Knowledgable, but disorganized

I had a blast in her Austen and Film class.

Easy B, lets you re-write papers, somewhat of an attendance policy

disorganized, tough grader, friendly...good job w/a boring subject

great

Great teacher, funny stories; I'll never drink wine from a box again!

Professor Botkin is hornet juice and rose petals all rolled into one!

Dr. Botkin is knowledgeable, well-travelled, and cute as a boot.

she is heavenly

She is great! Knowledge and charming!

pretty cool, fair grader, not boring at all, everything on exams is in notes in class

very nice lady. didn't have to read a thing for the class, got a B for just reading over the notes the night before the test.

Easy teacher. No tests. don't even have to do any of the reading. There are only 4 papers of which you get to rewrite each one. Class is very easy!

really nice person and a very easy grader; not very organized at all though; changes her mind all the time about when assignments are due, exam dates, etc.

SHES REALLY NICE, SMART, GO TO CLASS, TAKE NOTES YOU'LL BE FINE AND MIGHT ACTUALLY LEARN A LOT.

My favorite professor at Towson...cool, intellectual, professional, doesn't lose a single person in the lectures. Easy tests, presentation...Take her, shes awesome

Cool prof. Very clear, helpful, and friendly.

She is a such a great teacher! She's REALLY intelligent and you can tell she loves what she teaches! Take notes, participate, work hard and you'll get an A!

The best professor at Towson, she knows what she's talking about, funny, helpful, interesting, usually 2 exams, a presentation and a paper, not very hard and you sometimes get to have class outside, I've taken three of her classes here, she's awesome

Class is fun. Botkin is smart and loves her material. It's a great class and I learned a lot. She's awesome.

Loves the subject and wants the students to have the same appreciation for the material. Incorporates movies to go along w/the essays we read. Allows re-writes for all 4 papers. Hard grader, but I definitely think that I have improved.

I really liked the class. She does grade hard, but I learned a lot. I went to see her for help on my rewrites and benefited from it.

Dr. Botkin is awesome! She's smart, cool, and easygoing. Take good notes and you'll do well.

Dr. Botkin is the best. She brings enthusiasm to the subject that you don't see from every teacher. She's easy to talk to, and encourages the class to have fun with the material. Some of the presentations were hilarious! A little tip- bring brownies! :)

Extremely helpful professor. Not a fan of the author we discussed, Austen, but she made me appreciate Austen's work. Very nice woman; tests and grading very fair.

I really hate Jane Austen, and we read too much of her stuff in this class. But Botkin was great! She made an awful topic interesting and fun. I still don't like the material, but I love the professor.

What a great class! I love Dr. Fran!

Dr. Botkin was by far the most knowlegable teacher i have ever come across. She fair and fun and makes class a pleasure. Any student who dislikes her is probably just pissed-off they had to learn something for once!

Dr. Botkin is extremely knowledgable, but tends to focus class on female authors, gender studies. I survived though, this class was very straightforward, a presentation and a lot of journals to write. Too many novels though, I never finished Tess. And she definitely gets a hot rating!

Smart and Sexy. Take her classes. She's excellent.

She definitely knows how to make things a lot more fun to learn by comparing what the original thoughts of poets and author's might have been to what they might have thought today with more modern thoughts. Botkin is definitely on my list of fav Profs (which isn't that many).

Awesome teacher. I will be taking her again. Class is interesting and fun. Presentation, paper, midterm, and final. I totally recommend her with a money back guarantee.

Botkin is great! She is brilliant and does a great job of explaining the texts. Def. take her if you get the chance, you won't regret it. Anyone who says otherwide is clueless!!!!!

She cares alot baout the subject matter. Doesnt mean she always instills that same interest in the students. But she is nice and pretty funny.

I loved this class. Fran is smart, funny and cool. Take her if you can.

she knows her stuff and she talks a lot and pretty fast. but she's funny and compares with things we would enjoy and understand. she's an easier grader than you think. take good notes and read the footnotes

Dr. Botkin has made it to the top spot on my short "fav. Professor" list. Anyone looking to learn to be analytical when reading novels take this class, you won't regret it! Grading is not too hard, but you walk away with a lot of knowledge! Dr. Botkin is the BEST!!!

Great Prof, does a fantastic job of putting literature in context. Take if you get the chance, you won't regret it. Dr. Botkin is one of the top profs at Towson. Brilliant, funny, hot, cares about subject and students.

