ENGCOMP 131B
Specialized Writing: Business and Social Policy
Description: Lecture, four hours. Requisite: satisfaction of Entry-Level Writing and English Composition requirements. Designed for juniors/seniors. Advanced writing course designed to help students develop stylistic, formal, and argumentative sophistication in various rhetorical contexts, including different sections that emphasize rhetorical values of major professions and research areas. May be taken independently for credit. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Eng. Comp 131B has been my favorite class at UCLA because of Peggy! She is a wonderful teacher. Her energy and spirit really create a comfortable classroom environment, where students feel comfortable contributing their ideas or asking for help. All the materials taught were extremely relevant, and I know that I will frequently apply the skills learned in this class. The articles and readings to be extremely interesting, and they sparked class discussion well. Peggy spends a lot of time giving support to each student. Every revision of each paper was thoroughly marked with extensive feedback. Also, she met frequently with students for individual conferences. Peggy is one of the best professors I have ever had- her obvious care and dedication to her students make her an amazing teacher! I highly recommend her class!
Eng. Comp 131B has been my favorite class at UCLA because of Peggy! She is a wonderful teacher. Her energy and spirit really create a comfortable classroom environment, where students feel comfortable contributing their ideas or asking for help. All the materials taught were extremely relevant, and I know that I will frequently apply the skills learned in this class. The articles and readings to be extremely interesting, and they sparked class discussion well. Peggy spends a lot of time giving support to each student. Every revision of each paper was thoroughly marked with extensive feedback. Also, she met frequently with students for individual conferences. Peggy is one of the best professors I have ever had- her obvious care and dedication to her students make her an amazing teacher! I highly recommend her class!
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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.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2020 - Grading Breakdown: - One-Sheets: 10% - SWOT (group): 15% - Participation: 20% - Op-Ed (individual): 20% - Business Plan (group): 35% Juliano is a great professor and person. Her lectures are engaging and she focuses on the areas of business writing that are often overlooked, which was helpful. Her syllabus/instructions are often unclear, but she’ll clarify if you ask her. The main focus of the class was the business plan, which we worked on for the entirety of the course. The first half of the quarter unfolds very slowly, then the second half rapidly snowballs with all of the assignments and projects due in the last two weeks of class. Presentations for the business plan, op-ed, and SWOT analysis are done consecutively, so there isn’t a lot of time to focus on your op-ed and SWOT analysis. I’d suggest that you do the one-sheets right away (minimum is 5, so you’d be done by week 3) and think about your op-ed ahead of time. The business plan is time-consuming and the SWOT analysis is based on another group’s business plan, so there’s nothing you can do about those beforehand. She also chooses the business plan groups on the first day, so hope that you’re with people you can stand because you’re stuck with them for 2.5 months.
Winter 2020 - Grading Breakdown: - One-Sheets: 10% - SWOT (group): 15% - Participation: 20% - Op-Ed (individual): 20% - Business Plan (group): 35% Juliano is a great professor and person. Her lectures are engaging and she focuses on the areas of business writing that are often overlooked, which was helpful. Her syllabus/instructions are often unclear, but she’ll clarify if you ask her. The main focus of the class was the business plan, which we worked on for the entirety of the course. The first half of the quarter unfolds very slowly, then the second half rapidly snowballs with all of the assignments and projects due in the last two weeks of class. Presentations for the business plan, op-ed, and SWOT analysis are done consecutively, so there isn’t a lot of time to focus on your op-ed and SWOT analysis. I’d suggest that you do the one-sheets right away (minimum is 5, so you’d be done by week 3) and think about your op-ed ahead of time. The business plan is time-consuming and the SWOT analysis is based on another group’s business plan, so there’s nothing you can do about those beforehand. She also chooses the business plan groups on the first day, so hope that you’re with people you can stand because you’re stuck with them for 2.5 months.
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Most Helpful Review
Professor Prescott is SO awesome. For 131B, although you have to read a chapter for every class, or otherwise do a homework assignment or listen to a podcast or something (they're surprisingly lengthy), I don't think the class is unmanageable. There are a few big assignments you have to do: an in-class presentation, an executive summary paper, an op-ed paper, along with the weekly assignments. Class is a discussion-lecture, where there are 20 people max in a class, and every week you meet and talk about select things that she planned out in advance. Discussions are fun, and because mostly everyone participates, you end up making friends in the class by the end of the quarter too (there are a few team/pair projects). The one downside is you don't really find out your grade until the very end.
Professor Prescott is SO awesome. For 131B, although you have to read a chapter for every class, or otherwise do a homework assignment or listen to a podcast or something (they're surprisingly lengthy), I don't think the class is unmanageable. There are a few big assignments you have to do: an in-class presentation, an executive summary paper, an op-ed paper, along with the weekly assignments. Class is a discussion-lecture, where there are 20 people max in a class, and every week you meet and talk about select things that she planned out in advance. Discussions are fun, and because mostly everyone participates, you end up making friends in the class by the end of the quarter too (there are a few team/pair projects). The one downside is you don't really find out your grade until the very end.
Most Helpful Review
Greg was a great professor. I am an engineering major and his class was a nice change of pace from what I normally do. I thoroughly enjoyed our discussions about social policy, economics, or whatever else we all thought was relevant. I also really appreciated that he was always willing to meet me outside of class to review my writing or presentations multiple times before the due date. He was also very flexible with due dates and assignment content, so it made the class that much more enjoyable. Definitely take this guy!
Greg was a great professor. I am an engineering major and his class was a nice change of pace from what I normally do. I thoroughly enjoyed our discussions about social policy, economics, or whatever else we all thought was relevant. I also really appreciated that he was always willing to meet me outside of class to review my writing or presentations multiple times before the due date. He was also very flexible with due dates and assignment content, so it made the class that much more enjoyable. Definitely take this guy!
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