2.7
Quality3.2
Difficulty31%
Would Retake86
Reviews31%
Would Retake
86
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
17
4
12
3
13
2
21
1
23
What Students Say
“It is truly remarkable how she is allowed to teach”
ENG224 - 1.0 rating“It was a painful term”
ENG224 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
71%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.51 avg changeRatings by Course
225
4.0
(1)2253
4.0
(1)ENG112
3.0
(24)ENG324
3.0
(3)ENG225
3.0
(7)Difficulty by Course
ENG222
4.5
ENG110
4.0
ENG221
3.8
ENG255
3.5
ENG224
3.5
Reviews (86)
She's a good lecturer, but expects a lot from everyone. Her marking is vague, but that sums up any English in general. Her quizes are hard even if you do the reading. She knows her stuff and her lectures are somewhat entertaining.
She is a very hard marker and is rather ummm... dramatic. she acts things out in front of class and it sometimes gets a bit scary. She also, does not explain what she wants for her assignments and makes her quizes as difficult as possible.
No Comments
I think Joanne is a little hard at marking but I love her class. her dramatics actually make it fun. Profs who really get into their work, like her, show me that she's truly interessted and passionate. If you like an animated teacher and shakespeare this is a class for you.
Very animated,interesting lectures. Attend them - listen carefully especially to info u think isn't important (history,etc)- and do the reading (LOTS). Very vague on assignments,tests,essays-welcome to English!! Always ask for help, and actually follow her advice.
I Love Dr. Rochester!!! I wish every class I took was taught by her. She keeps everything so interesting and the time flies by every class. Sometimes I find there is so much information in a class that it gets a bit rushed near the end, but otherwise she's great.
I wish that she would give our written work back more quickly. By not getting my work back until weeks after she originally said she would, I felt like I was not given much of a chance to improve my writing skills. She also is VERY vague with her expectations on quizzes and essays. And SO forgetful!
This was the best class that I have taken at University. She was really clear on her expectations, and the quizzes and assignments were simple if you did the readings assigned in class. Lectures were amusing, lots of writing though, but you got used to it.
Made the class fun- very dynamic, lots of energy & dedication to subject. Answers questions, loves to lecture. Take copious notes! Feedback on essays a little vague, but marks gently. Rather disorganized, but fun, very quick. Draws you into the class.
Dr. Rochester is AMAZING! Seriously, I took this class because nothing else would fit into my schedule, and I am crazy about it now! I always shied away from Shakespeare and the like but she is so intense, knows her stuff, obviously is very passionate about it that you can't help but be intrigued. The quizzes have been basic too, I thought.
Worst prof I've had in six years of school that included over 40 credits of english classes. The class gave me the distinct impression she'd like nothing more than to have a class average of 65% to prove her own meager intellect. Prior to this class I enjoyed Shakespeare, she has destroyed that and in the teaching profession this is a cardinal sin
Stutters too much, sometimes good most times not
Professor Rochester is so passionate about her area and it makes her interesting to listen to! As an actor I took this class, and found her helpful and informative. She also gives you many different oppportunities for assignments and essays! Awesome class!
I loved this class. She was passionate and expressive, which always made class interesting. A fair marker and was willing to help if needed. I came out with a very confident understanding of the material. I would recommend a class from her.
She's a got prof...stutters a lot though, but is helpful with essays and assignments, gives lots of ideas and helpful hints to get extra marks
Passionate, helpful and entertaining. Made me love Shakespeare.
Most definitely not my favourite class. Shakespeare has always been difficult for me to get through. It was good that she was excited about it, because it made it easier to pay attention and understand. I didn't go to this class a whole lot because it bored me, but I still managed to do well in it. If you've got to take Shakespeare, take her.
Horrible prof. Her voice is annoying and drives you nuts. Stuttering is a huge problem and not very organized. Marks relatively hard and assigns boring projects. Do not take sign up with prof is given the choice
Loves Monty Python, what more can I say?
I thought Dr. Rochester was a really nice, enthusiastic Prof. The class wasn't an easy one, but it wasn't impossibly difficult, either. I loved going to her lectures--she'd jump around, do voices, etc. The only beef I had is that she took such a long time to hand back assignments. Would reccommend her!
Rochester was a wonderful prof. Enthusiastic, entertaining and so clever. I wasn't a fan of Shakespeare whatsoever before her class, but she made it clear and even kind of fun.
Couldn't stand her. Very annoying to listen to for longer than 2 minutes. She was extremely hard to contact for help after class, and when she decide she was bored enough to meet with you, she was absolutely useless. I went in loving Shakespeare, now I'm not so sure...
