Troxel, Patricia  

Troxel is AWESOME!!! She is incredibly knowledgable about both British history and Shakespeare, as well as the theatre itself. I had the opportunity to take two classes from her while studying in London, and it was amazing all the things she knew. She is also VERY nice, and tries to help her students as much as possible. Her course outlines were very clear, and the grading was fair. I got a B in this course, and an A in our Humanities course, and both were a great deal of fun. Troxy never acts like she's better than her students, and all of us from London Study agreed that she was more like a fun aunt than one of our professors.

She really makes learning about Shakespeare understandable and fun. If you don't like to participate, however, beware, because 20% of your grade comes from in-class participation. There are two 4-6 pg. essays, a midterm, a final and a 2 pg. review of a play. I would recommend this class to everyone.

She is one of the best teachers at Cal Poly. She is able to take a boring subject and make it interesting. I would highly recommend her to anyone. The only downside is that she is a hard grader when it comes to your papers. However, you can do as many re-writes as you want, and she will give you the highest grade. So just make sure that you give yourself time to do those re-writes and you can get a good grade in the course.

What a super great teacher Dr. Troxel is. This woman is superwoman, and I mean that. I didn't like Shakespeare going into the class, but she has opened my eyes to the world of Shakespeare and I thank her for that. Now why is she superwoman? If you didn't like the grade you received on an essay you could turn it in again and whichever grade was higher is the grade you would receive. She had 30 of us in class...there were 3 papers...yet she could have read up to 100 papers that quarter because she always wanted us to get better. What else can you ask for in a teacher? If you get a chance to take Dr. Troxel, I would. And if you go to London Study then you get to experience Shakespeare in a very different way! You'll love her!

Dr. Troxel is AWSOME. Finally a teacher that loves and knows what they are talking about. Having into to shakespear in 5 weeks was a lot of work, but wow did she make it fun. I wish this had been a 10 week class, so I could of had her for longer. I would recomend her to anyone.

Professor Troxel is by far the best professor at Cal Poly. I had her at 8:00 in the morning and it was my favorite class. She makes Shakespeare so interesting and easy to understand. It's easy to pass the GWR. Her midterm and final are easy. And she lets you revise your papers to get a better grade. She is so funny and easy to follow along with. I would definitely recommend her.

Professor Troxel is perfect for your English GE requirement. You read one book a week, but she fills you in with all the important info. in class. You have papers, but you an revise them and she gave our class a conference period where she met with you for 20 min. This conference was amazing. She praises you like a teacher should but also gives you great advice. She is a super nice woman and cares about your grade as much as you do. Even if you hate Shakespeare, it doesn't matter, this class is so great! Take this before you graduate!! Plus, this class takes care of the GWR and a GE requirement.

WOW. WOW!! What a great teacher Dr. Troxel is. I'm a biochemist and I had no clue about Shakespeare. Writing for me is worse than drilling a tooth with no anasthesia. I didn't even know how to spell his name. Dr. Troxel is funny, fair in her grades (she'll tell you what you need improvement in, but your grade does not reflect that at all). She doesn't bore you with boring stuff. She is enthusiatic, always cheerful, and she actually listens to questions. Whatever negative you heard about Dr. Troxel: Don't pay attention to them. These kind of people would critizise anybody. Even God. Do yourself a favor: Take Dr. Troxel and don't hesitate for a moment. I actually kept my books so I can read them later.

Dr. Troxel's class is one of the most beneficial classes the English Dept. has to offer. For one, she loves her subject and so naturally presents it in a style that is interesting and easily understood. Shakespeare comes alive in her class and he becomes much more of a person one can relate to rather than an aloof, unapproachable figure in history. Secondly, she is inclined to give higher grades to her students because her approach is not to use grades as leverage to get students to perform. She wants her students to understand the subject and contemplate its complexities rather than memorize key names and dates, titles, etc., for a grade (which is missing the point entirely). The higher grades are a plus to any G.P.A. Finally, she gives students an opportunity to easily fulfill their Writing Requirement in class rather than having to take the WPE. She is likeable and easy to talk to if there are problems. I highly recommend her class.

