2.4
Quality3.8
Difficulty100%
Would Retake106
Reviews100%
Would Retake
106
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
20
4
13
3
12
2
24
1
37
What Students Say
“She is rude and often violated the FERPA rules”
WR323 - 1.0 rating“She is terrible, mean, abrasive, unclear, interrupt's before you can even make a point making you feel dumb”
ENG316 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
100%
Textbook Required
83%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.38 avg changeRatings by Course
WRITING115
5.0
(1)WRT323
5.0
(2)ENG302
5.0
(1)ENG387U
5.0
(1)ENG337
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
206
5.0
ENG301
5.0
ENGWS
5.0
FEM
5.0
UGH
5.0
Reviews (106)
Don't take this woman.
one of the best classes I have ever had, but very challenging
She is unclear, she will start to explain a project them get sidetracked and start talking about her life. Then when you email her or ask her the next class about the project She is rude and condescending. Stay as far away as you can!
No Comments
Spends more time talking about her personal life than lecturing.She's also unclear about her expectations and can be rude/patronizing towards questions. But she's obviously really intelligent and entertaining so she's worth taking if you have thick skin.
the woman is too opinionated. she gives way too much work. she glares at you if you've got a question. there are some people in this world who just aren't nice, and she is one of them.
ditzy and abrasive, doesn't know what she's talking about. really obnoxious. bleh.
To quote Henny Youngman: Take this woman--please! Take her!
Is challenging, in the way that college courses should be. Lots of work, not a bad thing. I learned a lot and have taken her classes in the past, would do so again.
She's crazy. If you see her name in the catalog, RUN!!! DO NOT TAKE A CLASS FROM THIS WOMAN!!!
No Comments
She believes there is nothing about film she does not know. She confuses fact and blah he makes up on the spot. She contradicts the assigned reading and cannot reconcile. Don’t buy the books she orders because she’ll end up photocopying another book for every student. Bring an empty binder instead.
shes a great writing 115 teacher...she really nice..funny...has some gret storys to tell and likes communication...which is great!!!!
Wacky, absolutely wacky. Completely incoherent, openly hostile. A nightmare. What is this woman doing in the classroom? If she tried this routine in the real world, she would be kicked to the curb. Unless you enjoy a good fight, stay away from her classes.
I can't believe all the negative comments about Jacqueline. While she does have a very strong personality; she does her job very well. She articulates what is expected from every assignment and give plenty of feedback. I guess some people just like to be babied in class.
She was great! Weird at first but fine after you got into it!
You may have to ask her questions to clarify what she wants, but overall her class was phenomenal. I love her as a prof and person!
No Comments
No Comments
She is simply unacceptable in the classroom and needs to be removed. This class is ruled by her agenda (I noticed that other raters feels the same), and that sucks the life out of her class. Maybe she'll retire.
No Comments
Ugh, where to begin. Disorganized. Hostile. Unclear. Contradicts herself. Sure, she tells really good stories, but overall her class was stressful and unpleasant.
No Comments
i took her asian american lit course and i found her to be very ambiguous scatter brained and on top of that very trite and full of herself and rude to you if you asked questions
As others have pointed out correctly - she is scatter brained and extremely full of herself. Her attitude was she was doing us a favor by being there. I would not recommend her at all.
She told us that most of us "wouldn't do anything with our lives, and "why bother?" Entirely to self-righteous to be a teacher, but you will learn this: how to deal with hostile, judgmental, closed-minded people (or, your professor).
Jacqueline is spunky and funny. She is very interesting if a bit forward. She just doesn't like to put up with people's crap. She is good at what she does for sure. I learned a lot from her. Those who don't like her are those who don't go to class or don't do their work and she calls them on it.
What's the polite term for insane? In just getting through the syllabus she devolved numerous times into paranoid rants about the government. Not to mention the $300 worth of books assigned, with material lightly scattered throughout and largely irrelevant. Would not take again. Ever.
She has a tendency to digress, which put us behind in our reading. She's very opinionated, which can seem condescending if taken too personally. Otherwise, she's very knowledgeable and fair. She's specific about what she wants vs. what you're producing. FYI, the books for this class were about $120, not 300 and have proven extremely relevant.
