Senn, Melanie  

Professor Senn is awesome. She's super nice and funny, so you're never bored in class. The trick to pass is to do all of the reading she assigns and always go to class, because she's a big fan of doing pop quizzes on the reading. She assigns three essays to do throughout the quarter. She also assigns a mandatory three visits to the Writing Center. Do those at the beginning of the year!!! It was so hard to try to do all three of those in the week before they were "due." I procrastinated and I almost paid dearly for it. There's no final, but you will have to put together a group presentation and a group essay. These are an analysis on an essay that she lets you choose from the book. The best advice I can give for this class is to just be involved in class. Pay attention to what she says, don't be afraid to raise your hand or contribute when she asks a question, and most of all, do NOT procrastinate!!!

ok so shes an overall good professor. for this class there is only three major essay and a take home final! she is sort of a tough grader and hates to be verbs! so dont use them! but she is really funny and keeps the class entertained and lets you rewrite your first two essays which is good, and she will help you with them. she makes everyone answer questions so be prepared and do your reading! i really think she was a good professor and recommend her to everyone! i would definitely take her again!

Melanie was great! I was scared to death of 134, but I found her class very relaxing. I found that her papers were much more enjoyable than those other 134 students were writing. She leaves them open ended so you can write about what you really care about. 3 essays and a decent amount of very enjoyable reading. (Her readings really were interesting. I found an essay on dumpster diving particularly enjoyable). Take her if you can!!!

I had her for english 134. originally i thought the class would be tough since she set a high standard for the essays, but it ended up being a really good class, as long as you dont procrastinate and you do the work in time with the class. dont slack with the essays because they are a big part of the grade. she is really easy going and helpful to talk to, especially during office hours. i really liked her a lot, and i would recommend her. she has definitely been one of my most insightful, helpful, caring teachers here. i would suggest her, especially if you want a teacher that takes an interest in you as a student.

She is a very difficult teacher with extremely high standards for grading essays. Definitely do not take this class if you are looking for an easy A. She is a fantastic teacher though if you are looking to improve your writing skills. I can admit my failure in this class was my fault with procrastination and a lack of study time. However, she still was a difficult teacher. Really nice and easy to talk, I really enjoyed class with her. Do yourself a favor and go to office hours!

Melanie is no doubt one of the best instructors I have ever had. She is enthusiastic, caring, and willing to help anyone at any time. Her stories are funny yet go with the class lecture, and she really knows her stuff. Highly recommended.

Mel is a great teacher. She is hilarious and always telling stories about her crazy family or kids. She lets your write about almost anything and is very open to new ideas. I fell like I really learned how to right a good essay in this class. Its not a hard class at all either. Just make sure to read the super small reading she gives you. She is the best, I don't know why more people take her!

Professor Senn was a real homie, she was super nice and super funny, if you're a good writer the class is not that hard

Pretty easy class. Go to office hours to get help on your essays

Proff. Senn is so cool. I hated english throughout high school, but her english class was super laid back and really not that hard. If you go to her office hours, she will give you a decent grade. Take her.

Great teacher, she made writing fun! There were three main essays and she gives corrections for each one. If you put the time in the class is definitely a manageable A!

Prof. Senn was an okay professor. She might have been better if she wasn't late to class all the time. (She just had a baby.) Sometimes she canceled class too. The course was lots of writing, reading quizezs, and class participation. Seemed like random grading sometimes. She studied latin american culture at UCSB. And the format on her essays is very kindergarten-y and insulting, quite frankly.

For starters, Prof. Senn is a really nice lady. She is open to suggestions and almost anything in class discussion. But that's about all she has going for her. Her assignments are boring and not stimulating. To be honest, her essays and grading were pretty juvenile. Senn would rather have a unstructured and basic essay than a well organized one.

