ENGL BC1210

very manageable, flexible deadlines (have to request tho) 3 major Essays, several small assignments which build up to your major assignment Readings are generally short and enjoyable to read!

Weekly reading and writing assignments that can take up some time but are worthwhile. 3 essays, they're the most important aspect of your grade and writing them is a long time consuming process.

I found this class to be very beneficial to my writing. Going to her office hour is very very important for this class because you get to flesh out your own ideas in ways that you might not even think about before. I would say to get a good grade in your essay you need to be very clear by what you mean. She definitely values clarity more than your style. I would also recommend to hyper-close read and find patterns before jumping in your essays. Although a lot of people think this class isn't enjoyable, I think it will be if you make it! Personally, I think Vrinda really encouraged me to explore further and more depth in my writing because of her questioning-based rather than thesis-based style of writing.

I did not expect much going into this class, but I ended up getting a lot our of this. Before this class, my academic exposure to feminism had been shallow and repetitive and I had grown to resent it. In this class, however, we read texts and discussed ideas that further nuanced feminist theory and my understanding of it, which I really enjoyed. Also, through Professor Benjamin's highly structured classes and assignments, I was able to improve my writing skills significantly and in various ways. This includes deeper analysis of literary texts, learning to write research essays, learning to better structure and organize my writing, and further developing my voice as a writer. Many sessions were dedicated to working on writing. This spanned from peer-editing to class wide analysis of writing and to lectures and handouts with specific methods geared at improving our writing. We worked with writing fellows for the second two essays, which provided an initial round of somewhat helpful feedback. After this, we turned in a second draft to the professor which she gave extensive feedback on and organized conferences with us to discuss it. Beyond that, students were encouraged to schedule extra meetings or come to office hours for additional feedback and help. I think the professor had high but fair expectations in regards to grading that required students' commitment and real effort.

Good amount of reading and some sort of writing assignment due pretty much every class, but spaced out for your own good!! The assignments are all baby steps toward finalizing your essays so that you don't write an entire draft the night before. Leads to better grades on your essays

There are weekly assignments but they are very short (no more than 20 pages) with a written response. There are two essays and then a research paper.

Vrinda is an absolute icon. I truly don't understand where the negative reviews are coming from. I feel like anyone who gets a bad grade in her class must really just be putting in no effort or be completely unresponsive to any of her criticism. She's super understanding about her students' circumstances. I asked for an extension on an assignment without giving any reason whatsoever and she told me I could absolutely have one. The workload is a bit heavy, but the only reason she gives so many assignments is so that her students will be thinking about and workshopping their ideas in advance rather than leaving an essay draft until the last minute (which I greatly appreciated as someone who tends to procrastinate). Overall she's so sweet, so understanding, so open to questions, so willing to help every student gain a better understanding of each piece. And she has so much fun teaching!! There were so many times when I couldn't help but smile because she just got SO EXCITED about the material and analyzing it with us. This class improved my writing skills but I think more importantly it greatly improved my analytical thinking skills. I also genuinely enjoyed almost all of the works that we read.

The class and readings are interesting. She is very helpful if you are having any problems and gives good feedback. She appreciates if you meet with her and show that you care.

Not that bad-- assignments due at the beginning of every class (usually some kind of reading or work for the essay that you are working on), three essays based on texts we focus on in class, and some other additional reading and 2 in class presentations about a work that she provides.

The thing about Vrinda is that her class isn't wonderful, but she is. I had a horrible first semester, as I was dealing with family tragedies, personal health issues, and a myriad of other issues. However, Vrinda was always kind and understanding when I had to miss class or wasn't as engaged as I should have been. The class is incredibly boring and she definitely babies her students, but she does it with love in her heart and cares deeply about the success of her students. It is annoying to have to write a million drafts for every essay, but she does give decent feedback (although sometimes I believe that it isn't really warranted tbh). Regardless, Vrinda is wonderful, and if her class is the only one that fits with your schedule, don't freak out! I was nervous after reading the other reviews, but it seriously isn't that bad and she is wonderful.