Professor Troxel is amazing. I had her for my first quarter at Cal Poly and never had a teacher before her that was so passionate about what she taught. Her midterms weren't bad if you went to class and took notes. She has three papers that count for homework. They are all pretty easy and she helps you 100% along the way. She even lets you do revisions for a better grade. She makes the material understandable and draws you in so you're actually interested in the class. I loved her and would recommend her to anyone! Take Troxel she is the best! And this is an easy way to complete GWR!!! Take Troxel!!!

There cannot be a better teacher at poly. This class was a great place to be at 7 am. The work load was interesting, and so completely do-able. I would recommnnd this class because it fulfills one of those area D- or some other thing. check it out, because it actually can fulfill a couple of those pesky little classes that ya have to take that dont relate to your major, but must be a three or four hundred level. . take this one! . Troxel rules. She is a true delight to listen to. You have a great opportunity to deal with some Shakespeare and make a thereby making a classier person out of yourself...all in eng 339! I think you would have to really try to get a bad grade in this class. One thing...if you cannot be in class daily...you should take someone else. But Troxel is worth getting up for,and you are allowed two absences. Also, one must be on time to this class. It is a respect thing. and with Troxel, the respect runs both ways. But the fact is you will lose points if you are late. as a senior, i have seen some real assholes and many of them are UNAVOIDABLE...Electives are one area where you truly can get a decent teacher...you must consider Troxel if you can.

Very friendly and helpful. Knows a lot about shakespeare. Good class.

I was dreading taking a Shakespeare class. Much to my surprise, Troxel made this class very interesting, and I learned to see Shakespeare in a different light! Her lectures are very interesting. She did not require us to write long, laborious papers. If you are not an English major, do not enjoy writing and are taking this class strictly to meet the GWR requirement, I would highly recommend it.

Patricia is an effective teacher, even at 7am in the morning. She makes her Shakespeare class applicable to everyone, so even if you are not into reading literature or plays, she will make the topic relevant and interesting to you. Her class is broken up into: 3 Papers 50%, Participation 15%, Midterm 15%, and Final 20%. She lets you turn in your papers prior to the due date for revisions and commentary. If you make the appropriate revisions your grade will go up. The midterm and final are designed to fulfill the GWR requirement and they are not hard. Overall, I would recommend her to anyone who loved or hated literature and Shakespeare because she is passionate about teaching Shakespeare, invests time into her students, and wants everyone to walk away with new knowledge and a meaningful experience

Although I mostly enjoyed this class, I was somewhat disappointed because of the hype. It made it seem as though this would be the best class ever, a life-changing experience. It was not. It was, though, a mostly painless way to learn a little more about Shakespeare. Positives: only three papers in the class that can be revised (50% of your grade), open-ended tests that one can use any Shakespeare plays on, normally engaging classroom sessions, relatively light reading schedule (just 6 plays--about half of my English 253 reading), fulfills C4 and GWR. I'm in the middle about the classroom discussion format, let's put it this way--very Socratic. You be the judge. Negatives: it only seems to be taught at 7am on varying quarters, for one; the selection of the plays (the arcane Merchant of Venice and the frothy Twelfth Night are included, but not Lear or Macbeth?), but that one might just be subjective. Really, those are forgiveable, the only thing that really ruined it for me was a pair of annoying know-it-alls (and you know who you are) that sat across the room from me. Their answers were obvious, stupid, and often wrong, and talk about pretentious. But I don't really hold it against the class--not like my rating should depend on things the teacher can't control. Overall, a good experience, but don't expect the moon.

