If you're looking for an easy GE this class might not be it simply because of the amount of writing you have to do. Although the material itself isn't hard, there's atleast one thing always due at the end of the week. There are weekly 1 page "activity journals" that you have to complete by Friday 11:59 pm, alongside any other assignments, and often you had to have watched the lectures in order to answer the prompt.

Some of the readings are short but most of them are pretty long, usually 20+ pages. I got by without really reading anything, besides skimming for quotes when I needed them for the paper/weekly activities. Watching the pre-recorded lectures and TA videos are required for participation, as well as having two zoom meetings with your TA. Alonside the weekly activity journals is a 3-4 page paper on Michael Mann's book on "Sources of Power" (due week 3), which is a topic you pretty much have to deal with the rest of the quarter. A general consensus the class had on Michael Mann's book is that he talks a lot but says nothing, where he goes on long tangents that aren't always entirely related to what the TAs are looking for. You will have to implement Michael Mann's IEMP model into your research paper/podcast.

There is a project that can either be done in paper or podcast form. There was very little guidance/detailed instructions on how to do the podcast, and because this class is online/asynchronous, it is hard to get help on it. Thus, I did the paper and I will only give details on that. The final research paper is due at the end of week 10/beginning of finals week depending on your TA. It has four parts to it. The first part is introduced around week 4 in which you have to start an annotated bibliography and begin forming your preliminary thesis/research argument. The annotated bibliography needs 4 primary and 4 secondary sources, each with a summary of what it is, who its written by, how is it useful for your research, etc. This portion was due week 6 at 11:59pm and is 5% of the total grade.

The second part of the final paper is your rough draft, which must be 10-12 pages in length, and must include a bibliography and a "figures sheet," which is pretty much where you put images of primary sources you used, considering many primary sources you will use consist of ancient relics like tombs, stone carvings, etc. This portion is 10% and due week 8 at 11:59pm. Week 8 is also the only week where there was no activity journal due.

The 3rd portion of the final paper is a peer review due week 9 at 11:59pm and is part of the participation grade. The 4th portion is the final/revised draft due around week 10 at 11:59pm and is worth 30%. A recording of you presenting your research is the final assignment, and is worth 5%.

I personally did not read or buy the professor's book. She also includes online access to other required readings, but her book is not one of them. Professor Cooney's lectures are engaging and she is a great presenter. However, there isn't much guidance on how to formulate your research psper, but it helps to base it on how she dissects each ancient society and what it means for a woman's access to power there. She has a total of two live events, and attending them in full gives one extra credit point for each event.

Overall grading breakdown:
Participation 20%
Reading Journal 20%
Assignment #1- Mann Synthesis 10%
Assignment #2- Research Paper (45% total)
• Part I- Thesis & Annotated Bibliography (5%)
• Part II- Rough Draft (10%)
• Part III- Peer Review (part of participation)
• Part IV- Final Draft (30%)
Assignment #3- Final Presentation/Podcast 5%

Depending on your TA, the grading can be strict or lenient. I had Aaron Samuels; although he can be a bit curt, I found him to be pretty chill and a lenient grader conpared to other TA's. Overall, the class material can be interesting but I wouldn't go out of my way to take it.

As someone who hates writing and history, I genuinely enjoyed this class a lot and it gave me a new perspective on subjects that I previously had negative feelings towards. Your experience/grade in this class is heavily influenced by your TA. I got lucky and had one of the best TAs that i've had in my three years at UCLA so far, but it really is luck of the draw for that aspect. This class can feel so rewarding to see the work that you produce at the end with the final paper, and I really recommend taking it if you need your writing II requirement done or are just interested in the subject.

Would 100% recommend taking this class for your writing II requirement. Workload is pretty manageable especially since the class is taught online, and the TAs are super accommodating and willing to go out of their way to help revise your papers before submitting. There's two papers throughout the whole quarter, and the rest of the work is weekly lectures + readings along with a one page reflection each week. The lectures are all prerecorded and were honestly pretty interesting, and although it says the readings are required they really aren't necessary to do any of the assignments.

Just don't get overwhelmed with the self paced structure and you'll be fine. Easy A, would take again.

At least for the 6 week summer sessions, the workload is very easy to manage. The class is very interesting and they make it relevant to today, beyond the ancient world, which was cool. Definitely recommend

This class is graded completely by a TA, and I was lucky enough to have someone that was an easy grader. At times, there can be a lot of writing in this class, but as long as you don't start assignments just a few hours before they're due, you should be good. The assignments were basically just a one page assignment due every week, and two major papers (one due earlier in the quarter and the other one is the final project). There is a lot of mandatory reading and watching videos, but you can just leave them running in the background since they're not really necessary to do the assignments.

Extremely accommodating Professor and TAs. They are extremely understanding and will do their absolute best to reply and help you - I've never been so impressed with a professor/TA before. Lectures are interesting and engaging, if you're interested in the subject matter watching lectures should be a breeze. Assignments are okay, probably pretty standard for a Writing II. Put in some effort and you'll be fine.

This is definitely one of the easiest classes you can take to fulfill the Writing II credit. This class is offered both asynchronous and in person. In the asynchronous version, the videos are pre-recorded and students are placed in a TA section. There are weekly reflections (1 page double spaced), a short synthesis paper, and a final paper. The weekly refections and short synthesis paper are essentially free points. The essay is very doable with the resources offered in the class. The course material too is pretty interesting. Overall, I would highly recommend this class. It's pretty much a guaranteed A as long as you do all the work.

Overall, this class is a great and straightforward Writing II + GE class to take. It was fully asynchronous for this quarter, with there being weekly lectures, readings, one page activity journals (basically writing reflections), and TA videos. It was interesting to look at the ancient world in a different perspective as well. There is only one full paper and the way planning elements of it are due make it not too stressful to complete.
Your grade is made up of the following:
Participation 20% : Watching all the videos, peer reviewing for final paper, two mandatory TA meetings
Activity Journals 20%
Mann Synthesis Assignment: basically a summary/reflection of this paper which you will constantly refer to 10%
Research Paper/Podcast 45%: You can either write a 10-12 page research paper or record a podcast for the final project. 5% Thesis/Annotated Bibliography, 10% Rough Draft, 30% Rough Draft
Final Presentation/Podcast Audio 5%: basically a verbal summary of research paper (5-7 min) or something else if you did podcast.

Pretty easy writing 2. I suck at writing but was able to scrape by with an A. Most of your grade relies on your research paper so if you’re good at doing research it isn’t that bad. I did mine on women in Ancient Hawaii because I thought Hawaii was interesting. Really recommend doing your paper on something interesting so it’s more bearable!

This is a much easier writing II class than a lot out there, I'd recommend taking especially if you're interested in the subject as a whole. Depending on your TA, this could be very easy, especially if you ask for feedback on your activity journals. Fs my favorite summer class, would take again :)