Cathy Hoffman - San Diego State University, San Diego, CA

Professor: Cathy Hoffman

Department: English

College: San Diego State University, San Diego, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: RSW200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

No one told me we had to do a twenty page paper (and 2 eight page papers). Also, she doesn't actually read papers; she's just a huge stickler for MLA FORMAT. She will fail you if you do not get MLA format correctly. Her teaching is inadequate and pointless. She's very condescending and big-headed. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: RWS100
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Hoffman is a rigorous teacher that expects effort and respect out of students. Throughout the semester, it is one paper after the other but through her lectures she explains exactly what she wants, paragraph by paragraph, in the paper. She appreciates when students go to office hours. Took her class randomly and am taking her RWS200 class

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: RWS100
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Hoffman knows what she is talking about and is very "rigorous" as she described herself. 5 papers in all, not the type of essays you can BS in one night and expect a good grade. She's a smart Prof and she wants you to succeed but it comes with a ton of reading and putting time into the papers. Not an easy A.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: RWS100
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

A little bit confusing in lectures but overall tells you exactly what you need to do in order to succeed. Explains things sufficiently. Intimidating at first but a great teacher.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: RWS200
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Unless you are a superb writer and are unafraid of a tough class, I would suggest not taking Hoffman. It's hard to impress her because she reuses topics from past years for her papers. Get ready to print a lot of pages of articles and essays. Has conferences 15 days of the semester. Will improve your writing, but it will be a struggle.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: RWS100
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Hoffman is a great teacher. She clearly cares about her students and the subject matter. Take this class if you like writing and want to become a better writer. Go to office hours! She is accessible and highly encourages office hour attendance. She explains in depth what she wants from each essay so take notes and attend class.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: RWS200
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Hoffman expects a lot out of you as a student, but is very clear in what she expects. Highly recommend taking this class if you want to become a better writer. I was already a fairly strong writer before taking her class and in one semester alone I improved drastically. Do not be discouraged of taking her.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: RWS200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Do not take Professor Hoffman if you're simply looking to fulfill a GE requirement. She is a great professor and clearly she knows what she's doing, but I regret taking her class. I am a science major and there is nothing I hate more than writing essays. This class is way too intense for a 200 level class and the essays requirements are ridiculous.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: RWS100
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Hands down the best professor I have ever had. Her class is tough and requires multiple long papers. If you want an easy class do not take her, but if you genuinely want to improve your writing, there is no better professor. If you put in the work your writing will improve drastically.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: RWS100
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I liked her. Hoffman challenges and pushes her students to reach their full potential, which not all professors take the time to do. Take notes, and always record her lectures. She does not grade easily, so if you're looking for an easy A, don't bother enrolling in her class. It's an academic class, not a creative writing class. Go to office hours!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: RWS200
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I took Hoffman for RWS200 and had friends in her 100 class, too. In all honesty there are far better and easier teachers you can take for either class. I didn't write a single essay less than 10 pages and my final paper was 27 pages which was ridiculous. She also grades tough and puts nothing in blackboard so you won't know your grade until the end

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: RWS200
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Take her class! I was hesitant about taking it when I saw these reviews last year, but I improved drastically in writing in such a short period of time. I'm not going to lie, her class does entail some work. She wants to challenge her students to the best of her ability, but taking her RWS 200 course fully prepared me for my entire college career.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: RWS100
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I'm not going to lie: her class was difficult. However, she 's a great lady and an excellent professor. She's very caring and methodical, so you'll know exactly what's needed to do well on her essays (5 of them). Do attend her office hours!! She's super helpful and less intimidating one on one. My writing improved immensely. Class is worth it

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: RSW200
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Please do yourself a favor and don't take her. I love writing and I read her reviews thinking i would be able to gain more knowledge. I learned absolutely nothing. And she loves to brag. There were 3 essays and each was with at least 15 sources with at least 16 pages (My largest was 28 pages). Every other teacher gave the most of about 7 pages.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: RWS100
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Hoffman can come off as quite intimidating and intense , however she is very caring and wants to see everyone succeed. She lectures often, which is nice because she will go over exactly what she expects to see in your essays and exactly what not to do. We also had a writing fellow in our class who was very helpful.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: RWS100
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

really great professor, my favorite so far. she's been the only prof to push me to do the best i can. she tells you exactly what she wants in each paper if you listen. take notes and record as many lectures as you can. don't procrastinate. the writing is not creative, it's an academic writing class and it will help you later on. GO TO OFFICE HOURS.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: RWS200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

If you love writing long extensive in depth papers take this class. She is a hard grader and if you don't write what she wants to hear you will not get a good grade. I've heard from other students that their RWS200 classes aren't as hard as Hoffman's. There are so many writing assignments and her instructions are never clear. She doesn't use email

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: RWS200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Hoffman is an interesting professor. She requires attendance but doesn't give much useful information during her lectures plus they are very boring. She is very full of herself and often talks about how smart she is. Her papers require a lot of work and time, don't procrastinate.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: RWS305W
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Pretty easy, got an A. Handful of quick essays that are reading and lecture based. As long as you go to class, and do what she says on the assignments, you'll get an A. Go to office hours and ask Q's, she will see that you care and grade better if you show you care and are putting in effort.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: RWS305
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

One of the easiest classes iv taken. Just listen and do what she says and you will get an A. Try to make it a habit of going into office hours before a paper is due so she can give you feedback and see you are trying your best and it will REALLY help your grade too.