Tamar is the best! I love her! This class is 80% based on your three essays and 20% on participation. Our first essay was about a documentary, second essay about a Black Mirror episode, and third essay was a Grammar B style essay. Classes were always a discussion which made it fun to hear other's opinions, and also share mine, and also because they were interactive, it made time go faster, rather than just listening to one person talk the whole time. I learned a lot in this class, especially through that first essay. After watching a climate change documentary by Josh Fox, I started changing my diet, analyzing my waste more and overall asking myself how I could do my part. That documentary changed my life and has inspired me to be a better person for the environment and Mother Earth. I loved also how in this class we would write our essays through the quarter, but we had time until the end to revise them and make them better, so we could get our final grade at the end. This gave me more time to develop my essays and make it better. I also loved Tamar's energetic, bubbly personality because it made class fun! She is a great, knowledgeable, understanding, and funny woman and I promise you won't regret taking her class!

I took this class over the pandemic and online so my experience with Tamar might be a bit different. The workload for this class was not heavy unless you left assignments to the last minute. There were 2 discussion posts due every week before class, but they aren't graded(although try on them bc they help you in class). There are no midterms, but there is a "final". Throughout the quarter Tamar helps guide you through 3 papers that are written over the quarter and gives you personal feedback on each one and how to make it better. Only 2 are graded and the topics were not super hard.

Participation is enforced in this class and there are a lot of awkward zoom silence when no one wants to talk. Tamar talks a lot tho and usually fills up the time, but she definitely likes to boast about herself and her husband at times. The textbook is written by them specifically so a lot of the answers she gives is "it's in the textbook and look at chapter 4 again." The textbook was only $20 so it wasn't that bad and it luckily isn't as boring as other textbooks.

The overall class is solid and Tamar really cares about her students. You need to put in a decent amount of effort but nothing crazy. I figured early on that I was going to have to pass/fail this class because I was heading towards a B/B- which somewhat dictated the amount of effort I put in. However, if you do what she says and put in the correct amount of effort, you will see benefits to your writing. If you just want an easy A to get your Writing I requirement done then I suggest a different professor. Oh and try to write in favor of what she supports. Even though she says she is open to all perspectives, it will just make your life a lot easier to take her opinions on the various issues.

Overall it's a fairly good class. If you put in the effort and work on your essays throughout the quarter, you should be on track for an A (I didn't do that hence the B+). Tamar is nice, but spends most of her time going on and on about stuff that doesn't really matter. It's a bummer that participation matters so much otherwise I would've skipped most of the lectures. Just listen for what she wants in your paper, and most importantly GIVE YOUR OPINION AND FEELINGS. She's not looking for a overview of your topic, but solely your feelings about it.

My least favorite part about this class is that she introduced a completely new style of writing (that she and her husband created) that you are expected to grasp within the first week or so. You then write your paper based on it and then bounce it off of your classmates, NOT her. You upload your assignments and she'll read them ofc, but you don't receive any direct feedback from her, just your classmates. This is super annoying because your classmates are also new to the concept so everyone's just guessing and making suggestions on how to fix your paper without knowing how to.

My advice would be to not overthink in this class and worry about your grade. She tells everyone that they are in the C-D range and then hands out good grades (assuming ofc you put the effort in). Attend class, listen to the important parts and ignore the rest, work on your paper regularly and you should be good.

Quick note that she makes you add two or three sources to your paper AFTER you're done writing it. She said we were done with our first paper in Week 5 and then in Week 8 reveals that you have to add sources to your first paper (keep in mind this is when midterms are going on and you are busy working on your second paper which is extremely time consuming). This is pretty much where I screwed up because I couldn't find the space to fit all of those sources in after I'd carefully cut down the word limit and finalized everything. Just a heads up because I know this will save someone lol

Tamar Christensen is a very personable lecturer who you feel actually cares about you. The class assignments boil down to some reading, as well as two 6-8 page essays. There is NO busy work in the class...as everything you do is a direct contribution to the essays you'll turn in. You have to submit the essays, of course, but they're only actually due at the end of the quarter, as she has you submit rough drafts throughout the quarter, and gives one on one personalized feedback face to face.
The second "grammar b" essay was a bit harder for me, as it was focused on alternative multimedia, but overall I think Tamar actually made me a better writer.

Tamar was super nice and her classes were interesting. This comes from someone who hates writing. Her directions are clear and all you write are 2 essays. Just read the material she gives you, show up to class and you'll be fine.

I learned a LOT in this class. Although reading the syllabus in the first week made the class seem daunting, with the two writing projects and the 6 hours of community service (not required), when it comes down to actually doing it, can I really complain if it was rewarding? I honestly would take this class again, but I wish I had gone in with a more open mind. This class is a lot of trust the process, don't get too frustrated with yourself, and you will turn out a much better writer. Great class to start your time at UCLA with because it really gives you perspective.

I would say she’s tough , I’ll admit but she is also very helpful. She gives you so much clarity and she is very very chill . The work you do might be a pain but it is very helpful. It helped me with my writing skills. Her group and individual conference which are mandatory are very resourceful , you get so much great insight and clarify on your writing.

This class destroyed me all quarter. It is a lot of work: 2 writing projects, both 6 pages exactly, a 3-page writer's reflection and a 3-page community service analysis. The highest grade you can get on all the writing pieces is a B+, if you want to earn an A you have to do 6 hours of community service and write the 3-page piece about your experience. Adding up all the pages, it doesn't seem like too much, but you will rewrite these pages countless times. You write so-called "analytical writing" using the "personal pronoun" according to the methods in her self-written textbook. While it has the potential to make you a better writer, personally as an econ major it frustrated me knowing I won't be doing this personal writing again. She absolutely violated both of my writing project 1 & 2 drafts, and I had to work very hard to get them up. She tells you your grade but gives you time to improve your pieces which are all do on the last day of the quarter. Tamar is a very big personality, and you need to stay on her good side to do well (ie doing thorough annotations on readings, sucking up to what she writes in her textbook, agreeing with her politically, ect). I am very surprised I came away with an A-. Not easy by any means.

This class was much easier than I expected for a writing II class. There were only two main assignments: two research papers, around 10 pages each, that she guides you on during class. You can also meet with her one-on-one to get a tentative grade on each paper, so that you can know what to work on and you have a chance to improve your grade before it's finalized. Tamar is very funny, helpful, and casual, which creates a welcoming classroom environment.