Review posted on Wed 09 Dec 2009
Course(s) Taken: Linguistics: 20

If given the opportunity, choose any other professor for this class. This was my first quarter at UCLA and it was made absolutely miserable by Prof Schutze. His lectures and excruciating, and attending them only makes the material difficult to learn and unenjoyable. Although he drops your lowest of 8 HW grades, his assignment were long and do not prepare you for exams very well. Most of his "reviews" are just confusing corrections to the book, in which he tells you to negate entire instructions in favor of his own. Although he is willing to take questions and discuss the course material outside of class, most of the time he will just correct the way to asked a question, instead of just answering it.
This course acts as a GE as well as a pre-requisite for upper division Ling course. Although I feel that it is possible to master the material if dedicated to the subject, I do not think Prof Schutze does of good job of preparing his students for upper division Ling course in a realistic and encouraging manor.

Review posted on Mon 02 Nov 2009
Course(s) Taken: Linguistics: 20

This was one of the hardest classes I have taken at UCLA. He is a horrible lecturer. I came into the classes with a high level of interest in the class and left hating every bit of it. The readings make more sense than the lectures. The homework assignments were very long and took a large amount of time. Avoid taking Ling 20 with him if you can!

Review posted on Tue 09 Jun 2009
Course(s) Taken: Linguistics: 20

The material for this class was not horrible, however, Schutze is a terrible professor, and I advise anyone to not take him. I got an A in the class, and still believe that he is a terrible lecturer. The homeworks do take a really long time, but for the most part, are understandable. His biggest problem is that he is a terrible lecturer; the exams are not terrible, and the reading isn't so bad, but his lecturers are close to impossible to sit through. This was the first class I ever fell asleep in at UCLA, and I dreaded going to them. He makes the material impossible to understand, and I had to go to so much outside help to understand the material. I thought that the actual subject was not that bad, and was actually interested in it, but the professor is definitely not the guy to go to for learning about it.

Review posted on Mon 31 Mar 2008
Course(s) Taken: Ling20

Carson really knows his stuff. I personally didn't think the class was hard, the homework wasn't too bad either (he clarifies whenever possible). Class overall is worth taking, you learn a lot and it is curved.

Review posted on Sat 27 May 2006
Course(s) Taken: Ling 20

I took this class as a GE. His lectures are decently organized but he just doesnt make a lot of sense in class. His homework's were ridiculously hard and extremely time consuming. I was lucky and had a pretty good TA (Asia), but she really couldnt make the material more interesting. Basically, avoid him if you can, or find another class to take as a GE.

Review posted on Tue 07 Feb 2006
Course(s) Taken: Ling 20, Ling 120B

If you can take someone else, do it. He's a horrible lecturer and the homeworks are HARD (especially in 120B, where the questions you are asked are things that haven't been taught yet. He calls them "puzzles"). Ling 20 wasn't that bad; it was hard but I think I was well prepared for my Ling upper divs. The homework is worth like 40% of your grade so if you mess those up, it's hard to make it up elsewhere. The final was the only one I've ever taken where it took me almost the full 3 hours.

As for 120B, the lectures are confusing (and boring), the homeworks are ridiculous, I've yet to take a test but I'm sure they're really hard too, even the book is pretty awful, and I honestly wish I had not taken this class this quarter. The only thing that can save you is if you get an awesome TA and go to office hours. That's the only way you'll survive.

Review posted on Tue 03 Jan 2006
Course(s) Taken: Linguistics 20

Carson is a nice guy, and mildly humorous. However, the class *is* hard. I was told this was going to be the easiest class I'd ever take, and boy, was that wrong. There are other professors of this class that are easier, and I suggest that you take them if you're looking for an easy, kickback GE. I believe Carson goes into more detail than the other professors, though; so, if you're looking to actually learn something (granted, you'll have to work hard), then Carson isn't that bad. The TAs were really nice and helpful. It seemed at most office hours, there were at least 8 people there, always. Homeworks took *forever*. The last few assignments each took at least 4 hours. I personally regret taking the class, both because I found out linguistics sucks, and also because it was much more difficult than I expected. It wasn't horrible, though. If you put in the time and talk to the TAs, who really care about how well the students do, then you should do okay. But I'd suggest trying to get a different professor, who doesn't make the subject matter unnecessarily difficult.

Review posted on Thu 01 Dec 2005
Course(s) Taken: None

I hated this class! I took it thinking it would be interesting, and was totally wrong! The lecture is soooo long and boring! He gets through absolutely nothing in the 2 hours of class! He gives homework every week, and it takes hours to complete! The TA I had (Lauren Varner) is horrible at trying to explain things and seems to get frustrated if you don't understand it right away! The exams are sooo long and the material seems so pointless. My grades this quarter were great, besides this class! I would never take a linguistics class ever again!

Review posted on Thu 01 Sep 2005
Course(s) Taken: Ling 20

I really got a lot out of this class. Its true you have to work, like doing weekly homeworks, but there's no paper and nothing you need to research. If you do the homeworks you can do the exams. Unlike other comments I didn't think the prof was boring I thought he was funny.

Review posted on Sun 04 Apr 2004
Course(s) Taken: ling 20, winter 2k4

I don't think I could have learned more about linguistics in one quarter than I did in this class. For people who take classes to learn a subject, this one is perfect. Carson (and TAs) was available to answer questions whenever they came up, and though the pace was fast, the lectures didn\355t waste time and problems from the book were exhaustive in preparing me for exams. Bottom line: if you want the easiest class possible, grow up or take a different class. If you want to acquire the skills necessary for future study in linguistics, TAKE THIS COURSE!!