Troxel is an awesome professor. I had her Shakespeare class at 7 am last quarter, but I looked forward to going just about every day because of how well she presented the material. She's funny and so so so so knowledgeable about her field of study that she makes even some of the most dry aspects of Shakespeare interesting. She's very lenient about papers and understanding about late work-- she even lets you rewrite and review for better grades. I had to worry the least about her midterm and final because they were both open note and open book. I came out of the class with a greater understanding and enjoyment for Shakespeare and would recommend Troxel to anyone who is considering taking her courses.

This class was EASY. She started out by saying that she didn't expect you to have read Shakespeare before, let alone a play. I took this during the summer 5 week session so you had to read the plays fairly quickly. We read Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, and The Winter's Tale. She THOROUGHLY goes through each of the plays, to the point where if you've read the play before it's a bit excessive. We were required to write 3 papers which weren't the typical college paper format. The first paper required you to paraphrase any passage from any Shakespearean work and explain the main image. The second paper required you to change the setting of any Shakespearean work and explain why that is better. The third paper required you to either see a Shakespearean play in person or the movie version, and then contrast that version to the original written version. Best of all, you're allowed to re-submit your revised paper for a better grade. If you're taking the class for your GWR as well, you just have to get a passing grade on the midterm or final, which the entire class passed on the midterm. The only problem I had with this professor was that she took a long time to return papers. In fact, we never received our third papers so we couldn't revise it. Other than that, an easy A and as long as you participate in class, no pop quizzes! I highly recommend Troxel for Intro to Shakespeare.

Dr. Troxel is the best. I was only taking this class to fulfill a GWR and C4 requirement, but I can honestly say that I loved every minute of her class. She is funny, energetic, and genuinely cares about her students. She valued our own thoughts and the workload was definitely easy. Three essays spread throughout the quarter (the longest one only had to be 3-5 pages) and one of the essays is about watching a Shakespearean-based film or play. Great class, great teacher.

If you are not an amazing writer, or you are not a pro at reading Shakespeare, this class will NOT be as easy as previous ratings have stated. Yes, Dr. Troxel is very passionate about Shakespeare and she does a great job of explaining all the plays, but she does not grade easy on the essays or essay tests. Also, unless you want to forgo about 15% of your grade in this class, it is essential that you participate daily and do not miss more than 3 classes.

Troxel is amazing!!!! By far, the best professor in the English Department, hands down. Troxel is very knowledgeable, invites student engagement, and clearly knows what she\'s talking about. Ask her anything relating to British literature, and the woman is an encyclopedia. The combination of her exceptional breadth of knowledge, her real-world experience and simply a kind nature, make the woman a pleasure to learn from. She is comfortable in her own skin and unlike certain other professors in the English Department, she doesn\'t grade on how well she likes you, and she *will* definitely understand any topic the students write on. It\'s refreshing to have a professor who \'gets it\' and doesn\'t interrupt, grade down or mock those who disagree. If you had a poor experience with literature previously and want to learn to love it again, take Troxel. If you want to expand your knowledge of lit and actually learn about the history and biography of the lit and its writers, take her. If you can, take Troxel!

She is on of the best teachers at Poly. She loves what she teaches and it is obvious as she teaches. I would take on of her classes for fun again, just because she is so good.

I was dreading this class when I first signed up for it, but it turned out to be really enjoyable. You read about 15 plays which is the downside of the class, but if you don't read it is okay because you can just sit in class and act as if you had read. You have 2 essay papers, a essay midterm, an essay final, and a creative project...which is pretty much anything you want to do about one play we read. Overall, it isn't too much work, and Troxel is very kind in her grading. I read that she has an encyclopedic brain, and this is the best way to describe her. At first I liked her a lot, but as the quarter went on her ego became more and more apparent, and she has definite repressed issues about sex. It is apart of the daily lecture and all the plays we read. At first this was interesting, but by the third week or so I was just over it. I would recommend her because she gives an interesting lecture and is pretty laid back.