Took her twice and aced both--she does not insult writing, she makes useful critical comments. Write good papers and you'll get good feedback. Has trouble sparking discussion but shares interesting facts and has realistic expectations. She also chooses works that are off the beaten path, which I appreciated. Tests easy if u show up & pay attention.

She really helps you work on writing and will be cool about raising the grade a lot if you work on it. Really smart and fun. She will take the time to help you. She's passionate and obviously cares about students and classes. Cute too.

Smart, cool, kind, and hot. What more could you want?

Very nice woman...very helpful and understanding. Her expectations are realistic and fair. Highly recommend!

Wow. Amazing. Take Caribbean literature. It will blow your mind. She is awesome.

She is passionate about the subject matter, and it shows. She has taken time out of her schedule to help me on many occasions (with other classes, as well as her own). She is understanding, and obviously wants to see to it that her students do well. Her classes are easy to follow, and interesting- she is a lot of fun.

Cool teacher. I didn't put a lot of effort into the class, but if you put in a little, you'll get an A or B.

Definitely take one of Dr. Botkins classes if you can! She actually reads student papers and makes helpful suggestions; how rare is that in a college course! Interesting lectures, interesting subject matter, interesting prof, fair grading. Great discussions when students come prepared. Looking forward to more classes with Dr. B!

Such a nice person! She keeps the class interesting, adding her own personal reflections and experiences to the lectures. She cracks jokes (which she finds hilarious, usually) and tells stories. She made British lit fascinating, and I always wanted to come to her class. A fair grader, and flexible, too. Highly recomended!

I loved this class.. Fran kept class interesting and tried to get the class involved as much as possible, ususally successfully. I feel like I got more out of this class than my classmates because I'm an English major. But I loved Fran and enjoyed the class a lot. Three short papers and one researched-based. Definitely take her class!

Great teacher cancels class just cuz only 4 papers all semester u read one book-well ur supposed to but u watch the movie so u really dont have to fun class just talk to the woman and ull do fine in the class get on her good side and participate and ull get an A i think her gradin is somewhat based on ur attitude in class no final exam! TAKE HER

Great teacher. Keeps students engaged.

We had like one week to read an entire book, and most of them were pretty boring. The class was pretty hard in my opinion, and the reading schedule was too much.

It was a neat class. She is a very lenient professor and if you can contact her she's always willing to help. We had two papers, presentation, midterm and a final. If your passionate she will be with you.

I personally like her. However, when it came to this class, she was a bit unorganized and unclear at times. On the bright side, she's very funny and entertaining. A pointless class, but an easy A.

Really tough grader but very nice lady. She admits that she doesn't give out any A's but still an enjoyable class.

Dr. Botkin is awesome. She sometimes gets defensive, but otherwise she's pretty cool. she gets pissed if you aren't reading, but is fairly lenient. tests are straight forward. she's a tough paper grader though

Dr. Botkin is a great professor. She is so intelligent. She is a tough paper grader, but also very helpful if you need. The tests are pretty straight forward if you come to class and take notes. If you try, you can't fail.

She's a tough grader, but allows revisions (you'll need them). Hates the passive voice, hates people who don't show up on peer editting day, hates anyone who's never read Jane Eyre. The class is loosely organized, and things read are clearly on her favorite topics, but that's because the department didn't provide any format for the class.

I had Fran for two classes, English 200 and English 485. The difference was like night and day. Her 485 was interesting and fun. I didn't like English 200. I don't think it was her fault. She was organized in the one and scattered and in the other. I heard that 200 sucks across the board. She's great. Take her.

Like Johnny Cash she's dressed in black. She has great shoes. Young at heart. Comes off as serious and a little intimidating at first but she's nice. Doesn't smile much. She likes dogs. I can't quite gather much else about her personality outside of class, but she seems genuinely interested in the subject and pretty knowledgeable.

Class is discussion-based and she expects participation. She's intimidating at first, but she's actually pretty chill. She's helpful and she wants you to succeed. She's a fair grader. She is open to all opinions. She may seem scattered at times, but you'll eventually understand what she means. She tries her best to make your life easier. Take her!

I can relate to all the feedback that are already submitted for her but the chili pepper! She can be confusing and satisfying her might be extremely difficult but I have to confess that at the end of the day, she delivers.

had Dr. Botkin for two semesters. I would have taken her again if I weren't graduating this semester. She is very helpful and extremely nice and polite to her students. Her tests are hard and to this day I have no idea what she wants me to write on my papers. She will make it all up to you by keeping the classroom as fun as possible and good grade.

