CLASSIC 185
Origins and Nature of English Vocabulary
Lecture, three hours. Origins and nature of English vocabulary, from Proto-Indo-European prehistory to current slang. Topics include Greek and Latin component in English (including technical terminology), alphabet and English spelling, semantic change and word formation, vocabulary in literature and film. P/NP or letter grading.
Course statistics
- Predicted GPA
- 3.32
- n = 120 · 4 terms · ± 0.047
- A range
- 63%
- of letter grades
- Taken P/NP
- 15%
- 86% of those passed
- D / F / W
- 7.5%
- incl. withdrawals
Sections in Fall 2026
Enrollment history
Final enrollment per term, averaged across that term's sections. Four years deep, summer excluded. Per-section live curves are on each section page.
- 8521F
Grade distribution
- A+ 7 · 5.0%
- A 50 · 35.5%
- A- 18 · 12.8%
- B+ 9 · 6.4%
- B 9 · 6.4%
- B- 7 · 5.0%
- C+ 4 · 2.8%
- C 5 · 3.5%
- C- 2 · 1.4%
- D- 1 · 0.7%
- F 8 · 5.7%
- P 18 · 12.8%
- NP 3 · 2.1%
Grey bars are non-letter outcomes — P/NP, S/U, incompletes. They are excluded from the GPA entirely rather than scored, because counting a P as a 4.0 would be a fabrication.
By instructor
| Instructor | Predicted | Raw | n | Terms | A range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VINE, BRENT HARMON | 3.17 | 3.15 | 73 | 1 | 60% |
| BLANK, DAVID L | 3.60 | 3.79 | 19 small sample | 1 | 84% |
| VIVIAN, ANTHONY LARESE | 3.29 | 3.28 | 16 small sample | 1 | 69% |
| BORST, ZACHARY PAUL | 3.30 | 3.28 | 12 small sample | 1 | 33% |
“Predicted” is shrunk toward the course average, which is itself shrunk toward the department — so an instructor with a handful of students sits near the course mean rather than topping the list.
By term
- 21F 3.15 n=73
- 221 3.28 n=12
- 231 3.28 n=16
- 241 3.79 n=19