I heard before taking this course that Econ 11 would be a weeder course and it was notoriously hard from a few of my friends. However, with Mazzocco, it was a lot easier than I anticipated. He starts the quarter saying that you can learn this entire course from the textbook and if you're really good at self-learning, you don't necessarily show up to lecture. There is some truth to that. However, Mazzocco is relatively clear and has a pretty good sense of humour. I went to his office hours once and I found it helpful. Also, I think having a solid TA is integral as well. I often learned most of the course through my TA discussions. Further, TAs hold review sessions for the midterms which really help clarify concepts that will be assessed. In terms of tests, I thought they were extremely fair and relatively easy. Every exam is 100% multiple-choice so depending on who you are that could be good or bad. Additionally, the past exams are very similar to the actual exams given. I often found that doing every practice exam made me more than prepared for the midterms and finals. Mazzocco doesn't curve his tests or provide extra credit, but I believe that he scales the entire course afterwards. If you're not the strongest in calculus I would definitely recommend reviewing derivatives beforehand. There is a lot of chain rules and log rule usage in the course and being familiar with it will make Econ 11 a lot easier.

Exam Averages
Midterm 1: 90% Median // 87% Mean
Midterm 2: 80% Median // 78% Mean
Final: 92% Median // 87% Mean
Needless to say, the exam difficulty is not very challenging but a large portion of the class also does well.

His grade scheme is as follows:
10% Homework
30% Midterm 1
30% Midterm 2
30% Final
(Worst Homework Score Dropped)

OR

10% Homework
40% Higher Scoring Midterm
50% Final
(Worst Homework Score Dropped)

Okay so I usually don't write reviews but I'm seeing way too much Mazzocco slander that's undeserved. Professor Mazzocco is probably the best math-based professor I've ever had, and definitely the best econ professor I've had in my prerequisite courses. Honestly, this class cemented for me that I want to be an econ major. I'm definitely not a math person whatsoever, and I kind of learn concepts and apply them because I know I should, but this is the first time that I actually understand what's going on, and like holy crap it's a whole new world.

I took this class in the online format, and it definitely sucks just because it takes up twice as much time as usual because you watch the video lectures, and then the regular lecture time is used as a Q&A. The lectures are also longer than they're supposed to be, like some weeks he might post a two-hour long lecture for whats supposed to be an hour and fifteen-minute class, but I put the lectures on 2x speed anyway so I can't really complain about that. You also definitely don't have to go to the Q&A, because Mazzocco posts all the previous years' midterm and final exams and their solutions, and as long as you run through at least three to four of those, you're pretty set for the exams. I reaaaally recommend doing them because there are some questions that appear there that you don't see anywhere else. The Q&A's are still good though because he runs through different problems and it's just exposure y'know. I'm just not a morning person and couldn't even wake up at 9:30 am at home.

It'd be stupid to call this an easy class, and it's definitely the class I had to put the most effort into, but I actually felt like I learned in this class and that's pretty cool. The averages of the midterms and the finals were pretty low, like around 65 and 73, but Professor Mazzocco curves really well for the econ department and I think if you score around average you get a B. Also if you score better on your final than one of your midterms, your lowest midterm gets dropped and the final gets weighted more.

Overall, Mazzocco is a nice guy, explains things well, and is kinda funny sometimes. I recommend him!!

I am so sad to write this review. I remember doing everything I could to enroll in this class because of all the incredible reviews that I had read over the summer for this professor. I was also anxious about getting into my major and this was the last class I needed. The lectures are quite clear and the homework material is also easy (accounts for 10%). But DANG... The exams were challenging!!!!! The first midterm average was a 65 which is incredibly low compared to the previous years. I did all the practice midterms he offered and those exercises were actually how I learned how to apply the knowledge, but for some reason, Professor made the questions more challenging, and actually, some I had never even seen in the 7 exams he offered were present during the midterm. The second midterm was better and the average was 74. The final exam's average was 73, but I would say that was the most difficult exam. Also, there were a couple of typos which added to the whole anxiousness of the experience. I thought that with Covid, the class would not necessarily be easier but not as challenging as it became. He said that because it's open notes, it had to be more difficult but in my opinion, having notes does not help you if you don't understand how to do the math. This was a math-heavy course that took lots of time to simplify and get to the answer choices. Nonetheless, Mazzocco seems like a kind man who enjoys economics and there were times where I laughed while watching the lectures. Perhaps in a non-remote learning setting, this class will go back to its normal level of difficulty and will be far more enjoyable. Good luck!

Great professor, clear lecture, challenging test during the pandemic but manageable

Selling econ 11 textbook pdf.
Email: tonykim991@gmail.com

Admittedly, I took this class on a whim to fill an elective after having not taken a math or economics class in a year. That proved to be a damning decision.

Aside from my own blunders in selecting classes, I can objectively say this is a good class and Mazzocco is a good professor. Within the time constraints of a given lecture he does well to give information pertinent to his exams and homework that is not too time intensive.

He provides ample supplementary material to prepare for the exams. I would recommend him to any pre-economics student looking to preserve their GPA.

Good professor. If you go to lecture you will never need to open the textbook. He gives fair exams that usually average around a 65-69. If you do all the practice midterms he posts you will do pretty well. He has two grading schemes so even if you do bad on a midterm you can still recover.

Very easy prof. just do the problem set and previous test. easy A+

3 tests, 2 midterms and a final. You can drop a midterm if you score better than the final, then the midterm and final count 45% each. If you do worse on the final each counts 30%. Hw makes up the remaining 10%. Vladimir Pecheu is an excellent TA. Old tests are posted to help you study. Make sure to thoroughly know how to do all problems on the old tests especially the last 3 years. Also know how to do problem sets(hw) and memorize concepts behind lecture slides as the multiple choice section of the tests are from this. There are 2 long questions on the midterm and 4 on the final. This year he made it all multiple choice so that you can check if your answer is there on the long question but its really the same. First midterm was a disaster with this format but the 2nd and final worked out well. Average for the first was 65%, average for the second was 69%. I dropped the first, got an 85% on the second and 87% on the final, 100% on the hw and got an A instead of the B+ indicated by the percentage so he curves very nicely. Overall, nice guy but you really do have to put time in on your own and pay attention to lecture despite it being early in the morning, it makes a huge difference.

Although Econ11 is not an easy subject, professor Mazzocco makes it much easier to pass the course with good grades. His curve is generous, and he provides sample exams so that you can prepare yourself for the exams. The course has 2 Midterms and 1 Final, and the professor would drop the worst midterm score IF YOUR FINAL EXAM SCORE IS HIGHER THAN YOUR WORST MIDTERM. He is helpful, informative and really cares about his students. Make sure you do all the homework and sample exams he gives, then you will do great in the class.