She is a great professor, kinda hippiesh. She makes the class fun and is always smiling. Never critiques what anyone says and the stuff she picks to read is good stuff. Definitly one of my favorite professors.

Good teacher, very willing to help outside of class. You MUST READ the text when assigned to pass this class b/c there are suprise daily quizzes. Lets you redo in class group work on your own and revise one of the 2 papers. Overall a good class.

Great teacher. Grades hard but will always let you re-do papers and group work. She is really nice and friendly. Always willing to help out. Great class, you learn a bunch! :)

she is a very understanding teacher and relatively easy but you MUST read. she gives you a chance to rewrite almost everything she assigns.

She grades very fair and pretty easily and lets you re-do almost everything. You do have to read the novels because she gives quizzes but, there not that bad.

Excellent teacher. Lots of reading, but generally interesting and easy to push through. Very helpful and available to talk. Lots of essays, but you can redo almost everything - just talk to her about what she wants done and you're golden. A+.

I do not reccomend Thompson for non-English majors. She expects grad-level writing and argumentation and grades accordingly. She is extremely intelligent and an excellent instructor. She is especially passionate about women's issues, and I enjoy her class and discussions.

She grades pretty hard, but allows you to redue almost everything. If you don't like to read a lot, don't take the class. If you do like to read and discuss the material with your peers, take this class.

One of the best professors I've had. Has high expectations but doesn't make it impossible to do well - she offers help, so be sure and take her up on it. Very interesting, and loves what she's doing. Once you get her past her reliance on small groups, class discussions are very interesting.

Very organized, she hands out assignment sheets for EVERYTHING so everything is very clear. She is always willing to help and announces that in class alot. She grades pretty harsh on papers but if you can think of a unique thesis and back it up you're set. Speaking up in class is a must!

My class focused on Toni Morrison and about 8 of her books. The class is almost structured like a book club but it is very hard to speak up in the class because there are always 2 or 3 people that get their hand in the air before you can, and monopolize the entire class discussion. I probably wouldn't take this class again because of its structure.

Prof. Thompson is an excellent discussion facilitator and fair-hard grader. Very nice, subtly funny woman, but assigns too many reading quizzes and group activities.

REALLY, REALLY helpful. If you don't understand something, she will ALWAYS be willing to help you out in clarifying it. I took Feminist Lit with her, so it obviously had a lot of unpacking to go through until I understood it (as a male), and she was really great at that. She comes up with interesting topics of discussion too.

I love Dr. Thompson! This is my second class with her and I absolutely loved it! Reading quizzes are easy if you've done your homework and read the book (which were really good!) Let's you re-write in class activities for a higher grade!

I LOVE dr thompson. i hate english, but i love her class. i understand everything that she's talking about and she's super friendly. she is adorable and laughs at her own jokes. she has papers and exams which aren't too hard. she appreciates it when you go to talk to her at office hours and she is really approachable.

This class is not too bad. You have 6 in-class writings, which are done in groups, which you are allowed to revise. One short paper (4-5 pgs.) and a research paper (8-10 pgs). It's not a bad class, she's probably the easiest prof to take this course with though.

If you have to take an English class, take it with her!! Dr. Thompson is really nice and helpful, always allows you to come in to her office hours and get help. Only annoyance is that the reading quizzes pop quizzes and the questions are pretty specific. But overall I would definitely recommend the class.

Professor Thompson is very nice and approachable, but she is kind of a hard grader on papers. you only have three papers, two tests, and homework grades. The class is discussion based, so come to class prepared...she takes participation into account big time (worth more than the mid term and final). I would recommend it.

She's a great person but her class is tricky. Two essays which are pretty easy. Two essay tests which are hard; she's a tough grader. Required reading for every class, a group presentation, and almost daily reading quizzes. Discussion oriented class.

She is very passionate and loves discussion, which is a major part of the class. There are a bunch of abstracts you have to write and two major papers. I found the class very enjoyable and took a lot away from it. She is a great professor.

I love professor Thompson! I hate english but she actually made the class interesting and funny. Participate in class and do the readings guarantee you will get an A

Eh.. alright class. A lot of assigned reading and quizzes 90% of the time. The class is really boring and drags on. Pretty good teacher, but seems to grade how she wants-- I consistently make a B (not bad) despite how much or how little work I put in

A totally awesome professor. She encourages discussion, so you get points for participation. You have a pop quiz almost every class and 6 essays to write during the course, but the material is interesting so it's worth it. :)

I liked Dr. Thompson. She presents a good class for English majors or for a General Education requirement. She provides study guides for all of the tests and they are very easy. She has a difficult time managing huge classes, but she is so sweet. The only hard part are some of her reading quizzes; they are specific. I would take her again.

Professor Thompson makes this class so easy. DO THE READINGS and you'll be fine. Tests are easy as well as essays as long as you do the readings. I read for the first test and didn't study and got a 95, I didn't read for the second didn't study and got a 75. It's up to you how well you do in the class.

I could not have asked for a better women's literature course! Dr. Thompson is incredibly intelligent and facilitates wonderful discussions. There are two essays, a midterm and a final exam. While it's not too taxing, your worldview will be altered. I highly recommend this class to any English major. Perfect class.

Very lenient on the 4 (3-4 pg) essays, allows extensions, & midtermfinal are straight-forward enough. Lots of class participation. Readings are okay, lectures are dull. My only warning is this: SHE IS AWFUL AT ANSWERING E-MAILS!! If you need something from her, talk to her after class because she will leave you high and dry if you ask over e-mail.

