I have her for American Lit. She's pretty cool, and it's fun to watch her get her class fired up about the current topic. That said, sometimes her questions are a little ambiguous.

Laura Laffrado is an awesome teacher who is so much fun to listen too. She makes you laugh and enjoy American literature. She is my favorite teacher at Western so far!!

My favorite prof at WWU. Very enthousiastic about the material, which encourages you to get excited about it as well. Keeps you on your toes by asking random questions about the reading...you better have read it! Makes a 2hr class go by quickly.

Amazing professor. One of my favorites at this school. She isn't easy but she makes what you do in class a lot of fun. If you want a class where you learn a lot, are challenged, and have a good time - take one of hers.

Da bomb.

Anyone should take a class by Laura - she's awesome!

Such a fun class! The discussions were challenging from the beginning, but she really values everyone's contribution. She's also full of helpful or just plain interesting information. By the end of the quarter, I felt like I had been eavesdropping on gossip about the authors we discussed.

Her American Lit class was freakin' amazing. I thought it would be boring, but she used it as a vehicle to interrogate both what constitutes literature and what constitutes an American. Taking it as a freshman has really helped my last three years. My only complaint is that she's a bit quiet for a 75-person class.

By far one of the best English profs I've had. I wish I wasn't graduating so I could take more classes with her. She makes the material exciting and brings it to life by including additional information about the authors. If you have a chance to take her, you SHOULD! You will not be sorry!!

Lots of energy for such an early class! She keeps students awake by randomly calling on people which, in my opinion, is reallt effective in getting students to understand the material. Is not boring by any means because her discussions include different students rather than the same 5 students who usually initiate discussions. Highly recommended!

She yells a bit much for an 8:30am class, it's kind of scary. Yells, pulls her hair, and pounds on desks for emphasis. Very distracting. If you're into a biographical approach to literature, you'll love her... I'm not, so I was rather unimpressed.

Excellent one of the best teachers I've had at Western, only got to take one class. Great energy, smart and amazing lectures I am still thinking about them years later.

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Laura ROCKS. Esp when she goes into detail about Puritans and their daily activities...(inside information) I would have to say that was the best class I have taken so far at Western. Be aware that she expects a lot from you... but she is sooooo funny. It makes the class well worth the effort

Laura is the best professor,ever, period. She is smart, funny, kind, helpful and engaging. If you get the chance to take a class with her: seize it! If for no other reason you must take a class with her to finally get a grip on semi colon rules; who knew semi colons could be fun?! Laura is the best!

great teacher to take. Would take her for all of my English classes if she was teaching them.

Laura knows exactly what she wants out of you as a student. She was the most helpful prof I've encountered. She has high expecations of her students as well as herself, but she isn't overly-demanding. Through her class, I've become a better thinker, communicator, and a better writer. I definitely reccommend taking classes from this prof. aside from being mentally stimulating, she had the ability to keep me awake for a two-hour, 8am class!

Laura is my favorite teacher at Western. Her classes are coveted by students because she has the ability to make even the most boring text come alive. She also cultivates an environment where students want to do their best, and usually do. If you have a chance to take a class with her, don't pass it up!

She is perhaps one of the best professors I have ever had. She always makes the class interesting and while she expects a great deal from her students she is always there to contribute as much as possible to provide a stepping stone for you.

Laura is the best!!!

One of the best professors in the English department. If you have any interest in literature you will love Laura. She keeps you interested and is very passionate about the subject. I RECOMMEND HER HIGHLY!!

Laura's reading lists include a number of writers both inside and outside of the traditional canon. This provides an nice cross-section of the time period and also fodder for class discussions. Her courses are engaging and challenging. Grades are based on participation and two in-class essays. Expect to speak in class and think critically.

A good teacher but tends to yell sometimes when she gets worked up about something bringing her voice to an unbearable pitch. I almost got a 4.0 this quarter and then she gave me my lone B+ fo the quarter in her class and bolted town without leaving the graded final essays in the English office. I was left in the dark.

Laura is amazing. She is a great discussion leader and really makes you want to share your thoughts on the readings (also because your grade depends on it). She is highly entertaining with her ideas and background knowledge of the authors and texts, she also like to fluff her hair. You'll be immersed in discussion, even if the text confuses you.

Honestly, the best teacher I've had at Western. While reading the assigned passages each night, I wondered how she would make me interested in them, but every class period I was amazed at how interested I was, and actually wanted to participate.

Laura is absolutely the best professor!

Laura is one of the best professors at Western! She is really enthusiastic about literature and makes every class fun. Even if you miss a reading or two as long as you come to class she fills you in on the important points of each reading and makes it easy to participate in class. Awesome teacher!

Laura is an incredible professor. Aside from the fact that she is psychic, and quite possibly a witch, she is full of energy and really cares about what she does. She is one of the few professors I have met who is willing to put her career on the line for her students (literally).

