You would learn something really useful, despite the overwhelming process. But you need to handle it, overcoming yourself. Dr. Popham gave impressive lectures with myriad methods to improve your writing skills and yourself "as a writer" would do.

Dr. Popham did give a lot of work but she gives plenty of time to do it and is very helpful if you need help. I ended up getting an A in the class. Great treacher!

If you have the option to take English Composition 3 with any other professor, do it. If, like me, you get stuck with her due to scheduling/other classes being full, then you're in for a rough time. Her workload is insane compared to other EngComp3 professors, and while you may learn some useful things about formatting, the only things that you will learn about writing are the things that she considers useful. This isn't a class about learning to write so much as it is about learning to write in the way that Shelby Popham expects you to write. However, if you follow her instructions exactly, and don't slack off on the homework and journal entries, it's possible to take this class without your GPA taking too much of a hit. She gives you around 5-10 handouts per class (not an exaggeration), so being well organized is important. On the whole, I didn't learn much from this class except maybe how to format a bibliography and how to pander to my professor's tastes.

I took this course in my first quarter at UCLA. Now I am graduating and I feel like I have to write another comment here to express my gratitude to this course and to Dr. Popham.

Though the workload is super super heavy, what I have learned in this class helped me with every writing task I have to complete in college. Whenever I need to write a research paper, I refer to what she said about introduction, supporting paragraphs and conclusion and use those techniques to draft and revise my papers.

As a science major and a nonnative speaker, I don’t have much talent or interest in writing but thanks to her, I always get good scores(A+ or A) in the papers I have to write. I actually think that none of my friends who took the relatively easier EC3 courses benefitted as much as I did from this EC3.

I don’t really know if she is still teaching but I wholeheartedly recommend this class to anyone who wants to establish a good foundation for college writing.

Professor Popham was great. She cared a lot about her students and was always there to help.
The workload is heavy though. You have to make reflection entries and quote analyses for each class, there's a lot of reading and 3 essays in total. Even though it was a pain, all the material was super easy to understand and all the exercises she assigns were useful.
Her grading system made it quite easy to get a good grade so I got an A- in the class but I did have to put a lot of time in the class.

Take her, Take her, Take her! If you're like me and have a mental block when it comes to writing then you will absolutely love her. She breaks everything down for you and explains what is expected of you. She always sends you reminders about the homework so you never forget and she is just about the sweetest lady when it comes to asking questions. Never once did I feel frightened or intimidated in her class..and if you're like me and don't enjoy being forced to talk in class- then this is the class for you. As long as you have a pleasant look on your face and smile every once in awhile that's your participation grade. You don't need to stress out about voicing your opinion about anything in her class. Yes, as others have put it- she does give a lot of busy work. But that's okay because it's easy busy work! Take this class, you won't regret it.

Amazing english teacher!!! Popham drastically changed my writing style and was super helpful in writing our essays. She is very welcoming and is willing to help every student to her best abilities. She is dedicated and has good office hours. I got an A- in the class and did all the work. I would have gotten the solid A if I would have revised my essays more.

Everybody that can take her class should take it! Her work load is not heavy at all and everything she makes you do helps you in writing your essays. There is no busy work. Everything she does is to help you. She is a fair grader so if you don't put the effort into the essays, it will show in the grade. As long as you come to class willing to work, you should be fine in the class.

Loved her class!!

She is wonderful. She made me a better writer and her class is very interesting. Peer grading can be a little frustrating at times, but it's rewarding in the end.

There was a lot of work, but it all serves a purpose. Also don't get behind on your journals, I had to write all of mine in a day and it is really hard to remember what you did in class unless you wrote it down!

Got an A too. I think she gives higher grades on essays that have obviously been revised. The one I completely revamped got an A while my two others that were solid and I didn't change got much got -A's. So revise!

Professor Popham is great! Her workload is about the right. There are a lot work to do at first, but later on the course is not stressful. Also, she allow us to revise essays as many times as we want. She is always ready to help you with any questions in office hour. If you are not good at writing, Popham is the best choice! And you will learn many valuable things in her course!

As a person, Dr. Popham is super nice and she "forces" you to make friends with some of your classmates. She's helpful and never criticizes your writing too harshly. Her class requires a lot of work, but that's the best thing about this class. For a math & science major, this class is ideal because even if you're not a good writer, if you revise your essays a lot you can still get a good grade.