Maria Caruso is the best teacher I've ever had. She's funny, witty, intelligent, thoughtful and encouraging. I recommend taking every class Maria Caruso teaches, even if you've already taken it. Seriously, she's that good!

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Maria is easily my favorite teacher. I first had her for 115 and then I took Creative WR with her twice. She has also written me great letters of recommendation. She is very approachable and such a fun teacher. She is also incredibly intelligent.

Maria Caruso is one of the most inquisitive and generous people that I've had the pleasure to meet. Her intellectual curiousity makes any subject that is discussed meaningful. The fact that she is a smoldering Mediterranean beauty is a nice bonus.

Maria is an exellent instructor. She does an excellent job of maintaining energy and interest in the classroom. How she finds the time for everyone, I don't know, but she does. Her class is not a "walk in the park", but it is well worth your time. I don't even like writing.

Join the cult of Maria Caruso. I'm serious.

I love her! She's fun, smart, leads great discussions, gives good feedback on papers, and a rare trait in a teacher, seems to grade fairly! I would definately recommend her to anyone with two braincells to rub together.

Highly entertaing class. Caruso is energetic and funny.

Funny and Cute. The only drawback is she allows students to slow down the class. Yes, many never do there assignments when they're suppose too. She is great! Highly recommended.

The best teacher by far that i have ever had. no one compares to her.

Maria Rocks! If you want an easy A, but would like some good conversations about short essays during the classes, enroll in her literature fiction class...you won't regret it! Maria, PCC is lucky to have you!!!

Maria is an amazing teacher. I had her several years ago. Take her if you get the chance.

I learned a lot from her. Her class is extremely interesting, especially if you like to talk in open discussions about philosophy and literature. I highly recommend her class. One of the best teachers I have ever had!

All I can say about Miss Maria Caruso is that she is a teacher that I would recommend to anyone who wanted to take a writing class. Can't wait to have her for Spring term again even if it's at 8:00 in the morning.

I didn't find it so easy to get an "A" in her class like some may suggest. She is a wonderful teacher and an amazing person, I feel privaledged to have had her as an instructor. Fantastic class and fantastic teacher.

My favorite teacher by far. Witty, fast-paced, funny, and caring are her qualities. You will want to ask her over for dinner.

Nice person, great teacher. Mrs. Caruso makes writing exciting and rewarding. Grades fairly and cares about her students. Her classes fly by because they are so engaging. No matter what kind of student you are, you will get something out of her class.

AMAZING! NO, BRILLIANT! She is helpful, supportive and polite. Makes funny jokes- and claims that she is deaf in her left ear! *TAKE EVERY CLASS YOU CAN FROM MARIA! She is really that good!

Maria is an excellent teacher, and though she may be hard on some of her students (more on that later), she is a great creative writing teacher, and you will be glad you took her class. Her comp. courses also carry rave reviews. 17 chili peppers, that must be a PCC record.

Her assignments were fairly easy and interesting and she was very knowledgeable about what she was teaching, but that's where the +'s stop. She attempted to push her own personal views onto students and discredited opinions that disagreed with her own. A good class if you're incapable of thinking for yourself.

This class was inspiring and challenging. Maria does an excellent job of getting people involved in discussions and making the critique process really helpful and non-threatening. I appreciated her insights and really enjoyed the class.

Great teacher, goes the extra mile to help all students. Easy going and understands students busy life.

Great teacher, highly recommended

Maria is my favorite teacher at PCC. She is so helpful and I learned so much in her class. I wish she taught some of the other writing classes because she's great!! Make sure you sign up for conferences, it's a requirement!

She is a GREAT teacher. Very clear and very helpful. Highly recommended!!

Maria can be a breath of fresh air at PCC. She's intelligent, focused, and clear when it comes to her expectations and teaching style. I enjoyed her class thoroughly. The downside is that she might have a bit of big-fish-in-small-pond syndrome. Though she has a great grasp of creative writing, she occasionally lets her head expand a bit too far.

I had heard nothing but good things about her and I am glad that I took the class. It opened my horizons as a writer and has helped me grow in my writing style. And yeah, I have to say she's pretty hot :-)

Maria has a lot of great advice to offer students who are looking to be published. She has a great sense of the art of language, and knows what she's talking about when it comes to fiction. People tend to argue with her about ideas and definitions, but Maria is often correct. She is realistic and well-informed.