She is an outstanding teacher with a love for language and literature. Her teaching is personal and she makes it all interesting. I will take more classes from her and hope I can meet her expectations.

Dude. Seriously. Take this professor. She's hilarious and entertaining, you will not be disappointed. Just go to class and do the reading, the class itself is pretty simple. I want to be just like Laura when I grow up, this woman is amazing.

I came into the course expecting the material to be rather dull because I always favored British literature. Laura made the class one of my all time favorite classes I have taken here at Western. She is entertaining, energetic, quirky, and super enthusiastic. She's awesome! Just do the reading and she'll explain the rest for you!

Took several courses with her as lit major. Good discussion; challenged students to innovative thought; high, achievable expectations. Stimulating, entertaining, rewarding. Great teacher!

Laura was THE best professor I have ever had. She has energy, charisma, and is very knowledgeable. Even if you are not an English Major, take her at least once! You won't regret it.

This was my favorite class this quarter! This class wasn't my first pick, but I'm glad I ended up taking it. Laura is so nice and accepts any and all ideas that students bring up in class. The material is fairly interesting and the quizzes are super easy if you do the reading. The discussions are my favorite part of class. I would take her again!

Take this professor! She's wonderful, humorous, and extremely devoted to her subject. Rarely can a student give an incorrect interpretation of a text; she welcomes any perspective. Pop quizzes are incredibly easy as long as you do the reading. Study for tests and attend class regularly, and it'll be difficult to get a bad grade in this class.

I didn't like American lit studies until this class. She's a fabulously enthusiastic lecturer who reminds me a lot of professor Trelawney. She's really good at getting a discussion going and making old, dry material immediately relevant and fascinating. That was one of the best classes I've taken at Western, even at 8:30 in the morning.

Laura is extremely knowledgeable about the subject material, is extraordinarily helpful for her students, (and those who aren't her students, sometimes!), and is an all around pleasure to work with. Her class was not only interesting, but fun. I wanted to attend each and every session, which is not normal for me.

Laura is absolutely the best professor that I have ever had! EVER! I looked forward to her class every day and absolutely loved the content, discussion, everything. In fact, 19th century American Lit is now my favorite literary time period; I REFUSED to sell my book because I want to read more. I can't thank her enough!

Absolutely LOVE Laura. She turns a dull subject into something interesting. Her little quirks make class entertaining and I feel as if I actually LEARNED from the readings. I would take a class with her again in a heartbeat.. too bad she doesn't teach theory.

Laura makes you excited about her subject because she is so passionate! Even at 8am!

Best English teacher I have ever had. She's hilarious and fun. I've never had a teacher that made me feel smart even when I made dumb comments. Very encouraging, would take her again as much as possible.

Laura is such a kind person. She is never condescending even when students are making stupid comments. I asked her plenty of questions after class, and she would some times bring in books that answered my questions. She cares a lot about the topic of race and gender equality and she clearly points out why it is an issue instead of just yelling.

Laura is a sunbeam sent to the Earth to help other humans have hope and believe in their dreams.

Laura is an amazing prof and an even more amazing person right down to her core. This is the only class I've ever taken where I was excited to go to every session. She cares about students and makes sure you are on the right track. I have never learned more in one class than I have with Laura. Seriously, take her class.

Laura is easily the best professor I have ever had in college. When I signed up for her class, I wasn't excited to learn the material. However, her lectures made the class so fascinating and she really worked to get us thinking about different points. She encouraged us to speak out and ensured us that there were no "stupid" answers. Inspirational.

Laura is truly a gem. She's so passionate about the subject she teaches and her influence is so great that I didn't dread going to her 8:30 am class. She's probably the most caring professor I've ever met at Western. If you are struggling in her class she will hunt you down and help you so that you can pass. Take Laura's class! You won't regret it.

Laura is a crown jewel of this university and she has my loyalty to whatever end.

Amazing, inspiring, knowledgeable, gifted teacher! Truly makes you feel like she cares. Makes lectures enjoyable, I would take any of her classes over again. One of my favorite teachers ever!

Laura is hilarious, brilliant, and passionate. She wants her students to be engaged and to succeed. She's very real and makes students aware of inequality in literature and society. For ENG 216, we had biweekly reading assignments that varied in length but were mostly very interesting, then we spent class time analyzing/ranting about what we read.

Laffrado is spectacular! Everything about the class is perfect, the curriculum (the reading selections are great), her lecture/discussion leading, the midterm/final prep, everything. If you're even vaguely interested in English related courses I highly recommend Laffrado. The class discussions are really great and she makes the content fascinating.

Great class and AMAZING professor!

Laura is honestly one of the coolest professors there is. She's down to earth and extremely passionate about what she teaches. I never thought I'd be able to stomach an 8am class but it's so worth it. You do have occasional pop quizzes to make sure you've done the reading but they are incredibly easy.

