Kay Ryals - Irvine Valley College, Irvine, CA

Professor: Kay Ryals

Department: English

College: Irvine Valley College, Irvine, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: LIT22
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I already love literature, but Prof Ryals brings something special to it. She has really interesting lectures and the class would go by really quickly. I was a little worried that I wouldn't enjoy this class, but by the end of the course I bought the textbook that I had rented. She makes the subject really, really interesting.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: LIT23
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Ryals makes you really care about what you are reading. Extremely nice person, very intense, shows an interest in her students, enthusiastic about her area of specialty (American Literature). You HAVE to show some interest to get something out of this class, and you will not do a good job if you skip lectures often. Makes you work for it.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: LIT23
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Very nice lady, her syllabus isn't 100% solidified she occasionally cancels classes so it changes but that's good because she does what's best for the class and its students. She takes a while to input grades, but she gets it done! She offers extra credit opportunities! Her quizzes can be challenging but if you read you should be fine!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: WR1H
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Ryals is a nice and personable professor. She was a bit disorganized though but made up for it by extending deadlines. Her feedback on papers was limited but if you make the effort to ask for more help she'll give it to you no problem. She really wants you to try and talk to her for feedback so you can do better. There's a LOT of reading though.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: WR1H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She's really sweet so make sure you're good to her! Make sure to look at your syllabus and make time to read and annotate. Pay attention to the rubrics and try hard (:

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: WR1H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Ryals is great! She gives really good personal feedback for everyone's essays/work. Lots of peer review in her class, but it really makes you a better writer. Sometimes she gives candy/cookies :). Also doesn't hurt that she's the Honors Program director, so you can ask her questions about HP if you need to.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: WR1H
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

If u have gotten solid A's in the past on papers, u should do fine in this class. She tells u what she wants and DEFINITELY go see her during office hours to fix your essay, even if you think it's good. 4 essays total, and research project due at the end. Laidback teacher- have pushed back 2 essays due to her unavailability 4 help & missing class.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: WR1
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr. Ryals is incredibly knowledgeable, thorough and truly cares about teaching. I enjoyed the books she chose for our course and the variety in our essays. I've heard other classes focused solely on one topic the entire sem and I was really glad we didn't. Since it was online I liked that we got to pick and choose what to respond to. Def recommend!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: WR1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Would NOT recommend online! SO much work it's super difficult to keep up with. There isn't good feedback from teacher or peers either because it's online.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: WR1H
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great professor, super knowledgeable and really cares about her students. If you ever have questions or difficultly, she is more than ready to help you. Fair grader, but beware that she is particular. For this class she specifically wanted an intro sentence and conclusion sentence for every paragraph so just be sure to follow that stuff!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: WR1
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

If you truly have a thirst for learning, Professor Ryals is the way to go. She gives great constructive feedback and I'd imagine her intelligence is off the charts. She seems to really "get it". She would the the few professors I know that seem to truly care. Her class was tough, but I learned a lot.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: WR1H
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

A truly amazing teacher. By far the most talented, considerate teacher, that truly cares about her students that I have ever had. It is very unfortunate that other students in my class treated her terrible, as she consistently went out of her way to hold us to the highest standard possible. Thank you,

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: WR1H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

She is a very knowledgeable and helpful professor. This writing class has really helped me think deeper about texts and has made writing essays a lot easier. She is a tough grader and her assignments are complex; however, she does everything she can to help. Use a variety of evidence/come up with original ideas and you're good. I recommend her!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: WR1H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Ryals is an extremely knowledgeable and nice professor. The biggest tip when it comes to her essays is to use TONS and a VARIETY of evidence from the text and follow up with a good chunk of analysis. She is very helpful and reasonable and really does help her students when asked. I would recommend her and her class. Overall, great professor.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: WR1H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Professor Ryals is amazing & really cares for her students! You truly learn a lot in this class. Some papers can seem kind of long but most prompts are interesting. As long as you put in good effort, you will get an A! Utilize her office hours & get your papers reviewed before you turn them in. Definitely recommend taking this class with Ryals!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: WR1H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Ryals is amazing! At first she seems really tough, which she is, but she gives you really good and helpful feedback if you go to her during office hours or email her. Her assignments are very complex, but in the long run this has been the best English class I've ever taken. I was pushed more and therefore learned more than any other class.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: WR1H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Ryals is a wonderful person. As a teacher however, there are some problems. This is a writing class, and every person has their own style of writing, but you will not do well if you don't write the way she wants you to write. That was the worst part. The good thing is that she is always there to help. GO TO HER OFFICE HOURS. That will help you.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: LIT20
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Professor Ryals is a wonderful lady. She's kind, smart and really helpful. You can tell she really cares about you, the student. She's there to help if you're struggling. I definitely recommend.

Rating # 19

Overview:

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

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Professor Ryals is such an amazing teacher. She really cares about her students and goes out of her way to help. The class is seminar like (small) and your grade basically consists of 4 formal essays. I wished that Professor Ryals would teach WR 2 so I could take her again. She looks out for the students who want to excel.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: HONORSWR1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I highly recommend Dr. Ryals as a WR professor. There's going to be many essays and at least one researchterm paper. Pretty standard for any WR class. If you're shooting for an A, do every single reading and writing assignment. Once you're behind, it's really hard to catch up. Always have either Dr. Ryals or your classmates review your essays.