(Took this class during COVID)

This class is pretty difficult. I think the LS 7 series in general is less about memorization but more about actually understanding concepts and applying them to new situations you've never seen before, which can be difficult for people who haven't done so in high school etc. It's pretty similar to AP bio in a sense where you apply your knowledge instead of just regurgitating it.

Even though this class was a lot of work, the LS 7A professors made accommodations for online learning which I think saved a lot of people's grades: group exams. For the 2 midterms and the final, there were two phases: an individual phase, where you would take the exam by yourself (open from 6 AM - 8 PM on a single day), and a group phase, where you would be assigned a group of 3 other people and have about two days to set up a time, talk about the exam, and individually submit a second copy of exam (all on CCLE). Your score for the midterms/final is an average of the individual and group phase exams. So yeah, you could straight up fail the individual portion but get carried in the group phase and come out with a relatively decent score, which I think really helped people out and changed perspectives on this course because I only heard negative things coming in (however there were students who *still* complained... despite having group exams). I'm not sure if the professors will continue doing this when things get back to normal, but I think it will really help the LS 7 series be more respected because there are many, many complaints about this series. As far as I know LS 7B and 7C have different kinds of accommodations in regards to helping recovering lost points on exams, but anything helps.

In regards to the professor, I took it when McEvoy was co-teaching with Pires. I found Pires to be a lot more knowledgeable and prepared to answer questions, but I do recognize that it was probably McEvoy's first time teaching 7A (if I'm not mistaken) and I wouldn't call her "bad" by any means. They were both pretty good and kind.

Be prepared to work hard in this class. It takes a lot of time to go through weekly launchpad readings but actually reading it and *not* just skimming it will actually help you learn the concepts, but I do get that sometimes launchpad content can give you more than you actually need to know. Clicker questions are probably the best practice tool you have in that class as they represent the questions on the midterms/final pretty well, so make sure to go through them while studying and be able to justify why an answer is correct or incorrect. A lot of people say they "skipped through launchpad" and "barely paid attention in lecture" and then wonder why they have a bad grade, I don't get it. If you're disciplined enough and put in the work you'll get the grade you deserve! You can do it! Good luck!

Took this class with Pires and McEvoy. Clickers are used and you get points for it so you'll want to attend. It's flipped style with loads of work due on an overpriced online textbook (no way around it). The 7 series is clearly a weeder for LS majors and premed students. The material is pretty much going to be the same no matter the professor, but in this case let me warn you.

Pires and McEvoy suck.

My friends took this class with a different professor and had a way better time (and did significantly better). Not only are they boring and unhelpful teachers, but they're also super unaccommodating. CAE students beware! I got a concussion during the quarter and they refused to excuse any attendance or adjust clicker points, they didn't follow university requested accommodations, and they ignored emails after the grades were released where I followed up about these things. Do yourself a favor and take this class with a nicer professor.

Professor McEvoy is a fairly good professor. She's helpful and will meet with you for other things if necessary - she met with me for advising on a potential project I was going to take up. Though she didn't contribute very much, she still took her time and energy to meet with me. Most of the class was primarily structured with lectures (recorded and posted, attendance not required) and assignments (I believe we had 8 in total to pick from, each week you chose one - you could do repeats, just had to add up to 8). The exams were easy and straightforward - couldn't really get them wrong as long as you absorbed the content you learned, took notes, and reviewed them prior to the exam. Not too intensive on studying.

I don't necessarily feel like I learned much important information from this class.. I did take it during spring 2020 when a lot of final exams and projects were called off. Professor McEvoy taught the class with Professor C.M. Kelty - I think a lot of the information I learned were all covered by previous biology and environmental science courses, which is somewhat to be expected. The book that we had to read was somewhat interesting but also mildly boring at the same time (I think it's a department chosen thing though..). I wasn't particularly attracted to the department either after this course, just because the content was (personally) a little uninteresting. But, we did cover some interesting articles and information about topics like antibiotic resistance, which I definitely enjoyed.

Overall, the course was good for the purpose of fulfilling a GE, but it was by no means super intriguing or beneficial to me in any further extent.

I just hate the LS Series because you have to teach yourself everything and are expected to know it by lecture. I took this class with Dr. Mcevoy and Dr. Pires and both are pretty boring. Mcevoy taught the first half and Pires taught second half. I literally failed both midterms and final, I got an F for all and I still passed the class with a B. You will be fine but if can take another class you should.

Pay attention in lectures and you will be fine. The only heavy work for this class is the readings, and I usually hate reading, but if I managed it, you should be fine. I found the class genuinely interesting, so that helped get through the readings. The TAs are all usually very chill, and there's a weekly section work for 6 weeks, but it wasn't that hard to do. Overall, an enjoyable class!

I enjoyed the material of this class, but honestly, the exams were pretty tough due to the time limit they gave us. You have to take detailed notes in lectures as the exams tend to focus on the details at times. There are two exams: Unit 1 and Unit 2, and I would recommend studying for both of them.

Took this class in winter '22 along with Dr. Venkat. Dr. McEvoy is great and I enjoyed all that she had to teach! The course is split into two topics: antibiotic resistance and heat and society. Super interesting stuff! Both are great lecturers and they make the class simple to follow for examinations and whatnot if you take thorough notes during lectures. There is a relatively light workload and make sure to participate in discussions because it's 20% of your grade. Lectures are also recorded. Great class!

Took soc gen 5 with Mcevoy. She is a very typical dry professor. However, she is kind and helpful in answering questions. Beware of the amount of reading required for this class. The exams are alright as long as you did the study guide and understood all the terms. Overall, this was a pretty generic GE. I am selling the actual book of Island of Dr. Moreau for 5 dollars. Feel free to message me at 661-292-9419

this class is hands down one of the most genuinely interesting courses i've taken at ucla. i took this for HBS as a prerequisite but i truly really loved it. Professor McEvoy was an engaging lecturer with clear slides and i learned a lot about antibiotic resistance. Many of the readings seemed to overlap at times, but they were very important to participating in discussion and getting those points. In most cases, I would do half the readings and I got the gist of it (you don't need to read Island of Dr. Moreau sparknotes is fine). Professor Venkat was equally amazing!!! The heat & society unit was truly so fascinating and I actually really enjoyed the readings. It was such an interesting topic that I had never learned about before.

The class breakdown is mostly participation in discussion sections, 2 unit exams that were open note and available all day, and a final paper in the structure of a congressional hearing testimony. Since there were 2 weeks where discussion was cancelled bc of holidays, we had mini assignments that discussed the readings within 300 words. There were other options like a mini podcast or visual map but writing was easiest for me. Overall, this class was so cool and really solidified that I wanna be an HBS major!!