Laura is really funny and has a lot of energy and makes goin to class easy and enjoyable. She knows a lot about the authors we read which leads to fun discussions. She makes it really easy to ask questions in class and is super approachable. However, there are pop quizzes so make sure you do the reading and attendance is mandatory.

Laura is hilarious! It was an 8 am but she made coming enjoyable. She sets her students up to successes in the class. You don't have to like reading or English classes to enjoy her class. There are pop quizzes that she calls insultingly easy and are. Even if you you don't know the answer to a question she tries to give you points.

Laura has the best classroom presence, hands down. She assigns some tough reading, but she always makes it more clear in class. It's important to participate because Laura loves hearing your ideas about the texts. Awesome professor! She really cares about every student.

Laura is honestly such a sweet teacher. She made a potentially dull subject *19th century lit) super interesting and fun to read about. I would absolutely take a class with her again.

Not only does Laura make 19th century literature engaging and interesting for people who might not normally be interested in it, but she chooses readings that connect to feminist, racial and class issues. She is also very caring and accommodating. I missed a midterm for a family emergency and she enthusiastically let me make it up. Amazing teacher!

She's really funny and definitely knows what she's talking about. She is great at leading discussions

Engaging, fun, passionate professor. I loved taking Am Lit with her- she taught it in a way no one has ever taught it to me before. Not too many quizzes, but you'll want to keep up on your readings for when they do happen and to follow class discussion/contribute. Interesting & engaging readings. She prepares you well for the midterm & final!

Laura's smart, witty, and funny, and knows her !@#$. Read texts. Show up to class. Take occasional, no-brainer pop quiz. Participate in discussions. Midterm & final. That's it. No papers. Midterm & final seem scary because you have to remember quotes, authors, and titles, but If u read materials & study a little, quotes are obvious.

She was one of my favorite profs. She made a heavy reading english class very interesting and fun to attend. She knows what she is talking about and makes it very enjoyable. She is very easy to talk to and meet with. I would recommend everyone to take a class with her.

Hands down my favorite professor at Western so far! Not only is Laura exceptionally intelligent about American Literature, she is beyond passionate about the topic and makes anything she talks about interesting and fun to learn about. She is so sweet and absolutely hilarious. Class is very simple and easy if you just do the readings!

Get ready to be entertained because Laura was definitely a stand-up comedian in another life. Not only is she incredibly smart and articulate about the material, but she conveys the lessons in a way that is difficult to forget. Midterm and Final are open note and book. The texts chosen are fascinating, but make sure you're prepared for discussion.

She is literally the best professor I have ever had at Western. She has the most engaging lectures ever. She is super funny and you don't feel like your in class for almost 2 hours you feel like you're at educational and thought-provoking comedy show. She is just amazing and I can't praise her or her class enough! *btw: I am not an English major

Laura is my favorite teacher I've ever had at Western. She is so smart and quick-witted and her ability to engage and encourage students is unparalleled. I've never been in a class where people are more excited to participate to the discussion because Laura is so validating of students' observations and insights into the text. I love her!

Dr. Laffrado is an excellent professor. You will never be bored in class because class discussions and lecture are great. I highly recommend Dr. Laffrado's class because you will not be disappointed!

Laura is the best professor I've taken! She's encouraging and caring. Class discussions and lectures are engaging. My class was an 8am but it was entirely worth it to get to be in Laura's class. She really wants her students to succeed. I hope I can take another class with her!!

Laura is THE gem of WWU. Best prof I've ever taken; potentially the best prof on the planet. She could make accounting interesting. Hilarious, helpful, knowledgable, brilliant, caring- words do not do this lady justice. Take a class with her and thank yourself for making the best decision of your life. Also she could def make it as a comedian.

Professor Laffrado rocks! She is very kind, understanding, and truly is passionate about the topics discussed in class. Sometimes the reading can be hard to understand but she explains it so well. There is no way you can fail this course if you actively go to class and do the textbook reading.

Laura is an amazing professor and she makes her lectures very fun. You do a lot of reading but just take notes during the discussions and you should be fine, I missed a couple of readings but my notes got me 100 on the midterm. There are pop quizzes but shes not a tough grader at all and will give you full points sometimes just because.

Great professor, first one I have met that keeps majority of the class intrigued and involved the whole time. She is very passionate about her work/subjects, loves cracking jokes. She will make sure you are able to understand the material, very friendly, and notes are easy to take. Midterm, Final, and quizzes are very easy(if reading is done).

If I could rate Dr. Laffrado higher I would. She is the best, so kind, so funny, passionate and well educated! Super holistic grading! As long as you pay attention in class, you will be fine. The reading content is diverse (not just white men!!!) and enjoyable. She is a magical literature fairy. Absolutely unmatched!