Professor Botkin is an exceptional teacher! She's laid back, encourages discussionsinterpretations on class readings, extremely knowledgeable in Romantic literature, Caribbean literature, history, and is always willing to help students achieve their best. She's willing to help you get the desired grade so read, takes notes, and ask questions :)

Professor Botkin knows her stuff. Caribean Lit is her specialty, so expect to read it. It's interesting, enjoy it. Ask questions, she will dumb it down if needed. Most likely you won't. I wish she was doing her Capstone in the fall, I would love to take it.

She's a great professor and really knows her stuff. 3 exams (which are a little tough but not unreasonable), a couple pop reading quizzes, and a final essay. She is willing to help out and gives good lectures, if you work hard you can definitely get an A. I recommend if you're into English!

The class was very literature based, which I was not expecting. It's a writing class, so there's a lot of writing, and she grades hard. I liked the material, and I liked Dr. Botkin, but it was a weird class.

There are a lot of pop quizzes but they are all on the readings from the previous class. The tests are also very discussion based so it's important to go to class. She keeps the conversation light and also lets students lead the conversation. She's a fun professor to have. 100% recommend.

Dr. Botkin is a fabulous professor! I found this class to be pretty easy (though I have taken a million ENG courses), but the pop quizzes will get you for sure. She makes a class that otherwise may be a bit slow a good experience. The take home final was great and totally took off any pressure on the students. Definitely will take her again.

Dr. Botkin is the bomb. I had her for British Lit last semester and loved her (though the topics weren't fabulous) and having her for this class (Romantic Lit) is where she shines. She is funny, kind, and incredibly intelligent and makes a subject I already appreciate even better. She is a generous grader and wants her students to pass. Take her!

Had her for writing for literature. it was a hybrid course and I loved her class. the books we read were interesting. There are a lot of writing assignments. all the assignments were easy as long as you read. participation and attendance is a must. I liked the class. it helped me become a better writer

This class really grew on me! Dr. Botkin knows what she's talking about and dedicates a lot of time to her feedback on your work. Which is what helps you in the long run. The novels were different from the english major norm which I really appreciated. She's a very cool and super intelligent professor.

amazing prof! the readings are very short and doable, and the reading quizzes are very easy and purely superficial (basically just read the two poems. no midterm or final. only a few tests throughout the semester that are easy and you pick which questions you wanna answer. there is a final paper where you choose which prompt. easy and good class!!

Not an english major, but Dr. Botkin really ran an engaging class. She has a deep knowledge of British Literature but does a good job simplifying the information. Reading is huge and heavy, but manageable.

Professor Botkin is great. You just have to go to class & u will pass. 3 exams & a final which is take home. The exams are literally what we discuss as a class. Classes are heavy discussion based. Shes an easy grader & just wants u to participate in class. Go to class & u will pass easily. I got an A & only read spark notes all semester.

Botkin is a gem. Seriously just a great person but also a great professor. She's funny and keeps the discussions interesting along with working hard to get everyone engaged in conversation. All of the work is doable and the final paper is choose a prompt. Definitely take a class with Botkin you will not regret it.

I originally had a problem with Dr. Botkin's seemingly negative attitude, but boy was I wrong. She is very willing to help you and does whatever she can to give you a good grade. She also covers material that often provokes conversation even if it isn't the most enjoyable. Anyone who strives to earn an A in her class should not fear getting one.

Professor Botkin is great, she is very knowledgeable about the material she teaches, from the books' authors to the history behind the topics covered. Reading the novels and material is 100% necessary. Her comments are very helpful and she is understanding of students' lives outside of school. Read and pay attention to lectures! Take notes!

Loved Dr. Botkin, I took her in the Spring of 2020, when COVID happened. We had to switch to online, but there were only 3 exams, 2 papers, and pop reading quizzes. You must read and she gives you an outline of your schedule for the semester. Will not be disappointed! Also make sure you participate.

Not a bad teacher I just had a few problems. The test material was extremely broad and I never knew which route to take of studying. She takes away points from your hw if you didn't talk in class that week. You don't get the entire class time to take the tests and can't go back to the previous question. A lot of reading. Doesn't upload PowerPoints.

I have had Dr. Botkin twice during my time at Towson, and I'm very sorry I can't take her for my last semester. She makes brit lit a positive experience and is excited to teach. Her exams can be tricky, but she takes every piece of feedback abt them seriously and is very kind. The quantity of papers she assigns is reasonable, just make sure to read

I love Dr. Botkin. I had her during covid, so it was all Zoom. She pushed participation, but if you didn't talk in class she gave homework where you could say things you didn't say to get participation points. The subject is boring but she made it interesting. She didn't post zoom sessions, but did post power points. Funny and smart. Take her.

