Gaw, Cynthia  

Gaw pretty much made engl 134 a lot harder than it should have been. don't take her, thats the best advice i can give you. our class struggled every day to understand what she was trying to teach us. when we were confused and asked questions she never answered them, just went around them and kept on talking. we also had essays due every week, and she never even wrote comments on how to improve them. anyways...just avoid her if you can.

Gaw was the worse teacher that I have ever had. I dreaded going to class every day. She never explained anything and when you had a question she would do all she could not to answer it. This lady was a complete bitch. The class was the biggest waste of my time. I did not learn one thing in English 134. Do whatever you can not to get this women as your teacher.

Ms. Gaw was one of the most intelligent professors I have ever had. By reading her other ratings on this website, I can conclude that many who have taken her class are not intelligent enough to understand the way in which she teaches. Also most are taking this course because it is required and not because they enjoy english or writing. Professor Gaw is very passionate about teaching and taught me to take chances in my writing. Although she may appear eccentric to some, this would only happen as a result of misinterpreting her teaching style. Your grade is most heavily based on 3 essays that you will have plently of opportunities to edit, not only on your own but through peer editing(which I don't suggest you take seriously most of the time; your peers can mislead you and cause you to get a worse grade), the writing lab, and meetings with the professor. If you have the drive and the understanding, then I suggest you take Professor Gaw's course. Otherwise, if you really hate writing, this course will only confuse you.

I took this course my first quarter of college, so I had no idea what to expect. I had been told my whole life that I was an amazing writer and to not change anything. I started this class with a love for english like no other...but that was quickly crushed my Mrs. Gaw and this dreadful course. The textbook was hard to follow, and most of the time I dont think that Mrs. Gaw knew what it was saying either. There is a decent amount of reading every night, and quizes every day on the reading. We had to turn in essays weekly and it frustrated me to no end that there were never comments as to how to improve my essay. I went to her office hours several times, and she didn't really answer my questions or help me on my essays. This class left me feeling like a fish out of water, and has made me dread having to take another english! And as far as what that person who got an A in the class says, they are wrong! Even if you go into this class with unparalleled drive and a love for english, you risk getting a crappy grade and dreading going to class.

Mrs. Gaw is ok, really. I should have gotten an A, but I slacked off at the end, boo for me. The readings were generally interesting, at least when they were literature and not...text, and the reading tests were generally easy to pass. I checked out the book from the library, so I didn't have to pay for it. Yay. She is pretty opinionated, but she is willing to really consider other people's opinion's, which I appreciated. I would say, the keys to sucess in this class are to 1.do the reading 2.keep up on the writing 3.speak up in class and 4.get to know and feel comfortable talking to and getting help from Mrs. Gaw. Good luck!

Gaw is a HS teacher who expects so much more from students. Has a quiz everyday and if you miss it or dont pass it is 1% off you overall grade and it will not help your grade at all if you pass it. She is a nice lady who seems to love english and the history but has trouble relating with students problems. But I slacked off and still got a c. She is willing to help with you papers even if it for other classes and will help if you need to raise you grade. If you want to go to class every day then take her and you can get an A, but there is a load of reading.

I took this class last year, and it sucked. Mrs Gaw is a terrible prof. She treats the class like they are still in high school. you will have a quiz EVERY SINGLE DAY of the the entire quarter to make sure that you do the required reading. if you don't pass the quiz, she'll take a percentage off of your grade. This lady is pretty crazy. Out of nowhere, she will just start going off on some random subject that has nothing to do with what we are supposed to be learning. Sometimes she even talks to herself. she is a complete nutcase. Oh, and don't even get me started on her grading system. I got a B, so i'm not someone whe is just angry because they failed. Mrs Gaw has no clue how to teach people to write essays. She basically told me that everything i had ever learned in my high school classes was wrong, and she totally confused me. If anything, my sriting skills became worse as a result of this class, not better. one more thing... if you want a cool english class where you get to read an interesting fiction book or two and critique them, this is not the class for you. We had no course material at all. Our job was to construct an arguementative essay every week on any random topic that we choose. Did our assignment for the quarter get any more specific than this?.... no So this was basically more like an Speech/argumentation class than an english class, except that her ideas of argumentation are nothing like what you are taught in high school or in other college courses (including REAL argumentation classes, like scom 145). Most of my friends enjoyed their english classes, and got to read cool books like Fer. 451. It sounds like english can be a fun class, but it really depends on who teaches it. Gaw sucks donkey balls and should go back to high school. avoid this professor

Cynthia Gaw is by far one of the worst teachers I have had at cal poly. First of all, it is a class that you really do not want to have your freshman year. You have quizzes every day, and more essays to right then you even know what to do with. She draws names out of a hat and makes you read your essays in front of the class. Try to get another teacher. If you do have her, try your best to go into her office hours early, and get on her good side. Even if you are not a teachers pet, become one for this class.

Taking this instructor is like being in a Twilight Zone episode. You just can