Laura is one of the best professors/teachers I've ever had. Makes even the most boring texts interesting, and conveys information in such an entertaining way you won't WANT to miss class. She's extremely knowledgeable (and funny) and it feels like she truly cares about her students. Take her class at some point- you will NOT regret it. :)

Best teacher I've had in a long time. Super caring and understanding about grades/effort. Midterm and final were paragraph responses, super easy AND interesting with the readers. The readings were almost always from a female/black/minority author which was great. Super funny, goes on rants, will remember her forever

Prof. Laffrado is the only professor in the entire world who could keep me invested during 8:00am lectures. Hilarious, engaging, kind, and passionate. Would sometimes give updates on her own fascinating research into the life of Ella Higginson. You do NOT want to pass up an opportunity to take a class with her!

I absolutely adore Laura. The way she discusses the reading with such care and passion is simply amazing. There are readings that need to be done before class that vary in length but most would take me about 30min (sometimes more) to read. The discussions are insightful and interesting. She made a 2 hour class fly by, I hope to take her again.

Laura is beyond amazing. She structures her class incredibly well and leads discussions with crazy skill. You are seldom bored in her class. She is also incredibly caring and charismatic. Most knowledgeable professor I know.

If you find yourself graduating WWU without ever having taken a class with Laura, especially as an English major: know that I pity you immensely, you sad, sad person. Seriously, do NOT miss the chance to take one of Laura's classes if you're ever able to. Insanely knowledgeable, absolutely hilarious, and so caring. Recommend x100000000

If you are ever given the opportunity to take a class with laura, please for the love of god take it. She is genuinely the most caring and amazing professor i have ever had, she is so understanding and easy to talk to, and she really does love her job and you can tell from her lectures.

Dr. Laffrado is the best professor I have ever had. I took her course while also attending Christopher Wises 282 course and can say for a fact that she is the only reason I didn't lose faith in my English degree track. Her lectures are amazing, and you can tell she is passionate about her field. She made 18th century lit so interesting.

Laura is absolutely amazing! I loved her class and would take another class by her again. She has so much energy for an 8am class. She makes challenging topics fun and interesting. I would highly recommend!

A high school teacher recommended that I take a class with this professer and she was so good. Great lectures, supper insightfull on all topics.

i love laura with all of my heart. easily the best professor at wwu. if youre given the chance to take a class with her please do

Grades are based on two online exams, participation, and mini pop quizzes. None of these are daunting and overall, if you do the readings, go to class, and pay attention you should be in perfectly fine shape. Not to mention going to class is pretty fun with a professor like Laura so if you need a GUR I would 100% recommend this class and professor.

You won't have a better time in class than with Laura. I highly recommend taking any of Laura's courses because it WILL be your favorite class.

I loved having Laura. She is such a bright energy in the classroom and she LOVES what she does which makes class fun. The class composed of only two timed essays, but I found them to not be stressful as she prepares you well for them during class. Come to class, listen, read your assigned reading and you will be okay :)

Laura is my favorite professor/teacher that I have ever had. I have literally never looked forward to showing up at 8am for anything but leaving her class just leaves me rejuvenated because she is that inspiring. I truly feel I would pass every class confidently if she taught all of my classes. She makes me feel like I can do anything!

Laura is an extremely talented and knowledgeable professor who clearly loves what she does. The readings aren't too long and her lectures give so much insight and are honestly so fun to attend! She is absolutely hilarious and I've learned so much. The class is made up of super easy pop quizzes, a midterm, and a final as well as weekly short stories

IN LAURA WE TRUST! Do yourself a favor and take a class with her at some point during your time at western, you will not regret it. Laura is so bright and lively, and she has such a wonderful way of lecturing in such a way that makes paying attention come naturally. Her anecdotes, jokes, and command of a classroom made this course a dream.

Laura is one of the best professors I ever had. She is kind, excited about what she teaches, and cares for her students a lot. The class is focused on two books and while I am not an English major, I really enjoyed the readings we did in class. Attendance is necessary for the "pop quizzes" (very easy if you do the reading) and exams. Take Laura!

Laura is a queen! I signed up for rate my professor just so I could talk about how great she is. She is so understanding and caring. Her unfiltered lectures will keep you engaged and they will crack you up. I don't usually like literature or history, but I looked forward to my class with Laura every morning. Workload is super manageable too.

Laura cares so much about her class, both in terms of what she's teaching, but also about the students. She really makes it easy to learn and make connections with the material. I was genuinely excited to go to her class. Almost no effort to pass, go to class, you'll learn (and learn to love it), and she will give you 100% if you show any effort.

Love Laura! She is very knowledgeable in what she teaches and does such a good job in giving background info to have you understand the texts given. there are daily readings, so as long as you do those you are fine and there is daily attendance but you are allowed to miss some classes. i really loved this class and would take another with Laura !