Extremely knowledgable, and even more importantly, interested in providing a rich learning experience for the students. Expect to read a fair amount (not excessive), and participate in class discussions. Her class management skills allow for plenty of solid class discussions as well as lecture time. Highly recommended!

I had took this course to fill in one of my electives. We read and analyzed few short books and stories from Homer. She gets everyone involved and doesn't just teach you about the story but the history/details to why and view points of the time the text was written. There's an essay to write, she gives you enough time and marks your rough copy.

Such a quality professor. Very knowledgeable about the subjects she engages the class in. Is very open-minded when reading papers, and is not like other profs who mark harshly because they don't agree with what you're arguing. Wish I could have discovered her earlier, I would have taken all my English courses with her! Highly recommended.

Really great prof! A bit intimidating a first because she might come off as being strict. But she made this course really enjoyable! Lectures were engaging and interesting, she always uses relevant examples that are relatable and help explain a concept well. Also, very reasonable marker on essays. Loved this course because of the prof!

I was so nervous to take this class because i hate writing essay however maria kept it very interest and you get so many chances to improve your mark and how the class was structured was amazing! everyone should this class!!!!!!!!!

Very helpful and approachable. Marks lenient. Do the work and you are sure to get nothing below B to A.

very helpful and approachable. Marks very leniently. Choose your group members wisely. Do the work and you are sure to get nothing below B.

Very very helpful prof! I hated writing essays but I loved it because of the prof (the way she teaches, explains and help you out and explain stuff easily until you get it). She marks very fairly. I definitely preferred her class. Do the work, attend the class, you will get B to A. Enjoy!!!! :)

Didnt really know what to expect in this class but she's awesome, you dont even need to read all the books! Just be familiar with a few and you'll be fine! She's a pretty lenient marker. I doubt you can get less than a 70

Prof Ionita is really friendly and her lectures were straight forward. As long as you read the books and can write fairly well, you can get an A in this course.

Great prof. Easy marker. Easy lecturer. Easy novels to read. Marks are fairly weighed equally and leniently.

Easiest bird course. As long as you do the readings, you are guaranteed an 80 or above.

Best Prof EVER!!!! She made such a boring class as interesting as possible and is very eager to help students do their best. As long as you do your work a getting a B would be no problem :)

Amazing professor. Ryerson is very lucky to have her. She loves to teach, and has a keen interest in helping students achieve their best in school, as well as in life goals. She engages the class and opens your eyes to many interpretations and perspectives of readings, which you would have not been aware of. She is no doubt a great teacher!

she's honestly really sweet, she really likes to engage with her students and ask for them to speak in class a lot. if you speak in class im sure she'd boost your mark. her presentation marking was tough but the final essay was a joke, if you showed up and paid attention you'll get an easy A

Her accent is very attractive. Great teacher

took her class as an elective, thought it was easy if you actually do the weekly readings (they're short stories, I started reading the summaries near the end). Go to class, she talks about the reading which really helps prep you for the tests and essay. overall good, approachable proff make sure you know how to write a solid essay you'll be ok

Just adorable and nice and interesting. Thank you Maria.

There's a lot of reading but if you take good notes during lecture then you can get away with just knowing the basic summaries online. There's one midterm, a final, and the essay. For the essay, you can write about any topic based on the readings. She was a pretty good marker.

While she is an extremely tough grader, she is always willing to meet with you outside class to give additional feedback on your work. Multiple long novels were assigned, however she does go into great detail about them so if you need to skip one (she gives choice on assignments), it is not a big deal. She is very passionate about the material!

This is my first class with her and I'm enjoying her class thoroughly. When I ask her to explain an assignment a bit more clearly, she doesn't hesitate to answer my questions and never makes me feel like I'm wasting her time. Her lectures are also quite clear and comprehensive. They cover a lot of material and is very useful.

Great prof! Her choices of reading material are incredible, not boring but still relevant to the course. I enjoyed her class and would love to take other classes with her again

Short stories are fun to read. Every essay I wrote got a C. Minimal studying needed. Lots of students skipping class towards the end.

