Professor
Thomas Hitchner
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2019 - Took this class fall 2019 and the theme was food writing. Professor Hitchner is super nice, take his class if you can! We wrote 4 essays, but one of them was a restaurant review and it was really short compared to the other 3, which we also peer reviewed. Occasionally we'd do some writing exercises out of a book that were graded for completion, but they were pretty simple, you could pretty much just do them right before class. The class overall is super easy and fun, especially if you're into food. I'm selling one of the required books, American Food Writing by Molly O'Neill, for $10 (shipping not included, but I'll be moving back to campus for fall 2020). Text me at **********
Fall 2019 - Took this class fall 2019 and the theme was food writing. Professor Hitchner is super nice, take his class if you can! We wrote 4 essays, but one of them was a restaurant review and it was really short compared to the other 3, which we also peer reviewed. Occasionally we'd do some writing exercises out of a book that were graded for completion, but they were pretty simple, you could pretty much just do them right before class. The class overall is super easy and fun, especially if you're into food. I'm selling one of the required books, American Food Writing by Molly O'Neill, for $10 (shipping not included, but I'll be moving back to campus for fall 2020). Text me at **********
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2024 - Homework assignments/discussion topics were definitely better organized at the beginning of the course than they were at the end when deviation from the syllabus made it difficult to know what I actually needed to have done at a given time to be prepared for class. But, other than that, I really enjoyed the class. The topics were, in my opinion, interesting, relevant to daily life, and engaging. I was able to develop my views and better understand those of others using what I learned, and some of the things we talked about in class are things that I have or plan to implement in other aspects of my life and other coursework. Dr. Hitchner was knowledgeable and passionate about the material, which also contributed to my enjoyment of the class, and I appreciated that he always did his best to make himself available and provide us with feedback to improve our writing.
Fall 2024 - Homework assignments/discussion topics were definitely better organized at the beginning of the course than they were at the end when deviation from the syllabus made it difficult to know what I actually needed to have done at a given time to be prepared for class. But, other than that, I really enjoyed the class. The topics were, in my opinion, interesting, relevant to daily life, and engaging. I was able to develop my views and better understand those of others using what I learned, and some of the things we talked about in class are things that I have or plan to implement in other aspects of my life and other coursework. Dr. Hitchner was knowledgeable and passionate about the material, which also contributed to my enjoyment of the class, and I appreciated that he always did his best to make himself available and provide us with feedback to improve our writing.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2016 - I loved this class! This has been my best class at UCLA so far! Not only was the professor good, but I became friends with the students in that class within a few classes (something really unheard of at UCLA). We still talk to this day. The schedule was pretty much read poem, write 300 words about poem, and essay. We also analyzed them in class before the reading responses were due, so people took notes and wrote upon that. We also had to do a presentation on a poem of our choosing, but that was pretty simple if you followed the directions. If you are looking for a relaxing yet highly interactive class, this is it!
Winter 2016 - I loved this class! This has been my best class at UCLA so far! Not only was the professor good, but I became friends with the students in that class within a few classes (something really unheard of at UCLA). We still talk to this day. The schedule was pretty much read poem, write 300 words about poem, and essay. We also analyzed them in class before the reading responses were due, so people took notes and wrote upon that. We also had to do a presentation on a poem of our choosing, but that was pretty simple if you followed the directions. If you are looking for a relaxing yet highly interactive class, this is it!
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2020 - I have mixed feelings about this course - it is a lot of busy work, and none of it helps to develop writing skills at all. The lectures in class were basically repeating everything I learned in AP courses in high school. The bigger assignments were interesting, but we started them late in the quarter so we had a lot of work all at one time. Dr. Hitchner is obviously passionate about the subject, but his grading is extremely subjective. I think choosing the topic for the essays is important, and you have to agree with his opinion to get a good grade. Overall, from what I have heard, Dr. Hitchner is the best option for this class, but it is a lot of random busy work and class can be extremely boring or repetitive.
Winter 2020 - I have mixed feelings about this course - it is a lot of busy work, and none of it helps to develop writing skills at all. The lectures in class were basically repeating everything I learned in AP courses in high school. The bigger assignments were interesting, but we started them late in the quarter so we had a lot of work all at one time. Dr. Hitchner is obviously passionate about the subject, but his grading is extremely subjective. I think choosing the topic for the essays is important, and you have to agree with his opinion to get a good grade. Overall, from what I have heard, Dr. Hitchner is the best option for this class, but it is a lot of random busy work and class can be extremely boring or repetitive.
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