I felt like Dr. Rochester was not interested in teaching at all. She always said she was going to give handouts/info that she never gave us. Her quizzes were overly tricky, gets off topic easily and rushes through work that doesn't get finished. It also took her way too long to hand back assignments with little helpful comments.
She's very passionate about Shakespeare. She is not very organized though. We wrote our final exam without getting our last papers back! She always promised handouts that we never got. She did make Shakespeare interesting though and I appreciate his work far more now than I did before. It was a good class, just frustrating at times.
Found her OK. Unfocused and off topic at times. Only real problem was that my essays were withheld to check for plagiarism. Would have been alright with me but my papers were held while everyone else got theirs. I find it very unprofessional to single a student out in such a way. Either than that, just OK.
Dr. Rochester is interesting enough to listen to if you can get past her stutter. Marks fairly difficult and takes ages to hand back papers, tests, etc. If you do your readings, attend class (as not to miss the pop quizzes) and don't do assignments last minute, then the course is alright. If hoping for a free ride, do not take this class!
subject material was incredible and well worth the class. Rochester is extemely scatter-brained, slow to hand things back, and I don't feel lectures really contributed anything to my knowedlge and understanding. Hard to listen to. will not take another class from her.
She cared way more about her book that she was writing than teaching the class. Needs to prioritize and not go to Italy right before our final, with us getting almost nothing back. Handed in our papers about a month before final and still haven't gotten them back. VERY POOR at responding to emails.
this class was terrible. i tried so hard on all her assingments, even had tutors but i still have no idea if im going to pass(because she hasnt even marked our major essay yet!) she is to disorganized and i will never take one of her classes again.
She is amazing, so much fun and very clear. Yes she is sometimes a little messy and behind on markings, but it is well worth attending this class. If you want an easy English class this is it.
Terribly unorganized. Late policy of -2% a day but will then in return hand your papers back months after she originally promised to; she actually hadn't even marked my on-time essay for the Final and I had to pick it up the week after.
The class is great to sit through, she is very enthusiastic about the material, and it is interesting. My only issue with the class is that she is very unorganized, takes way to long to hand assignments back and has silly (albeit some might be true) excuses for doing so.
This Techer was very unorganized, she cancelled class lots, sometimes 10 minutes before class was supposed to start. I had no Idea what my mark was in the class because it takes her forever to hand assignments back. I did not enjoy this class at all and I do not reccomend it to anyone.
yes she can be quite disorganized, but she also is passionate in what she do. I had her over the summer and i enjoyed the class!
had her last summer and i enjoyed her class! it was entertaining! she can be a bit disorganized but her quizzes and final was a piece of cake!
Not a very good instructor. Gave no friendly advise for improvement and learned very little from her. Class was hard to sit through and the unorganization was very troubling.
Professor Rochester is very enthusiastic about the material she teaches, and this makes for entertaining lectures. She is also very understanding and co-operative when it comes to asking for help or extensions. It does take her a while to hand assignments back and get through the syllabus, but overall her class is enjoyable and not overly difficult
Was supposed to have 10 quizzes, we had 6. Only got handed back 3 of them. She often is late for class, ver unorganized, didn't get through everything on the syllabus, tells you that she will have your major term papers graded before the final, then on the day of the final tell you she didn't finish them. Terrible prof, wouldn't recommend.
First of all I do want to point out how enthusiastic she is and how passionate she seems to be about shakespear. Unfortunately she is extremely disorganized and fairly unprofessional. She missed class because of a boot on her car and was late marking tests because her friends dog ran away. Oh and we havent gotten our papers back yet.
Joanne Rochester is very knowledgeable and has very interesting lectures. I would recommend her as a prof. She is a good professor and the only complaint I have is her lack of organization at times and that she is not the best at handing back assignments and essays. Besides that, she marks fair and is interesting!
shes unorganized
Joanne obviously loves Shakespeare and is very enthusiastic about this subject. However, her lack of organization and time management kept this class from being enjoyable. By the end of the semester we had only been given 610 pop quizzes, did not go through one play and did another in a day, and never got our final papers back.
Well, it's been two and a half months since the final for this class, and I still do not have my final essay, which pretty much speaks for itself. It was a painful term.
Being in my 4th year of University and dreading taking English, Dr. Rochester was a delight. Super passionate about drama and her lectures were almost never dull. Found her to be a fair marker, and gave good feedback. The pop quizzes were easy marks if you read the plays and came to class. Thanks to her I actually enjoyed my English class.
Passion for drama made the lectures easy to sit through. She is disorganized and has every possible excuse in the book for why she's not done grading, but if you're not addicted to calculating your grade before the final you should be fine. Pop quiz for every play so don't skip class if you can help it... she also tests on lecture material.
