She's a great teacher! She's nice, and cares about her students. A little disorganized, but nothing negative to say about her at all. She helps to make the assignments enjoyable.

There is a lot of work in her class, but if you do your work, and ask for help a lot, you can pass her class. If you like a teacher with a sense of humor, try taking her class!

She is very sweet and nice. Does not make assignments very clear but if you ask she is very helpful.

she's nice and her conferences help out!

Dr. Smurthwaite is really smart, but not in a pretentious way, and has a great sense of humor. She always creates interesting discussions during class and makes time to talk to/help students (though sometimes she's a bit disorganized).

This lady was born to teach! She made everything we studied interesting. SO smart, but also laid back, and SO receptive. (And if you work really hard for her, she'll cut you slack when you truly need it.) One of the better professors I've ever had in terms of making old material emotionally and socio-politically relevant.

knows her stuff.very helpful.loved her!

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she's such a good teacher and she sometimes cancels class when she has draft conferences which are really helpful when writing your papers. extremely nice and kickback. she talks a lot and laughs at things that aren't funny, but the class ends up to be a fun class.

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Chose interesting texts, made class as fun as she could for a corny lady. willing to work with u if u need help. good teacher. a bit tough on her grading, but cool. did not require too much (grad stud) 12 pg paper + 5 short analyses papers. pretty easy if u meet her requirements...but picky on her grading. kiss her ass and get an A!

She was Great!!! Take her!!!

nice teacher! she is always willing to help and her classes are fun as there is always room for a joke. her grading is not the easiest, but i can only recommend her!

Dr. Smurthwaite is the BEST! She expects alot but thats ok. English shouldn't be a touchy-feely major where there are no wrong answers and everyone gets at least a B for showing up. I earned my grades in her class and really enjoyed it. Take her!

I took her last year and enjoyed the class. She is a very nice lady and tries to relate to her students. Makes the stories interesting and loves to have class discussions. Do the readings and assignments and you will do fine on her exams. Overall a good class. I highly recommend her.

There are a couple of readings each week. She requires journals and essay assignments. Theses are not hard at all if you read the stories. She expects you to participate in class. This way on the assignments and quizzes you know what to write. She is a pretty good professor.

She's pretty awesome.

She is by far the most intelligent professor I've had at CSULB thus far. Doc's analysis, diction, and rhetoric are all spot on and she makes you feel good about yourself even if you're not the sharpest tool in the shed. Great professor if you have your feet wet in Lit Analysis and are serious about English.

Dr. Smurth. is a great instructor, and she really knows her stuff. I would highly recommend that students really participate and ask her questions, especially if they are unsure about the course materials, discussions, or assignments. Overall, she a great teacher.

She's tough but the novels chosen were great and varied. Lots of reading, volume of assignments was ok, but some of the assignments were very involved. Very nice and willing to help. You will learn and become a better student/writer by taking her class. Highly recommend.

Challenging class but reasonable. She keeps to syllabus. Available for help. Readings varied & interesting. She does lag on papers. Problem with writing? Go see her or hunt up a good tutor at WRL. Great discussions provide ideas for research papers. About her humor: Stick around CSULB and endure many grumpy, self-important profs, then take Dr. S.

Survey of American Ethnic Writers. She taught the course appropriately. Only problem was her disorganization which worked slightly in our favor in terms of grades. Otherwise, her teaching was of the highest level.

She was a bit disorganized, but she managed to cover the material adequately. However, her tests were quite specific on some points considering how generally she covered some of the material.

Barrel full of authors!270 is a survey class--expect to read a TON no matter who you take. Prof S is funny in a quirky way--laughs at her own jokes, but she's structured,helpful,and insightful while humble to other opinions--does not make you feel dumb! Tough on grammar/MLA formats,so bone up. Tests=moderate difficulty. Read! Take notes! Take her

The class was an easy, interesting class. My only real complaint was that I didn't really know my grade throughout the entirety of the semester. Dr. Smurthwaite is a nice lady, though she can be a little absent-minded at times. 3 quizzes, 2 papers, and the final was a quiz combined with an in-class writing assignment.

Super funny and adorable. She may be late to class a few times. She is a little picky when it comes to papers but overall genuinely nice! Is willing you help you out as long as you ask for help. Kind of lags on giving back your papers. But overall a joy!

