When I first signed up for this class, I was excited to have a class that put together history and English because I thought it would be more interesting than other Writing II options, but it wasn't like I thought it would be. I couldn't really enjoy lectures because I knew the information would be important for my papers, and I couldn't just write the papers because I needed to gather useful info from lectures first. This isn't a specific knock against the professor, just something I wish I had realized before I started the class.
They say you don't need prior knowledge, but as someone fairly familiar with the Bible even I struggled to follow the intricate details stressed by the instructors. This class is definitely easier for students who have prior Biblical knowledge (and I felt very bad for those who didn't).
I understand your TA's will be a constant determining factor throughout college, but my TA only offered 15 minute Office Hours, so there was no way for me to go over my papers (or even homework assignments) in depth because he didn't offer more time. This, of course, was very discouraging because your TA is the one grading your papers and when you can't meet with them or understand what they want from you, it makes it extremely hard to know how to improve. I will say, though, that my TA's comments did overall help me on my revised paper even if I couldn't go over it in person.
I felt like the grading was fair, but my main issue was not being given the opportunity to see what an A level paper looks like. We would occasionally see snippets of a "good" thesis or paragraph, but it was a struggle to write a "good" paper when both the TA and Prof never gave you more specific guidance on what "good" looks like.
On a positive note, the final and midterm were very straightforward and the professor did a great job of giving us clear study guides that related directly to the exams we took. He really tried to adapt to online learning, and I am sure the in-person exams would have been harder than the assignments/exams we took (which was much appreciated).
And a neutral note, there is a looooot of homework and assigned reading. I didn't end up reading most of the companion book because for me it was a lower priority than writing the essays and homework, but like any Writing II class there are a LOT of writing assignments.

Overall, it is not an easy class and if you want to improve you really need to find someone outside your class instructors who can help give you feedback on your essays. Prof Smoak is a nice professor, but I struggled to understand what my TA expected from my writing- for those who will take the class, try to understand what your TA expects because it will help you earn the grade you want. I wish the instructors had been more open about showing us what an A paper looks like, but the feedback and grading were (in my opinion) fair. I am grateful for the curve he gave us, but the class was harder and less enjoyable than I thought it would be.
(To anyone who wants to take it, though, I say go for it! Just be prepared for the workload and the extra effort you have to put in to understand what the instructors want from your writing. But don't be scared to take the class, just be prepared when you start it)

Professor Smoak could make a class on the history of drywall interesting. The lectures were generally informative and engaging, helped by Smoak's unbridled enthusiasm for all the lecture material. A lot of other comments complained about the readings, but I found them interesting and not terribly hard to get through; additionally, the essays were reasonable, although some of that may have been thanks to my generous TA (Jeremy Williams is a saint of a man). I consider myself a generally strong writer and did not have to put in too much effort to score in the B+/A- range; obtaining a higher grade may be more of a challenge, but I'm sure it's doable. Anyone reasonably proficient with the AP English standard of writing will find that they have no issues writing adequate papers.

The required reading, Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths by Karen Armstrong is so engaging of a read that even if you don't take this course, you'd be served well to read it; it's intended for a general audience and consequently is not too dense. I came to the class with limited prior knowledge of the Bible nor any of the other texts, but I did not find this hurt me; Smoak and the TAs understand that not everyone has this background, and consequently focus on explaining the events through a literary lens more than complex genealogies.

I'd greatly recommend this class for anyone looking for a Writing II GE that gets a lot of requirements out of the way. Or, you know, if you want to learn the history of one of the most intriguing cities in human civilization.

This class was an incredibly fascinating combination of history, biblical literature, and archeology. The class goes through the history of Jerusalem, analyses biblical texts and archeological evidence related to the city, and discusses the relationship between the three Judeo-Christian religions. Being a writing II course, there were a lot of writing assignments (weekly one-page essays plus two 5-8 page papers) but each weekly assignment felt relevant to the class and built up to the longer papers. I would definitely take this class again, and plan on taking another class with professor Smoak in the future.

Professor Smoak is fantastic! He's truly a master lecturer in my book. He brings up some of the most interesting themes and intersections of religion, sacred space, and history. To be clear this class is 12W, not 10W, they are different. The former has 20 people and the latter is 150 people, but the material is exactly the same. I've heard that TA's are harsh graders, but Professor Smoak I think was super lenient and understanding. I loved talking to him after class and receiving extremely thorough and thoughtful answers to my questions. If you think religious history is interesting this is the class for you.

