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Preston, Alison

Cumulative GPA: 2.13/4.00 with 31 evaluations
Presents Material Clearly: 2.52
Recognizes Student Difficulties: 1.90

English Department, Cal Poly, SLO
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ENGL 134 Freshman Grade Earned: B General Ed 5:49 am, Jun 5, 2013 Report Evaluation		wow, just no. There are way better teachers out there. Especially if you like to have literary freedom when you write, this is not the teacher to take. WE evaluated students writing and just no. Very monotone and never kept my attention. She grades pretty harshly too. One of my best essays I wrote got a C because she thought it was off topic even though it was a narrative??? Just no.

ENGL 134 Sophomore Grade Earned: A General Ed 10:06 am, Apr 1, 2013 Report Evaluation		Preston should not be teaching college level English. Her teaching manner and workbook are more suited to a middle school level. While she claims that "Now you're in college, you don't have to write using the five paragraph essay format!" (as if we didn't ditch that format ages ago) she actually will likely make you write out of a smaller box than you're used to at this point. Her expectations for essays are very unclear, and her feedback is next to useless. Don't expect to learn much in this class.

ENGL 134 Freshman Grade Earned: B General Ed 6:22 pm, Mar 26, 2013 Report Evaluation		Honestly she was a very nice and kind teacher. Pretty easy work load and class overall as long as you do all your work. Don't be afraid to go into her office hours too if you have a question about something.

ENGL 253 Sophomore Grade Earned: B General Ed 9:16 pm, Mar 21, 2013 Report Evaluation		I highly recommend Prof Preston, honestly one of the nicest, sweetest teachers I have had here at poly.

ENGL 253 Sophomore Grade Earned: B General Ed 6:26 pm, Mar 27, 2012 Report Evaluation		Preston will treat you as if you're in kindergarden, simple as that. If you can stand it you'll do fine. The books you read are pretty good and she does a decent job explaining the topics that are within each novel. Most of the class is discussion of if you have a good class it makes it a lot more fun. Her tests are kinda difficult because she expects you to know stuff that you didn't even talk about. But you can definitely get an A if you read the novels and pay attention in class.

ENGL 253 Sophomore Grade Earned: B General Ed 3:00 pm, Mar 19, 2012 Report Evaluation		Don't expect to get an A in this class. I'm a good writer and have always gotten As in my English classes at Cal Poly. But in this class, she gave me a B on everything (the tests and the group project). And the thing that bothered me the most is that she doesn't write on your paper why you got the grade you did. She only writes "very true" and "good." No constructive criticism. A lot of busy work, too, with reading the books. However, I did like the majority of the books we read. Don't take this class if you want an easy A. I'm pretty sure she gives all her students Bs or lower (I'm betting she only gives one or two As). But it wasn't a terrible class because the books were interesting. However, I don't think she is a very good teacher.

ENGL 134 Freshman Grade Earned: B General Ed 11:11 am, Feb 27, 2012 Report Evaluation		Most people test out of engl 134 with AP and ACT/SAT scores. If you are going to get a professor, Preston isn't THAT bad. She isn't great, but let's face it how many awesome english professors are there? All of the good ones are just lazy and don't want to grade papers so they don't assign as many of them. Preston expects you to write 3 essays over the course of 6 weeks, then an in class essay, and your final essay and final exam is a revision of this in class essay. She doesn't allow rewrites on all of her essays, but I can't blame her. She asks to to bring in your essays for peer editing. My advice. Do the essay as soon as you hear the assignment, take some time to sit on the rough essay, then edit it for gramar the night before the rough is due. Take the revised rough into class the next day, get feedback from your peers, and construct a final whenever you feel you have time. She is stingy with A's, however find me a college professor who isn't. This isn't highschool boys and girls, stop blaming your teacher for giving you a B. If you want an A, go take a teacher who doesn't care about you or your learning, and get your A. If you really want to learn and become a better writer, take Preston.



