The class is basically 90% midterm and final and 10% a opinion piece. If you don't attend lecture its gonna be a hard class for you. Just go to lecture, listen to the big points he's making (since its a 3 hour long lecture), recording the lecture helps since he sometimes refers to a range of dates (given we covered the Pleistocene and holocene its a lot of time).

Remember big concepts and many times he'll say in lecture what's gonna be good to remember for the final. Extremely intelligent professor and a funny guy.

This is the best class I've taken at UCLA. Professor MacDonald gives an engaging lecture each class that feels more like a story rather than a class on the Holocene and humanity's interaction with the environment. If you have any interest in climate/environment and human history take this class. Make sure to take very detailed notes because his tests can be difficult if you're not paying close attention.

Prof. Macdonald is a great instructor. His Env. Change class was super interesting, and I really learned valuable info regarding the history of the natural processes our Earth went/goes through. His lectures are clear and he's a humorous and entertaining guy. That's not to say his class was "easy". The cool thing, though, is that his exams accurately reflect his lectures. If you take good notes and study them like crazy, you will do well on the exams. I did so and managed an A+. A tip for doing well: write down AS MUCH INFO as you can on each exam question, as he (his readers) grades for thoroughness. Definitely one of my favorite classes and professors that I've had at UCLA.

This is definitely not an easy class. But Professor Macdonald is honestly one of the best teachers I have ever had. The concepts would make no sense to me when I read the book, but when he explained them they became crystal clear and simple. So to do well in this class you really don't need to do the reading as long as you pay careful attention to everything he's saying (which is hard in a 3 hour class) and take really good notes. The tests weren't hard, but he expected detailed answers, so as long as you paid really good attention to his lectures you'll do fine. Definitely don't take this class if you aren't willing to study hard, but I recommend it because he is such an amazing lecturer and I learned more in this class than several other geography classes combined.