 2019 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I took the course with Pat Skinner, she is awesome!
    the course is crazy easy all you need is a good sense of writing and understanding what is asked of you. You may find it a bit tough if you've just moved to Canada from a non-English speaking country, but the material of the course flows in a way to not put pressure on you at all.

    Dec 2016 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • If I would give it a score out of 5, I would give it a -5. The course is extremely unorganized such that the assignments of the course does not even match up with the contents of the course. More importantly, the contents and the assignments do not even match up with each other. The content related to assignment one may not have been covered after the week that the assignment is due according to the course's own schedule. Over half of the contents in the assignments are not covered in the lecture material, nor are they covered in the useless readings.
    In one sentence: super easy and boring lectures but super annoying assignments.

    Jun 2016 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This course is packed with random material that’s supposedly useful for academic writing, but it takes word choice and grammar to an unnecessarily picky level. Do not take it and if the professor sucks so does your experience, this course is completely useless and full of crap, just don't take it is just a waste of time and money, I would consider the current rating of 53% liked is too high for this course.

    Mar 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

26 posts and comments in 19 threads mention EMLS 129R, May 2016 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Spring 2023

Fall 2022

EMLS129 textbook 1 point, 0 comments

u/bixtybix: “Anyone who has done EMLS129R wanna give me their textbook code so I don't have to spend money on a bird elective 👉👈 Ps- I'm looking for leap4 Thanks may god give you a cali coop”

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Spring 2022

CS students, what courses have you taken each term 9 points, 21 comments

“Inspired by https://www.reddit.com/r/uwaterloo/comments/v3b8nj/can\any\current\mathcs\students\let\me\know\their/ but recognizing that one term is a very narrow view, What courses have you taken each …”

u/WinniePooh888: “1a CS 135 MATH 135 MATH 137 EMLS129R ECON 101 1b CS 146 MATH 136 MATH 138 AFM 101 ECON 102 STAT 230 2a CS 245 CS 246 CS 240 CS 241 CS 251 MATH 239 STAT 231 2b CS 341 CS 350 ECON 371 MUSIC 246 SCI 206 MATH 235 coop 1 CS 370 coop 2 CS 458 3b (22fall) CS 492 CS 449 MUSIC 140 EMLS …”

u/1nvisibilia: “Not in CS but in BMath Data Science: 1A | CS135, MATH135, MATH137, ECON101, EMLS129R 1B | CS136, MATH136, MATH138, ECON102, SPCOM100 2A | CS245, CS246E, MATH235, MATH237, STAT230 2B | CS240, CS241, CS251, MATH239, STAT231, KOREA101R (just a note to the OP that half of the course …”

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Spring 2021

Winter 2021

Fall 2020

EMLS 129R or SCI 238? 1 point, 3 comments

u/EmotionalFace2532: “… Can anyone who has taken the course let me know the average in EMLS 129R and SCI 238?”

u/jokerwithnojokes: “EMLS 129R is easily manageable , atleast it was in person. Got a 92. But then it depends on how much you enjoy writing academic texts. I took the course with Ms. Dara Lane , but unfortunately she retired after that term so I can't recommend a good prof. …”

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EMLS 129R with Verbruggen 2 points, 0 comments

u/TheGoner64: “I am looking for books for this course. I definitely have not tried looking for free versions online on sites like libgen. Does anybody have HOGUE: ESSENTIALS OF ENGLISHSKU: 9780131500907 and/or WILLIAMS: LEAP 4 : READING AND WRITINGSKU: 9782761385664 ?”

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Spring 2020

1A Communication Course 0 points, 16 comments

u/Vivid-Rich-1514: “I got J.Stacey for SPCOOM 223. How would you compare him to other profs? English has always been my biggest concern;Would you recommend me drop to EMLS 129R? PS: I aim to get 80s in my communication course. View Poll”

u/ieatlamas21: “Why is this even a question/poll, Jeff Stacey’s SPCOM 223 was my favourite course in 1A. The guy is super chill and friendly. …”

u/Vivid-Rich-1514: “Would you think I can get a higher mark with EMLS 129R(I need a decent CAV for declaring major).”

u/ieatlamas21: “Sorry chief, haven't taken EMLS 129R so I couldn't tell you. All I can say is that 223 with Jeff stacey didn't feel like a class, felt more like a discussion circle for marks. …”

u/lilipadis: “jeff is a rlly great + nice prof! he does tend to only give out low 80s though so if ur aiming for higher than that maybe consider another”

u/Vivid-Rich-1514: “What are the CLASS AVERAGE average for EMLS 129R?”

u/zhyhelp: “I don't think there is any cons for dropping to EMLS 129R since I assume you get higher marks. Note that it is for international student, but I think they won't know.”

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Spring 2019

ENGL129R vs EMLS101R/102R? 3 points, 3 comments

“Can anyone comment on the difficulty of each course?”

u/dadada32s: “IF you are not particularly interested in English courses and you can take EMLS courses, do yourself a favor and take that. EMLS is for people with English as a second language (at least). …”

u/dadada32s: “I did EMLS 129R "written Academic english" so can't comment on either of those. But i'm guessing go with your preference, from what I see one is about oral communication and the other written communication? …”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar