Gina is a great professor. Taught as a critical thinking class as much as a writing class, so you will learn about a lot of material in addition to just essay writing. She does a lot of one-on-one work and tries to get to know her students individually, which is pretty rare considering most other classes are too large for that. Not too tough.

If you're trying to decide which teacher to take for Writing 50 or any other Writing class and you want a teacher who's top priority is making sure you learn how to write better and who will give you feedback even if you don't QUITE meet the deadline for a paper then look no further. If you put effort into this class then Gina will fight for you.

Great class, if you do the work she assigns and show up to class you will almost certainly get an A. She is available outside of class for help. She helped me on my graduate school application, not only with the writing, but also discussing the ideas that would work best. My favorite teacher at UCSB.

Gina is a fantastic professor and I encourage everyone to take her class. She encourages learning and this creates awesome class discussions every time. She also is extremely helpful and commits a lot of time to helping her students. Super funny and friendly too! Loved her class... Awesome professor!!

She wants you to take any essay format you know about writing and throw it out the window. She wants you to write freely in your own way but in a sense she still dictates on what you should write. It's very unclear on how to write your essay b/c she technically doesnt want a specific format, which makes this class a lot more confusing and harder

Gina transformed my perspective on the whole educational system. She emphasizes LEARNING, and that's all she really cares about. One of the sweetest ladies you'll ever meet and certainly the best professor at UCSB. I learned so much in her class and enjoyed every second of it. Take a class with Gina!

I was not excited about taking this required writing class, but Gina made it as fun and painless as possible. It consisted mostly of in class discussion (she teaches a lot about critical thinking) and short outside of class writing assignments. One 7 page essay, and one 10 page essay that was just a rewrite of the first essay. No final exam.

Incredible teacher. She inspired me to be who i am today, and really imprinted on me the importance of education. I have had almost no other professors that have imprinted on me in the same manner.

Gina Vallis is the most incredible professor at UCSB, and that is no exaggeration. She will dedicate all her time to you if you express interest, and she goes far and beyond any professor I've ever had. She is extremely eloquent, interesting, and quirky because she loves theorists and language so much. She's so inspiring!

BEST WRITING PROFESSOR AT UCSB!!!!!!!

One of the best out there in terms of teaching quality. She's helpful, funny, a bit silly, and very forgiving in terms of grades. She really emphasizes the importance of learning, and does make you do a LOT of busy work (especially during the shorter Summer Sessions), but the work you do at the beginning will pay off in the end.

Absolutely loved her class. Gina is funny, interesting, and really cares about helping her students. She knows so much about the world and is a wonderful educator. I was always interested in her 2 hour long class. One long paper, but she helps you through it a lot and it wasn't that bad. Best teacher at UCSB!