Worst teacher I have had.
I must say that her passion for literature and array of knowledge can at times be compelling. Aside from that her egotistical nature and bizarre inability to say anything helpful left me jaded. She ignores student's questions, publicly berates their work as if it were cute, and dilutes every ounce of the material with her personal agenda, ect.
This intense brilliant woman simply taught me to write. She is opinionated, and impatient with immature students, so go in to her class with adult standards. Most of the negative comments here reflect Jacqueline's exhaustion and frustration with the "serfdom" of being a career part-timer. Meet her halfway, and you'll be rewarded. I loved it.
Where do I begin... Well first of all she is the worst professor I have ever had. She told us not to shop at Powell's because they aren't independent. Well they are, and i've seen her there. She's rude, and she won't give any instructions on assignments, and is rude when you ask her for clarification. She talks way too much about her children.
Worst teacher I've ever had. She belittles students in class. Threatens teachers strikes. She can't be called a writing teacher- says, "I shouldn't have to teach you how to write" then saying use of the word ESSENCE means we don't know what we're talking about and not to include bibliographies or quote sources. I'm an English major and hated her.
Professors like Arante are the reason this site was created. She is disorganized, disrespectful, and her expectations for a 200-level class are just unrealistic. Avoid Arante at all costs.
No Comments
THE WORST TEACHER EVER. Pompous, arrogant, conceited...how many ways can I describe her one-dimensional persona? She likes to hear herself talk, while crying about all of the injustice in the world. Maybe she was abused or teased for her background, I don't know--but STOP taking it out on your students! When you are assigned papers, she will give n
Simply horrible. Disorganized, bitter, neurotic, closed-minded, and to make the class more "comfortable" she'll go on about her opinion, a rant about everything she hates in life. Unprofessional. Extremely negative, that after class you'll want to hate everyone and the world. Just too much!
I am and have always been a good writer. Arante knows what she is talking about. Yes she is opinionated, yes she can be very forceful, but she taught me how to be a better writer, and that is her job. I would take from her again.
Talks about her personal opinions in class, as if we all share them. Full of herself. If you share her opinions about literature and politics (or are willing to make her's yours) and can feed her ego, she might be the teacher for you. So much bad stuff about this woman. Basically: worst teacher I've ever had.
I almost didn't take the class, due to some of these comments. I'm glad I went with my gut-- She's a great teacher, with a lot of wisdom, practical advice, and she's funny--If you are an ADULT, come to class, do the reading. I loved her political commentary and I am a conservative Republican, which she is not. Really encourages discussion. A+
I cant even begin to rant about this teacher. She is a man hating, egotistical fembot. We don't go a single class period without her pushing her opinion on us. I feel like after every class I've been ridiculed, mislead and offended. Not only will she attack your personal beliefs but she is a hypocrite. Don't argue with what she thinks you'll cry!!!
This instructor is really intelligent and has a lot to teach whether you agree with her opinions or not. She gets frustrated with people who are not willing to think deeply about the topics or work a little harder than in many classes. Perhaps with some other people as well?
She uses racial slurs in class and she is an abrasive personality
Way too much reading!
Avoid. Very bad experience. Very bad vibes. I left feeling dirty and ashamed of being male.
I was honestly shocked to see I was given a C+ in this class based on the work I did, my participation, my grades up to the final and how I felt I did on said (take-home) final. WTF?! I have taken several higher level Eng. classes and always made A's and did everything she laid out/assigned and felt, all considered, I'd get a B at least. WTF???
I want to add that I agree with some of the comments about her attitude and opinionating in class, but that I enjoyed the class overall and felt she had a lot to offer on the subject. I personally liked her. I am just left confused by the apparent disconnect between the work I know I did and the grade I got. Seems highly subjective/random to me.???
Wasted a lot of time spouting off about her dislike of her children and ****s anonymous. Her expectations on assignments were unclear and vague. I'll definitely avoid her classes in the future.
All the negative comments posted are true. This woman changed her syll. then shouted "I am so sick of repeating myself" when the class was confused about the changes. She made racially insensitive comments in class, and consistently said that we were too stupid to know how to do what she wanted. Lectures were off topic, and she bashed colleagues.