Melanie is ultra laid back. English is her passion though and makes that very clear. If you\'re uptight and have no creativity don\'t take her. But, if you have a different writing style then just the typical boring essay definitely enroll. The assignments were fairly easy and she comes off as a harsher professor than what she is in reality (mainly scare-tactics that moms often use). She encourages class discussion so if you can get an A in bullshitting then here\'s your class to shine in. Also, office hours is a HUGE plus. She will literally sit there and devote whatever time you need to figure your paper out. She even sat there and researched with me, emailing me links to websites SHE found interesting to me along the way (big brownie points when using them in your paper since they automatically appeal to her) and if you can\'t make office hours she is very flexible and will work with whatever time you have such as before and after class or even over the phone. Class was a bit hard to sit through, mainly due to that she\'s so intelligent in English that you can literally see her trying to come up with the words in speech (seeing as when you are able to write to convey your thoughts, you have more time to sit and think it out as opposed to speaking).

Her classes are boring, however, she is a very nice and down to earth lady. She grades wayyyyy too hard for a general ed class. There were even english and journalism majors in my class who could never get an A on one of her essays. Take a different teacher. There\'s not much to learn in this class anyway so you mine as well take a teacher who will grade your papers easier.

Melanie is by far one of my all time favorite teachers at this university. Though she is a difficult grader, I enjoyed the time I spent at her office hours trying to get a better grade. This class is by far not an easy A, but if you put in the effort and participate in class you will take more away from it than any other GE. Not to mention she is badass. Make the effort to get to know her and she will willing do the same. Overall the chillest class I\'ve taken at Cal Poly.

She is an awesome English teacher and one of my favorite teachers so far. Yes, she grades tough. but welcome to college.. alll teachers do. Senn is down to earth, easy to talk to and always down to help you in office hours.

She's is super biased just like the rest of the English Department. She has a stick up her ass. I would recommend taking this as a credit no credit class because the work you put i does not reflect the grade SHE gives you.

She is a tough grader but if you sit down with her in office hours she will help you a lot and go with you paragraph by paragraph to tell you what she's looking for. Sometimes she can have a pretty liberal bias, but she loves people who aren't afraid to express their opinions, even if she doesn't agree with them. Overall she's pretty laid-back and really in-touch with her students. She let us reschedule an in-class essay so that we wouldn't miss a Giants Playoff game! I would take her again if I had the chance.

Senn is a very eccentric professor. If you don't know what that word means, you probably won't do very well in this class. Senn looks for vocabulary and a strong writing voice in your essays. If you haven't already developed this, it's going to be very hard to get A's or high B's. That being said, I really liked her teaching approach. She is very receptive to new forms of teaching and really listens to her students' ideas regarding anything from current topics to how she should run her own class! Office hours are definitely a necessity - she definitely has a liberal bias, but so do I. So that helped. I would definitely take her again but she is not - by any means - an easy A.

Senn, though a very interesting person to talk to, was not what I was hoping for in Engl 145. Having known many of my fellow classmates coming into the class, there was a mutual agreement on her teaching style. 1.) She presented the material in a way none of us could understand & didn't know what was required. 2.) She was very disorganized and did not stick to the syllabus 3.) Way too harsh of a grader for a G.E. class. I put hours and hours into my papers and only received a B. Even English majors that were in the class with me struggled immensely. Consider your options before you choose her as your Engl 145 teacher.

Senn was a very interesting professor. She is by no means an ordinary English professor. She's pretty quirky and runs a very discussion based class, but I really enjoyed it. A lot of people didn't seem to like her, but I thought she was great. I really learned a lot, and my writing style really developed. She is pretty vague on what she wants in essays, but if you try to really revise your essays and read the textbook (it's not bad, and really helpful) then you have the potential to do well. Go to office hours for sure, she is very helpful. Overall, it was a difficult class, but I felt like I got my money's worth and learned a lot.

Professor Senn was such an amazing teacher. She led really great discussions and always talked about topics that were interesting and relevant to current times. Coming to class was always worthwhile and though I learned a lot of about English and analyzing literary works I also learned about culture. If you like participating and having input then this is definitely the class for you. She does grade a little hard, however she is so easy to talk to in her office hours and makes you feel like she really cares. If you put in the work (only 3 essays) and class readings, you will be fine. She is laid pack, funny, and passionate .... TAKE HER!

