Karen Malfara

ENGLISH101 · ENGLISH105 · ENG48 · ENGLS101 · ENG115 · CLASS · ENGL105 · ENG42 · ENG105 · ENG101 · ENGLISH115 · ENGLISH42 · ENGLISH48 · 29 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 28/100
RMP rating: 2.6/5
Take again: 40%
Difficulty: 4.2

The decision

Avoid unless you want a high-intensity writing boot camp and can handle heavy revisions and .

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerTough GraderEndless RevisionsPaper HeavyNot Yet GradingOverwhelming Workload

Many students warn of , and a tough not-yet revision system.
Supporters say unlimited revisions and if you invest the time.
Attendance and tutoring are often mandatory, and late or incomplete work is treated strictly.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

28/100

High grades require constant revision, tutoring, and meeting exacting standards; many students finish with B or C despite major effort.

Both formats are hard As; online has a few higher-grade success stories when revisions are unlimited.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

24/100

Content and expectations feel upper-level for intro English, with , and constant rewrite cycles.

Online and and reading load; difficulty scores cluster high.

Is attendance flexible?

Mandatory

18/100

, and several warn that skipping or late class policies hurt you.

Both online and .

Is this professor recommended?

Avoid

36/100

Would-take-again is only about 40 percent, and many bluntly say do not take her despite a minority who praise growth.

Online is slightly more mixed; .

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Harsh

22/100

and not-yet systems dominate; papers must be nearly perfect and late work is limited or half credit.

Format shift

Both formats call her a ; a few online students note .

Workload

Overwhelming

14/100

, and endless rewrites create a crushing load for a single class.

Format shift

; online still reports lots of papers and reading.

Teaching experience

Poor

38/100

Some students learn a lot from detailed feedback, but many , and class running late.

Format shift

Online quality is split between delight and rude or ungraded; in-person leans more negative overall.

Assessment method

FocusOnAssignments

18/100

Course grade lives almost entirely in papers, revisions, reading work, and participation rather than traditional exams.

Format shift

Both formats are paper-centered with .

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

23 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

as homework-heavy and harsh, with required revisions, tutoring, and frequent stay-late complaints.

Main concern

Overwhelming paper load and opaque or .

What students said

“Honestly so heavy. Be so many times.”
ENGLISH101

“Literally homework daily and if its an essay rated well by others.”
ENG48

“she is a . The good thing is that she does give you the opportunity to re-submit as as you wish”
ENGLISH101

Remote format

Online

6 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

Online ENG101 still demands many papers and revisions; while others call her rude or slow to grade.

Main concern

, and tough standards.

What students said

“Doesn't grade work for some reason. You spend the entire semester wondering if she's gonna grade your work.”
ENG101

“She gives unlimited revisions to the papers and plenty of opportunity to get the highest score possible.”
ENGLISH101

“Very rude and condescending when asking for help or .”
ENG101

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Assessment is paper and revision heavy rather than classic proctored exams; friendliness depends on whether unlimited resubmits are offered.

Many PapersUnlimited Revisions SometimesRequired TutoringFew Traditional Exams

Assessment risk

Standard

48/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person classes focus on many essays with repeated rewrites, required tutoring, and ; few comments describe formal exams.

So Many PapersRequired TutoringNot Yet GradesDaily Homework

“Be so many times. Tutoring is required that's a good thing.”
ENGLISH101

“If your ready to be stressed and so many times and still get a not yet score after going with tutors ect.”
ENGLISH115

Online

Online students describe multiple formatted papers with revision cycles; mentioned.

Multiple PapersRevision CyclesParticipation MattersDelayed Grading

“She has lots of and you have to do a lengthy process of revision and resubmission.”
ENG101

“She gives unlimited revisions to the papers and plenty of opportunity to get the highest score possible.”
ENGLISH101

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“If you're not too good with writing papers don't take this class! she is a .”
Voice snapshots generated from 29 reviews spanning 2011-2025, emphasizing recurring workload and ; credibility rating: High.

📝 Paper Overload

14/100

“LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF HOMEWORK!!!!! unless you don't mind a lot of homework.”

⚖️

22/100

“Karen Malfara is the absolute toughest teacher I have ever dealt with.”

🔁 Revision Path to Growth

55/100

“I appreciate that . That way you have a chance to improve your grade & write an even better paper.”

👎 Overall Recommendation

36/100

“DON'T TAKE HER CLASS!!”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching and Feedback

but she was a wonderful professor. I learned so much from her
.
Very rude and condescending when asking for help or .

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

she is a .
Not yet once you sigh her contract, you wont get a grade till the end of the semester.
she grades really hard and

Theme 3

📚 About Workload

For a three credit class, I spent 10x more time on this one class than all my other ones put together.
and she keep us late when we have a time to start class and to finish

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

84/100

Evidence confidence

Twenty-nine reviews over many years with consistent workload and , if polarized, evidence.

Inside 29 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 58

4 out of 52

3 out of 53

2 out of 53

1 out of 513

Course coverage

ENGLISH1018 reviews

ENG1015 reviews

ENG484 reviews

ENG422 reviews

911071 review

Show 9 more courses

CLASS1 review

ENG1051 review

ENG1151 review

ENGL1051 review

ENGLISH1051 review

ENGLISH1151 review

ENGLISH421 review

ENGLISH481 review

ENGLS1011 review

Reported outcomes

B range results lead the reported letter grades.

18 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 1 · A 2

B range

B+ 1 · B 5

C range

C+ 1 · C 3 · C- 1

D range

D- 1

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Incomplete 1 · Rather not say 1 · Rather_Not_Say 1

Karen Malfara

Avoid unless you want a high-intensity writing boot camp and can handle heavy revisions and x x.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

HardWork

Challenging

Mandatory

Avoid

See how this professor fits your week.

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

In person

Online

See what students actually said.

📝 Paper Overload

⚖️ x x

🔁 Revision Path to Growth

👎 Overall Recommendation

👨‍🏫 About Teaching and Feedback

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

📚 About Workload

See exactly what the AI read.

Quality ratings

Course coverage

B range results lead the reported letter grades.

A range

B range

C range

D range

F

No letter grade reported

Avoid unless you want a high-intensity writing boot camp and can handle heavy revisions and .

⚖️