I took her class in 2015 up till now she has not given me by English grades which I so badly need!!!! She is rarely on time and is very strict I wonder how she managed to teach for this long . very good at making excuses, if you miss even one thing in her instruction on a test she will give you 0% without giving you another chance!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joanne is great! She is so upbeat and passionate, it always made me smile on those early mornings. She is a decent grader, but she can take awhile to grade assignments. Her feedback is really helpful though. She is so sweet, I would highly recommend taking courses with her!!
I LOVED Joanne's class! I had her all year long. You can tell she really cares about what she is teaching. She covers the material very thoroughly, which really benefits learning, but also tended to make us run behind schedule. She also tends to take a long time to grade things, which didn't bother me personally, but be prepared for it to happen.
Well.... if you want to wait a month and a half to get a midterm back and not get back any of the pop quizzes back until the end of the term i highly suggest you take her class! She is super unorganized, and takes forever to mark things. Although, she is very passionate about what she is teaching.
While her lectures were often interesting and she's quite funny I found the course painful. We were reading a new play every 2 weeks and rarely made it through one in its entirety. She's a very slow marker and took over a month with the midterms. She's also a very difficult marker. Would not take this class ever again!!
Professor Rochester knows Shakespeare. Great at listening to students.
She says right a lot, but she's super dope. Really funny too, and keeps class interesting.
Joanne often just blew through material way too quickly left me wondering where we were. After meeting with her I thought I was on the right the track but she then did a complete 180 and contradicted everything she said. I truly do not understand what took her over a month to mark a few midterms. It is truly remarkable how she is allowed to teach.
Not very good at scheduling the classwork to be done, she always spends way too long on a particular work. This leads to others being neglected and even dropped from the course, right? Right.
Excellent lecture material, quite engaging (if you can keep up with fast talking) is thorough, and very willing to offer help outside of class. LOTS of material to cover; about a play every two weeks (at the end of semester close to a play per week). If you miss a class youre screwed. Excellent prof for those who like in-depth analysis
I LOVE Joanne! I was nervous that I would hate this class because Shakespeare is difficult for me, but she made it actually interesting! I liked going to her class and she was really funny and cracked jokes. I'm taking a class with her next semester and I'm stoked!
I went into this course with a love of Shakespeare and sadly have lost that. VERY unorganized class. Pop quizzes are used for attendance but mostly contain material that has 'not been discussed in class yet' which contradicts the point of attendance marks. Didn't feel like she really cares if students do or don't succeed in her class.
Would not recommend this professor to anyone.
I LOVE Joanne! I have taken 2 of her Shakespeare courses (ENG 224 & ENG 225) and I have enjoyed every bit! You won't want to miss class, but I actually liked going because at the beginning I had no idea how to read Shakespeare and now I find it easy to understand. If you are into Shakespeare (even just a little bit) TAKE HER CLASS!
I absolutely adore Joanne; she is funny, engaging, and clearly very passionate about what she teaches. I would recommend her to absolutely everyone, but in particular those who bore easily - never a dull moment in a class with Dr. Rochester! I'm taking another class with her this upcoming term and am quite excited to be a student of hers again.
Straight up horrible prof. Didnt want to see any of her students succeed and her rambling was annoying. Hated every day i had her class.
started online a week early, and then didn't provide tests, assignments, or quizzes for three weeks and didn't respond to questions on Canvas. Would not recommend taking her classes if possible.
Joanne was the most unorganized professor I have ever experienced. We were supposed to be reading new material each week, but would post quizzes and lectures on that material a month after we had already read it. She took the entire semester to grade one page papers.
Very unorganized and almost always impossible to get ahold of in a timely manner. Disregarded many questions I sent about assignments via email and was extremely unclear with her marking (taking off random marks, unwarranted)
Easily accessible, and puts up great slides. Lots of reading (English, duh), and you can't skate through your assignments and papers; she's tough!
Joanne was by far the least organized professor I have ever had. She set out a schedule and then did not follow it at all, posting lectures and quizzes weeks after we were supposed to have read the material. She rarely answered student questions via email and her assignments and marking are very unclear. Do whatever you can to avoid this professor
It's week 2. Professor Rochester has posted four lectures each 1 hour long, and our current quiz for this module contains a 10 question quiz (that is multiple choice, short answer, and fill in the blanks) and she's only giving us 7 minutes to do it. I'm heavily debating dropping the class.
