Laura Rosenthal

This professor has taught: ENGL301, ENGL311, ENGL416, ENGL452, ENGL455, ENGL623, ENGL729B, ENGL729C, ENGL729F
Information Review
Laura Rosenthal
ENGL311

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/16/2024
Not gonna lie, this professor was very overwhelming, and probably one of the worst professors I've had within the ENGL department, and I even took a 1.4 star rated professor (granted it was a PW class). Pros: Nice readings up until the last one (last one was Evelina, 400+ pages). Engaging classes (sometimes) Cons: Harsh grader on in-class writings Will take points off on your in-class writing assignments and just not give a reason at all Terrible lecture slides (they'll just include questions sometimes and nothing else) HORRENDOUS grading system (45% in-class writing assignments, 30% final, etc...) Overall boring class Some background about me, I'm a CS major, so I took this class as part of my ULC, and this is the only class out of the entire ENGL department that has given me some ANY struggle. The final was okay, but still very scary as to how she'll grade it given she already harshly grades the in-class writing assignments. As I mentioned, she is a harsh grader, and to go along with it, a terrible grading system. 45% of your grade is the in-class writing assignments, and for me, it ranged anywhere from 75-100, averaging at about 85-87 if I had to guess. The final was also 30% of your grade, so 75% of your grade is basically graded writing. The rest of your grade gets even funnier in my opinion. The last 25% comes down to an article report you present in class on a random day of your choosing. The first week, she expected you to sign up for your presentation date, and if you didn't do it within that week, you lost 10 points. Now, it's more my fault than anything, but still, setting a condition like that on the first week, especially with the other classes I should be worrying about in CS, is insane. So with that, she puts 5% on submitting your presentation date on time, 10% for sending the PDF of your article (has to be 15+ pages), and 15% for the report. I also just got back the grades for the Report, and funny enough, I got the highest grade... at a 95%. She won't even give a 100% to ANYONE. I know a 95% ain't bad whatsoever, but still, it just shows her strictness. Like I said to start this review off, this is probably the worst professors I've taken in the ENGL department thus far, and I hope it's my last, because this was the last class to top off my ULC as a CS major. Praying she does better in the future and allows for more "open-endedness" on her in-class writing assignments.
Laura Rosenthal
ENGL311

Expecting a B
Anonymous
10/21/2024
The content of the class/ the readings are overall interesting but the grading system is insane in my option. The main grades going in the grade book for this class are your daily writing prompt(s), which you do at the end of every class (and each assignment has 1-3 prompts). Going into this class, I was more excited for this rather than writing 4 or so multiple-page papers (which you never do in this class). Unfortunately, Professor Rosenthal is a VERY harsh grader. I usually feel as though I understand the readings pretty well but I consistently get 20 points off of my assignments for what seems like very minuscule reasons. She'll write one brief comment on the assignment that doesn't explain why you got points off but you'll get an 80/100 or worse and be left confused. I've heard from other classmates that they've experienced this too. Personally, if I would've known how harshly she grades I would've chosen another professor.
Laura Rosenthal
ENGL455

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/28/2022
Honestly, a 4 star rating is probably a little too high but the three star is way too low. Most importantly, she’s a super nice professor. But the class does have a really insane reading list. We sometimes had two nights to read 200 DENSE pages from 18th century novels. But the quizzes were always easy (even tho there were 12 of them) and she went over most of what was on each quiz in class. She can be a little tough about your essays, but if you send it to her a little before the due date she’ll read it and provide great feedback. All in all, I’d recommend, but don’t expect anything life changing.
Laura Rosenthal
ENGL301

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
03/31/2015
Honestly, she's fine. Like she isn't the best but isn't the worst. I feel like i didn't learn much in the class and she's boring and drones on but she isn't hard. Had daily readings, class exercises, 1 paper, 4 quizzes, a research project, and a final exam. Wasn't too demanding or difficult just a bit boring she talks for the entire class
Laura Rosenthal
ENGL311

Anonymous
02/20/2012
Professor Rosenthal is great. She is so excited and passionate about the texts that she teaches. The reading schedule can be pretty rigorous (especially with texts like Paradise Lost) but she's a fairly easy grader when it comes to the two essays. ENGL311 is a good course, but like I said earlier, you're going to be reading some long (and sometimes boring) texts that take a lot of sifting through to understand. She never gives reading quizzes or anything, but if you don't finish the reading, then you're going to be beyond confused during class.