Overall, I really enjoyed Poli Sci 40 with Dan Thompson. I just finished up my first quarter at UCLA so my review is not relative to a bunch of other classes, but nonetheless I wanted to contribute to the Bruinwalk community.

39% of the grading is based on 3 "Paper Explainers" (13% each) which are basically 1-2 pages double spaced breaking down any paper he covered in class. The assignment only requires a very surface level understanding of the paper which is often done already in lecture so these are pretty easy. I definitely recommend going to your TA a few days before these are due just to have them look over it, as they are the ones grading them.

50% is midterm and final (25% each). Both of these exams were take home and we were given about a week to complete it. The format was also the same for both, 8-9 short answer questions covering material from the readings, and lecture. The exams were moderately difficult, but fair for the most part. My only complaint is that the questions were sometimes worded weird, but it was achievable for sure.

The last 11% is participation in discussion, and while attendance in lecture is not mandatory, discussion is. You get one free absence and after that they dock points from your final grade unless you make it up. Participating wasn't difficult as long as you listen to the assigned podcast ahead of time, as my TA (Graham Straus) opened the conversation to topics from the podcast.

I would recommend this class to Poli Sci majors as well as anyone who wants to take it as a GE. Not a lot of work but very interesting content! Also don't buy a textbook, he says on the first day that it's unnecessary!

Take this class with this professor!! If you pay attention in class (or at the very least go through the slides), go to discussions, and have a good understanding of the readings, you will do well. Sometimes the midterm/final questions can be a bit confusing and take a while to wrap your head around, but the grading is fair and pretty lenient. The readings can be long or short, but on really desne readings you can usually get by with just reading the abstract and results. Professor Thompson is a really interesting guy and my TA Chris Palmisano held engaging and relevant discussions. I would take this class again, and I would recommend it as a GE. This class made me decide to double major in Political Science.

This class with Professor Thompson was very easy and pleasant. There is very little work, and as the other review says the paper explainers make up a sizable portion of your grade and are extremely simple. The midterm and the final were not very difficult and if you understand most of the lecture material you will be completely fine. Discussion section was fun and engaging with my TA Chris Palmisano, and he didn't mind if you hadn't gone to lecture as long as you participated. There was even a survey you could complete to get 2 points of extra credit added to your midterm score, bumping mine to an A. You can do well in this class with very little effort, and I highly recommend it to Communications majors as one of the lower division requirements.