I have had Lori for several classes in my college career, and that was no accident! She is a wonderful professor who is willing to make the time to help out. Granted, she is late to her class on occasion and does lag a bit to return work but she is GREAT! Lots of reading, fair grader, & the quizes/final are not difficult if you've done the reading

If anyone takes English 1 for the first time or repeats it, I recommend this professor, she's one of the nicest professors, she would really help you out on your essays and CLEARLY explain the instruction of each essay. If you're not good at writing, she's the key to help you advance far!!!

One of the nicest professors ever!!! She has a awkward way of being funny and has a very good and clear explanation of instruction on each essay so if you suck at writing, she's the one who will help become a better writer. Late to class and class is cancelled quite a few times but I totally recommend this professor!!!

Smurthwaite was hands down one of my best teachers this year. Shes passionate about what she does and is extremely helpful. She is often late, but i didnt mind. She's bright and has a cute sense of humor. Always smiling and very approachable

This prof is very nice.usually she will come between 5-10 mins late to class. She explains the material clearly. There is no ppt so u hv to take ur own notes. There r 2 papers for the class plus a midterm and a final. Great class:).

omg, Dr. Smurthwaite is the best professor I've ever had. Her class is so inspiring, attending is a must whether or not you intend to pass haha. She's a great lecturer who is obviously passionate about her work. The workload is average-- I've had worse-- but I definitely found it fun!

Professor Smurthwaite is kind and open to students' perspectives during discussion. The reading is a lot to keep up on, as in most survey courses, but if you do enough of the reading to contribute to class discussions and write your papers, you shouldn't have a problem.

Professor Smurthwaite is not only an excellent teacher, but a wonderful person. Taking this class with her saved me this semester. She is intelligent, structured, fair, and compassionate. Class discussions are relevant and interesting. Assignments are clear and organized. So much respect and gratitude for this absolute gem of a professor. Take her!

Pros: goes over/analyzes the readings in class which makes the exams easy, passionate and energetic, reasonable and fair grader, only homework is the reading (no annotations or anything like that) Cons: often late to or skips class, tests are essay-based, laughs at her own jokes a lot Work hard on the essays, do the reading, go to class,

She does an amazing job at explaining grammar concepts, especially as some are hard to understand. There is weekly homework but the workbook has the answers in the back in case you need help. I recommend going to lectures even though I don't think she takes attendance just because it is easier to understand the lessons better. She is so nice too!

Prof Smurthwaite engages the material in a profound way and makes intelligent points about the plays. If you read the material and pay attention during lectures, this should be an easy class to pass. There is one group assignment, and a big research paper in addition to midterms and quizzes, but nothing impossible. Understanding & caring too.

Average, nothing more to really say.

great teacher and online its not mandatory to attend. We did have alot of reading but if you attend the zoom she goes over all the reading. SHe also cancelled readings due to her being behind. The only bad thing is she does not put grades on Canvus. I attended all classes and there was no quizes. There was 2 papers and writen exams. Spring 2021

Definitely areas of improvement for her teaching, but she works with you if you're persistent. She has other responsibilities to attend to, so if you're looking for a hands-on, student-centric professor you might want to look elsewhere. She does a good job of giving insight on the readings, which they are a lot of, so you learn a lot.

She is really nice! Lots of discussing in class and only a few discussion posts. Very manageable. Absence policy is pretty lenient. She had some personal stuff that made her cancel a handful of classes, but was understanding and adjusted the schedule for us.

(I took her for 382 but its not listed) Dr. Smurthwaite is an incredibly kind and caring professor. I understand the other students' frustration with late grading, but it really doesn't bother me. Her lectures are interesting, she's very encouraging. If you can go with the flow you'll be fine in her classes.

Dr. Smurthwaite is SUPER qualified to teach all the classes she does. She makes grammar fun, and she recognizes the efforts of students who work hard consistently. She is also very patient. She had some family situations to deal with during the semester, but she kept all students updated. For her classes, let your hard work speak for itself.

Professor Smurthwaite is a great professor. Tests and quizzes are open book and notes. Her class is easy, just do the work and you'll pass. She is very kind and will explain things well. Will explain what you got wrong on the test and does review with the class in order to assist students in areas they need help on. Would take again ((: !!!!!