TL;DR: The content of this class is genuinely interesting but the grading was VERY tough. If you don't do the readings/book guides, you will not do well. Take all notes as word-for-word as possible!!

Professor Suman is old-school; you are not allowed an electronic device to take notes (without an accommodation from the CAE), he does not use slides, and no BruinCast. He writes down all the concepts we 100% need to know on the blackboard and in PDF lecture guides, which is definitely helpful.

There are two open-note exams, the midterm and the final (final is not cumulative, just longer). Both are a series of short answer questions from lecture and required readings, along with 1-2 essays on film screenings we have to watch on our own (the topic and film choice are a surprise...). He provides book guides for the readings which you 1000% should complete. What you can (and should) bring to exams:
- Printed out book guides with handwritten answers
- Handwritten class notes (I 100% recommend rewriting your notes to (1) study and (2) make them as easy to flip through as possible)
- Printed lecture guides (use them to organize your notes)

There's also one essay due Week 7 about applying theories learned in class to a piece of media. That on its own wouldn't be so bad, but because of how the class is structured, the ONLY grade you know before going into the final is your midterm grade. Our TA was an "incredibly meticulous" grader... like absolutely brutal. The one potentially saving grace is Suman determines the grading scale based on how students do on the midterm (my B became an A- with our scale), similar to how he does in COMM 10.

I did enjoy what I learned in class, but very few get an A even with the grading scale change. Lots of people dropped halfway through the quarter. DO NOT TAKE THIS WITHOUT COMPLETING COMM 10 FIRST. If you struggled in COMM 10, you'll experience at least the same thing.

Random side notes; If you miss class, your only option is getting notes from someone else. One of my classmates had to fight tooth and nail to turn in her essay electronically because she got COVID and he wanted her to turn it in in person. Best of luck y'all 😭

I loved the content of this class. I actually really like Suman, and I found the lectures to be incredibly engaging. Although it was tough, I kind of appreciated the no technology rule because it eliminated distractions and I retained more information handwriting my notes.
The midterm and final are definitely difficult, but they are somewhat fair. Everything that is asked is something that was taught in lectures or is in the readings, so memorize absolutely everything you can. It is just hard because we learn so so much information. If you can, memorize every single list that he gives you in lecture. Those made up a lot of exam questions. But honestly, if something is listed on the lecture guides at all, you should try to know it. Take advantage of the 20 pages of reading notes you are allowed to have, start early, and make them as organized as possible. Having in-depth, organized notes felt like free points on the short answer questions because I basically had the answers right there. Before the midterm, really try to get a very in-depth feel for what your TA is expecting on the essay portion. Knowing exactly what they were looking for really boosted my score for the final. Also, manage your time wisely on the exams. It's a lot to get done in a relatively short time.
My biggest issue with the class was TA Joy Heller. She was extremely rude, unhelpful, and condescending throughout the course. I often refrained from asking her questions and even attending discussion at times because of how awful she was to us. She was so unprepared, usually only bringing her cellphone, and she would just ask questions without really contributing to the conversation herself. Oftentimes, it appeared that she was extremely unfamiliar with the content, and we usually had to guide the discussion ourselves or we would just sit in silence. Other TAs had detailed slides that seemed very beneficial for their students, while I ultimately gained nothing from attending discussion. I saw another comment that said she graded easy, but that was not my experience or the experience of a lot of people I talked to. In fact, a few of her other students and I had to get regrades by different TAs because of her simply unreasonable grading. If you can, avoid her at all costs.
Overall, people are not lying when they say COMM 10 is hard. However, it is not impossible. It requires a lot of dedication and effort, and that sometimes does not even feel worth it. Just really keep trying, and give it your all. Good luck!

Don't be scared of Suman. This class is much easier than COMM 10. The content is insanely interesting and applicable to everyday life.

