BREAKDOWN: Midterm (20 multiple choice questions, one essay) 35% Paper 30%, Final 35%.

Prof Urdank was my fav prof @ UCLA. He is quick to respond to emails and will answer any question you have stupid or not. Really nice guy, people dont like him for many reasons. 1) He goes over the time almost every lecture, so DONT schedule a class right after his, you will be LATE! 2) His lectures can be DRY, if you are NOT interested in the material. Dont take the class unless you are interested in the material.

His exams were NOT tough, just prep off your notes, but you NEED TO COME TO CLASS!!! to get the notes or else you will suffer!

Midterm: I recorded the lectures and typed GREAT notes, it is tough b/c he says a lot, but try to get the main points down, AND pay particular attention when he refers to what the authors of the assigned reading say. I cant stress this enough. According to Fergusson, or Paxton, or Leukacs, PAY ATTENTION here, he uses that for his multiple choice question. Also, COME TO CLASS!!! His exams are straight from his NOTES! If you take good ones you will be fine. Read the material b/c it is interesting, but the NOTES are enough for the exams.

Paper: He calls is an "Analytical Thought Piece" 5-7 pages on a topic of your choice, NOT a research paper, he wants your opinion using the sources for the class. Due the end of 9th week, it wasnt tough, but settle your topic with him before you start writing.

Final: He gave us a studyguide before the exam that basically covered his LECTURE OUTLINES. The Multiple choice questions are TRICKY! the essays are very FAIRLY graded, but the mc questions were tough. the final is NOT cumulative.

I got an A on midterm, paper, and final. I studied my NOTES, but i had GREAT notes, 5-6 pages per lecture, AND I recorded ALL the lectures, this helped me alot. He is propably one of the NICEST Profs at UCLA, he wants students to participate! He often asks the class what they think, but most people dont do the reading so they sit saying nothing. Take URDANK if you want to LEARN about the material. The class is DOABLE if you have GOOD NOTES I cant stress that enough!

Go off your NOTES for the exams and NOT the books (the multiple choice questions come DIRECTLY word-for-word from the NOTES) If you dont come to class you will SUFFER!