I cannot recommend Comm 191E with Abigail Goldman highly enough! The two classes I've taken with Goldman (the other being Comm 186) have been my absolute favorites that I've taken in college, and Goldman is easily the best professor I've ever had the opportunity to work with. I encourage anyone and everyone -- even if you might think that writing is not your strong suit or passion -- to take this class! You will become a better writer and a better person, and Goldman's dedication to her students is unmatched. I know this review is being published several months after my quarter in the class ended, but it is a testament to the enduring impact this class had on me that I am still raving about it!

This class is set up to teach students about several different styles and forms of journalism. When I took the class, we met for class on Mondays and Wednesdays. On Mondays, we would spend the 75-minute lecture delving into a specific type of journalism (such as writing for hard news stories, writing opinion pieces, or writing a profile), while looking at several examples of both professional and student examples across a range of quality. Then, we'd have to write a 400-500 word short article in that week's style that was due before class on Wednesday. The writing on deadline could be stressful at times, but Goldman held office hours both in-person and on Zoom on Monday and Tuesday to accommodate students' schedules in both the afternoon and evening. She also encouraged collaboration with classmates to read and offer suggestions on each other's work, which helped tremendously. During Wednesday's class, we'd discuss that week's topic further while reflecting on ways our articles were successful or fell short, while previewing the next week's topic. Even in that condensed time frame, Goldman effectively taught us about several different types of writing, and the mandatory readings she assigned (10-12 pages at most each week) were entertaining and helped to see other examples of great articles.

Professor Goldman (who everyone is allowed to call "Abbe") is a veteran Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has tremendous humility, humor, and humanity. Despite her extensive experience as a former reporter at the Los Angeles Times, she never comes across as being stuck-up or condescending, and often offers self-deprecating anecdotes from earlier in her career that help her successfully relate to students about the challenges that can come with adapting to new styles of writing. Her office hours are incredibly helpful, and she is genuinely motivated to encourage student learning and skill acquisition rather than prioritizing grades or perfectionism. She also posts on the class website ample resources and guidelines for how to write specific types of articles.

Goldman's lectures are consistently engaging and fun, with vibrant slideshow presentations that incorporate memes or short video clips pertaining to relevant topics for that week. She expects punctuality and active participation, and the small class size of about 20 students allows her to learn each student's name. Your grade is a combination of participation in class and scores on your weekly articles, but there are no tests. One of the unique features of Goldman's classes are the fact that she always grades anonymously, so she will read (and offer ample feedback upon) your article for the week without knowing it's yours. Her edits and comments are consistently insightful.

If you happen to write for Daily Bruin, BruinLife, or any of UCLA's student magazines, this class is especially invaluable and it would be an enormous missed opportunity not to take it. I was a Daily Bruin contributor with only one published byline when I took the class, but the strengthening of my writing over the course of the quarter inspired me to write more often (and eventually pursue editorship at the Daily Bruin). If it weren't for this class, I don't think I would have built this greater level of confidence in my own writing ability across a range of styles, and Goldman is always focused on empowering students.

That said, being a Student Media writer is by no means a requirement for participating in this class. When I took this class, it was a fairly even 50-50 split between Student Media writers and students who did not write for a publication outside of class. Goldman's lectures are tailored to suit all ability levels.

Hopefully it is evident that I would take this class again every quarter at UCLA if I could! With whatever writing ability you currently possess, you have what it takes to enjoy and thrive in Goldman's class!

Prof. Goldman is the perfect lecturer if you're coming into the course to become a better writer. While I did not get the grade I wanted, the skills I took from being taught by Prof. Goldman will be carried (by zombies) with me forever.

I more than recommend this course.

Professor Goldman is one of the best professors I've had the privilege of learning from in my time at UCLA, and I absolutely loved her Comm 191E class. The assignments aren't inherently easy, but you aren't overloaded with them, and Prof. Goldman provides a lot of help both in class and at office hours. She wants you to succeed, and pushes you through her assignments. I learned so much and can't wait to take Comm 186 with her in Spring 2024.

As someone who wants to go into journalism, Prof. Goldman was knowledgable, helpful, and incredibly kind, building a class for us to think outside of our comfort zone and learn skills that we will use in the real world.

When I took the course, there was no exam, however, she held the right to add one as a final. Weekly assignments with two days to complete, but it was honestly nice because it never conflicted with my other classes.

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Professor Goldman is an amazing professor and this class is unlike any other I've taken at UCLA. It's a small seminar so she can really teach us how to write. As a comm major, I wish more classes in the communications department were like this -- practical skills for journalists. And the professor was truly there to help us learn.

It's intense because you're writing an article each week, but anyone interested in journalism or writing should take this class. It hones your skills and makes you think about each word you use.

She uses anonymous grading which was fair (and great because the class is really about improving yourself so it's nice to know where you stand). I went to her office hours a lot and it was SUPER helpful to read her my work. She's welcoming to students and really cares about our learning.

Abbe is an incredible professor. She was one of the first where I felt like the student-teacher relationship was just easy and not intimidating, tough or scary. As long as you do the work and follow all the rules (and there are a LOT of rules) down to a tee, you'll be totally fine. I loved the small-group setting because I'm usually afraid to speak up in larger classes, so participating was easier for me. The anonymous grading helped a lot too – since there were a lot of people in the class that Abbe knew from before, the anonymous grading took out the bias and made everything a lot more fair. Overall, definitely take this class! My writing is so much clearer and more concise now, and I'd say the work was definitely worth it.

This is one of my favorite classes I have taken at UCLA. Abbe is an incredible instructor and I can guarantee that you will come out of this class with new insight and skills. She's an incredibly tough grader, but she provides you with all of the tools you need to be successful. You are assigned a paper to write at the beginning of each week and it is due the following class. She expects clear, concise and meaningful writing. The prompts include a Ledes assignment, a Vignette, a Profile, an Opinion piece, a Breaking News piece (she provides the "news"), a Public Relations piece, and -- potentially -- a Science piece. What she expects from each assignment is very clear and she is unbelievably good at meeting with students to help them. She wants you to do well and gives you every opportunity to succeed. The class is not easy, but if you listen to her feedback and trust what she tells you, you will leave this class a much better writer and thinker. She also grades anonymously which is great because your work is the only thing that matters.