Dr. Troxel was a great teacher. I would recommend taking a upper division general ed with the gwr requirement with her because our whole class passed that gwr the first time. I am not the best writer or english person in the world and I thought she was a reasonable grader. She does grade harshly though on your essays that you turn in but you have the opportunity to redo it for a better grade. The plays you read are very short and if you don't read every one thats okay because the essays on the midterm and final only apply to some of them and you can choose a few that you feel comfortable with that you can relate to one another. She is a very cheery person and looks like she loves talking about the material even when its 7am in the morning. So take her!!

Professor Troxel is a really nice professor and she truly cares about her students. The class consists of 3 papers, a midterm, and a final. You have to read 15 plays and that is horrible. If you turn in the papers by the deadline, you can revise them and turn them back in for a better grade. The midterm is a little rough if you are taking it for the GWR because you have to write 5 paragraphs in 50 minutes, but most of the class passed it. The final is easy and you have the whole three hours, but you will on need about an hour and a half. The only problem I have with this professor is that she took forever to hand papers back. I still hadn't got my first paper back when I turned in my third. Granted she taught 4 classes and she was sick most of the quarter, but she had the first papers for over a month. I highly recommend her for this GWR class.

This class is rip roaring ridiculuous!!! There is tons of reading and all the plays ened up cost about $200. She is nice and engages you in class but her grading is unfair. If you are not a strong writer or an English major do not take this class, you will struggle to do well since all the grades are based on essays. Overall, I would not recommend this class you will struggle to get a decent grade in a GE class. On a scale form 1-10 this class gets an 85 in SUCKING!!!

When I first got the syllabus for this class, I was a little concerned...since we were required to read 15 different plays in 10 weeks, write 5 papers, a midterm, and a final. BUT, it turned out to be really awesome! She presents the information in a way that is interesting and she is always in a good mood (unless you have your cell phone out, and in that case, prepare to see her wrath). She is very knowledgeable in in the field of drama since she is one of the directors of the PCPA, a local theatre company. The only downside is that she takes forever to hand back papers, so you are never sure what to improve on for the next. Overall, I would highly recommend this class to satsify the GWR requirement!

I took Patricia Toxel for 2 classes in London and she is by far one of the most interesting professors I have ever had. She not only knows more regarding history and english than anyone I have ever encountered, she has a genuine concern for the students. I don't know how her on campus Cal Poly classes are structured, but I can, without hesitation, claim that she played a large role in making my study abroad experience as meaningful as it was. Patricia has an amazing past and myriad accomplishments, I stronly reccommend taking her as a professor and engaging yourself in her soctratic method of teaching.

Dr. Troxel is amazing! I had her for a 5 week class this past summer. Although it was a lot of reading to get through in only 5 weeks, she made sure that she answered every question we had. Her lectures are never boring... she loves hearing students state their opinions. She isn't like other teachers who will give you a bad grade if you don't spit their opinion right back to them in every paper. Her class consisted of one 3 page paper, a group presentation and one 10-12 page research paper. Every class period we had to turn in one question we had about the last night's reading. That's it. She is truly interested in how students feel about the plays she teaches. She doesn't cram history down your throat... instead, she will simply explain what something means and move on. She is energetic, passionate and knowledgable about what she teaches. I loved her as an English major, and I'm sure non-English majors would do well in her classes too. The only downfall to Dr. Troxel is that she doesn't hand papers back, so you don't get a chance to revise them like you're supposed to... but apparently its really not necessary, since she is an easy grader anyway. Take Dr. Troxel if you want to learn something and not do a ton of pointless work!

Dr. Troxel probably knows everything about every play ever written. She is helpful, engaging, easy to approach and respects her students. She also has every play ever performed on DVD or VHS or has a link for it, and could probably recite it for you. Great teacher.

Troxel is an excellent professor. Her encyclopedic knowledge might seem intimidating at times, but she does not make it so. Her skill at lecturing and the energy that she dedicates to it is staggering. I would recommend this professor to anyone--even non majors. If you have to take that one english class to get out of Poly, look for one of hers.