Easy class as long as you read the stories. Attendance is not mandatory, but I would recommend going to class to discuss the lectures and stories read. These discussions are very interesting and you are able to share your opinions and hear others' which can help you with your assignments. Friendly Prof, and she always posts grading criteria.

Professor Ionita is an excellent instructor and knows her stuff. The course overall was not bad, although I hate analyzing poetry she made it fun. We had 2 tests, analyzing poetry and short story, an essay on Atonement, and a final exam, analyzing poetry and a play. Participation is essential and she is big on discussions, which helps at the end.

I had her at York University and loved the class. She is considerate and polite as an instructor and as a person. She has an extensive general knowledge. Moreover, she does not feel challenged. She is open to discuss any kind of topic in any cultural background. I do respect her a lot for her personality. She deserves to be a full time professor

I found this professor really helpful and great. Her lectures are super important to attend, but as long as you're there and pay attention (and read the books), you should do fine. She likes questions and responses. Doesn't have much time for stupid questions.

Great prof, extremely passionate. Her lectures are interesting. If you are someone who skips class a lot then you won't do well. For a good grade, all you have to do is sit in class and listen. She is easy to listen to! I recommend this course if you don't have time for a lot of reading, but have time for class!

She's such an awesome prof, she's really kind and makes herself available for help if you need it. You have to read a lot of books (obviously) but they're not too long and the subject matter is interesting. She posts her lecture slides but they're just the bare bones and she gets deep into it in class so you have to go to get the most out of it.

She's a good prof!

The instructor is inspiring and motivating. I have always did my readings and written my assignments on time. I gained a lot of knowledge from the instructor and through the research in my chosen topics.

SHE'S THE BEST PROF EVER. Lol. No but seriously, she knows her stuff, lectures are never boring (at least for me), assignments/tests are fair. All you have to do is read and pay attention in class, and you're good to go! I'd take all her courses if I could! I took CENG 602 and ENG 510 with her as well, and they were just as great as this one.

Big Fan. She teaches a Gothic Horror class, very knowledgable about its subject matter, and you can tell she enjoys what she's teaching. Also, her accent just makes the material, so engaging. Definitely recommend taking her class, I'd take it again if I could, I love hearing her talk and theorize about gothic literature.

She's awesome! She taught Literature of the Fantastic at York and the class was one of my favourites. She's an engaging lecturer, really knows her stuff, is always willing to help, and a fair marker. Plus she picked some good reads for the class. I would definitely recommend her! Had a great time.

Maria was an awesome professor. She was always helpful whenever I asked her a question, and quick to respond to emails, she also gives back grades fairly quickly too. I took this class as an elective and she truly made it a good class to come to every week. I would definitely take her again if I can.

I've had Maria twice and she's great. Her slides are only skeletal so you'll need to come to class. She is VERY knowledgeable in what she teaches and it shows in her lectures -- really good, critical analyses. There will usually be a final essay plus a very short response paper or essay proposal, midterm and final exam. Answers emails pretty quick!

She is a very intelligible prof. Content is presented in a way that makes you critically think . Attend lectures and take very detailed notes and you are guaranteed to ace the SA/essay based midterm and exam. Make sure to thoroughly understand major scenes in each of the texts and their significance. Reading majority of the texts is a must.

Maria is very intelligent & passionate, & really knows her stuff. She posts her power points online, but they're quite sparse, so you have to attend lectures. The only thing I'd say sucks is she expects you to do a lot of reading, but I find I can usually get away with not doing all of them. I've taken 2 courses with her, & I hope to take another!

Lots of reading (obviously) but she's great. Very thorough and gives timely feedback.

Easy A if you can analyze and write well. No group projects, tests are all short answer, one essay. Reading and attendance not mandatory if you can pull your weight & be able to give good answers on the exam through your own research with help of her slides. Knowing the themes, characters & summaries was enough to pass if you're too busy to read.

