Lyle Larsen - Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA

Professor: Lyle Larsen

Department: English

College: Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ENG5
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Professor Larsen is my favorite Professor of all time! He genuinely cares about his students and truly LOVES the material he teaches. He is very accessible and appreciates hard work. I recommend going to his office hours. I still go... And I am no longer an SMC student. He's just that awesome. They don't make em like that anymore.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ENGL5
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Larsen is a true literature man. Funny in unexpected ways. Hard grader, hard to get an A on essays and such. Do the reading every week b/c there are quizzes almost every class. Beginning half of class was very interesting w/ poems. Got a bit boring towards the end w/ prose: essays, journals, etc. Optional research paper needed for A or B.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ENG5
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Tough. But absolutely AMAZING. He's tough because he cares about his students. He knows if you put in the work you'll be more entrenched in the material. Thus you will be at a serious advantage later in your academic career/your life. It's easy to think a professor is tough because they're just mean but I assure you-- that's just not the case here.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ENG5
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This class is tough! Mainly because the subject material is so boring (I'm an English major as well, and it was still boring). Larsen knows his stuff. He's an amazing guy. Extremely funny and helpful, it's just that it's a tough class. Do the term paper. I struggled to maintain my B!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ENG5
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Larsen's tests are not only oriented in the interpretation of literary texts. But they are remarkably difficult due to the many dates, terms, and geographically-based questions he tests on.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ENG5
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Extremely hard grader. Most were just trying to keep their Bs and Cs by the final, check the grade distribution.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ENG5
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The tests tend to focus on things like definitions, dates, and authors, and not much on analyzing literature. He's a hard and somewhat arbitrary grader; i.e., he'll dock a correct short answer a point or two and respond to questions about why with "That's still a good grade". My least favorite English class at SMC.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ENG5
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

hardest and most time consuming class ever...if you can avoid taking it...do!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ENG21
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Highly recommended. Although little strict when grading essays, the class itself is not hard, but not too easy.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ENG5
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is a passionate professor, straight-forward with his comments and a hard grader. Quizzes class frequently, but if you read, you will do well. In this class, the grade you get is the grade you earned. Be sure to participate in class, it may make the difference if you are in between grades. Nice instructor and he admits to teaching @ UCLA level, s

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ENG21B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Amazing teacher!.Very passionate about his work. If you have any questions, dont hesitate to ask because he is there to help. He's very serious and cares for your needs. As long as you do all the essays you will be fine. At first i was hesitant to add him due to some nasty reviews i read here, but i dont regret it at all. Even the slackers got a B.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ENGENG5
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Larsen is one of the most PASSIONATE and INTELLIGENT people you will ever meet. He is a MUST for English majors!! Especially ones who want to be professors also. He is open for comments and recommends that we speak up. He has taught me so much, and I really appreciate his help! AMAZING PROFESSOR, too good for SMC!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ENGL5
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

By far and away the toughest teacher I have ever had. He ruined my 4.0 and I did all of the readings and studied a lot. I worked hard for this "B" - harder than for all my other "A"s. However, I think he did more to prepare me for university level classes than any other teacher thus far. For an "A" don't take him. To improve and learn, take him.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: HIST5
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I HAVE NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, GOTTEN LESS THAN AN A IN AN ENGLISH CLASS TIL NOW, ILL BE LUCKY TO GET a C AND I HAVE A TUTOR...RUN, DONT WALK, RUN FROM THIS CLASS..HE TESTS ON RECOMMENDED BOOKS NOT REQUIRED, HE PRIDES HIMSELF ON HAVING A HIGH FAILURE RATE IN HIS CLASS...

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ENG5
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Larsen was inspirational. He is hard. It's a class for those who like to be challenged. Larsen has a brilliant mind, is accessible, has a passion for english literature and uses the best pieces from the Norton Anthology to encapsulate the period. Take his class if you are passionate about English lit. and/or it's your major.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ENG21B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Larsen is GREAT! He is sooo nice and he cares about his students. He wants everyone to get an "A" in the class. He helps anyone who dosn't get it or needs clarrification. Does not leave a lot of Homework. Most of the time lets students out early from class. Not a difficult class to pass. TAKE HIS CLASS!

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ENG5
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He is a very HARD grader, but you will be sure to get an A if you read all of the material on time and write down everything he says in class to study. In other words, you have to work hard for this one. He really explains everything very clearly and lets the students give their own opinion. He feels like a really easy going. I LEARNED a lot.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ENGL5
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

One of the best teachers at SMC. I had to work harder in 5 than any class ever, but i got my A. Hes not impossible, gives study guides.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ENG21B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

great prof. learned a lot about grammar and essay writing. In total, there's only like 5 essays and a final. Not a hard class. Def. Recommend.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ENGL5
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Mandatory class for English majors and who else would take Larsen? Pedestrian, rote class, nothing spontaneous, same lectures every term. He's scholarly but gets a little too excited about his pop quizzes.