It's very obvious that Professor Rubinson really wants his students to succeed and improve on their writing. He gives students helpful feedback and notes on our writing so that we can improve as well. He gave us assignments where we could really have creative freedom with what we wrote about so that made things easier to be honest. The assignments (other than the final essay) didn't take too much time and were fairly easy. I thought the workload was fairly easy and doable other than the textbook readings. He expected us to spend 4+ hours reading every single day as if we don't have any other classes or a job. I guess that's expected from an English professor though and I got away with skimming most of it and just reading the essays anyways. My main complaint with Greg though was that what he taught was deeply influenced by his political views. I was too scared to write anything I thought he might disagree with or anything that might go against his political views for fear of a bad grade. Especially going to class after the 2024 election... it was an interesting experience. I have the same political views as him but I felt he excessively trashed the opposing party and it honestly made me uncomfortable at times. Overall, if you don't care about listening to him rant about politics this class was decently easy to take and I would recommend to those who wouldn't mind and just need their writing 1 requirement out of the way.

I learned so much from this class. I came from a high-school that highly valued "standard" analytical writing with no contractions or first person, but Greg allowed us a bit more creative freedom. I really learned how to write concisely and argumentatively. He is a great teacher, going deep into rhetoric and grammar as well as general writing concepts. I feel like he doesn't care so much about punishing you via bad grades as much as he truly values students' improvement. He is very engaging and wants to help you. Take this class if you want to improve your writing and want an involved teacher who is genuinely there to support you. 10/10, would take this class again.

I loved Greg. He was super nice and really wanted each of his students to succeed. He met with me every time I had a paper due and gave me great advice.

I am not a great writer to begin with, but I honestly felt like I made some improvement with his guidance. He truly prefers essays to be concise and straight-forward while also keeping your thesis consistent. I was really glad to have ended up in such an interesting class, while other English comp 3 classes focused on books we focused on actual issues such as police brutality, feminism, the presidential election, the BLM movement, and so on. It's a class for the open-minded. He doesn't want to fail you, and if he does you did not try hard enough or use the resources that are offered. It's only 2 papers for one quarter, definitely fair. Wonderful teacher with cool socks, also he goes by Greg if you haven't noticed and he has lived a pretty interesting life which he'll explain as the quarter goes on.

Class isn't too hard to be honest. Focuses on political satire and comedy, which is an interesting topic. Greg constantly makes efforts to engage the class. There are no readings really involved, just analysis of videos. Two papers that determine your grade. Greg will have a one-on-one meeting with you for each paper to give you feedback before you actually turn in your final grade, which is nice.

He's not too harsh of a grader. He wants simplistic writing that is concise and precise. Not really much homework. As long as you put in the time to write the two papers, you're good.

Forgot about writing fancy and "smart". He was simple and he wants straight forward. Not the easiest grader so don't just slack off. Not afraid to tell you the truth, but does not always give you the best feedback. Hard to get good opinions out of him. HOWEVER, is class is fun. Who wouldn't take a class based on comedy? Topics are fun, classes are sometimes useless, but mandatory. Overall B+

Sometimes his comments to write better is vague..like what he wants out of you from writing. Writing is difficult overall and I don't think that he is a bad professor. He tries engaging with the class.
He wants clear writing the most and for me, that is difficult to achieve. However, as long as you try your best, you will get a decent grade :)

So I was an engineer taking English Comp 3 in my first quarter at UCLA. To be honest, the thought of taking an English course at university frightened me, as English was never my strongest subject. Fortunately however, it turned out to be my favorite class during my first quarter, and that can solely be attributed to Greg Rubinson. The theme of his course was ‘comedy and satire’, and our goal was to analyze how writers of works such as The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, The Simpsons and South Park used comedy to convey their message. This was a very interesting topic which Greg taught really well. He would be very clear in getting his point across but would also consider other students’ points of view during the in-class discussions. Greg also taught us how to write with more clarity, a very important skill for effective writing. I, like most of my other classmates, was surprised to see how much clutter I included in my essays. After scrutinizing them over and over again, I learned to get rid of the awkward parts and only then did I notice how much clearer and more effective my writing had become. Overall, I looked forward to going to the class, and I think that sums up what a great class this is.

For those of you solely interested in the A, he is a fair grader, neither lenient nor harsh. If you work hard in class and dedicate a solid number of hours for the papers, there’s no reason not to achieve a high grade. Regardless, I believe that the class experience supersedes the grade, and that’s why I highly recommend Greg Rubinson.

Bonus: Greg is a really funny and cool guy!

Greg is an overall fantastic professor. He creates a classroom environment that is welcoming and enjoyable. Discussions feel less like a typical class and more like a conversation between students and a sincerely interested professor. Greg is constantly making jokes and laughing in class, keeping the conversation enthusiastic and energetic. His comical personality fits perfectly for the material his class covers: The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, South Park, The Simpsons, Borat, and more. While keeping the class entertaining, Greg also challenges students to think analytically about the use of comedy in different media. Greg goes out of his way to meet with students, offering them all the help they need on assignments. Greg’s care for his students is his most remarkable trait. He seems deeply invested in the success of every one of his students.

I would recommend that any student seize the opportunity to be in one of Greg’s classes. He is a great teacher and a wonderful guy.

Greg is a very helpful and enthused teacher. He is very passionate about what he teaches and he makes the class enjoyable through fun and interesting discussions about satire. The class is based around satire, so we get to watch shows such as South Park, The Simpsons, The Daily Show, etc.

Not only does Greg make the class interesting and fun, but he also truly cares about helping improve his students' writing. He will show you specifically what to improve and how to improve, making his students better writers.

Character wise, Greg is funny and very approachable. He treats his students as more of peers rather than students and conversation is very casual.

Over all, Greg is a great guy and an amazing teacher.