This class is pretty straight forward. The lectures really are interesting to listen to. They’re pre recorded so you can listen to them 1.5x or 2x depending on what he’s talking about. I took it during the COVID situation but it didn’t really change much, except for the protests in which he made the final optional/ it could only help you if you took it.
- The homework you’d need to think about it a little, but completely manageable. The readings he usually covers in his lectures so that’s nice as well. For us we needed to attend at least 15 minutes of discussion in order to get the points and then you could leave.

This class was very straightforward and easy to follow. There was about 2-3 hours of online pre-recorded lectures, which were easy to understand. Discussions were based on attendance, but I did not find them too helpful because they regurgitated lecture material. All homework is multiple choice, and most questions were on quizlet or found directly in lecture. I had no problem with doing well on all of the assignments. There were two "essays" that were 4-6 pages long, but they were basically formatted like short answers. Essays were graded on a very simple rubric of "did you answer the question" because it seemed like they handed out 100's if you just followed the prompts. The midterm was also 50 Q's multiple choice, but overall very easy. The hardest part was probably memorizing phonetic charts! Final was optional given the circumstances.

The professor did not seem very in touch with his students since everything was pre-recorded. He didn't even have a discussion forum, so it very much felt like you were taking the class alone. A lot of busy work in this class, but I would recommend if you want to knock out the philosophy/linguistic analysis req.

strongly recommended. The most easiest GE i have taken so far.

This class is NOT an easy A. You actually have to put in some work! But this class is actually pretty interested. The tests are easy IF you take the time to learn like some of the material. The essays are pretty straight forward too. I am lucky I am a native english speaker, which is a definite perk to this class

Would recommend taking this class as a GE. Ultimately, it was a pretty easy class, with weekly homework and about 2-3 hours of weekly lectures. Homework is straightforward, and good practice for the midterm/final that were also pretty easy. Lectures are a bit boring, so I would recommend watching on 2x speed or even skipping them and just reading the textbook. Case studies are mostly optional, but there were 1 or 2 questions on the midterm about them (out of 50 questions.) Two analysis papers are also very straightforward and graded easy (at least by my TA).

Close to no work a week, probably spent about 3 hours a week on this class total, including discussions.

Linguistics is an interesting yet challenging discipline. For newcomers, it will probably be unlike anything you've seen before. You learn about the commonalities between the world's languages, how we acquire grammar as a child, the sound patterns of languages, how sentence structure is conceived, how to perceive meaning, and more. This class will make you think. Ling 1 fulfills the life science GE or the philosophical/linguistic GE.

I am currently the book: Pinker's "The Language Instinct" as an iBooks version for $4. I would recommend using this electronic version as you can easily find keywords by using command F, which is very helpful when doing the homework.

Also, I am selling all of the answers to the homeworks (I got 100% on all of them), $2 per homework. Feel free to text me at **********. Good luck with this class!

I took his online class.

Pros:
- Lecture videos are well recorded and edited (done by film department).
- Mostly self-pace meaning it makes easier to manage time (except homework, online discussion, and exam).
- Lectures are fairly short and clear (2-4 hours a week).
- No surprises in exams (Qs are based on lectures and some are identical from homework).
- Final exam is not accumulative (i.e. phonetics will not be on final. thank god).
- Lecture videos has subtitles and allows to be played in faster speed.

Cons:
- Requires self-disciplines. It's easy to get distracted.
- Proctor-U (for taking online exam) is expensive. $25 if you set the date 72 hours ahead of time or $30. You have an option to take exams offline though.
- Very straight forward lectures which can be boring (but his charming voice neglects this con).

Overall, I enjoyed his class. Topics are fairly interesting and we get to learn how the languages are formed and how they interact our everyday life. Homework and exams are fairly easy as long as you watch all of the lecture videos carefully and take notes while doing so (typing in word doc was good enough for me). Closed-book exams meaning you have to memorize the materials. However, most of materials are fairly easy to remember and some of them are simply common sense.

Professor Torrence made this class extremely easy. Just remember his slides and teaching assistant's slides you will be fine.

Torrence was frustrating. He was over an hour and a half late to our 8 AM final (with our tests) and we couldn't have extra time because another class needed the room for their final. I think he ended up not using the final for our grade, and it was extremely annoying. He was very unorganized and the class was extremely boring. I like Linguistics, but I hated this class. It was easier than any class I've taken (even in high school), but I would not take a class with him again. The class is easy. Take it with a different professor.