I found ling1 a very interesting class. Human language is a very interesting concept, and if you have the slightest bit of interest in language learning or linguistics, I highly recommend taking this class. If you already know you despise linguistics, you may want to not take this class.
I found Giuseppina's lectures interesting, but honestly For Ling1, the professor you have doesn't matter. Even though it's required to attend Zoom lectures live, (or to watch the lectures and take a quiz), none of the content discussed in the lectures is tested. Instead, material from prerecorded lectures by Harold and a few by Russel (R.i.p.) cover the course material. Harold gives very in depth coverage of the material, and pretty much verbatim of the textbook. Even though the lectures are long, I suggest watching them and paying attention. Russel covers the last two weeks, but his lectures are less in depth so you may want to read the textbook.
It's also required to attend a discussion section each week, but due to the distance learning, you were able to attend whichever you desire. Material in the discussion sections will be tested, so it's good to pay attention(Phillip Barnett covers the material well).
The analysis papers are relatively simply and easy to write. Just hit all the points on the rubric and you should be able to get an A. Though I have heard certain T.A's grade harder. Gabriel Teixeira graded my papers, and I think he's a pretty easy grader (my papers kind of sucked but I still got 100%).

I think the hardest part about this class is getting into it in the first place. This will be the easiest class you can get for the Linguistic analysis GE, and it is very well run. I took it when it was completely asynchronous, watching online pre-recorded lectures, but in person wouldn't be much different because most of the grade is made up of the 2 analysis papers, the mid-term and the final. And, having the midterm or final online doesn't really change a whole lot, you can't cheat your way to an A because of what this class really tests on. Furthermore, she gave us the phonetic and IPA charts for the final exam which was all you really need, plus it means you don't have to memorize the symbols. I definitely put off doing work in this class because it was asynchronous, and I think it is better taught in person. That being said, 25% of the grade is based off 6 homework assignments, all of which are on a quizlet somewhere. The 2 analysis papers, each worth 15% of the final grade, are very strait forward. They don't grade that hard, depending on your TA. The 2nd one does require some more thought, but she gives you example papers which helps a lot. For the first paper, I originally got an 84 but felt my TA graded to harsh, talked to him, and he changed it to a 98 (shoutout Zia I love you, you are a god). She is VERY understanding (won't move test dates but reach out to her for anything) and HAs make themselves available especially for clarifying sections of the essays which can be confusing. Also, you can get up to 3 EC points by being a test subject for the UCLA psychology pool and taking the Respondus test early. If you have a good enrollment time and need to fulfill this Ge USE IT.

I loved the content of this class super fun and easy, and great if you need to fufill a GE or pre-req.

Take this class with Silvestri and bonus points if your TA is Hannah! They are both such wonderful Linguistics professors and I'm glad to have taken Morphology with these instructors :D. The class have 2 quizzes through canvas (not timed) and you have a whole week to do so. The main assignment in this class is a giant research project that's separated into 3 sections: Prospectus, mid development, and the final paper. Don't worry, these can seem like a lot of work and it is. But just put a decent amount of time and effort onto the paper and you'll do great.
Also don't be shy to ask the professor or the TA for help. They will be gladly to help you and Silvestri is just a wonderful professor! Many linguistics student will say so!

Anyways have fun in this class and don't give up!

Overall - this is an easier class to achieve an A. The papers were time consuming however there isn't much work other than that. Exams were conceptual and followed from lectures - I struggled a bit with the IPA/phonetics unit with translating audio to IPA and vice versa, but practicing problems in discussion and lecture helped a lot for this.

This class was extremely easy and was completely asynchronous. The analysis papers were a little annoying, but I think my TA just graded harsher than everyone else. Overall, this class is a really easy GE.

the class wasn't too bad, the final had difficult questions but u could prolly get away w forgetting abt this class all quarter and studying two weeks before the final/midterm. the homeworks r alr and the extra credit opportunities r nice. it kinda j depends on ur ta and how they grade ur essays cuz some r chill but ik some ppl got strict tas and their grades tanked cuz of their essay grades.

the class wasn't too bad, the final had difficult questions but u could prolly get away w forgetting abt this class all quarter and studying two weeks before the final/midterm. the homeworks r alr and the extra credit opportunities r nice. it kinda j depends on ur ta and how they grade ur essays cuz some r chill but ik some ppl got strict tas and their grades tanked cuz of their essay grades.

Everyone wants to take Ling 1 because it's a pre-req for a lot of majors and counts as a science GE, so humanities majors are all over it. In terms of Silvestri herself, I couldn't tell you if she's good or not because I never interacted with her. She uses pre-recorded lectures of Professor Torrence, and her TAs lead the discussion and grade the papers. The midterm and final are online with a lockdown browser and webcam. I understand that this is a huge lecture course (500), but I wish there was a bit more flexibility, especially considering Silvestri is not super engaged with the content. For example, I had a near 100% in the class, but I got a really bad grade on the first analysis paper. Totally understand that this is entirely my fault, but when I went to the TA and asked if I could even get 5 points back, she said Silvestri would never allow it, and she discouraged me from even asking. There are lots of extra credit opportunities, and I'm not trying to avoid taking accountability, but I wish that if there was no involvement from the professor, she would be more accommodating to students who are trying to go above and beyond. I fear this is probably a departmental concern rather than a personal one. Regardless, this is one of the better professors to take this class, and I'm glad I took it.

PROS
-Straightforward
-Online

CONS
-Lots of busywork
-Not that interesting

I think this class was good. I expected to have my socks blown off, but hard to do that asynchronously. At the end of the day, I learned some interesting language facts and got to know the Ling field in a way I had no knowledge of previously. I just wish they weren't so repetitive in lectures, because there was a lot of fluff and repetition that made it difficult to sit through all the material. Elisa Migliaretti was a great TA, make sure you can attend her section. I would be still struggling with IPA had it not been for her.