Maria is amusing. She is a witty teacher that gives helpful on the spot feedback. She's not too serious but not to be taken advantage of either. I'd recommend her class. You use your own mind rather than working directly from a textbook. The challenge is good. I recommend her.

The first day of class I told her I never wrote a story in my life and I was nervous about the class but it turned out to be a great learning experience. This class is meant for people like me but however it only takes one student to totally ruin the class. It's the student that is a pompous brown eye and oblivious to how he sounds.it's that person

best best best teacher ever. if it wasn't for her i would not be where i am today. i recommend her 100%. i wish she taught 121!!

I love this teacher... Wish I could have taken her for more classes.

She is best teacher.It was fun taking her class. I wish I could take my all classes with her. She's a great person. Helpful. Intelligent. Thoughtful.

I discovered a side of me i never knew was there in her class. She encourages you to share your opinions. She criticizes your paper in the most gentle away. I like her.

She was a great person and instructor but kind of a hard grader. It was for our own good though! I loved how the class was more than just writing. I loved how she was great person to talk to besides for writing help. I would so take her class over just to bring more out of me I didn't know was there before.

She has taught me how to become a better writer. I am in her class for 4 hours every Wednesday and it speeds by. Im so excited to take WR 122 from her. Take her class if you want to dedicate yourself to writing^_^

Pretty disorganized, class was really day by day. But it was a great class, she has great insights into both literature and life that will help you in both areas. Class was discussion based, and Maria is a great discussion leader.

Good teacher overall. She sometimes gets too caught up in her own structure of writing to see that not every paper needs to include every concept. She's cute and fun to listen to in class, and I would recommend her as a teacher.

favorite teacher thus far, (only one year of school),she is quick witted and fast on her feet.

She's pretty relaxed and groovy and flexible about due dates, attendance and the pace of the class. She brings in hand-outs instead of using a textbook, which can be a little awkward and disorganized, and she might arrive late from making copies. She definitely has strong opinions and may seem a bit overbearing if you interpret things differently.

Great teacher. She worked hard to keep everyone engaged in the discussion and offered excellent advice. She was open to differing opinions and interpretations, but hers were usually the best to follow. Attendance wasn't strictly necessary, but participation points are a big factor with her. I'd definitely take another class from Caruso.

Maria Caruso is a teacher for serious students who really want to learn and even change themselves. If you are looking to skate through, it isn't going to work. Also, of course she is opinionated! That's her job. If you like to feel that your opinions are just as good as a professor's, why take classes?

Yes, M. Caruso is not an easy teacher; she expects you to be open to and wrestle with the concepts she teaches, most of which are not black and white. That's just the kind of class it is. She has strong opinions about what she teaches and some people don't do well with that, but at least she cares about what she is teaching.

Very unconventional. I see that her style is a turn off for some. She can be disorganized and class can be chaotic. Yet some how she's able to communicate what she wants effectively (for me at least). Creative chaos? I think that's an appropriate description for her teaching style.

She's a great teacher. Just don't take one of her writing classes if you can't write anything besides genre fiction. Save the fan fiction, vampires, dragons, private detectives, and such for your diary.

Outstanding powers of analysis. Intuitive grasp of aesthetics and style. Capable of dissecting a single sentence in a dozen different ways but unable, alas, to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

My favorite teacher at PCC, hands down. Smart, funny, engaging and the whole class loved her. She has a quick wit and can make you laugh as well as think. I was actually bummed out when the class came to an end.

She is a wonderfully unconventional teacher, and my favorite so far. After a year at PCC, she is the only professor that ever took the time to learn my name. She isn't the easiest. She expects you to earn your grade, but that's what I liked about her. Class was always engaging and time would fly. I would recommend her to anyone!

Even though I got an A in this class, I found Miss Caruso to be very frustrating. She would instigate group discussions but interrupt students after they'd started talking, grade down for opinions that she disagreed with, and if you're religious AT ALL, do not even bother. I ended up liking her by the end, but she was still occasionally insulting.

I hated writing in high school, but after taking her class i loved it. And realized I was pretty decent at writing too. i would recommend her to everyone

Maria has changed my life. I could never say enough wonderful and flattering things about her. I would take her classes for the rest of my life regardless of subject.

I always found her to be very welcoming of other's opinions and open to just about anything. I never saw her reject anyone's position. She was always helpful and supportive and very classy, even when a difficult student disrupted the lecture or discussion. Makes me wish I had her patience.