I just completed my elective course with the Maria Ionita. In overall, a positive impression of her class. She speaks clear and in details explain the content of the books. Tough on marking essays, but toughness is justified. In contrast, super nice on mid-term and final exams. Great teacher, personally recommend her classes.

Very easy class if you go to all the lectures. She's tougher on the essay, but still fair. Her midterm and final were very easy and open ended (she gives you options).

Very knowledgeable and flexible.

Great prof! She gives timely feedback and posts thorough module summaries. Pretty easy class if you do your readings. For the essays, you just have to make sure you are being as original as possible. Definitely don't use sparknotes.

She is a tough marker but makes you a better writer for it. If you get to have her for SSH 205, it is advisable. She makes the art of writing so interesting, and much more colourful than it has been taught up to this point.

While her lectures were boring at times, Dr. Ionita tried her best to make this dull course interesting. She is very knowledgable, a fair marker, and ultimately you'll learn a lot from her. Id highly recommend attending her office hours for the essays, as she gives really helpful feedback. Overall solid professor.

I loved Maria Ionita, but to be fair here, she really makes you work for a good mark. I wanted to end up with a B and thank gosh, I did, I was so happy! This course is hard because its completely different from writing essays in high school because, some of the methods weren't allowed to be used, such as the "Hamburger Format". Just do your best!

Maria is a solid professor in the English department. Her style of lecturing is extremely engaging and draws on every day examples to explain complex, literary concepts and ideas. Very well dressed too!

Shes brilliant, knows her stuff to the nth degree. VERY helpful via email with feedback, Im talking emails back and forth until midnight on a week night. She can be a tough marker, you have to listen to what she wants carefully. She can also be a little socially awkward, but otherwise fantastic

Engaging professor and fair marker. Her lectures are very enjoyable and I actually found myself looking forward to going each week. She is very straight forward and organized in her teaching style, with powerpoints to guide along her presentation. All-in-all, I would recommend anybody to take a course with Dr. Ionita, she is a lovely professor!

I took CENG 602 this spring/summer and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was taunting to see how we had a lot of weekly readings, weekly discussion posts and 3 big writing assignments but it was much easier to manage than expected. She is always available for help and feedback and the pieces were generally thought-provoking

Professor Ionita is a no-frills educator presenting course material as it is. Do the weekly homework assignments and you'll do fine.

Although SSH 205 itself is a boring mandatory course, Ionita did an okay job at teaching it. Even though I found it hard to understand exactly what she wanted for assignments and stuff at times, she was very helpful and provided lots of feedback when I personally reached out to her through emails and zoom meetings for clarification and review.

This class is not extremely difficult as long as you do the reading and pay attention in class and do what she asks its an easy 80. Too many kids complain about her when in reality it's their fault as they aren't paying attention in class and don't read the syllabus or the instructions. Office hours and her feedback really helped me improve.

She takes great interest in making her points clear and understandable to all students and enjoys taking part in discussions with her students and is open to all and any types of ideas. Creativity flourishes in her class. Totally recommend.

The class was hard, and sometimes the indications were not clear. However, Dr Maria makes sure her students understand the class, and provides office hours. Don't expect more than 90% for an assignment.

Dr. Ionita is a comprehensive, caring, and engaging prof. Class was asynchronous with an optional live discussion class. The class is marked with D2L posts, a close-reading, an essay, and exam. She really wants her students to succeed - make sure to review her essay writing workshop she posts! Will look out for future classes with her, for sure!

Dr. Ionita taught one of the best lectures I've ever attended in my uni career--her session on how to write a thesis/essay. Dr. Ionita was so clear and thorough, offering step-by-step examples of what to do (and what not to do)--wish I had taken this course years ago. Totally changed the game for me. Wonderful, engaging/engaging prof.

Great prof! Helpful with all my assignments, always provided timely, constructive feedback. Looked over my theses when I was writing my papers. If you find yourself struggling, just reach out and she'll help you out. Would take again!

