Sorry for the spam. This was for ANE 10W.

Great class, but grades mainly revolve around TAs. That may be an issue to some of you.

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Prof Smoak is hands down one of my all time favorite professors! He is very knowledgeable on Jerusalem and creates a very engaging and though provoking curriculum. He also seems to genuinely care about his students which I think is lacking in a lot of other ucla professors. This class has a decent amount of writing and reading but given its a writing 2 class I wouldn't say its anything excessive. The main textbook is interesting but overall I feel like its not super prominent in the class and assignments mainly come from the other weekly readings, especially biblical ones.

The class content was alright. I didn't find it the most interesting but the workload wasn't too bad. We had weekly one-page responses about the readings, a midterm, 2 essays, and a final. For the second paper, we had to research a religious site, and Smoak was so nice about it. He offered to help us out with finding sources, skimming drafts, etc. Adjustments were made because of the strike. Smoak was the most accommodating and transparent professor I had. He cancelled some of our assignments but also made it clear that he stood with the academic workers and would not be the one to grade them. Even before the strike, you could tell that he cared about our success in the class. He offered multiple extra credit opportunities after the midterm.

Overall, I'd give Smoak a higher rating than I would the class.

Course: Jerusalem 10W Spring 2011

I have not even finished the quarter with Professor Smoak but I have to say that he is one of the most pragmatic professors I have had. The class becomes extremely simple with his lecture style, he is very transparent of what he expects and does a great job at lecturing main points and not trivial info. I don't know why he has not gotten many more positive reviews but if you have a chance to take his GE Jerusalem 10W you should it is a very straightforward class in which you will actually learn something but not be super pressured.

I actually took AN N EA 10W with Professor Smoak.

Professor Smoak is a really good teacher. Although the course may seem like it could be boring, Smoak makes the material interesting and he's a really good lecturer. If you pay attention and take good notes during the lectures, then you really don't have to do the readings. Good notes will also really help you with the 2 essays. The midterm was straight forward and easy based off of the study guide. The 2 essays are basically graded off of the fact that you turn in a draft and your TA tells you to change what you need to change in order to get a good grade. Listen to your TA because they are the ones who are grading your work.

If you're looking for an easy GE that also fulfills your writing 2 requirement, then I highly recommend this class!

He is such a good lecturer. He is so organized and so easy to understand. He also makes it very easy to take notes. No regrets if you have a chance to take this class DO IT NOW.

I adored professor smoak. the lecture material was interesting, and he worked to make it even more engaging. Easy midterm and final, and a fun (surprisingly not terrible) group project. Smoak is very approachable and amiable. I would take any class again with Smoak.

Took 10W. Smoak is good at talking, but THIS IS NOT AN EASY CLASS! YOU HAVE TO DO A LOT OF WORK AND RESEARCH FOR THE ESSAYS! DON'T PLAN ON THIS CLASS BEING AN EASY A. That being said, take him during the spring, NOT FALL quarter. He is more laid back after the Fall quarter.

Best teacher at UCLA, hands down!!! He's a great communicator and teacher! He cares about his students. And makes it clear what he wants from his students! Take a class with Smoak, this ain't no joke!

I've taken JS 150A, Hebrew 101A, 101B, and I must say he is one of UCLA's finest professors. He's clear as to what he expects, no surprises. His test are very fair and he's a great lecturer. He cares that you are learning and is very interesting. I would highly recommend taking Professor Smoak if possible, you won't regret it.