I attended every class, and i was still unclear of her expectations, until the midterm came, which i earned a low D on. This course required a bunch of reading and her opinions were relevant, but if she wants us to understand how to answer her questions, she needs to clarify what she wants in her exams.
I have definitely wasted money by enrolling in a course taught by this woman. She bashes anyone who she believes to be incorrect. She states opinions as facts and also sites stereotypes to back her delusional convictions. She does not have a shred of professionalism in her.
She may seem a bit off, but she is really entertaining if you are able to keep an open mind and not become offended by her comments, she knows a great deal but is very opinionated and may state her opinions as facts. i really enjoyed listening to rant and complain about various things. She seems to not like men that much
She does know her subject and has alot of knowledge in English. She is fun to listen to and she has lot of cool stories.However,she lacks proper people skills and needs to be more professional and nicer to the students. She can be rather offensive to some.
Each class I attended left me feeling ridiculed, belittled and mislead. Arante is very skilled at making a student feel unintelligent, incapable, and hopeless. She may be extremely well educated but it won?t do her any good to have all this information and the inability to connect with her students and get that information across.
The worst prof at PSU by far. Her knowledge of the subject doesn't make up for her lack of people skills. Don't bother trying to be original or question her, you'll just find yourself ridiculed and close to failing the course for daring to question her.
"Just say NO to Arante"
You will despise her. She will despise you.
Only 4 weeks into this course and I find her behavior consistent with the worst comments on this site... She is entirely disorganized and assigns an unrealistic amount of reading, much of it only vaguely related to the topic. I've spent more on textbooks for this class than ever before, for what should be a fluff class. Hate doesn't cover it.
I actually took this class with her a few terms ago but still haven't forgotten her nastiness. DO NOT expose that you have a brain! She is VERY biased against anyone who dares to question her and she will belittle you in front of everyone. She states her deranged opinions as fact. I made this account just to warn people- she is the WORST!
Professor Arante is a brilliant woman, and I genuinely felt humbled after taking her class. She teaches at a fast pace, and you will get behind very quickly if you skip class. She really knows her stuff, and I would love to take more of her classes!
Class was very challenging, but she is an excellent professor. Her rigorous style will make you learn the material and dramatically expand your world view. PSU is lucky to have a professor of her caliber.
Mrs. Arante may seem difficult but she has been at PSU for over 20 years and is part of the group of professors that make PSU what it is today. She is a perfect example of that common truth that all mothers are good. She may seem spiteful and mean but she only wants you to think properly. Her classes should not be missed.
By far one of my favorite professors. She is so intelligent.. And she knows her stuff.. I would love to take another one of her classes.. I have so much to learn from her!
Her class IS hard work but that's what we're here for! I find her extremely knowledgable, acessible, and easy to talk to. She tells it like it is and most importantly keeps it REAL! She'll always meet with you outside of class and she truly wants her students to learn and succeed. Her classes are NOT for the faint of heart or the lazy.
Jacqueline seemed ok at first, a little quirky, motherly, but within the end of the first week of a 4-week summer course she was biased, overly opinionated and quick to flare up whenever someone (usually me) would challenge her opinions. The only students who never caught her wrath were the ones who never spoke up, or who always agreed with her.
An ideologue
Professor Arante is brilliant and though her ability to "tell it like it is" may be hard for many to handle I think that she does her job very well. Unfortunately for many students in her lower division courses that does not include wiping and kissing their a$$es much like they are accustomed to in high school.
Jacqueline is a knowledgeable and intelligent woman. Although she is a bit abrasive and opinionated, she has a lot to teach. I wouldn't say she is difficult, but she does not partake in grade inflation, so be prepared to work. Not THE best but good quality and I will take more of her classes.
It is true that Arante is incredibly smart and that she has much to teach. However, it IS POSSIBLE to hold students to a high standard without being rude and demeaning. Other professors do it. Sitting and watching her belittle students everyday was an awful experience. I wish I'd spoken up more. There's no excuse for her behavior.
There are many ways to be brilliant. Arante knows a lot about her subject, but she's not smart enough to know how to treat people well. Her classes should be boycotted until she can figure it out.
