Try your best- don't lack off- because she does give you a realistic grade for the quality of work you turn in. A lot of students were annoyed at this because they didn't always get the best grades, but she is very specific in what you should work on in your writing. Pay attention to the edits or revisions that she suggests for your essays and use them later on because she knows what she is talking about, and using her tips will improve your writing dramatically. I really enjoyed this class, not the homework, but the class. Another tip I would give is don't procrastinate the reading homework because it's easiest to remember key details (which are important for her tests) when you read the passage earlier in the day and take notes- don't read the book right before bed because you most likely will forget / not absorb a lot of it. Overall, I felt like I learned a lot and really appreciated the work she put into making the class enjoyable and informative.