If you have the option to take English Composition 3 with any other professor, do it. If, like me, you get stuck with her due to scheduling/other classes being full, then you're in for a rough time. Her workload is insane compared to other EngComp3 professors, and while you may learn some useful things about formatting, the only things that you will learn about writing are the things that she considers useful. This isn't a class about learning to write so much as it is about learning to write in the way that Shelby Popham expects you to write. However, if you follow her instructions exactly, and don't slack off on the homework and journal entries, it's possible to take this class without your GPA taking too much of a hit. She gives you around 5-10 handouts per class (not an exaggeration), so being well organized is important. On the whole, I didn't learn much from this class except maybe how to format a bibliography and how to pander to my professor's tastes.

Dr. Popham did give a lot of work but she gives plenty of time to do it and is very helpful if you need help. I ended up getting an A in the class. Great treacher!

Goodness gracious keep away from this classroom and professor if all you are trying to do is satisfy your Writing 1 requirement. The workload blew my mind. We had literally endless work to do since she wanted us to revise our essays throughout the entire quarter. You literally cannot get above a B+ in one of the grading categories if you do not have her revise your essays more than a number of times.

Furthermore, do not even TRY to miss a class if you are sick or for any other reason. She emphasizes to not miss a single day much less even be LATE. She takes participation extremely serious, and you will see this with the several dozens, and dozens, and dozens of handouts you will receive (no, I am not kidding. You receive about ten handouts every class). Good luck appeasing this woman, her grading is tremendously harsh.

You would learn something really useful, despite the overwhelming process. But you need to handle it, overcoming yourself. Dr. Popham gave impressive lectures with myriad methods to improve your writing skills and yourself "as a writer" would do.

I took this course in my first quarter at UCLA. Now I am graduating and I feel like I have to write another comment here to express my gratitude to this course and to Dr. Popham.

Though the workload is super super heavy, what I have learned in this class helped me with every writing task I have to complete in college. Whenever I need to write a research paper, I refer to what she said about introduction, supporting paragraphs and conclusion and use those techniques to draft and revise my papers.

As a science major and a nonnative speaker, I don’t have much talent or interest in writing but thanks to her, I always get good scores(A+ or A) in the papers I have to write. I actually think that none of my friends who took the relatively easier EC3 courses benefitted as much as I did from this EC3.

I don’t really know if she is still teaching but I wholeheartedly recommend this class to anyone who wants to establish a good foundation for college writing.

Whatever you do. DO NOT TAKE HER CLASS. These reviews are not exaggerating save yourself the therapy bill and wait a quarter if she's your only option. I have never been so frustrated about a class before. The work is not hard, she is. I have no idea how she was hired.

I learned nothing from this class. You write 3 papers throughout the quarter and present them during finals week. They are all about the importance of stories.

She does not give you a rubric for the essays, just a list of requirements and, even if you complete all of them, this does not give you an A. I asked for a way to understand her grading process and she said "Do the best you can, and you will receive the grade that matches your best effort." She gives you thorough comments on the first essay but not on the second or third. You are on your own trying to figure out what it is that she wants from you because, as the other comments say, she will only accept her interpretation of texts and for you to follow her opinions.

What a miserable professor. No amount of money could pay me to take this class again. If you sign up for her, seriously, drop immediately. I have never regretted suffering through a class more and I cannot advice you enough to not take this class.

I do not suggest this class if you are just taking it for a GE. Professor is extremely nice when you talk to her, but expects so much out of her students for a GE class. I had to switch over to pass no pass because the first essay, which I worked really hard on, got me a C+. She has you submit all of the essays at the end of the quarter for an actual grade, so that did not affect my grade, but just from that, I knew what she expected from the essays was just too much. She literally edits the paper line by line, rewriting it how she wants it to be. She has you do things that make no sense just because that is how she likes it. There is absolutely no room for creativity. The only way to do well is to read her mind. Also apparently she only gives out one A per class. I have never taken an English class ike this before. Instead of analyzing quotes for literary devices, for the first paper, she had us write synonyms for each word in the quote and the body paragraphs were just sentences that included those synonyms. This class took the life out of me.

"Just write lol" was the main advice given in the class, and as someone already struggling with writing, it was not very helpful.