Be prepared to write when taking this class. Deuel is hilarious and engaging. I had an issue with my midterm and he offered to talk me through it and give me helpful advice that I've never gotten from any other professor. You can re-write any big essay at the end of the year, which was a lifesaver for me. However, Deuel isn't very transparent about what your final grade will be, as he gives around five markings for the entire quarter. Had a lot of fun, and would take it again.

Take Professor Deuel if you can! The class is interesting as you learn about LA history through stories and get to write your own mini-essays. Getting an A is super manageable as long as you do the work and put effort into your midterm and final papers. I also recommend participating in class so he gets to know you and sees your effort. There is a good amount of writing but none of it is super difficult since you have a lot of freedom to write how you'd like.

As long as you do your work, you will get an A. He grades off participation. The readings each week were relatively short, but they are hard to understand and were boring. Its important to do the reading he does give because the midterms and final were based on them. The workload is a lot but its all busy easy work. One 1-page essay, peer reviews, and around 10-30 pages of reading per week. Class is mandatory and 2 times a week but I honestly thought it was a fun class and looked forward to it because I was able to make friends(lots of participation). The professor is very understanding and he was the GOAT!

For the midterm/final, here are the readings and topics that I wrote about:
Midterm 1 - "Angel Baby Blues:" the hypocrisy of democracy and feelings of overall defeat
Midterm 2 - "Angel Baby Blues" and "Victim No. 79:" roots of racial injustice= violent patterns and institutional discrimination
Final - "The Pedestrian:" influences and impacts of technology and how it can dehumanize society
Obviously don't copy these, but this is an idea of something you can talk about in your writing. Take this class fr.

Great Professor! First quarter here, and I can tell he will be amongst my favorite professors at UCLA. He cares about his students, and he's very engaging. Workload is a lot at times. It consists of a one page mini-essay due every Thursday night (you can see the prompts on the syllabus to get started ahead of time), doing peer feedback on the essays, and reading text, as well as writing your thoughts on the text. 2 Midterm Papers, and 1 Final Paper. Despite the amount of work I've dedicated to this class, I can say it was well worth it. The writing that he asks of us is very open-ended, and it's up to your discretion. The midterm and final papers, are a tad bit more formal and structured. Overall, I enjoyed this class and would recommend it!!

If you need Writing 1 there is no better class to take than this one. Nathan Deuel is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. He is incredibly engaging, passionate, funny, caring, and knowledgeable. I can confidently say I became a better writer because of this class. He is an amazing writer who will bring out the best in you. The workload is heavier than your average Eng Comp 3 class and it is absolutely worth it. If you want to actually be interested in what you are learning and actually improve your ability: take this class. I recommend this course to all of my friends and I would most definitely take it again.

This is one of the most difficult versions of EngComp 3 (prof’s words, not mine) but it is also far and away the most rewarding! Deuel is smart, funny, and he TRULY cares about the class and his students.
All the “lectures” are actually either just discussions or workshops where he and the rest of the class provide feedback on a few of the previous week’s submissions that he picks to emphasize a certain point/skill. You will grow SO much as a writer in this class, both due to Deuel’s advice and because of the extensive amount of writing due each week. He relates it to “doing a bunch of pushups every week so that when you write your final paper you’re in the best writing shape of your life”.

TLDR: do not take this class for an easy writing course. it is not for the weak.
but if you want to become a better writer, there is no other class that will grow you in such a fun, engaging, “where did all the time go” kind of way.

To preface, I'm an engineering major, and had the option to take a modified version of the course (that's much easier). But I am so glad I didn't.
Deuel is not the easiest prof for this class, but I wish everyone could take him. I used to hate reading and writing; my perspective changed completely after this quarter. Every single person in my class took away a lot from it, and these are some of the reasons:
1) You will get a lot of feedback on your work. The environment in which we discuss each other's work is very positive and encourages you to share things you may normally not. I used to hate peer feedback, but I looked forward to it in this class.
2) You get pretty much complete freedom in writing. It might seem overwhelming at first, but you will get much better at writing about your thoughts by the end of the class. Deuel also doesn't care about strict essay structure or things like use of personal pronouns, which is very convenient. He encourages you to be honest in your writing, which lets you write about your genuine thoughts and makes your style less cliche.
3) You will become a better critical thinker. With every reading discussion, everyone brings their own perspectives. If it was a high school English class, this may not be that impactful. Though, like I said earlier, people are sharing their real opinions on issues that are actually relevant to you. I think I've had my worldview completely shift a couple times.
4) You develop a mini community. I have learned so much about the people in my class, and we all ended up sharing things that many others don't know about us. Even if you aren't best friends with everyone in the class, you all can really appreciate each other for being there throughout the process.
I could continue going on because I loved this class and am going to miss it. Overall, 10/10 would recommend Deuel if he's available for your English. He's a very accomplished and genuine guy that really does want the best for you.