ENGL 350 Junior Grade Earned: B General Ed 5:11 pm, Feb 17, 2012 Report Evaluation		Dr. Preston is an ineffective teacher. I usually love English, but class was excruciatingly boring. I came to class prepared for discussion, but instead Dr. Preston would give a Spark Notes summary of the reading, managing to sap all enjoyment from it. I could not tell if she only understood the material on the shallowest of levels, or if she thought we were too dumb to have an intelligent discussion. When someone would have a thoughtful comment or idea, she just smiled and nodded but never responded with anything meaningful. This would have been bearable, however, if her tests weren't so unfair. For the first test, I read the book carefully and took notes on it, and I received a D on my essay test. The next test, I skimmed the book and read the spark notes, and I got an A. There was absolutely no correlation between the amount of work you put in and the grade you receive. Also, she seems incapable of explaining her grading methods or how one can improve their writing. I probably would have done better in the class if I had just read spark notes and repeated everything she said from lecture. I know some people like this kind of lazy teaching style, but if you like to be stimulated by your classes in any way, I would not recommend this teacher.

ENGL 134 Freshman Grade Earned: B General Ed 3:20 pm, Dec 2, 2011 Report Evaluation		Dr. Preston made for an interesting quarter. She treats the class like a middle school teacher would and many students became quickly annoyed with her. Even though her condescension is quite obnoxious, this class is easy and simple. She says she "isn't here to judge your writing style", so as long as you follow her instructions (and have good grammar!) she makes it very easy to pass. I almost failed High School writing classes and I got a B on every essay. 4 essays and a little nightly homework comprises your entire grade. Overall, I'm not sure if my writing is better, but I do feel more confident when a teacher requests an essay. i absolutely recommend Preston for an easy course to fulfill your requirements.

ENGL 253 Junior Grade Earned: N/A General Ed 3:40 am, Jun 9, 2011 Report Evaluation		the tests given in this class were not congruent to what was discussed during lecture and the essays were always graded really strictly and the essay prompts were random and weird, not similar to what we talked about in class or the extra information she presented. there is a group presentation and for the individual essay you have to write an analytical essay even though she never says that, you will get docked major points if you don't provide analysis. overall preston was not a good teacher, i actually read the books and participated in her class discussions yet still did poorly on the midterms, so i don't recommend taking this class. its unsatisfying to not do well in this type of course

ENGL 145 Freshman Grade Earned: B General Ed 8:41 pm, May 31, 2011 Report Evaluation		Dr. Preston is one of my least favorite teachers. She only hands out a certain number of As and Bs for each assignment and so you have no idea how you got the grade that you did. An A paper for one assignment may be a B or C paper for another, just depending on how well your classmates do. She is an extremely boring lecturer, but it doesn't matter since there are no tests. You do have to do the homework because she checks it at the end of the quarter. I liked getting to work in groups as much as we did in the class, but she rarely ever gave us anything at all helpful to do and got mad if the conversation ever got off topic. She is extremely unclear with what she expects for each assignment. She tells you to look at your workbook, or recites exactly what it says, which is extremely vague and the reason why you are asking her to elaborate in the first place. You cannot miss more than 3 of her classes else it will hurt your grade. I would not take this class unless you are sure you can write better than the majority of students in the class, and are very patient with pointless grade school like assignments

ENGL 145 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A General Ed 11:33 am, May 18, 2011 Report Evaluation		She is one of the nicest professors I've ever had at Cal Poly. She actually cares about her students. When my grandma died, she was super accommodating and helpful. She is enthusiastic about English and gets really into her lectures and tries to keep it interesting with examples relevant to Cal Poly students. Do the workbook, she checks. She's really helpful and a sweet person.

ENGL 350 Senior Grade Earned: C General Ed 12:02 pm, Mar 18, 2011 Report Evaluation		Most hated general ed I have ever taken. The tests have nothing to do with the reading other than some theme such as war, death, sadness, etc, that she expects you to bs into an essay. If your a good writer, the class will be easy, if not, you probably will struggle and there is not much you can do about it since her tests are random and you can't prepare for them. If you take her, honestly DO NOT waste your time reading, sparknotes will be more than enough for how much you need to know about the books. I read the first two books and got a D on my test. The second two I read not a damn page and got a B. I probably would have got a B in the class if I studied for the final so its possible. Sidenote -- She gives a midterm on dead week right before the final so if your in a hard major that has projects or other things due it is a pain. She does not help with the GWR either- She just hands it to you on the first and last day of class with zero preparation, so don't take a crappy class to do the GWR, just sign up for a better class and take it on your own time.



