I took this class my first quarter at UCLA, not knowing anything about it, and I have to say it has paid off tremendously. This class really nails home how to devise a thesis statement, which has come in handy everytime I've had to write an essay. I actually feel my Writing II class instruction, which was basically the same in that we read novels and wrote essays about them, was inferior to this one. If you want to know how to write a thesis, take this class. Yes, you may struggle at first, but that's because you are breaking your old 5-paragraph cookie cutter structure model they crammed down your throat in high school. Most helpful were the "key words" he highlighted that will tell you if your thesis is argumentative rather than just a summary ("condemns" rather than "shows", for example). I use those words to this day and consistently get "strong thesis" comments.

Beyond discussing how to write well, one of the reviewers below nails the style of lectures on the head when they say that the lectures are designed to lead you through a thought process of how to delve into and analyze a theme of the book. They are not there for you to copy or to be held as the only possible interpretation. You will have to use your brain in this class.

The books we read were hit or miss. I'm sure they change every year, but I particularly enjoyed Benito Cereno and Double Indemnity. Yes, lectures could be boring, but overall, recommended if you want to improve your analytical writing.

Mott seems like an interesting man, and he's obviously brilliant, but his lectures are horribly off topic. About halfway through the quarter I just stopped going to lecture because I realized that they just weren't necessary to get a good grade. The books were somewhat interesting...although Mott waits until about a week before finals to give you the general meaning of what an american novel actually is. His 1 hour and 15 minute lectures could easily be done in 20 min. if he would stop wasting time having conversations with his honor students in the middle of class. Discussion for this class can be really interesting if you have a great TA, so make sure you go to all of those. Like I said, lectures are unnecessary, but if you still feel like going sometimes I would suggest going to one of the lectures per novel (he has 3 lectures for each novel). The final wasn't too horrible, I was really sick when I took it and didn't try that hard. Overall I got an A- in the class.

Mott was a good professor overall. I didn't get what he was trying to accomplish in his lectures until later in the quarter. The information presented in lectures isn't meant to provide information for you to reiterate in your essays or the final but rather to demonstrate a process of thinking about and formulating a debatable argument. That is where many students miss the point and why I never took notes in lecture. To do well in this class (I got an A), read the novels and KNOW them in terms of characters and what happens etc. and then be able to analyze key passages through close reading. Furthermore, know how to build an argument throughout an essay. Get to know your TA's and their expectations and read the comments on your first essay to show improvement on your second essay. It was not an easy class I got a B on the first essay but got an A on my second essay. Work hard, read the novels, and try to create an argument in your essays that is debatable and insightful. I recommend Mott and that you get to know him on a personal level. I also recommend Jacob Lang as a TA because I really learned a lot from his sections and he helped me to improve my writing through the loads of comments that he wrote on my first essay. Take the class if you want to improve your writing and your ability to analyze and critique all forms of communication.

Did not enjoy his lectures and rarely attended them. His powerpoints were unorganized and he usually chose one side of the novel to talk about for the entire hour and 15 minutes. If I went to lecture, I usually paid attention for the first half hour and then found something to do on my laptop or fell asleep. He tries to be funny too, but I didn't really enjoy his jokes. There were occasional funny ones but most of the time, they weren't. His class doesn't have a midterm which was nice but there's two essays and a final. The essays were graded pretty harshly. You really need to go to your TA's office hours to find out what he/she wants to see in your essay because they usually grade them. The final wasn't too bad. Consisted of 5 passage explications out of the 6 novels you were assigned to read (the amount of reading wasn't too bad, depending on whether or not you enjoyed the books) and an essay. You're given the essay prompts beforehand but not the passage explications. Overall, I didn't enjoy the class because I didn't feel like I got anything out of it or my writing improved. I just got frustrated. If you like English and you're a good writer (a really good writer), then you'll probably like it.

Mott is a pretty funny guy and certainly amusing in class, but I personally did not enjoy his lecture style very much. He chose one thing that interested him about the book we were reading each lecture, and only talked about that one thing for the entire hour. I would have preferred a more organized lecture that explored more aspects of each book to give us more ideas of what to write about, since we were able to choose our own topics. Because of this, lecture was often a waste of time if what Mott talked about did not interest you personally because you were only evaluated on your two papers pretty much. I also thought the grading was a bit harsh considering how much time I put into it, and several of the books are extremely uninteresting.

Mott is a decent professor who tries to make the American novel more interesting. Though Mott's humor helps the class, it does not hide the fact that his lectures are unorganized and often difficult to follow. There is a huge amount of reading that goes very fast, beginning on the sour note of cryptic novels including Nathaniel Hawthorne and marginally improving with other works. The TA's for the fall class were extremely demanding and hard graders; go to Office Hours to find out exactly what they want in your writing- also beware of their arbitrary grading scales. Mott showed clear favoritism for his Honors section students, who he had to call out by name and praise in every lecture. Though he praises his final as the easiest to be taken at UCLA, it is very challenging and the hardest of my first six at UCLA.

I really enjoyed this class. The novels for the most part were pretty interesting & the section assignments were short & straightforward. The pace is pretty fast but as long as you don't lag on the reading too much, it's possible to catch up. Professor Mott is really hilarious too! He made alot of really funny jokes that kept the lectures interesting. However, I didn't find the lectures helpful at all. I didn't go to alot of them, and I slept through most of the ones I did go to. They could be fun just because he's funny, but the actual powerpoint slides are nothing but quotes that don't help on the papers. The papers are kind of confusing because it's hard to tell what they want, but the TAs can be really helpful, so go to office hours. Just make sure you read the novels! There's absolutely NO WAY to BS your way through the final. All in all, I probably went to half of the lectures, read five out of the six novels, and got an A-. Fun class if you like reading!

Decent professor. His lectures are pretty pointless, his powerpoints are a joke and basically start him on a chain of events. He has some funny moments, but I found myself dozing off countless times. Make sure you go to section, because it's mandatory and your TA is who grades your essays (most of them). Learn what your TA wants, and go off of that. Read the books & understand them.

Taken: Study of the American Novel

Rundown:

the professor: funny, likable, very friendly, encourages student participation, loves to get to know his students personally even though there are so many, one of the few college professors you will come across that can name students in a 100 person lecture

the lectures: disorganized, mott has a powerpoint, but its pretty much useless, he loves to talk and have a good time so he often digresses and goes off on weird tangents that are completely unhelpful

the discussions: mandatory, will actually help you understand the readings a lot better. glen is a great TA

the material: books are different each quarter depending on what mott feels like, they are sometimes interesting, sometimes really boring, but you get a nice eclectic mixture

the grading: not an easy GE, grade based on two essays, one midterm and one final; essays are graded harder than I thought they should be, and its hard to finish the tests in the time allotted

So take this class if you enjoy reading and especially writing. But be prepared, Mott may be a great guy, but not the most effective professor. And I heard his honors section is fun, and helps towards understanding the material.