I have taken 2 of Rochester's classes and this is what I have to say: you either love her or hate her. Personally, we got along really well and I was able to keep up with her fast-paced & manic teaching style. During lectures, I had my laptop to jot notes and my play beside me to write in-text notes which helped a LOT with studying for the final.
I'm now realizing that I should have dropped this class. She is the least organized professor I've had, which is amplified with online learning. She shoots off so much information in her overly long lecture videos that it gets almost impossible to follow. Maybe she's better in in-person classes, but she's terrible at online teaching
The worst professor I've had. Started the course a couple weeks late and was very unorganized. Never answers emails, and only makes announcements or explains big assignments and tests the day that they're due. The only good thing was that she always pushed back due dates cause she could never finish marking the old stuff.
I took this class online and my god was it painful. If you want to sit through her video lectures and listen to her stutter her way through it, be my guest. She rambles on for 45 minutes and says in every presentation she blew the first 4 attempts of making it. It took forever to get our assignments graded and they were graded hard.
Beware, she is able to track if and how many times you watched the lectures so make sure you watch them because those go toward your participation grade. Her lectures were a bit hard to go through and she was a little bit disorganized, as I'm sure a lot of teachers were. We had to drop 2 of the plays we were supposed to do and she is a hard marker!
I wanted to like this class. This professor is clearly very passionate about what she does. She is also incredibly disorganized. She started posting five 1.5 hour lectures a week, still hasn't returned our first assignment due on February 12th, and now hasn't posted a lecture in 21 days. I probably won't get a single grade back until after finals.
She clearly likes her content and is possibly better in person but if online, avoid. Haven't gotten any marks from assignments from February, no lectures posted, no announcements for weeks at a time. Once lectures are posted she struggles with explaining so it can be difficult to get through. Disappointing as I was looking forward to the class
She's super passionate about what she teaches! But, she was poor at teaching the course online. Her lectures are long and tedious, and she tends to go on tangents that can be hard to follow. She was also very unorganized and inaccessible. Her lack of communication with the class made for a lot of unnecessary stress and terrible course pacing.
This Professor seems so nice and I feel like she cares, but try to avoid taking this class online. She has not given back any marks at all and she is extremely disorganized.
While passionate about what she teaches, she is poor at communication and deadlines. Her lectures were long and she often not talk about the material for half of each lecture. She had a very unprofessional attitude. Criteria, grades, and what you needed to do were always a guessing game, and for the first three weeks she didnt communicate these
I took 224 and 225 from Joanne and she was great. You have to attend class to do well, and do the readings in advance - she assigns pop quizzes that are EXTREMELY manageable if you just read the assigned readings (alas, I never did). She's kind, accessible outside of class, and gives helpful feedback. A lovely person overall and very compassionate.
they really know their academic stuff! But I gave Professor Rochester a 1 due to their lack of organization and communication. They really dragged when it came to grading and replying to student inquiries. They made their disorganization clear but their negligence and failure to know their own computer and emailing system caused me to fail.
She is very kind and passionate about what she teaches in this class. Feedback from her for her quizzes takes a long time though.
Make sure to participate in Zoom if you're taking the course online. TA does most of the grading. Lectures were long and kind of boring. Wish I could've taken something else.
She's retiring this year but honestly the best prof i've had for english, she keeps the class engaged and is fun to listen to. She provides PDFs for most of the readingsso you don't have to spend money buying every play that's assigned.
She canceled many classes and didn't have marking done in a timely manner. We went into our final not knowing our grade as major assignments were not marked. Due dates were changed many times in a few days. She did, however, explain the content well when class proceeded but had excuses for everything that wasn't complete on her end.
Dr. Rochester is a great professor and cares about what they teach for sure. But do not and I repeat DO NOT miss a class if you can. I missed around three classes in a row because of the flu and emailed if I had any questions or wanted to know about our midterm grade and never heard back. Be prepared to wait forever to get marks back too.
This semester was disorganized but she was very sweet and willing to help if needed. It is her last year teaching so I think she might be ready to be done. Midterms not given back for like a month, not sure if we will get them before the final. Dislike the pop quizzes but she is passionate about english and a forgiving marker.
Rochester was very kind and you could tell she was passionate. However, she never replied to emails, moved due dates regularly, and never graded assignments/exams in a reasonable timeline. Its been 3 weeks since i wrote the final and still havent received grades back for the major assignments completed before the final, or the final grade itself.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
71%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.51 avg changeRatings by Course
225
4.0
(1)2253
4.0
(1)ENG112
3.0
(24)ENG324
3.0
(3)ENG225
3.0
(7)Difficulty by Course
ENG222
4.5
ENG110
4.0
ENG221
3.8
ENG255
3.5
ENG224
3.5