ENGL 134 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A General Ed 10:23 pm, Dec 8, 2010 Report Evaluation		She is fair and upfront with students, and her grading isn\'t as harsh as others. She grades knowing most are not trying to be an English major. She gives a total of four essays along with a helpful workbook and the final is an in-class essay that is then revised and rewritten on your own time and turned in the week before finals. So yes it could be considered an easy class, but i was still able to learn a lot.

ENGL 134 Freshman Grade Earned: A General Ed 1:30 pm, Mar 3, 2010 Report Evaluation		Dr. Preston is not a suitable instructor for a college level class. She seems like she would be better off teaching the ABC\'s to elementary school kids. She is very sweet and easy to get an A in, if you have any background in the English language. However, if you are trying to actually improve your writing skills, and get your money\'s worth while here at Cal Poly, I would suggest taking ENGL 134 with another professor. There are three graded essays accompanied by a TON of busy work from her workbook.

ENGL 134 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A General Ed 12:48 am, Feb 24, 2010 Report Evaluation		dr. preston is a terrible teacher. she acts as though she is teaching a high school english class, reiterating subjects that should have been learned in elementary school. her curriculum is extremely easy, so if you want to have the knowledge that you can pass a high school course again, i highly recommend her (as long as you can force yourself to listen to things you already know, and do busy work out of a workbook the entire quarter).

ENGL 134 Freshman Grade Earned: B General Ed 12:05 am, Mar 30, 2009 Report Evaluation		Dr. Preston is a great teacher. She gives us individual conferences which is really cool. Also she only gives us one in class essay along with three take home essays. There were some readings and an optional final.

ENGL 133 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A General Ed 1:42 pm, May 15, 2008 Report Evaluation		basically this teacher is a evil bitch. Puts a fake smile on her face everyday to fool you. Deep down inside she's a depress little bitch that's why she grades hard on your essays. She's racist too, i came to class late one time and she bugs me to come sooner when some white kid slips through the door and she doesn't even mention anything. In conclusion don't take this teacher. she is EVIL!

ENGL 253 Sophomore Grade Earned: B General Ed 11:39 pm, May 12, 2008 Report Evaluation		Study Time and Performance on Exams are inversely related. This teacher is a cunt, don't let her pleasantness fool you.



ENGL 253 Sophomore Grade Earned: B General Ed 12:44 pm, Apr 5, 2008 Report Evaluation		Professor Preston knows what she's talking about, but she should really be a middle school teacher. She speaks to you like you're a twelve year old and has group activities that make no sense because you never know what point of the book you're supposed to have read to. This is not to say that I did not learn anything, I have a new appreciation for the romantic period of literature after this class. Last note though: if you don't want to say anything in class, do not show any emotion! If you so much as smirk, she will ask you what is so funny and want you to elaborate on some sort of humorous part in the book.

ENGL 253 Junior Grade Earned: A General Ed 10:35 pm, Mar 31, 2008 Report Evaluation		Dr. Preston is a very smart woman who knows her material. She expects you to show up for class and participate. In our class if you missed 4 or more classes she started to deduct from your final grade. She presents the material very clearly, and to be honest I didn't read half the books and just read spark notes. I just went to class everyday and listened to her opinion. Know her opinion and why and be able to write a good essay on it for her midterms and final. There were 4 midterms, but they weren't so bad. If you write well this class will be a breeze. I don't consider myself a good writer but I was good at repeating her opinion in a fancy manner. She also likes it if you participate in class, there were many periods of awkward silence when she asked a question and no one had read that far. She isn't very approachable if you have questions, I tried to ask her why I got a certain grade and she just stared at me. There is also one group project for a book that you get to pick, its pretty easy, just a short essay and a presentation. She can be an easy A if you pay attention, and there isn't a lot of reading. Her final was the hardest test, know QUOTES! Overall, pretty good teacher.

ENGL 320 Senior Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 10:12 am, Dec 17, 2007 Report Evaluation		Dr. Preston is nice, teaches the class well, and gives fair tests. Easy A for an English major or non English major... one of the nicest parts was that she didn't assign a paper.