It has a similar structure to COMM 10: Midterm, Paper, Final - Although the distribution of the grade may differ slightly. The midterm and final are much easier because Suman gives you a list of like 100 short answer questions about the books (which are great books btw) that you can answer before and bring into the exam. You will also know what the essays will be about so if you prepare well (and write fast) you can get an A. That being said, everything is graded harshly. But if you take good notes and prepare you will do well.

first things first, shoutout TA joy heller. her discussions were discussions, no slides unlike other sections, which sucked. but she didn’t grade as harshly as the others
secondly, the class was probably the hardest class i’ve ever taken. read the readings (like, dissect them) and literally write down EVERYTHING he says. and start your 20 open notes EARLY. i made the awful mistake of writing mine the night before and i stayed up until 4 and didn’t even finish them for the midterm. i worked really hard up until the essay worth 40% of your grade and then i just kinda slacked off. but i still managed with an A- because i still read mostly everything and my notes were p good. don’t read that damn jones book LMFAO he literally tells u what to focus on in the final/midterm guide soo just do that
for the essays on the test connect ur answer to the scenario he gives!

Don't take this class. It seems like a good idea at first because it's no work and just a midterm, paper, and final. They grade everything hard and nothing is really explained. I could've avoided a C and taken a different class.

IF YOU DO NOT NEED THIS CLASS DO NOT TAKE IT. This completely wrecked my GPA. I usually am a straight A (couple Bs) students and I tried so hard in this class but received such a bad grade. Unfortunately, this class is so subjective as the essay is graded by the TAs and even if your essay is well-written, it does not matter. You still receive a horrible grade, unless you go to OH I heard. But I do not have the time of day to kiss up. All in all, if you majoring in COMM, you have to take this class - make sure you take some easy GEs to balance out your GPA. Seriously, do yourself a favor and just complete all of the readings asap.

The material covered in this class is a great introduction to Communications, even for people who don't necessarily intend to enter the major itself. It has a lot of real-world application. Tests, however, are challenging. For the first midterm, which covers intrapersonal, interpersonal, and small group communication, you should memorize all "lists" provided via the lectures and be prepared with some strong examples of each term. The same will be true for the paper that you have to write. The prompts are pretty broad, so you'll want to pick a manageable thesis, include some class topics, and select a few supporting examples that you understand well and which fit the paper. You will earn no extra points with making stuff up or writing more than necessary. As for Professor Suman, he is entertaining and sometimes long-winded, but with the intent of making sure that students remember the material. He is very good at responding promptly to emails and his TAs are similarly helpful. If you have a question, don't understand an instruction, or want some help with the class, you should not hesitate to ask. In short, don't underestimate the difficulty of this class, work accordingly, and you'll be fine.

This was an extremely difficult GE class. So if you do not need to take this class then do NOT take it. Every lecture consisted of contant notetaking for 2 straight hours (bring a laptop to type up the notes fast!). Though this course is mostly about memorizing all the definitions and details from the notes, it also depends on your writing skills (to be able to "persuage" the TAs that you know the material when you write your essays on the midterm/final. DO NOT MISS ANY LECTURES. Reading is very dense the latter half of the quarter, but just get the general idea and you will be fine. Go to every lecture, get general idea of the reading, and memorize all the details and you should be fine. Goodluck!

I thoroughly enjoyed this class. BUT- it is extremely difficult. If you are not thinking about majoring in communications, i wouldn't advise you to take this class, especially if you're just taking it to get rid of a GE. I worked really hard in this class. You have to go to lecture, because most of the final and midterm consists of lecture material. Take notes on your laptop, because otherwise you will get hand cramps. The material involves a bunch of memorization and on the exams you have to be very precise in your language when trying to explain a definition or concept. There is a paper, but i wouldn't do it at the last minute because if you don't do well on the midterm, you have a chance to improve your grade with the paper and the topics for the paper are pretty interesting. Get to know your TA because they will tell you exactly what they want out of you on the tests. Basically, if you want to do well in this class, you have to invest a lot of time. There are two books you have to read. The first one is interesting and an easy read. The second one is really hard to understand and very dense. He takes a lot of questions from the second book for the final and they're very detailed. It's a fun class though, and Professor Suman is a really cool guy and a good lecturer.

This is definitely a weeder class for the Comm major. I'm a Comm major so I had to take this class and it was quite a lot of work. The information and class itself is pretty interesting and Suman is a great guy, but I don't recommend taking this class if you're looking for an easy GE.
Getting a B requires some effort and getting an A is very difficult.