... thats all i need to say

We reviewed grammar for most of the class, but when it came time to write (we had 3 papers, each about 2 pg) Powell was a tough grader, very nit-picky, and not good at giving helpful comments. You have to write them exactly as she says, with transition words beginning each paragraph, even if it doesn't make sense to put them there. Though I always added at least a page of content and fixed all the grammatical errors she pointed out, I never got more than 2 or 3 percentage points added to my second draft scores. Very frustrating, it seemed pointless even to write that second draft. Her response? Your vocabulary isn't advanced enough for 105. Not helpful at all. You can get a B without working too hard, maybe get an A- or A if she likes your papers and you ace the tests, but you won't improve your writing skills and you will probably be frustrated throughout the course.

I really do not get all these bad reviews. Profesor Powell is available to help outside the classroom WHENEVER you ask her, and she asks for student feedback about what you want to learn. She's a fair grader on compositions also. She's really nice and will help you with anything you need help on, not even Spanish stuff. Definitely take her class!

Every day spent in this class was like having major dental work done. Prof. Powell was neither knowledgeable nor reasonable - the native speakers in our class had to correct her on several occasions and her grading was completely random. Also, she has this weird thing about not telling you what the homework assignment is if you had missed class or simply forgot...she absolutely refuses to let you know! You have to call someone else in your class to find out about the assignments. That's just petty.

Every day spent in this classroom felt like having major dental work. I don't mind difficult teachers, as long as they know their stuff, but Prof. Powell was neither knowledgeable nor reasonable. Several native speakers in our class had to correct her while she was "teaching." Also, she has this weird thing about not telling you what the homework is if you ask her out of class - if you missed class or forgot, she refuses to tell you! You have to call another student to find out. That's just petty.

It seems that alot of people that come into a Spanish class have an idea that it's going to piece of cake. If you are one of those people that has taken AP classes and passed out of Spanish 1-6 at UCLA, your Spanish skills will not be competent enough for this class, I know because I passed them too. Be prepared to come to class to learn alot of new things. I did learn alot of grammar and Spanish composition skills, despite what other have said about Dr. Powell. That being said, Dr. Powell will try to trick you into thinking it's an easy class by giving you material in class that's hardly covered in the midterm and final. She'll give you grammar assignments on the side... these are very important if you don't know them, learn these well. She's not that bad. I didn't get stellar scores on compositions but I did end with an A- for the class. Don't fear her, but take the class with intentions to learn new material.

You would think that becuase it is an upper division course, it would be alot more informative. It is NOT. She is by far the worst professor I have had at UCLA. She makes you feel like you have to be in defense all the time. Sometimes she doesnt know the answers to questions which is perfectly fine but then she grades harshly. I would not reccommend this class to anyone. It is not effective.