She's a little harsh, but incredibly entertaining and knowledgeable. I felt intimidated to speak in class, but honestly looked forward to it still. She never totally agrees with ANYONE but if you can just take her personality with a grain of salt and focus on what she has to say, she's funny. Her Shakespeare class was totally engaging. Fair grader.
Professor Arante is incredibly intelligent and passionate, however, she is also completely unorganized. She doesn't explain her expectations for assignments until after they have been turned in at which time she spends half of our class time haranguing us about our inability to meet these mysterious expectations.
Firstly, I am an English major and took Arante's class fully expecting a challenge. The required reading was fantastic, unfortunately, there was so much of it that we never had a chance to digest it. Furthermore, she is hostile, vague about assignment guidelines, and perhaps unstable. Do NOT take her class, you will regret it!
Severe bouts of tripod rage. One of the most disagreeable individuals I've ever had the misfortune of encountering. Syllabus changed several times throughout the term; which in a way was wholly arbitrary as most of class time was spent addressing her discontent with the school administration, her personal life, and the students in her class.
whoever posted on 6/16/07 WRT323, I have no idea what happend to that women you speak of. I have gone to all but one class and participated in EVERY discussion. Today I handed her my free write and with out her even reading it she replied "thats it? You are so checked out huh? I hope your ok with a C. You need to participate more" RUN FROM HER!!!!
What a nightmare! You might as well throw your syllabus away because she'll change it every other minute. She's neurotic, scatter-brained, and totally inappropriate. She made several racially indecorous comments and digressed more than she actually taught. Her expectations differed from student to student. Waste of time and money. Please fire her.
I have to say yes, Arante is disorganized. Yes, she is a bit crazy. Yes, she does demand a lot out of her students. But she is the only disorganized teacher I've had who's rambling actually makes sense and ties into the lectures. She's a very entertaining and eccentric teacher who pushes students to be as artistically ambitious as possible.
Absolutely horrible professor. Arante is unaware of how awful she really is. Told the class about how a student burned an effigy of her in front of her office. Now that I have taken her class, I sympathize, with the student. Save yourself, do not take a class from this professor. In fact, if you see her on campus, avoid her.
She is a great professor, you either like her or you dont. But keep in mind you are there to learn. I learned a lot. Class will be better if you actively participate and do the work that comes with the required readings. She is very insightful. She makes you think and challenges you and pushes you to think.
I agree that she is quite opinionated, but it's helpful to learn how to keep an open mind. She is an excellent teacher in that she encourages students to make their own decisions about the work, and impresses upon her students a passion for literature.
No encouragement for me. She is one the most narcissistic professors I've taken at PSU. This kind of teaching style, negative and condescending, is not only counterproductive, but morally wrong. Teaching requires encouragement, not a put-down.
Shakespeare is and has been one of my favorite subjects and I was very excited to take this course. It started out okay in her class and I did learn a lot in the end. However, she's unclear about what she wants on her exams and is EXTREMELY unorganized. Furthermore, she is rude to anyone who speaks up in her class or questions her opinions.
Arrogant and full of...herself. This class has been the worst of my college career. I advise you (strongly) to look at another option.
I really did not find her that bad. She seems to like talking about herself but most of the anecdotes are enjoyable though not always relevant. I found the intro to fiction class very easy though I know others didn't do as well. She sets you up to get an A by explaining the concepts for you. What's nice is she wants you to think for yourself.
Very full of herself. You hardly know what the content of the class is because it is covered my her opinion. To make thinks worse she gets unprofessionally angry when someone tries to respond to her opinion. She also flat out told the class that she is only prepared for class every other day. She also doesn't follow the syllabus.
I've had several classes with this professor. However, she is one of the worst teachers you could pick. She is full of herself, her opinions, and not above putting students down on personal levels in front of class. I would recommend NEVER taking a class from her, unless you can handle not being allowed to learn with your own opinions.
expects too much in too little time, w/poor coverage of all. unless you dazzle her with brilliance, best to stick to a format (she has lists of do's and don'ts, including no-no words) and just follow it & muddle through. admitted she kept no track of our grades. syllabus is useless to determine what's next, leaving students lost & unfocused.