Professor Senn is one of the best teachers I have had at Cal Poly! She is a hard grader but wants you to succeed. My best advice is to go to office hours. She rewards those who put in the extra effort. Also go to class and participate! Participation points are an easy way to boost your grade and have her notice you in class. Overall, she challenges her students but helps and guides you along the way. The class is manageable if you go to class and actually do the work- edit, edit, edit papers. Oh and she only has 3 essays plus a group project (really easy) in her class compared to most classes which have 4-5 essays

DO NOT TAKE HER. SHE IS HORRIBLE

Take Senn, she's awesome! Yes, she does assign alot of reading. Yes, she requires alot of discussion time. But it's a good workload. Just do what has been assigned and GO TO OFFICE HOURS, and you'll be fine. The class is pretty chill too. It doesn't take time out of studying for your major classes.

I loved Senn's class. She always provided us with interesting reading material and was always so enthusiastic to teach. Take her!

If you are like me when I registered for this class: had a good registration rotation, wanted a teacher who cared about their students, and wanted a good grade, DO NOT TAKE SENN! I had the privilege of picking any English 145 teacher I wanted, so I came to Polyratings and saw Senn's wonderful reviews. I was excited to have Senn, but now regret having her so much! She was not only the most unfair grader I've ever had, but also extremely liberal and wasn't afraid to share her opinions with us. I worked harder for this class than I did for any of my other classes and am lucky to have gotten a B. I only received a B because I went to her office hours every week to bring up my grade during the second half of the quarter and got a miraculous 95% on my research paper. I am not the type of student who gets C's or even B's very often. This was the first quarter I did not make the Dean's list and blame it on taking this teacher. I have never worked so hard for a B. A GE should not be so much work. She gave us articles to read every day (some 20+ pages, and random pop quizzes on them), a novel to read (which I actually really enjoyed), an in class essay on the novel, a in class midterm exam which everyone failed (she told us that it was possible to get an A because a couple of people did), a huge Quest project (a research paper, but also with a presentation), and an in class final essay exam. The only up side to this class was that there wasn't too much writing required compared to other English 145 classes. I know it seems like I am ranting, but I am just trying to save you from making the same mistake I made. Do not take this teacher if you have the choice. If you must take her, go to her office hours immediately and before every essay to proof read it, get her to like you, and stay clear of "to be" verbs! Trust me! Good luck...

Senn is awesome! I struggle with writing and I went to her office hours for help. She lets you re-do work for a better grade, and she ultimately cares about student improvement. She genuinely cared about my questions and made me want to be a better writer. This class was very fun!!

By far the best teacher I have experienced at Cal Poly. There is never a dull moment in this class (which I took at 8 PM at night-so you'd expect it to boring). Professor Senn engages with her students to make class interesting, thought- provoking, and overall self-rewarding. She got me thinking about so many societal issues, in such a non-biased way. I completely recommend Professor Senn! If you can get her, take her. May be the most rewarding class of college! Class consists of very short article reads every other class, two essays, and a mini essay, along with a midterm (of the article readings). The articles are interesting though, so READ THEM! (Im a business student)

Melanie Senn does her job very well. She talks about everything on her one midterm, which is a killer if you do not study. The main problem with this class is that she is an extremely challenging grader on Essays, which compose nearly 50% of your grade. For a GE, this is crazy. Grades are not out yet, but I am pretty sure I got an A-, something I had to work my butt off for.

Melanie's class was not by any means easy. I got an A, but worked hard for it. Melanie is very understanding when it comes to due dates and homework completion. I recommend reading and annotating every article you read, if not, the midterm will be hard, otherwise the midterm is not that bad. (I got over 100%). Melanie is VERY liberal and super biased, all the articles we read were liberal even though she preached the importance of conformational bias and not looking at only one side. Our Quest project made up 50% of our grade so I highly recommend not putting it off and doing multiple revisions. Go to office hours and have her read your writing, it will help a lot and make getting a good grade easier. She is incredibly helpful in her office. All in all, the class is the amount of work I expect from a GE and I recommend taking her for 145. (4/5)

I had Senn as a freshman. Pretty decent professor. Interesting class. Definitely a strong hardcore feminist. She's pretty and sexy in my opinion. Maybe that's just me.

