Selling "Jerusalem: One City Three Faiths" by Karen Armstrong email me if you're interested! *************

I enjoyed this class a lot and it really helped me fulfill a number of requirements including writing II, a GE, and a lower division requirement for my planned entrepreneurship minor. The teacher was a really cool and nice guy who taught the class in a really engaging way. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the city of Jerusalem from a few different perspectives and in different ways. His tests were pretty fair (although if he has a section where he tells you to memorize dates he wants you to really memorize dates; he actually gave us the events and we had to write the exact numbers on the midterm). The homework was just one page, double spaced writing prompt about interesting topics once a week and I thought it was really easy. Also, those writing assignments were really cool because all of what you think and write about in them led up to what you could use for your actual papers in the class which also weren't too hefty compared to other writing II classes. Overall I'd highly recommend taking this class with professor Smoak.

This is probably my favorite class that I’ve taken at UCLA. The professor is very knowledgeable and is able to explain the topics thoroughly. Being that he lived in Jerusalem for a number of years, I would say that he is certainly an expert on the material. He gives you thorough study guides for the tests, and does not expect you to know anything that he did not mention in class. There are two writing assignments, but they are not bad at all. Being that I’m not a writer, I was very concerned going into a writing to class that it would be too much of a workload and that the essays would be too hard. This was certainly not the case. The professor was more than willing to help any students with questions, and was very helpful when discussing the essay in office hours. I would 100% recommend this class, as well as any other class taught by this professor.

I absolutely loved taking this class with Prof. Smoak. He was funny during lecture and the lectures were engaging. This is probably the best class I've taken at UCLA so far. It does help a little if you have some prior knowledge to Christianity or Judaism, which could probably be a problem for some people. Since it is a writing class your TA probably plays a big factor in whether or not you like/do well in the class. I had a great TA. The workload isn't heavy: a one page reading response every week, 2 papers, 1 midterm and 1 final. The midterm and final were pretty easy (the final was easier) and not worth much of the grade but mostly meant to help you get information about your paper. Paper #2 is a research paper and required a lot of effort, but it was still interesting.

This class has a pretty light workload. Each week there is a 1 page double spaced reading response that you turn in each discussion section for a grade. There are only 2 tests and the 2 essays that you have to write are both pretty easy. However, the TAs grade harshly and the writing portions of the tests are graded harshly as well. This isn’t an easy class to get an A in, but the workload is totally doable.

Selling the textbook “Jerusalem: One City Three Faiths” for $8. (It’s $10 if you want to rent it at Ackerman). Email me at ************* if you’re interested

It's an interesting topic to learn of. It is friendly towards people who are not familiar with Christianity and Judaism. It is a little less friendly for the most of us who are not familiar with the geography in the Middle East. While geography isn't tested on, Smoaks refers to land around Jerusalem during lecture in a way that implies we should know about the geography. His lectures are not boring and it's somewhat important to attend them. Your TA kinda decides if you're going to enjoy this class or not. I had a terrible TA, he graded our papers hard and was condescending in section. I strongly felt that if I had a different TA I would have stressed less about this class. There's 2 papers and weekly reading responses with the second paper about your research on a building in Jerusalem.

PLEASE save yourself and don't take this class. The TAs grade the essays so harshly, and lectures are painfully boring. There are two major essays, a midterm, a final, one/two weekly write-ups that are one/two pages based on the readings/bible verses. I understand writing 2 classes have a heavier course load, but this was just ridiculous. It helps if you are currently religious because half the class is basically Sunday school and you are memorizing bible verses, but if you atheist/agnostic etc. then I wouldn't recommend this course.

I have mixed feelings about this class. For one, I enjoyed the fact that I was able to learn about Jerusalem's history - especially its connection to the Bible and the way it is intertwined with the Christian faith. The class helped me see Jerusalem from the perspective of sacred space, an idea I had not considered before. Yet, this notion of sacred space was somewhat difficult to write about in the essays for this class. As a result, I found myself struggling to write the papers. My TA was good/helpful, but also a pretty challenging grader. Thus, I would only recommend this class if you're interested in learning about Jerusalem from a unique perspective and are willing to put in a lot of time to write the papers.

I took this class as a pre-med physiology major, and loved every bit of it! As far as writing 2 requirements go, this course is the way to do it. You only have to write two papers- one literary analysis, and one research paper. For each paper you do a draft and a revision. There's also an in class midterm and in class final, which are easy! The readings are light (20-30 pages twice a week), but discussion is VERY mandatory. It's an easy A for a writing 2 class if you GO TO LECTURE (he will literally tell you what's on the exams, and sometimes give extra credit for being in lecture), and meet with your TA about the papers. This class is especially easy if you already have a religious background, the people who struggled came into it with no knowledge. There are weekly reading responses which are one page double spaced, and super easy points. Overall, a great class.

I am a life sciences major that took this class expecting it to be pretty hard based on other reviews. The material does not require you to have a religious background, as it is mostly about the history and architecture of Jerusalem. I honestly found it to be an interesting GE/Writing II. Make sure to cater your papers to what your TA wants. In discussion, my TA was very clear in instructing us how to organize our papers. If you struggle with writing, definitely take advantage of their office hours. The papers are not the kind that you can write the night before--be smart about how much time you spend to not only write it but also gather your information. The second paper is LONG--a minimum of 7 pages. This is my fourth class that requires essays, but my first time since high school to make outlines to organize my thoughts. This definitely helped me get A's on the papers.

Discussions are mandatory due to the quizzes. They are based on the readings, so try your best to not fall behind. Lecture attendance is not mandatory, BUT he does not post the slides online, nor is the lecture Bruincasted. I highly recommend that you attend every lecture--you will end up using a lot of Smoak's information to write the papers and answer the short answer questions on the exams.

Since the midterm and final are worth 10% each of your overall grade, it really comes down to your TA and how harshly they grade your papers. I was in the A- to A range for the papers; I got a C on the midterm and an A+ on the take-home final due to the wildfires. I ended up with an A overall.