Dr.Fretz is a very nice professor. Her workload is quite heavy but definitely manageable. I'm an international student and English is not my first language, but I still managed to get an A in her class. Just follow her instructions, turn in all assignments in time and work hard on her class, you'll get an A.

She teaches exactly how a high school English teacher would teach. So super easy transition for my first quarter at UCLA. She gives you a lot of busy work, but it is nice because it boosts your grade in the end. You have 3 essays but the last one is a group essay and you just use your 2nd essay. If you do all the work in the class and go to her office hours and use the writing center (she loves the writing center), it is an easy A. If you want a course that only has essays and no busy work, don't take Fretz class.

As Dr. Fretz quotes, "writing is a process of discovery." Although this class came with a tough workload, I learned so much from my professor, and if you're willing to take on a challenge, I recommend her for English Composition 3.

Time management is imperative; use the time you have to your advantage. The professor assigns you a lot of work right off the bat, and leaving assignments until the night before will only make this class more stressful than it needs to be. That being said, Dr. Fretz will notice if you put in the work and really strive to improve your writing (and thus grade accordingly). None of her assignments are "busy work;" they are important resources for your essays. She gives you an overview of the entire course at the beginning, so you will know about major deadlines early on, including the three major essays you will have to complete.

(As other reviewers point out, Essay 1 focuses on a short story analysis, Essay 2 incorporates ethnographic research of a relative's love story and the cultural ideals surrounding said relative, and Essay 3 is your Essay 2 combined with the essays of two classmates. Each essay involves a thorough writing process which includes a detailed outline, a rough draft, peer revision, and then a final draft. Don't worry if you don't get a spectacular grade on your first essay; you will have the opportunity to drop it.)

Dr. Fretz has a unique method of teaching unlike that of every high school English teacher I have encountered (in a good way). We usually start the class with a form of meditation she calls "centering," which might sound lame but helps us focus on the work we need to accomplish for that day. There is also a journal assignment where you write in a notebook ~4 times a week — and you can write about anything (she'll only grade the number of pages) which I personally found therapeutic. One tip to fill up journal pages is to take your notes from other classes in your journal.

Get as much help as possible! Attend Dr. Fretz's office hours and email her with any questions you may have. She also stresses going to the Undergraduate Writing Center for help with your essays, which I recommend. (Make sure you make appointments with the UWC early, as the slots fill up quickly.) Dr. Fretz truly wants you to succeed in her class; show her you want to succeed as well!

The class consists of three main papers:
Essay 1 - analysis of a short story
Essay 2 - research paper on a love story
Essay 3 - group essay combining parts of people's essay 2's

People didn't do as well as they expected on essay 1, but if you do well on essay 2 (most people did I think), you can drop the essay 1 grade. Professor Fretz lets you edit essay 2 for a better grade as well. Basically, don't worry too much if you don't do well at the very start of the course (especially for essay 1). The class is designed to build up your writing skills so you do well for essays 2 and 3. The class is a lot of work (there's usually something due every lecture), but the smaller assignments are meant to guide you towards the larger assignments (the essays). Overall, take this class if you're willing to put in the work to improve your writing and write great essays!

Mrs. Fretz is a character. She knows what she's talking about however it is hard to follow along with her with all of her tactics. She is different because she believes in different learning methods than most. If you talk with confidence she will absolutely love you. Just do your work and speak with authority and you will get an A.

This class does have a challenging workload, but I will say that it did make me a much better writer and for that I am very grateful. All the hard work paid off in the end, and I now feel as though I will be able to write a strong paper in any writing class I may encounter. I would definitely recommend this class to others. You will feel really proud of what you have accomplished at the end of the quarter.

She's a very nice professor, but the workload for the class is pretty heavy. She lets you drop the grade of the first essay which helped my grade tremendously. There is probably more work for this class than most english3 classes, but if you follow all the guidelines she gives there's no reason for you to get a bad score.

Do all the work, ask lots of questions because things can be unclear at times, and get on her good side. :) Visit her in office hours to get help on essays and go to the writing center and success program every week or so!

Dr. Fretz is super nice and sweet. If you're a decent writer already, and are competent enough to do all your work on time, it's quite easy to get an A- in this class. If you're not too good at writing, or english isn't your first language, you might find this class challenging, but definitely not unmanageable.

Grade is based on 3 essays, participation and weekly assignments.

Essay 1 is 20%, Essay 2 is 30%, Essay 3 is 30%, and the weekly assignments and participation add up to 30%.

Essay 1 is based on a story you read. Fairly easy.

Essay 2 is an ethnographic research paper based on the love story of one of your family members. It's worth 30% but you have the option to drop your Essay 1 score, and have Essay 2 count for 50%. Usually this is the better route because everyone tends to do better in Essay 2.

Essay 3 is basically combining your Essay 2 with other people in your class. If you get put in a group with competent people, you usually won't get a low score. Each group member gets their own grade for Essay 3, but she says that if other people don't do so well in the Essay, it reflects slightly on your grade, so definitely push any stragglers.

There's 1-3 assignments every week ranging from reading logs to fieldnotes. These are graded as complete(2 points), incomplete(1 point) or not submitted(0 points). These along with attendance and participation in class count for 20%

Oh she also has you write a journal for the quarter. She doesn't read it at the end, she only checks the number of pages, so you can totally bullshit. It counts towards your participation 20%

Overall, great class. It starts really fast with the workload, but she's designed it to ease up towards the end so you have time for other classes. Just make sure you get on her good side and keep up with the work in the beginning, and you're set. She's also really helpful in office hours so if you are having trouble with the class, definitely go talk to her. She's really sweet.

Bonus: if you have an interesting cultural background, she's extra nice to you.

I always tell freshmen to take her for Eng Comp 3. She's super sweet and will gladly help and work with you to get an A. More importantly, I feel like she taught me the correct way to write papers in college.

********SELLING*********
--"A Writer's Reference"
--"They Say, I Say"

Both as good as new.

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