Prof. Thompson is awesome! Lectures are so easy to sit through which is good because I do not recommend skipping class. There are clicker quizzes on assigned readings every class but the readings are not bad at all. She's so cute so I definitely recommend taking eng with her.

Professor Thompson is super nice and fun. You are going to read a lot so be prepared for that. There are reading quizzes every class to check for attendance and participation. Tests are easy as long as you take notes and read. Shes also really good at giving hints to what will be on the essays you have in class (3 essays total for the semester)

Her class was really interesting and she's pretty funny during lectures. Tests were easy. Attendance is a must though, she takes a clicker quiz at the beginning of every class.

There is a lot of work for this class, but help will always be given to those who ask for it. I often used her office hours and she wanted to help me succeed. There is a lot of difficult reading for this class, but she is willing to adapt to the students' needs (good listener, understanding). The class is easy, but the work produced is rewarding.

This is the first class I've been able to take that I actually felt like it was discussion based. We sit in a circle and talk in depth about the literature and topics of the books assigned. Reading quizzes, she enjoys hearing from you as a student/equal. She sits in the circle with us, as an equal, as opposed to at a podium.

Really great professor who does a wonderful job opening your mind to new concepts. She's also very nice and funny.

I like Prof. Thompson. She is very nice and clearly lays out the material and what we need to know. The class consists of assigned readings and then a quiz at the beginning of each class (attendance is mandatory for this reason) and then we reflect on the readings. We have a lot of essays and exams but nothing too difficult.

If you take her class, know in advance that to do well, you have to read on average 40 pages (of novel) between each class period. Clicker quizzes on reading EVERY CLASS. You can get away with sparknote for quizzes, but it will show in your test and essay grades. 3 essays are weighted pretty heavy along with exams. interesting book choices though.

There's a lot of reading for this class, but reading samples are interesting and enjoyable. Lectures are rarely dull, and you learn a lot in this class. Take this class if you want someone who knows what they're talking about. Definitely would take again!

This class inspired me to declare a major in english and a minor in gender studies. Absolutely fabulous.

you have to take an eng credit, take mary. she is super cool. classes are boring and tests are weirdly written but overall not too tough of a class. LOTS of reading but the books are interesting and most will make an impact on you which i respected. 3 short essays and 3 exams. attendance absolutely mandatory, reading quiz (clickers) every class

Not a bad class, the texts chosen are pretty depressing reads. The reading quizzes can be tough but the essays aren't too bad.

Thompson has been one of my favorite professors at JMU! She makes coming to lecture fun and exciting. You can tell that she's super passionate about teaching. She's a fair grader, extremely understanding, and available to discuss just about anything! As long as you attend class and participate, you'll have a great time! I know I did.

Clicker quizzes are a big part of your grade, as well as online timed essays. Must keep up with readings. Professor Thompson is really awesome!

Mary Thompson is such a gem. She's very knowledgeable and passionate about what she teaches and really makes you want to listen. She makes group discussion easy and is very receptive to what students say during discussion. She actually made me want to read for this class. highly recommend

Very interesting course; I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you do not enjoy rhetorical analysis/ interpreting works of literature do not take this course. You must pay attention in class; she gives very detailed insight on the assigned readings. Also, be prepared to write essays! Otherwise she is a very caring teacher and easy to follow.

I took this class online in the fall 2020 semester. We had 2 exams and a final, all on the assigned readings. You MUST read the readings to pass. This class was a lecture one day of the week and a discussion board due on the other. We also had to write three papers. This wasn't too bad but make sure you have the grading faculty look at it. xoxo

Dr Thompson was one of the best English professors I have had. Although the tests are 51 questions 50 minutes, the rest is not that bad. I struggled in the beginning with writing my essays and she took time out of her day to give me great feedback in order to help me. IF you do NOT read, you will fail!!

I loved taking her Women's Literature class. Her lectures were always so interesting, and the classroom environment was welcoming and nonjudgemental. Many students engaged in discussions. I recommend getting the textbook and actually reading. You are assigned a short reading and 5-question quiz for every class. Three online exams and two essays.

I found this class fairly difficult the first few weeks, but after getting the hang of it I really enjoyed it and ended with an A! Go to office hours and participate in class for the best chance at success!!

Loved this class because as long as you do the readings and keep up with quizzes and discussion boards, you will be fine. Attendance isn't mandatory but she incentivizes coming by not posting her PowerPoints online, and you can get extra credit for participating in class.

MT is a respected professor in the English department who also oversees the WGSS minor. I took the DIY zines course with this course code. She is passionate about the subject and feminism in general. She is sensitive to students needs and will receive feedback and accommodation requests.

Took a course with MT last semester and this semester, and will have her again next semester. The two courses I took have a lot of readings and the amount of homework was difficult for me, but she is understanding if youre communicative with her. She is a wonderful professor and I value the topic of feminism so the courses were great for me!

Professor Thompson is amazing! She is so kind & deeply cares about the material. Her class was kind of difficult, but as long as you do the readings and go to class, you will do just fine! Tests are hard though. Essays are timed, but not too hard. I don't understand the bad reviews, great professor!

You're gonna read a lot of poems, essays, and short stories, but most of them are pretty interesting. Some are tough reads. Everything from the tests are found in the notes and the literature. She cares a lot about her students. If you're interested in the subject I would recommend this class. If not, you can definitely find an easier gen-ed.

I thought Professor Thompson was very intellectual. I didn't expect to enjoy this class as much as I did, but it surprised me. Attending every class is vital in understanding the text beyond your own opinions, which will serve you well on exams and essays. If you enjoy learning about woman in the literary world, I would suggest taking this class!