I took this class over the summer, and thank god it was open notes, but not open book. Suman is a harsh grader, points are subtracted for no apparent reason. He teaches from a biological/evolutionary perspective, and one of the books he uses (Gender Gap) has the nerve to speculate men are better at math and more creative than women. Bottom-line, men are geniuses, while women are merely muses whose job is to applaud the men???!!! Wow,they actually allow this B.S. to be preached in CS classes where 80% is female? Evolutionary psychology reinforces gender stereotypes, promotes homophobia, and justifies the status Quo. This is a pretty disgusting pill to have to swallow being a feminist myself. Be prepared to spit out every insignificant detail on the exams, because just like CS 10, it is all about memorization. One might expect that upper-division classes are designed to stimulate our critical thinking skills, but alas, regurgitation it is.

Suman is a great lecturer, he finds a way to explain weird concepts in an understandable manner. That being said he is (or rather, the TA is) a ridiculous grader. I’ve taken suman twice and both times he has these crazy curves. They will mark you off for the slightest thing, and then curve the test so a 40% is a B. You can genuinely know the answer to a question yet still not get it right bc the ta may not like the way it was worded. All in all I respect the guy, but would look at other options in order to make things easier for you in the long run/save your gpa.

Suman is honestly a great professor in that he knows what he's talking about and organizes everything you need to know pretty clearly. The things he writes on the board, examples, and the lists are key to the class. The grade is entirely dependent on your midterm, final, and an essay, so it feels like there is no room for errors. You have to study and study HARD todo good on the tests; consolidating your notes and lists into manageable pieces of information and quizzing yourself is really helpful and its best to start reviewing as soon as possible because there is sooooo much you need to know. The readings are not that bad, they are pretty interesting and its also best to start writing your midterm and final notes that you can use on the exam as soon as possible as well, because there is also a lot to read. Overall, there is a lot of information to study and take in, but the material itself is interesting and if you work hard you should be fine. For the essay, reviewing it with your TA is best, because they're the ones grading it. Discussion sections are not really necessary if you're on top of the readings, and if you're behind on the readings they won't be much help to you anyways. All in all, don't be scared of this class, but know that it is a lot of work but if you're interested in Comm it won't be so bad.

Selling textbooks for this class. Text me- **********

Professor Suman is a great lecturer and all around great teacher. The content of the class is very interesting. However, the structure of the class is TERRIBLE. *Unless you need this class for Comm Major etc. heed my warning, DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! Here's Why: To start, you will have 1 midterm, 1 paper and 1 final. That's it, there is no cushion room to mess up.
PROS: There are no other HW assignments and attendance is no mandatory, there are 20 pages of handwritten notes allowed for exams of readings.
CONS: You may NOT include ANY lecture notes in your 20 pages. Notes are turned in at the time of exam. Your paper will be handed back on the day of the final so you have no way of knowing where you stand until you step out of the class for the last time. The paper is very critically graded, all grammar, format, punctuation and content is crucial. Exam questions will include obscure things you thought were not important and didn't bother to study. Important things you spent hours studying will NOT even be there. The exams will be one sided papers and you will have maybe 5 cm width lines to write your response thats right 5 CENTIMETERS! *Talk about a Hand cramp!
Speaking of notes, If you should choose to take on this heavy challenge, I have detailed notes typed and ready to share if you need them Msg me at ********** Happy class searching!

Selling Losing The News+You Just Don't Understand+ Taking Sides at &25 altogether! Contact **********
I got As on both midterm and final, but they grade paper really really harsh. During office hour my TA said that my paper deserves at least an A, so I didn't pay much attention on details such as spelling and space. I ended up getting a B+, and if I had one thing to tell you guys, it is DETAILS!!! Imagine as if you're publishing a paper on a official magazine and you'll do fine. The exams are not hard as long as you remember everything. You don't have to memorize all his examples, but be sure to remember one for each concept that you feel confident to talk about. For the essay, just remember the main points and utilize it in your scenario. You don't have to include everything or reiterating the same things on the essay over and over again, but be sure to use the concept to your example! Definitely not an easy A but still doable.

I am selling the books for this class: /Losing the News/ -- $4; /You Just Do Not Understand/ by Tannen -- $4; /Taking Sides/ -- $20. If you buy all three books, the price is $25. The books are in good condition, but they are marked and underlined; I got them new, but I made notes and comments in some places as I was reading them. You will need to read all three books to succeed in this class. If interested, text me at **********.

SELLING TEXTBOOKS. TEXT ME AT ********** IF INTERESTED!
Taking Sides (USED) - SELLING AT $35 DOLLARS (offered for $50 used at UCLA store)
You Just Don't Understand (USED) - SELLING AT $8 (offered at $11.96 at UCLA store used)
Losing the News (USED) - SELLING AT $10 (offered used at UCLA store for $12.76)

ALSO SELLING NOTES FOR $15 - i'm a very thorough note taker and it'll help to have an extra set of notes to compare and ultimately get the best definition of terms.

OPEN TO NEGOTIATIONS. TEXT ME AT **********!!

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For anyone thinking about taking this class as a GE (meaning you're not in the major), it can be scary reading all these reviews screaming at you "DON'T TAKE THIS IS A GE". Sure, maybe the class has nothing to do with your major, but if you're taking it as a GE it will be completely fine don't freak out.

You will have to write down pretty much everything that comes out of his mouth but he lectures in a way that makes it so that you're not struggling to remember what he said .02 seconds ago. He takes pauses and repeats what he says often. Sure its tiresome just listening to him lecture (no slides sorry!) but the topics can be interesting and everything in the first 5 weeks is so organized so it will be easy to take notes.

His midterm and final are a different story. They are difficult but only because you pretty much have to remember definitions and examples word for word (so write down things the way he says them!!). Just study though! I recommend Quizlets online because essentially you're going to be studying words and their word for word definitions.

Start on your paper early ok!! He does grade harshly (but he does curve the grade, or at least he did with my lecture). At least know what you're going to write about before the deadline approaches (trust meeee!). Also, I recommend talking to your TA about your idea and also visit the writing center cause they help!

The research requirement isn't as daunting as it sounds, trust! Get it done early though. Start checking as soon as they give you a username and password for the sign-up website because toward the end of the quarter, the opportunities start going away. The research isn't even that hard you're just taking tests and surveys and stuff.

You're going to be okay. If your goal is an A+ then maybe this is not the class for you, but you'll pass if you take this class seriously. Study, read the articles he gives you with enough time!!! You'll be okay (:

Selling the 2 required books for this class very cheap. Email me for more info: *************

Selling the 2 required books for this class very cheap. Email me for more info: *************