I really enjoyed this class not really because of the professor but i found it genuinely interesting and honestly loved the class. Sportiche is an okay professor and you can get by missing a couple of lectures, its really helpful and almost important to read the assigned chapters, especially if you plan on skipping lectures but its not hard to read at all. GO TO SECTION. Almost everything taught in lecture is reviewed in section which is very useful. The homework is fairly easy and he gives extra credit for each homework which is good. The final is also straightforward and is just multiple choice questions. overall a good and fairly easy class, definitely recommend. (esp if you dont wanna take any of those philosophy GEs)

Paper: 10%
Homework: 45%
Final: 45%

I actually really enjoyed this class! I consider this an "easy" GE as long as you are willing to put the effort. The lectures were interesting, but even if you consider it boring the class is very doable. As for homework, there were some confusing questions, but I went to office hours every week and my TA helped me a lot (I had Megan and sometimes Luke would sub in for her, but both were equally REALLY helpful). They drop your lowest homework grade and there are extra credit questions which saved me a bunch of times. It also helps that everyone in office hours is just as confused as you are on a problem so you don't feel alone. I got a C on my first assignment which bummed me out (cause a lot people did well on it/ that was the easiest assignment out of the seven) but started getting better at the homework as the quarter progressed so don't freak out like me if you get a bad grade at first lol. There were times I would zone out in lecture or it was actually confusing, but I just went on the CCLE site and read over the lecture notes he posts every week and it helped clarify anything I did not catch or understand. Paper was easy, just do not over think it cause that's what some us did at first. There is no midterm, only a final. It was not open note, but as long as you review all your notes and the lectures, study your homework assignments, and go to the final review session, you should be fine. I did not really read the book, I just scanned it to answer some homework problems. There are some questions on the final from the book, but very few. The final was basically like your homework, there were even some EXACT questions from your homework assignments which surprised me. I only studied two days in advance and managed a B+ on the final. I am really glad a took this class my first quarter here, just put in the work you need and you will do well :)

I signed up for this class because I felt as though it would be an easy course. It is NOT an easy course. It is very abstract and while Professor Sportiche is very nice and often quite funny, he did not teach the content in a clear way. I spent most lecture periods puzzled and confused. If you do end up taking this course, my advice to you is to review everything he talked about immediately after lecture. He posts lecture notes every week and those make the material 10x more understandable. There is homework every week and it is hard to complete them if you don't understand what is happening. It is key that you aim for 16/16 on each assignment since it is 45% of your grade. There is no midterm. The final was MUCH harder than I and probably many other students anticipated. 90 multiple choice. In previous years, open notes were allowed but this was the first quarter that he took that away. I'm sure the scores are the lowest they've ever been because of this. If you are very willing to focus, this course will not be that bad for you.

Dominique is a homie!!! If I could summarize my experience in this class, is that it's 45% homework, 10% paper, and 45% final.

Ling 1 material really isn't that hard, and if you pay attention in lecture or do the homework or go to section, you'll have an easy time. Worst case, lecture notes are posted online. He's a decently entertaining lecturer who does a decent job.

Note that homework is 45% of your grade, and you get 1-2 points of extra credit on each homework assignment (usually out of ~16 points). So in essence you can get guaranteed 100% on your homework, and if you need any help just go to office hours (I only had to go once). The paper is a breeze.

The final was 100 questions and it wasn't really that hard.

My tips are actually go to lecture, go to discussion, and do the homework. I spent a lot of time helping other students so I understood the material pretty well, so it was pretty easy for me. Your mileage may vary.

I skipped lecture often in this class because he put notes up online and lectures seemed pointless and he would ramble about irrelevant stuff. Homework is 45% of the grade, they aren't much work but it's often frustrating to figure them out because Sportiche just doesn't teach well. In the end it's a pretty easy class, no midterm, only paper, hw, and open book final, I got an A-. I didn't learn much though and it was painful sitting through his lecture.

This class wasn't my favorite class, but it was very manageable. Professor Sportiche is passionate about the study of linguistics, and he tries to make the class enjoyable and easy to understand. Here is the breakdown of the class:
45% Homework
45% Final
10% Essay
* No midterm *

This being said, it's important to get all the points you can on the homework to boost your grade. The homework does get hard by Week 4, but you can always work with friends or go to office hours for help. I took advantage of my TA's office hours when I was confused on the homework. The essay wasn't difficult either; you can finish it in at most 3 hours (probably less). Although the final is open notes, you still need to know the material to do well on the test. Remember to print and review the lecture notes Professor Sportiche uploads on the CCLE page and the homework assignments, and you will do fine!

Overall, this class was pretty easy, and I would recommend it to any UCLA students who are searching for a manageable GE class. Just put in the effort, and you will receive an A! Good luck :)

I love this class!
His lectures were very enjoyable (although a lot of people thought the class was boring). I have to admit I found the homework to be quite difficult, but if you go to office hours you should be fine.

No midterm. There was a paper (worth 20 points), but it was pretty easy. 4-5 pages only.

The final was 85 (I think) questions of multiple choice. I read through all the notes the day before (even though it is open notes you'll still be pretty screwed if you don't study beforehand) and got an A on the final.

I know a lot of people don't read the Pinker book but I find it pretty interesting (at least the first couple of chapters). There were several (not a lot) questions from the final that you can find the answers directly from the book.

Not the easiest GE but pretty rewarding!

Loved this class. Lectures are very concise and straightforward. Sportiche is a cute-looking middle aged man who throws in a quirky joke here and there. He very much embodies what it is to be a distinguished UCLA professor. Much respect for him.
That being said, make sure you read the weekly summaries that he posts on the course webpage. It's a gift sent from heaven.
Relatively easy GE. and my TA Yoo Kyung was great, so try to get her if possible!

I loved this professor! Took Ling 1 with him this past fall quarter. His lectures are the most concise and straightforward you can get. He presents the key points on the slides and really elaborates on them. Also he posts lecture summaries every week on CCLE to reiterate certain concepts. I would recommend going to lectures even though he does this though. Professor Sportiche is very passionate about linguistics, and although some reviews say it's a boring topic, I definitely thought he made the material very relevant to the average joe.
There are weekly homeworks which are graded strictly by the rubric, and a term paper, and a final.
There is no midterm just a final, which is open note and open book. To be honest, you still have to know your stuff because you could waste a lot of time trying to find certain page numbers for the concepts that you don't know. I would recommend taking this class!!!!

His class is 45% Homework, 45% Final (Open Note Open Book), and 10% Final Paper. There are 7 homework assignments worth 16 points and the lowest score is dropped.

I haven't taken the final yet or written the paper since I am still in the class, but it seems like it will be manageable. The material is not too tough but I don't find linguistics interesting at all.

Overall I would suggest the class, but don't expect the class to be super interesting