This professor needs to go back to highschool, she has clearly does not understand how college classrooms are supposed to run. She's arrogant, full of herself, and doesn't know the subject that well.
I greatly appreciated her class. I was challenging of course, but she forced me to approach writing in an academic level that truly set me up for success at the end of the day. She doesn't try to screw around, but she does have a witty sense of humor. I was very pleased with my accomplishments in the end.
Beware this professor if you are religious and especially if you are Catholic! She turns EVERY lecture into a left-est rant or just a rant against Catholics. Also If you are a student who values clarity also beware her, she is extremely vague when telling her students what to expect on tests and assignments.
She can be funny, but her humor can also be offensive and distracting. I think this might have had something to do with students being hesitant to participate in discussion. The textbook was just awful, and her grading standards are utterly vague, leading me to believe that she might base her grading on how much she likes students. Avoid!
This prof. Is very frustrating. She spends too much time preaching her political and religious opinions. She had some interesting ideas about Shakespeare but because of her teaching style and her overbearing opinions, I dread going to this class. She is often kind of mean and puts students down so it is hard to contribute to the discussion. Avoid!
She is terrible, mean, abrasive, unclear, interrupt's before you can even make a point making you feel dumb. Do not take this class. She thinks only her personal stories count.
She teaches class her way, so be prepared to listen to every word she says, and sort it out yourself. In other words, be an adult about it. She did improve my writing; now it's up to me to apply it. She seems to appreciate the older students in the class. The younger the student, the higher the offense taken to her style.
As a non-traditional student I was surprised to find this type of of professor still teaching. She is rude and often violated the FERPA rules. This sort of behavior might fly in a high school filled with troubled students, but it has no place in a contemporary university.
All the whiners on here complain because this is the first teacher who didn't let them breeze by without a flinch. The reading is difficult & volumous, but deadlines are lax. All students are encouraged to speak, but only five to ten of us do. The silent, you're probably the ones who troll & lash out here. Guess what? You're not ENTITLED.
I have taken two classes with her. She is tough but wants her students to learn and be challenged. Her deadlines are pretty lax as long as you talk to her. She would rather have good writing then on time writing. She is one of my favorites at PSU.
She is difficult but extremely knowledgeable. She tries to chase away those who want an easy grade, in the first week or so more than a third of the class quit. She is a hard grader but not terrible. It was worth it to get to know her and I took another class from her the following semester. She even helped me write my MSW essay.
The best professor I've had at PSU. If you're not serious about getting better, of course you'll complain. She's a very strong woman and I also think that, unfortunately, throws people off. Not only did my writing improve dramatically, but I was rejuvenated after her trial by fire. Take her class if you can, and emerge tempered from the crucible.
tough but worth it
She's definitely doing everything she can to make students write better, but you have to get passed her strong opinions. She scares some students out of taking a class with her as the professor and she knows it. The grading is vague and often harsh (but fair). Learn and show you're making progress. She gives better grades to the students she likes.
Yes, she's tough, but it's not unreasonable to expect adult-level writing from college students. (Didn't you learn the basics in high school?) Those who expect to be coddled will be disappointed. If you're ready for a challenge that will help you improve your writing and expand your mind, she's one of the best teachers you could have. Go for it.
Jacqueline was one of the best professors I had at PSU. Her grading was fair, expectation were clear and I became a much better writer after taking this class. She doesn't have page limit on papers and just lets you write as much or as little as you choose as long as your ideas are expressed.
I took her 30 years ago at PSU. She literally decided the course of my writing career. I have a satisfying secondary career today in no small part because of her encouragement. Her political and religious opinions were opposite of mine, but that made no difference to her. Great writing teacher !
Extremely knowledgeable and even though she was hard on me, I will always recommend her classes.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
100%
Textbook Required
83%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.38 avg changeRatings by Course
WRITING115
5.0
(1)WRT323
5.0
(2)ENG302
5.0
(1)ENG387U
5.0
(1)ENG337
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
206
5.0
ENG301
5.0
ENGWS
5.0
FEM
5.0
UGH
5.0