TLDR: GREAT class from Sam, either as a GE or minor/major class; pretty easy A. He knows it's an intro class / lower div and starts at the most basic levels of understanding to keep everyone on the same page. The concepts you learn about are also pretty interesting (I hope you find at least one that sparks a little something). While lecture attendance is not required, I'd recommend going because he basically tells you what you need to know (and I'd rather listen to explanations than parse through a relatively denser text for the same understanding) based on his note outlines (i.e. the class readings). Simply reading and understanding the outlines might be enough, but going to class tells you the exact examples and sort of phrasing/explanation that he wants for the exams. Examples are often his primary way to explain concepts––he doesn't really care about particular names of theories, for example––because he wants students to pick up on the ideas behind some philosophy of language, even some that are super rudimentary. For example, if someone asks you where the nearest gas station is, you'd respond with something like "down the street" or "around the corner"; you obviously don't need to specify that it's open, it has certain kinds of gas available, the price, etc. because that's so much extra stuff that the person asking doesn't (necessarily) need you to tell them (this is called R Principle if you wanted to know). The examples Sam uses to explain concepts like this are what will help you discern what you need to know for the exams. Exams, btw, are super short if you're prepared (final/midterm could be 20 minutes if you wanted). Practice questions are available and helpful; I think studying by talking through concepts / examples with your friends actually works great. There's an individual project premised on researching a single word (or phrase), which is initiated by your own research methods (e.g. make your own survey, look at ngrams, interview your friends). While only worth 10%, I found I was more invested in this than anything else so I put a little extra time towards it. Lastly, if you can get Seungtaek Lee as your T.A., do it - he's really nice and helpful, especially for the project.