Dr. Botkin is very knowledgable in her field, but she is also engaging. If you're an English major, this course is fairly typical in terms of workload. For non-English majors, you'll be reading A LOT. However, if you listen to the lectures, participate, and take good notes, you'll do fine. Dr. Botkin is also super caring, she wants you to do well!!

Shes a great person, however she grades ridiculously hard. She coughs it up to this is an advanced composition class but you think youre following her criteria and then grades come back and your papers are covered in revisions. And I thought I was a good writer. Shes a good teacher just expect to be critiqued VERY harshly.

Pay attention, do the work and it'll be fine.

I loved her. She does grade hard, but I though she graded fair. I'm not the best writer, tho. I'd take her again! She's funny and caring.

Really encourages group discussions. If your class doesnt do well on a test she will curve it and see how she can make the next test better. Has a couple small group assignments that are nice collaboration if you dont like talking in class. Very knowledgeable professor. Some pop quizzes on the reading due for class but theyre easy if you read.

She was hard but i learned a lot! If you do the work and improve she will up your grade at the end. She is very nice but doesn't respond well to stupid questions. she tells funny stories.

Professor Botkin's a very caring and attentive professor. She emailed me without prompting to ask if I was handling the workload alright. She is strict about writing technique and will mark anything resembling "informal language" against you on papers. She's extremely understanding and gives extensions for people struggling to meet deadlines.

Dr. Botkin didn't miss a beat despite having a major surgery mid semester. She formatted the class in such a way that we had a seamless transition from in-person, to zoom. She has a terrific working knowledge of British Literature and any English major, writing or lit track, will get alot out of her class.

A great professor. Some students had a fit because she called them out for zooming and driving at the same time. The class was supposed to be in person, but she had to have surgery and told us on the first day that we'd switch to online. Not ideal, but she's funny and accommodating. Had her before and would take her again!

This was a great class. We had a sub (also great) for a few weeks. Dr. Botkin is fun and helpful. Not my favorite subject, but awesome prof.

This class was not easy, but Dr. Botkin is knowledgable and entertaining. We had to switch to online, because she had surgery, but she prepared for the transition. Although the material was hard, she walked us through it. She graded fair and went extra steps to help out people who needed it. I would take her again 100%

Smart profesor and pretty funny. It was a weird class because we had a sub for a few weeks and the format changed a lot. At the end of the day, Dr. Botkin makes boring material interesting. She loves her subject, and I always felt that she cared about how we felt and wanted us to do well. She's obsessed with dogs.

She grades fairly, and she enforces a collaborative environment. Though this past semester was equipped with many challenges she remained flexible with us and guided us. She also enjoys the subject matter, she makes lectures easy to understand. She's open and has a sense of humor, and makes the content enjoyable.

Loved her and loved the readings. A few students in the class REALLY hated her, they had some issues that seemed more about them than her. I have taken her for 3 classes as an English major and she's consistently caring and smart. I'd take her again but am graduating!!!

Great class! Fun discussions and fantastic professor! Do the reading and participate in class an you will get a good grade!

I am taking a 5 week summer writing course with this professor. The class is very organized, and she gives lots of helpful feedback. I've been going through some struggles this summer, and she has been very nice about giving extensions or extra help when I need it. I don't really like the books, but I really like her.

Hard class but great professor. You can tell she wants you to do well, and she's always available to help.

I didn't expect the British literature survey to be interesting, but it was great! Great professor. Really nice overall, but can get pissed off. Fair grader and encouraging.

Tough but fast summer class. Dr. Botkin was fun but hard. I liked the readings, but it was fast

Professor Botkin is engaging and accommodating. The class had challenges but she adapted well, making the content enjoyable. Unstuckstudy was a helpful study tool alongside the textbook.

Professor Botkin is a great professor, she clearly wants her students to do well, and is extremely helpful. There is LOTS of reading every day, and there are some pop quizzes on the readings. If you are not going to read, do not take the class, you will not do well. However, she goes over the readings in depth, and is very clear on what she wants.

She's very funny and very engaged in the subject matter - be careful, though, because she assumes you're cheating if she sees any kind of electronics out in her class. The final exam was 3, 2-page essays, and it was a take home exam. Not too difficult, but there's a lot to read.

This class is interesting and surprising