AI Rate Professor

English

Cynthia Somin

ENG1A · ENGL1A · ENGLB · 1C · ENGLI3343 · ENGLISH1A · ENGENG1 · 1A · ENGLI0000 · ENGL1C · ENG1B · ENGA · ENG6207 · ENGLISH · ENGLISHA1A · ENGL1A6412 · A · ENGLISHA · 79 lifetime ratings

AI rating
49/100
RMP rating
3.3/5
Take again
—
Difficulty
3.5

The decision

Take Somin only if you are already a confident writer and can handle strict essay grading with limited guidance.

Best fit · Effort For RewardHarsh essay graderMixed teaching qualityEasy testsLeaves earlyEssay-heavy
  • Reviews are sharply split between students who find her helpful and students who say she does not teach enough.
  • Essay grading is the main risk, with many students calling her strict, harsh, or unclear with feedback.
  • The class can feel easy for strong writers because tests are easy, class often ends early, and workload is manageable.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

45/100

Tests and attendance can be easy, but strict essay grading makes an A unreliable unless you already write well.

All evidence comes from in-person reviews, with no online reviews available.

Is the course easy?

Standard

52/100

The course structure is often simple, but essay expectations and reading demands make it harder for weaker writers.

All course .

Is attendance flexible?

Varies

63/100

Several reviews say class ends early or attendance is not always needed, but one warns not to be late and participation still matters.

All attendance evidence comes from in-person reviews.

Is this professor recommended?

Depends

48/100

, while many others strongly warn against taking her.

Recommendation .

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

28/100

Essay grading is repeatedly described as tough or harsh, even when tests and assignments are easy.

Format shift

All grading evidence comes from in-person reviews.

Workload

Moderate

58/100

Workload usually involves several essays, reading, quizzes, and a research paper, but some students say and class ends early.

Format shift

All workload evidence comes from in-person reviews.

Teaching experience

Average

55/100

Teaching feedback is mixed, with some students praising her knowledge and help while many say she gives vague instructions and weak feedback.

Format shift

All teaching evidence comes from in-person reviews.

Assessment method

FocusOnAssignments

30/100

Grades appear driven mainly by essays, reading, quizzes, and a research paper rather than exams.

Format shift

All assessment evidence comes from in-person reviews.

Luni fit check

Weigh these signals against your actual schedule.

Get help balancing workload, grading, and timing when no option is an obvious fit.

Course format

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Classroom format

In person

50 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

In-person reviews are highly polarized, with easy logistics but major complaints about essay grading and teaching clarity.

Main concern

Harsh essay grading and vague instruction are the recurring complaints.

What students said

“She doesn't really teach much. She just gives vague instructions and expects so much from you in return.”
1C
“The test are easy, but her feedback is harsh.”
ENGLISH1A
“Just do the essays, read the books, and you will pass no problem!”
ENG1A

Remote format

Online

0 reviews

Low confidence

No stored summary is available for this format.

Main concern

No main concern is stored for this format.

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exam comments are limited but generally student-friendly, while the main grade risk comes from essays rather than tests.

Easy TestsEasy QuizzesMidterm Described As Easy

Assessment risk

StudentFriendly

78/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person reviews mention easy tests, easy quizzes, and an easy midterm, but do not clearly prove open-book, proctoring, or closed-book policies.

Easy TestsEasy QuizzesEasy Midterm
“The test are easy, but the class is really boring.”
ENGLISH1A
“her test are easy the midterm was a piece of cake I didn't even study for it and I got a B+.”
ENGL1A6412
“Lots of readings, easy 4 question reading quizzes, short class time, few essays which are also easy.”
ENG1B

Online

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“If you are really good at writing Essays this class is for you. If not this is a horrible teacher if uou actually want help and to learn.”

Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews, highlighting key themes in teaching, grading, workload, and exams. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

55/100

“She doesn't really teach much. She just gives vague instructions and expects so much from you in return.”

⚖️ Grading Fairness

28/100

“She grades essays really tough and you can't even read her feedback on them.”

📚 Workload Shape

58/100

“She gives 4 essays in total and a research paper at the end based on the book she assigns which this semester was The Great Gatsby.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • She's fair, understandable, and great.
  • She doesn't teach the entire semester but grades harshly on essays, and doesn't give extra work to make it up.
  • Very clear in teachings, u will not be lost. SHE IS AWESOME!!!

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • Grades essays hard but her tests are easy.
  • The essays are easy if you try.
  • She is the hardest professor i've ever had. All the essays i've ever done in the past have been As. In her class i only had Cs.

Theme 3

📝 About Essays

  • Your grade is mainly based on essays
  • Lots of essays, and reading so don't take her class if you don't have a lot of free time.
  • Once you get the hang of how she wants her essays done, it's pretty easy.

Theme 4

⏰ About Class Time

  • She lets us out early all the time and we still get our work done.
  • Class was scheduled to be an hour and a half but we were never there for more than an hour.
  • on most days class is only 30 min.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

50

Recent reviews read by the AI

79

Lifetime ratings

86/100

Evidence confidence

There are 50 reviews across many years with detailed and consistent themes, despite polarized opinions and some duplicate or vague entries.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 533
4 out of 58
3 out of 513
2 out of 511
1 out of 514

Course coverage

ENG1A16 reviews
ENGA6 reviews
ENGLISH1A4 reviews
1C3 reviews
ENGL1A3 reviews
Show 14 more courses
1A2 reviews
A2 reviews
ENGLISH2 reviews
ENGLISHA2 reviews
64281 review
ENG1B1 review
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ENGENG11 review
ENGL1A64121 review
ENGL1C1 review
ENGLB1 review
ENGLI00001 review
ENGLI33431 review
ENGLISHA1A1 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

4 reported outcomes

A range

2

A 2

B range

0

No reported values

C range

1

C- 1

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

1

Drop/Withdrawal 1