While Professor Wartanian worked hard to be helpful with all our writing, it felt like I was taking my AP Literature class all over again. The lectures were not engaging, grading seemed very unclear at times, and there seemed to be no common themes between the readings and what we were doing. I stopped doing the reading tasks about two weeks into the class as I had already done my reading presentation early, and I only did this because I was relearning rhetoric and writing styles as I had learned in AP Lit. He grades all essays based on how he wants others to write and does not take into account other writing styles when the whole point of all the essays was to be creative with our approach and how we discussed topics.

Although unlike other ENGCOMP professors, Professor Wartanian has students turn in all final drafts of an essay during week 10 instead of a set day like other professors. Some people may find this beneficial, but during the last week when you can actually find the time to go over the essays, you have already completely forgotten what the prompt and readings for the first essay are. On top of that, since all the final drafts are the majority of grades, it is extremely hard to figure out your final grade as he does not give an official grade for your rough draft. Some people may like this style, but it seems as if my peers in other ENGCOMP classes found that with a due date after their final draft was due, they were able to effectively write their essays as it is a fresh topic and they are not already moving on the next essay of their three.

He’s a good professor. I am used to strict English professors who want you to go a certain way and have expectations of you. Professor Wartanian focuses on creativity of own and it really helped me be flexible with my writing. Strict professors helped me become a strict writer who also uses my creative side SOMETIMES but professor Wartanian always encouraged us to use our creative side in every writing piece even when the writing piece looks like it has to be written professionally.

Set aside his teaching, he gives you 3 writing projects that you have to do by the end of the quarter. First is like analysis, second is conversational analysis, third is research analysis. Three different topics but the approach is connected. Word count increases every project but I liked the idea that my grades depended on writing as it gave me time to recheck my writings throughout the quarter.

I don’t know why I received an A- and not an A or A+ but I would definitely take him again!

10/10 would take again. Professor Raffi made this class such an enjoyable experience as going in, I really resented writing. His class consists of 3 big essays and you work on them throughout the quarter. You start with a rhetorical analysis, then you write a conversational essay (something I have never done before but he explained it so well) and then a research essay on something you are personally interested on. His classes were honestly extremely engaging and I felt like he cared a lot about us as students. He constantly meets with you to work on any essays and gives you plenty of time and tells you exactly what he wants for you to receive a good grade. You usually work on each essay for about 3 weeks, giving plenty of time and meet once for every essay for conferences where Professor Raffi gives you his exact thoughts on your progress on your essays as well as peer reviews from fellow classmates. Trust me, I did not like writing before but Professor Raffi allowed me to explore this subject and have me excited to write essays for the class.

Overall, this is a very good and easy class. Raffi is very nice and welcoming to students. The workload is very light. There are only 3 essays the entire quarter, with some short and easy assignments graded on completion. 40% of the grade is basically completion points, with the other 60% being the essays. He assigns a ton of reading, but they are all pointless and I never did a single one and did just fine (basically don't do the reading). He assigns rough drafts for each essay to be due throughout the quarter, however, none of the essays are actually due until the very last day of the quarter. Personally, I absolutely hate this for a few reasons. First and foremost, we had absolutely no idea what our grades were during the entire quarter and we had no idea what he expected from us. He gives feedback on the rough drafts, but he gives them in ranges. For example, he said that my second rough draft was anywhere from a C- to an A, which makes no sense. Also, it makes it super easy to procrastinate a lot of work for the end of the quarter. I basically wrote all three of my essays during the last week of school and didn't do anything the entire quarter. It worked out for me personally, but I wouldn't ever recommend anyone does it because it was not a fun last week! Also, I haven't mentioned this yet, but he's one of the most liberal teachers I've ever had and his classes are insanely boring because he just talks the entire hour and a half. Just bring other work or zone out and it's fine. No need to really participate. Oh also the essay prompts are the most confusing and unclear and vague things in the entire world, writing the essays was really painful. Just write some super vague and liberal stuff and you'll probably get a good grade

However, I definitely recommend Raffi to anyone taking this class. His class is super easy, the weekly work is basically nonexistent and I got an A- by doing nothing the entire quarter besides the last week. He's also a really nice and genuine guy and he cares quite a bit about students and his job. I wish I was able to know my grade better, and I'll literally never know why I got an A- (vs an A or C-), but I'll take it. I wish he structured his essays normally, gave regular feedback, and had more interesting lectures, but otherwise, this class is amazing and I would totally recommend it to anyone looking for an easy and chill class.

i took professor raffi's class during fall 2023 as a freshman and i really enjoyed his class ! he makes you do 3 essays and they get continuously larger in length as the quarter progresses. the good thing is that they are not due until the end of the quarter when you submit all three of them as a final portfolio, so you are able to revise them throughout the quarter ! he is a very respectful and considerate professor, I cannot emphasize enough how mindful and helpful he is of his students ! he placed lots of emphasis on how writing is never "perfect" and how English is a very diverse, unique language which was very nice to hear as my first language was Spanish, not English. overall, I would say to take his class if you have the chance to !

YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO TAKE THIS CLASS!!! Mr.Wartanian was one of the best professors I have ever taken at UCLA and has forever changed and shaped how I view writing. I left this class with a brand new mindset regarding how to view draftings and motives behind academic, analytical, research, and creative writing. It is a very manageable course with an amazing structure of only 3 essays throughout the whole quarter with smaller worksheets that subconsciously show you how to become a stronger and more versatile and open minded reader and writer. Seriously, this class has profoundly impacted my writing and thinking processes inside and out the classroom and I would take it 100x again if I could!