ENGL 253 Sophomore Grade Earned: B General Ed 2:37 pm, Jun 5, 2007 Report Evaluation		I would say that Preston is a decent teacher. The class reminds me of a painfully boring high school english class. You barely have to read the books (HELLOOOOOOO sparknotes)because the tests are pretty easy if you go to most of the classes. Definitely kiss up by participating. She loves it... just make up BS and she'll nod her head at you. Going to class sucks... but if you do, you'll do a lot better on the tests than those who didn't. Listen to HER opinion... it helps on the test. :)

ENGL 253 Senior Grade Earned: B General Ed 10:53 am, Mar 23, 2006 Report Evaluation		The lectures are pretty repetitive, which makes staying awake a difficult task in this class. The books were good, but I didn't like how we had to purchase a $12 T.S. Elliot book when we only needed to read 5 pages from it.

ENGL 253 Senior Grade Earned: N/A General Ed 11:42 am, Mar 9, 2006 Report Evaluation		She's easy, but shes also REALLY annoying.. like the type of person you just wanna hate but cant bc she gives you no reason to do so. You dont need to go to lecture, all she grades you on is the midterms and final.. but you can kiss ass in lecture by participating. otherwise, just read the cliff notes and show up for the tests and you'll pass



ENGL 350 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 5:23 pm, Nov 8, 2005 Report Evaluation		I love English (it's my minor), and there have been plenty of great novels written in the last century, but this woman can make you hate literature. She is the most uninspiring teacher I've ever had, at least in the English department. She encourages no class discussion and no broadening of your mind. Every novel we read was about death and chaos and society's destruction of itself. This is the only English course I've ever taken that I haven't adored and gotten an A in. To do well in this class, participate (for no other reason than so she likes you), write down everything she says in class (including the pg#s of passages she reads, b/c that's where some short answer test questions come from), and give specific examples in your test essays. Take Hill or Cushing for 350, or take another engl class if Preston is the only choice.

ENGL 350 Senior Grade Earned: C General Ed 1:08 am, Mar 15, 2005 Report Evaluation		Dr. Preston is a wonderful, intelligent professor who made this class interesting and enjoyable. When I saw how big these 6 books were that we had to read in just 10 weeks, I was scared, but I committed myself to reading all of them and I LOVED every book. I received a "C" due to quite a few lecture absences due to work and illness, so I missed out on some notes that cost me points on the midterms. However I still loved the class and highly recommend it to everyone!

ENGL 253 Junior Grade Earned: Credit General Ed 9:35 pm, Dec 5, 2002 Report Evaluation		Her class could be so much better. I can tell that she is a very intelligent person, but I didnt like they way she presented her material. Every day she comes to class expecting everyone to discuss something from the book when half the ppl in the class havent even read that far. For example it was the 4th day of having read the book and she wanted to do a discussion iabout the first two thirds of the book.....we had 2 more weeks to read the book....? And dont you dare nod your head to agree with someone, she'll call on you! She puts ppl on the spot all the time. And she is a really hard hard grader on her essays. If you take preston make sure to ask her what she wants specifially on your essay answers.

ENGL 350 Junior Grade Earned: B General Ed 4:25 pm, Jul 25, 2002 Report Evaluation		I don't know what the first two evaluators were smoking but it had to be some good stuff. This lady could not carry the class. There were extremely long periods of silence followed by ridiculous questions. This is quite possibly the worst english class I have ever taken (and I have taken some bad ones).

ENGL 253 Sophomore Grade Earned: A General Ed 10:36 am, Mar 4, 2002 Report Evaluation		The best teacher I have ever had here at Poly...and i am not just saying that...I am a student who has to work hard at almost any class even if its Bowling 101 and Dr. Preaston was a greeaaat teacher!!! She knows how to present things very well althought you basically have to read 2 books a week....We talked baout the whol ethings to death...so u basically dont ven have to read and go over the class disscusions!!!!!!!!! Take her for ENGL is easy BUT very Fun and educating

ENGL 253 Sophomore Grade Earned: B General Ed 4:10 pm, Mar 27, 2001 Report Evaluation		Preston is super nice, soft-spoken, and very enthusiastic about the class. I enjoyed the class, she mixed up some of her lectures by doing some unique class-participation stuff. Your grade is based on two midterms and one final (plus one group presentation on one of the books you read...CR/NC). The only (minor) criticism I have for her is that if you're looking for an A, you have to be a damn good writer. Essays are hard, especially if you're someone like me that loathes to write. Read the books, come to class, you can pass this class EASY.

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