Melanie is by far the best professor I have had at Cal Poly so far. Her lectures are almost always extremely interesting and thought provoking. I often found myself thinking about the topics we discussed throughout the week outside of class. Yes, the course load can be relatively heavy throughout the quarter, but you will gain so much from this class if you apply yourself. Take attentive notes during lecture, and you will succeed on the midterm. For the Quest project, I recommend meeting with her as often as you can in office hours. She will help immensely. Choose a topic you are passionate about. Melanie is also a really cool person aside from being a professor. Get to know her; she has some really unique and funny stories. She is also a great professional connection to have, even if you are not an English major. I highly recommend taking this professor!

Prof. Senn was such an amazing English teacher. Very very easy class to say the least. Minimal homework and only one essay the entire quarter. Never fell asleep in class and I loved hearing Prof Senn talk. She is funny and so nice and I loved having her! I didn't even have to try to get my A. If you know how to read and write and want a somewhat easy A, take this class. The only negative is that the midterm is a little hard to study for but just try to read all the articles and understand logical fallacies. Thanks Professor gonna miss you!

Professor Senn is awesome! The class is super straightforward and there is only one big project for the whole class plus a midterm. She is super willing to help and puts a lot of effort into grading and giving students feedback. Take her if you can! 10/10 would recommend!

Melanie is hands down my favorite professor this year! I was actually interested and engaged in everything we covered throughout the quarter, and she helped me take my writing to the next level. I will definitely miss this class and the Quest project, and recommend any freshman to take her course!

Melanie Senn is a nice lady. She teaches you what you need to know for quizzes and midterms. There is only one paper written in this class, so if you aren't that great of a writer, maybe professor Senn isn't the professor for you. She doesn't teach you how to write or give a speech, yet those two things make up most of your grade. Keep in mind that she is also very opinionated. She tries to hide her opinions and gives you articles from both sides of an argument, but her opinions are very clear.

For staters Senn is incredibly funny! She always told story after story and never started class without something interesting. I was expecting this class to be much more difficult...but as long as you manage your time everything is completely manageable. She is very willing to help students when needed, and will even tell you exactly what to do to fix your assignment for a better grade. Don't be fooled though, the midterm is long and difficult. Take her for a good english 145

very very tedious class. she bases the entire quarter on ONE essay.

Professor Senn really cares about all of her students. She will go above and beyond to make sure they get the help they need for their assignments. The workload is not too bad as long as you manage your time well. You pick a topic at the beginning of the quarter that you have a quarter long assignment on with multiple parts, this includes a 10-15 page paper and a presentation. There is also a midterm and participation grade. I highly suggest professor Senn, she is very friendly and nice, and she loves her job. Take her if you can!

Senn really takes in the time to work with each student to make sure they succeed. She has a really open mind to both perspectives of a topic regardless of her own opinions. She keeps the course interesting with current issues and group discussions. In our final project, I really appreciated that she allowed us to choose our own topic; therefore, allowing us to work hard and research something we would willingly do and are interested in rather than forcing us to study on something we don't care about. Love her!

Best professor at Cal Poly. Very very nice and actually cares about students! Would recommend 10/10

Melanie is amazing!! I enjoyed going to class and highly recommend going to office hours because she is very helpful and cares so much about her students! I was sad for the class to be over and wish she taught higher level courses. She talks about hot button issues issues going on in society as well which was really interesting. Stay up to date with your quest project and make sure you do a topic you really care about and you will do well. I thoroughly enjoyed watching my classmates present their projects as well because I learned so much!

I didn't really like the material in this class because it was a lot of stuff I already knew and therefore boring, but if you aren't very familiar with politics it would probably be extremely interesting. With that said, Melanie is the best! She is such a good professor who is really easy to talk to and obviously cares about her students. One thing about this class I liked is that there is only one project the whole quarter. This includes a 15-ish page research paper and you get to choose your topic. It was a ton of work but also really rewarding because I got to choose a topic related to my major and therefore do a lot of research on a topic I love. I got a really high A in this class but I also put in A LOT of work to the project. You could probably get an A if you don't put in as much work, but I personally wanted to because I was excited about the project. Everyone has to take ENGL 145 and you should definitely take it with Melanie if you can!