i have mixed feelings about this class. i really enjoyed lectures and thought manville was very engaging but the lectures felt very disconnected from assignments. the writing assignments were graded harshly with little feedback. when i asked for clarification my ta's explanations made little sense and it made me feel discouraged to ask for further clarification. i understand why manville chooses to grade harshly so that we can learn and improve but its hard to learn when the ta's feedback is confusing. discussions felt useless, they occurred a couple hours after lecture and my ta basically spent the whole time reiterating points that the prof made in lecture earlier that day. the readings were interesting and imo very easy to skim so i wouldnt feel worried about the pop quizzes but once they occurred a lot of them felt like they were purposely worded to confuse even those who did do the readings. all this to say, lecture was genuinely very interesting and i think every student regardless of major should take a class like this because manville makes a lot of important points. i just wish grading was handled differently

i swear this man saw the bruinwalk reviews and decided to make it harder for fun. you get 4-5 pop quizzes on the readings randomly throughout the quarter at the beginning of class. you dont know when they will be, so you have to show up on time every class in case he does. he wont let you take it even if you show up late. although the quizzes were pretty easy if you just read, the readings were a lot.

writing assignments kicked my ass. no clarity on expectations for our first big assignment and they were graded SO harshly for no reason. we were not given a rubric beforehand so we didnt know what the expectations were for this paper. so many people did so poorly they offered a revise and regrade which was nice. they didnt give us feedback on our first paper before the second one so i couldnt make the appropriate changes on the second paper because i still didnt know what they were looking for. you would think they would be more understanding of this fact but no. maybe it was just my ta but it literally feels like im gambling on my grade in this class and the ta's just grade off vibes which is so frustrating. but this class was so stressful for no reason and it discouraged me from doubling in pub aff. if youre willing to put the work in then go for it--lectures were very interesting but the stress was just not worth it

THIS GUY IS EVIL. Let me preface I did well but waking up for pop quizzes at 9:30 am to go to a lecture that has absolutely NOTHING to do with your assignments feels terrible. You cannot leave or bring a phone in and if u leave he calls attendance and will be a bitch. There is no clarity to the assignment and it feels like you are airballing with the grades. TA’s grade on feeling and I literally emailed to get almost a 10% grade increase. This class feels like a whim and will stress u out unnecessarily. DO NOT RECOMMEND!!

I absolutely loved PA 70. Prof Manville is a great lecturer and just an overall great guy. For all of the graded assignments, you argue both sides of a certain controversial topic. This was really interesting because you get to choose a topic that actually interests you and that you feel passionate about which made it really easy. The lectures themselves are actually really interesting bc you learn about different persuasion techniques and how they have been used in past real life situations. You don't need to take notes bc you'll never be tested on the info, it's just interesting to sit and listen. Discussion is really chill, most of mine would get cancelled, and my TA basically just walked around and gave us help when we needed it or answered questions. This was my favorite pub aff lower div and I would HIGHLY recommend it!!!

100% recommend this class for any student--definitely my favorite class I've taken at UCLA so far. Manville is super helpful and teaches you skills like how to be persuasive, make effective arguments, avoid logical fallacies, and understand differing perspectives. The big assignment was picking a topic and arguing it as hard as we could from both sides through op-eds, then culminating in a policy memo where you picked a side. This project allowed me to explore a different position from a topic I feel strongly about.

I think my TA graded sort of harshly but I did well in the class overall. He doesn't give A+'s.

Lectures are not mandatory nor are they really helpful. It's all about the sections – that's where you will be asked to heavily participate. The discussions are really interesting and the workload is super minimal.

Prof. Manville was a great professor. He made the content very relevant and was very flexible throughout the online quarter.

Essays: The main component (85%) of the class was a series of essays on a public policy issue of your choice. Essentially, we had to present both sides of the argument in op-ed form and then tie both sides together in a final memo (made optional at the end of the quarter). He provided info on the assignments in a timely manner and the TAs took time to share resources and support peer review in sections.

Lectures: Lectures were asynchronous and helpful in explaining tips on how to persuade others and build a successful argument. Although none of the content was directly tested, it was helpful when writing the essays and definitely relevant in my own life. He also held some live sessions during class time to answer any questions or to have a discussion on current events.

Discussion Sections: The TAs were very nice and flexible throughout the quarter. 15% of your grade is based on participation which included attendance/speaking in section and written responses (i.e. top three takeaways) to podcasts or documentaries. Not bad at all.

Readings: He did assign two books and articles posted on CCLE, but there was no need to read them. Occasionally I would skim through the articles but none of the reading material was directly tested.

TLDR: Prof. Manville is a great professor and very attentive to his students! Take this class and you will learn skills that are highly relevant and useful.

This class is honestly really interesting and very relevant. The reading assignments often felt optional but they're still engaging to read nevertheless. There's no midterm or final but there's several writing assignments structured in a progressive manner (like you write one part of the research, then the other... etc). It's honestly a really good class and the Professor is also really approachable.

Of course this quarter being online made things more strange, but Manville made things relatively painless. He made the final optional, as well as prerecorded lectures. The lectures and the assignments were pretty disconnected but this class was not difficult at all.

(Remote Review) This class felt relevant and had a light workload. Professor Manville was approachable and made this class interesting. There were no tests, only a series of writing assignments that worked up to a big paper at the end. The writing assignments were straightforward, and TA's guided them and were usually helpful. Since there were no tests, lectures and readings felt optional, but I still found them interesting regardless.