Professor Ionita is extremely kind and cares for her students. This class was completely asynchronous with optional discussion. She is a fair grader and the content was very engaging. Would 100% recommend taking a class with her!

If I could recommend one course to you, it would be Gothic Horror. This is a class you will never forget. Maria was amazing, she covered classic literature beautifully and gave everyone room for their own interpretations of the texts, which is quite rare. Although it was a lot of reading for a 6 week course, I enjoyed every bit of it. Just take it!

SSH205 is a dry and dreaded course, but Prof Ionita is good at her job. Her instructions and feedback were clear, when following the textbook (do the readings). This is NOT a creative writing class, and you MUST follow instructions carefully. She breaks down paper writing to a step-by-step science and while it may be boring, it has proven useful.

Prof. Ionita does a great job of making this very boring subject matter as interesting as possible

Professor Ionita is very good at lecturing such a boring subject (she acknowledges how dry/long winded the subject matter is too). She gives extremely clear feedback from homework assignments and tells you exactly what she is looking for to achieve a high grade on the midterm and final paper (I made the changes she asked for and saw easily got As!)

I've taken two classes with Professor Ionita. I think she marks fair. I like how lectures for this course were used to further discuss the weekly readings and that she allowed everyone to freely share their opinions. She was accommodating when I needed it. She's knowledgeable and friendly. I really enjoyed the readings for this course!

From someone who gets stressed when it comes to writing papers her class actually helped a lot and the prof made it become easier from all the feedback she gives during classes. I highly recommend going to class because the course is heavy but she makes the lectures interesting and makes you read papers about trending topics like tiktok!

I don't have much to say about professor Ionita, but I will say she makes her courses easy and simple, so just make sure you stay on top of the work and always reach out for help! She's a very kind person and very caring. I would 100% recommend and 100% take another one of her courses if I could!

Weekly homework but graded on participation, she gives a letter grade in the comments. Tough grader but she gives good feedback. She responds quickly to emails on available days. Even though I had her class at 8am, she didn't make it more boring given the topic. She is pretty understanding and isn't condescending.

This professor was amazing. It is unfortunate I did not get to meet her, hence online class, but the email communication and office hours were lovely. The grade criteria for this class is 3 essays and 5 discussion posts. You only really need to read the literature of your choosing from the course and most for each essay are under 12 pages. 10/10!!

Honestly I don't understand why everyone hates on Prof Ionita, she was very easy to book office hours with and gave great feedback if you took the time to speak to her. She does her best to make the content as engaging as possible and I didn't find that she was a hard marker at all.

Professor Ionita makes the dry subject matter of this class engaging. While a tough grader, her detailed feedback is super helpful. Unstuckstudy and other study tools were key for acing the assignments. Definitely attend class - the lectures are worth it.

I loved her class, she is good prof and would def take another class with her. She gives good feedback and helps you a lot, reading isn't heavy.

Gives clear rubrics and is a fast reader when you need help during office hours. Attending classes wasn't entirely mandatory, however they can give a bit of a grade boost since it helps with your understanding of the material.

She's really helpful, really wants everybody to succeed. she's a really kind professor. always gave good feedback. also if you email her your assignment and ask if there was anything wrong with it and she tells you and you fix it, easy 100%. her exams are really easy.

Was clear on what she expected in her rubrics & the attendance mark was just homework you handed in before class. Always gave feedback on them and offered extra credit through them. Textbook was useful for some aspects and she provided it for free. Only got a lower grade because I procrastinated heavily on an assignment. Overall a great professor.

This course is manageable if you keep up with homework and follow the professor's instructions. Lectures felt less engaging for me due to the material, not the teaching. Attendance wasn't required for my learning since all materials were posted. Midterm and final were essay-based. Consistent work makes passing achievable.

Lectures felt like torture bc of the topics, but she's a nice prof. Asked for an extension with ACR and she immediately gave me a week. For coursework, as long as you keep up with homework, do what the instructions say and follow her feedback, it's very possible to get a good grade!