I took this class thinking it would be a great elective to get me to my 12 units for the quarter. BOY WAS I WORNG! This professor assigns dense readings of 80 pages per week minimum if you're lucky. It was more like 100 pages per week which typically entailed 60 pages out of a textbook and 40 pages from the Jewish Bible. In terms of grading, he is definitely not an easy grader. If you avoid doing the readings and don't listen to lecture on top of not taking notes throughout the quarter, YOU WILL NOT DO WELL! Regarding finals week, he will slap you with a dense research paper and a final exam which will both be graded harshly. If you do not have to take him, DON'T TAKE HIM! This was the only A- on my transcript throughout my UCLA career which messed up my 4.0. I would tell you to go to his office hours, but he doesn't even go to them himself! On top of that, he is very terrible with responding to emails especially if you need something urgent [took 5-6 weeks to respond to urgent personal matter]! If you need an easier elective as a random major or a history class as history major, there are plenty of other way better courses and professors you can find. Overall, he's a nice guy, but this entails an unreasonable course and professor which will be toxic towards your course load during a quarter and most probably tarnish your GPA...

Absolutely loved this class! Fascinating subject and wonderful lecturer. I took two classes with Professor Smoak and I think he was the best professor I had at UCLA, truly knowledgable and passionate about the subject matter.

I will say, however, this class knocks out a lot of GE requirements but its also super work intensive. At this same time...I think I learned how to write college essays from this class. Definitely hard work but in my opinion it was worth it - at least if you are interested in the subject and ready to learn.

This is my second class with Professor Smoak and I loved it just as much if not more than his Jerusalem class. This is a brand new class, and it is just so unique and innovative and frankly some of the most compelling material I have ever studied. It is almost entirely a course about the Old Testament since that is Smoak's specialty and because UCLA is a public school and teaching NT and theology is a sticky business (as of 2021 there are no theology scholars here). The course looks at the methodologies of Hebrew Bible scholarship and the implications of biblical interpretation both in antiquity and in our contemporary 19th-21st century scholarship of the bible. I'd say half the class is learning about Kugel's four assumptions and the beginnings of biblical criticism, archeology, and research (documentary hypothesis and so on) and the other half is discussing politics and different schools of biblical thought in the current field of biblical studies.
The class has weekly in-focus assignments (you're allowed to miss 2), midterm, final, and an 8-page final paper. The midterm was much harder than the final, but Smoak is a really understanding professor who I think is quite a lenient grader. I only took this P/NP b/c I started the quarter knowing I was going to have my hands tied with family matters and I knew that my time would be limited for this course, so indicated that immediately when I enrolled in it.
Smoak does a wonderful job with this material. His lectures are informative and legitimately interesting if you like "the history of the bible". I learned awesome bits of information. There's also a fair amount of discussion in this class unlike his lower divs, which is incredible because I think Smoak is the perfect guy to moderate discussion, not being too assertive but speaking when necessary. We had a couple of senior citizens in the class which was rather fun. Shouts out to Holly for always having a question or three. What I thought was probably the most profound was Smoak who sort of introduced the class to his school of biblical thought, taught that no reading of the bible is free from ideological influence or social location, and that interpreters of the bible (whether scholars, theologians, or preachers) have a moral obligation to be aware of the political and social interests and that the interpretive task is in favor of liberating marginalized groups. That take on the bible was very new to me and comes to show how Smoak grounds his work on ancient history and literature with the effects/importance it has on the present and vice versa.

I took AN N EA 12W with Professor Smoak which is basically the same thing as 10W (only with less students in a class). Smoak is very helpful and nice (btw he studied at Jerusalem). The course material is very interesting!! It helps if you have a bit of previous knowledge of religion but even if you don't, you would still do good in this class. Essays are a bit heavy but in general, an awesome class!
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IM SELLING PDF VERSION OF "JERUSALEM ONE CITY THREE FAITHS" by Karen Armstrong. Shoot me a quick email if you're interested:
andrew87mendez@gmail.com

Awesome class! Professor Smoak is a great lecturer and he is always willing to help students. The essays were a bit demanding but I mean this class does satisfy the Writing 2 requirement (as well as another GE). If you are just a little bit curious about religion, you would love this class! I think I'm going to get a minor in Religion or something because of how interesting I found the course material.
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I AM SELLING PDF VERSION OF "JERUSALEM ONE CITY THREE FAITHS" By Karen Armstrong. Shoot me a quick email: andrew87mendez@gmail.com

Professor Smoak and TA Bryan are really clear and helful in teaching, and lectures and class materials are well-organized. I took this class as W2 as freshmen and foreigner, and I was literally struggling with papers and understanding of the religious texts. The writing requirement for this class is really high. However, if you are good in writing and have the capability to handle a bunch of English religious readings, please take this class since it will provide with a good opportunity to get to know histroy of Judais, Christianity, and Islam.