Suman does a great job of lecturing and the content is interesting. You have to be really specific on everything on the midterm and final. The paper is not too bad if you plan ahead and go to your t.a's office hours. I got a B- on the midterm and probably the final but I got an A on the paper. Study at least 4-5 days in advance for midterm and final.

I enjoyed the class and it was interesting. Honestly wish I had given more effort in this class when studying for the exams :/

It was okay. Personally, I hated the first three weeks (about gendered communication) and like the last three weeks (about free speech) more. Overall, all I did to succeed was copy the lecture notes verbatim by hand (since knowing things verbatim is rewarded in this class) as well as writing three lines of text in each line of college ruled binder paper when preparing for the open notes section of the reading. The essays were ok. Really take advantage of your TA and don't be afraid to ask them EXACTLY what they expect of you to write and present on the test. And when taking the test, really cater to that, and you'' do fine. Also, AUDIO RECORD THE LECTURES! You will not be able to write down all the terms he says down and you'll zone out sometimes. This is a class where it is especially important to know things verbatim so just record the lectures with your phone, put in the extra work even if you don't want to, and you'll be good to go.

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Overall I'm glad I took this class, but don't recommend taking it if it's not a major pre-req. Suman is a good lecturer and very straightforward about the exam structures, but the workload is very heavy.
The structure of the class is a midterm worth 45 points, a paper worth 40 points, and a final worth 50 points. You can use 10 pages front and back of note sheets on the exams, and you can write anything on them EXCEPT lecture material, which must be memorized. The midterm consisted of two essays and 25ish short answers, and the final was three essays with a similar amount of short answer questions. As long as you do the required preparation the exams are not conceptually difficult, but the prep work is a lot.
You are responsible for reading two books, 14 online readings, and 8 articles from Taking Sides over the course of the quarter. These are not difficult to understand but toward the end of the quarter the online readings are upwards of 20 pages long.
The paper topic choices were interesting and not difficult to come up with material for. I put a lot of time into my paper because I heard that the grading is tough and I managed a good grade. I recommend talking to your TA so you know what they are looking for, and using the Undergraduate Writing Center.
Suman does not use slides and does not allow technology in his class, so you have to write down everything he says word for word. I did not find this difficult to do and he does not talk at an unreasonably fast rate, but there is A LOT of material to memorize. I also found it unclear at times what we were responsible for knowing, but Suman was very approachable during office hours and was always willing to clarify any confusion I had.
I found the course material extremely interesting and am so glad that I took it (I am hoping to major in Comm). If you are interested in interpersonal comm or mass comm, and can handle the above workload, then I say you take this course because Suman is interesting and the course material is applicable to life!

The workload of this class is crazy. NEVER take this class as a GE, especially for STEM majors. Taking this class as a GE is the worst decision I've ever made. The lecture material is kinda useful, but there are 3 books and 15ish online articles to read. And the professor doesn't use slides, so you have to be extremely focused and can't miss one lecture. The midterm and final exams are pretty hard, consisted with short answer questions and essays. Overall, the lecture is not bad if you are a comm major.

I actually took this class kinda on accident. I dropped my cluster during week 2 and needed a GE and this was the only one available. I ended up liking the class so much that I’m now applying to be a comm major this summer (I was undeclared before). It’s an extremely interesting class and you can tell that Suman knows what he’s talking about. The class is really tough but honestly Suman tells you everything you need to know. There are a lot of readings (DO ALL OF THEM!) and the lectures are extremely important so if you want a good grade, GO TO CLASS AND LISTEN! I got A’s on both the midterm and final but bombed my essay so I ended up with a B+. His tests are REALLY specific but he gives you example questions that give you a feel of what the exam will be like so make sure to read those. Basically if you put in the effort, you’ll be happy with your grade! I also thought all of the readings were very interesting.

This class is a weeder class for the Comm major. It is definitely difficult to get an A, but it is still one of my favorite classes I've taken at UCLA. Suman's lectures are very structured and easy to follow. He also makes a lot of jokes which makes the 2 hour lecture a little more entertaining. Overall, the material is generally straightforward, and he gives a lot of examples to make sure you understand the concept fully. However, you must take diligent notes because he doesn't use slides or post anything about lectures online. There is a midterm, a final, and a final paper, which are all graded toughly. You do get to use notes on the tests, but you must know even the smallest details because those will often be on the test. The final grade in the class is also curved. I don't regret taking this class, but it is definitely tough.

I highly recommend attending every single class if you aim to do well. So much information is given during each lecture and it's almost all needed for the midterm and final. The paper requirements are very vague and open ended topic-wise. However, thoroughly discussing it with your TA could help clear things up and ensure you're on the right path.