Very fun and engaging. She was quite interested in expanding our minds and making us think outside the box. Encouraged alternate ways of thought and challenged conventional logic. Recommended.

Maria is a very interesting teacher, and her classes were never boring. She is very opinionated and makes her opinion very well known during class discussions. Class discussions can be overwhelming at times, but they make class very interesting. Not too much homework, and homework assignments are easy, papers are long though! She's a good teacher!

Probably the best writing instructor I have ever had. The first three classes where she was lecturing and running writing exercises, I wished I had brought a recording device, her speeches were incredible. I had any problem with her at all, it's that she loves to talk. She will willingly dominate discussions, so make sure you have something to say!

Took creative writing from her and was glad I did. She's fun, easy to listen to (and nice to look at too!) and knows her stuff. She could pick out things in stories (like themes, or other little details) that others miss. Her classwork was easy and fun and she engages the whole class.

Ms. Caruso is by far the most intriguing, thought provoking, interesting professor I've had the pleasure to learn from. I would recommend this class to anyone who desires to actually think about their college experience, learn something about themselves, and develop their writing and critical thinking skills in a professional academic environment.

Maria was an amazing instructor! Very passionate about Japanese literature and their aesthetic principles. She is eager to help her students in any way possible, and shows compassion towards them. Group discussion is a huge part of this class but if you can wow her with your work it isn't the most important thing. Definitely take a class from her!

I had a developed interest in Japanese Buddhisim and aesthetics prior to taking Maria's class, however, I did truly enjoy her presence, and her encouragemet of participation.

M.C.is very passionate and a great instructor. She gets you thinking. 4 papers to write and a couple small ones in between. She's fair and let's you rewrite if you need help. I you want to learn take her class.

Maria is an outstanding professional who cares about the craft and opening it up to her students. She has a real talent for creating awareness for the art of writing. I would highly recommend her in any capacity.

I recommend her because she is very open and listens to her student's ideas. I appreciated her time outside of class to help me with my papers. Class was engaging and she was passionate about what she taught. Two thumbs up!

One of my FAVORITE teachers! Such an amazing person and teacher! VERY funny and truly cares that everyone does good in the class! LOVE HER

Dramatic class. Intense.

I was dreading WR121 but Mia won me over the first day. Her lectures whiz by-I want her to keep talking. They are exciting, fun and she makes me think and use my brain in ways I'm not (and maybe never would have been!) accustomed to. I am learning so much more than writing in her class. In an ideal world, Mia Caruso would teach all courses.

Mia Caruso is a specific, kind and eager professor who is passionate about what she teaches.

Mia will make you stretch your brain as a writer and I came to appreciate that by the middle of the term. At the beginning I struggled with what she wanted in a thesis, but as time went on things started to make sense. She is very helpful with getting you to where she wants you as a writer. I loved the lectures and class conversations.

Mia Caruso is an amazing instructor who is very laid back. She wants everyone to pass no matter how much homework they do. If you put in effort you will get great grades. Extra points for participation.

Mia is a fun teacher and made class very enjoyable. Class turned out to be more of a debate than a writing class. She only assigned four papers she was amazing.

Excellent feedback. She made us go see a tutor which I've always wanted to do, but never have.

The first class I took at PCC and I'm so glad I had Professor Caruso. Really makes you stretch your brain and gives great feedback. Helped my writing immensely. She really wants thesis-driven essays. The group discussions can be a little intimidating because she will debate her opinion, but thought-provoking nonetheless. Would definitely recommend.

Caruso holds an informal workshop styled class, which she facilitates through discussion. Frequently taking radical stances & making a near argumentative case for them, she teaches her students how to learn, think, and defend. Speaking is as much as the process as listening, probably more. Caruso shows you how to keep working after the class ends.

Never have I ever gotten such wonderful, specific, and helpful feedback. She seems to really understand what a person is trying to say or do. She genuinely loves writing and english and it's super obvious. It makes her super caring in her feedback and supportive in general. Lastly, she is thoughtful and cares about people deeply.

She is absolutely amazing! You have 3 papers to do and she gives amazing feedback and is very clear on what she wants. She is super understanding and truly cares about her students!! 10/10 recommend

Mia was great! shes very personable and gives each of her students really detailed feedback. The downside is that she takes forever to grade anything.

Years back, Maria (now Mia, I believe) facilitated a poetry workshop I joined. She was (and continues to be, I presume) fantastic; very inclusive, fostering a safe and creative environment for everyone.