Don't take it...

I loved Professor Deuel. He truly cares about his students and is very intentional in making sure that everyone feels heard and that their work is being respected. A real strength is that I feel like I gained a lot of experience in writing, especially creatively and exploring writing in a way other than the very structural essay-writing formula that was taught in high school. Professor Deuel is super funny and charismatic, and I appreciated how considerate he is of his students. He is pretty easy on grading because he wants to see his students write freely and not feel the burden of writing only what we think the teacher would like to see to get the best grade. One thing I would warn is that there is a lot of writing: we have a weekly reading journal (all the readings are fairly short), a one-page mini-essay, and feedback for other students' mini essays. It's not necessarily difficult, but it could add up to be a bit of writing at times. But Professor Deuel is super understanding and if you explain to him your circumstances he would likely not deduct late credit. Overall, I loved Professor Deuel and highly recommend his class!

Cannot recommend this class enough. Professor Deuel really wants to make you like writing (and he succeeds, IMO), so you get so much creative freedom in assignments, from weekly mini-essays to midterm essays (3 and 5 pages, respectively) and a final paper (10-12 pages). The workload can be a bit much, but he's very transparent about that from the jump. Class sizes are small, so the professor really makes an effort to get to know you as a person and a writer, and he's very funny and kind. If you need to fulfill your Writing 1 requirement, this is the way to go.

Take this class! I am a person that used to hate English in high school, but Professor Deuel made me love coming to class and writing essays. Each essay was unique, fun to write, and manageable. This class is easy if you go to class and complete the work on time.

Every week, you have to read a few short stories (some may be short, others long, but most are interesting), write a mini-essay on a fun topic, and give peer feedback of 4-6 selected mini essays. In class we discuss the readings and feedbacks. This accounts for 30% of the grade.

Midterms (30%):
1) 3 page - analysis of any 1 piece from the book
2) 5 page - article and 1 piece from the book - establish connections (support/contradict/verify)

Final (40%):
10-12 page essay which you can write anything you want as long as it includes something valuable from the readings.

You can repeat the readings you use for all the midterms and finals (I used the same for both midterms, but a different one for my final).

You are also allowed to revise your midterms if you get a bad grade. Professor Deuel is extremely helpful, funny, and kind. I loved this class!

TAKE HIM! This is the only professor at UCLA that will actually care for you and your grade. His weekly readings are very short and interesting. The class consisted of weekly readings which were short and a one page journal writing about it. We had one mini essay a week about fun topics, for example "Judge Someone", you can literally write about anything, he is not like those annoying professors that make you write with a tedious rubric. Once everyone submitted their mini essay you would write a one page feedback (very easy). Final and midterms, you were free to use the readings he gave to you which were VERY easy to talk about. During his class, we mostly interacted with one another, I thought I would hate it at first but then I really liked it. Very fun and engaging professor! He honestly, truly cares about his students and always happy to help you! Lastly, he responds to his email very quickly! DON'T THINK TWICE, TAKE HIMMM!

Professor Deuel is the best writing professor I have ever met. He shows total respect for his students and is always willing to hear our voices. His teaching methods create an environment where we feel valued and encouraged to express ourselves.

One of the most remarkable aspects of his class is the weekly one-page mini essay assignment. This task allows us to write about whatever we want, often incorporating our personal experiences based on the given prompt. This freedom not only makes the assignments enjoyable but also helps us develop our writing skills in a meaningful way.

For both the midterm and final exams, Professor Deuel clearly specifies what he expects to see in our essays. Despite providing detailed guidelines, he also gives us ample freedom to explore our ideas and express ourselves creatively. This balance between structure and freedom is rare and highly appreciated.

In contrast to my previous experience taking this course in Fall 2023, where the professor's expectations were unclear and half of the class received a grade of C, Professor Deuel’s clear communication and supportive approach have made a significant difference. I ended up dropping the fall class due to the lack of guidance, but this summer, under Professor Deuel's instruction, I feel confident and inspired.

Overall, Professor Deuel’s approach to teaching writing has been the most effective and respectful I have encountered, even compared to instructors in my first language. His dedication to student success and his innovative teaching methods make him an outstanding educator.

Thank you, Professor Deuel, for making Writing 1 such a positive and enriching experience.

This is the best class I have taken at UCLA! EVER! Light-years ahead of any other class.
I don't care if you're really busy. You will make the time. Do yourself a favor. It does take a good amount of time, but for the first time in my life, it's the only class where I actually wanted to do the assignments and looked forward to going to class every week. If you're pre-med, which I assume a lot of you reading this are, you've probably been brainwashed by UCLA pre-med culture to only want to take classes that will take the least time and give you an A. I'm usually like that. But that's not what college should be about! I could've gotten an F in this class and had to enroll in another quarter before graduating and I would still think that taking this class was the best decision of my undergraduate experience. (But don't worry I promise you will do just fine in the class and handle the work.) It's not only made a huge impact on my time at UCLA, but has changed the way I think about life, my interests, and possibly my career choices. I feel that what I learned in this class will be more valuable to me than any other med pre-req in helping me to become a better healthcare provider (or if not, person in general).

Nathan Deuel was the BEST professor/instructor I've had in my 4 years at UCLA. You will learn from him how to be a better writer, reader, and thinker. Other than being a terrific teacher, and super cool and interesting, he is the best because he truly cares about his students. He takes the time to really understand us as people so he can help us with our personal narratives. He even tried to help me figure out what to do with my life when he could tell I was very unsure about my career goals. Most other teachers I've had so far don't even know my name! He is in every student's corner, and is always willing to help read anything (like med school apps) even after the course is over. He is simply the best out there!

The community you build with your classmates is also amazing. I loved that I got to know them all so well over the course of the quarter because you don't get that often at UCLA. And you don't realize how much you can learn from your peers!

P.S. I'm convinced whoever wrote that comment "don't take it..." didn't take this class. Or wanted someone to drop so they could get off the waitlist. Don't listen to them.

Don't take this class if you want to autopilot through. Do take this class if you want to develop your voice as an effective writer. We did so much writing in this class, which I found effective in testing out new styles and structures to writing. Class never felt like class since I was engaged in discussion. I really liked peer reviewing each other's work each week since I got to learn what works and what doesn't work. This class made me reflect on who I am, which I never really had a chance to do in any class prior and I think I am a little wiser.

This is an exceptional class! If you have time in your course plan I would highly recommend one of Deuel's classes. Or just make time. It'll be very worth it! Your writing improves exponentially, not just from the sheer amount of personal writing that you do each week, but from workshopping other students' essays and published essays, you'll really hone your taste and learn techniques that you want to try yourself. The workload is worth it, and if you remotely like reading and writing you're probably find it pretty fun. The class becomes tight-knit as you read each other's pieces; it's a great opportunity to build community and make class friends! I definitely consider Deuel's classes to be the most impactful of everything I've taken at UCLA.

Fav class at UCLA :) Before this class, I kind of hated writing and especially hated writing about myself. But in some strange magical way, this class made me slowly grow more comfortable with my writing. It was probably because we had to crank out a whole essay per week on top of all the readings and reading journals. So yea the workload is pretty tough, but it's worth it if you want to improve yourself. Professor Deuel is extremely helpful, inspiring, and friendly, and you can tell that he really wants to help you grow! Also, he's really funny, so that's a plus lol, I laugh so much in class. The assignments are the same every week: one mini essay, written feedback for a few essays from your peers, 2-3 readings, and a reading journal. We also had 2 midterm essays and 1 final. I learned a lot of general writing tips but also found my own style along the way. I also loved receiving feedback from my peers, they were super super helpful. Def take this class!