this is a review for soc 102 with sigmon, but also 101 because i took him for both. i love sigmon!!! the way that he structures his tests makes it that you can literally have a guaranteed a in the class- as long as you put in the work. the questions on his tests are literally verbatim from what he puts on his slides, no more, no less. he will literally ask you to fill in the blank for a random quote that you're unlikely to remember- unless you study the slides. no reading is required either- both classes i did reading the first few weeks but it doesn't help you much on your tests because all you need to know are the words written on his slides. i studied for his tests by combining all of my lecture notes- this being the notes on his slides typed out word for word- put on a complete google doc. i organized each one by their theory and theorist, if there were multiple, and then also added the info that my ta gave us in section. i then made these concept maps that included the theory, theorist, and all the terms with definitions. others in this class may have just reviewed the slides but i have a really hard time memorizing things unless i do it extensively so as long as i did this, i easily recognized each question on the final. the tests are curved by a couple points too, so that should help. i got a 97 on the midterm, and a 91 on the final because i didn't study the slides enough. there is also an essay but its really easy and he gives you the prompt at the start of the quarter, so start soon that way you have more time to study since the essay is due a few days before the final. its five pages double spaced, but he also asks you to pull from outside resources. not only do i love sigmon because of the predictability of his tests- and my grade in the class- but he also makes understanding theory so much easier. he basically just breaks down the reading into digestible content in his lectures, and pulls from his own life for examples. he also recalls other theoriests in soc 102, from soc 101 so it helped me recall the theories i learned last quarter too. he's also just a really nice guy, i never went to his office hours but it was clear that he loved talking to students and wanted them to succeed. also- this class is not podcasts, however i would miss class a couple weeks because he basically reads his slides word for word, and posts them at the end of each week, so id just take all the info from the slides and copy it down in my doc if i had to miss- but i recommend going in person, he loves when students show up and it also just makes it easier to stay on top of all the info you need.

Professor Sigmon is a great professor here at UCLA. He does all of his lectures on lecture slides. They do come in very handy for studying for the midterm and final. His lectures can get a bit boring, but since he does not record them I suggest going to every class even though attendance is not mandatory. One suggestion I make is to go to his office hours. He is so helpful during them and really makes everything a lot clearer. Ultimately, be reminded this is not an easy class. But as long as you put in effort, time, and study, you should relatively well.

I am an international student and I found this class pretty manageable. I agree that some of the course material is challenging and can be hard to digest. Professor Sigmon helped us to make sense of the sophisticated readings in his lectures. I had Jorge as my TA and he is super helpful.

This professor is a good and funny professor. But this is not an easy class. You need to prepare to read a lot of books if you plan to take his class. His test will require you to take several in-class essays. It was hard to take.
ATTENTION INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS IF YOUR MOTHER LANGUAGE IS NOT ENGLISH, IT WILL DESTROY YOUR GPA!!! CHOOSE ANOTHER PROFESSOR IF IT IS POSSIBLE.

I honestly recommend Sigmon's class over the summer. The lectures were extremely clear, and he posted the slides after lecture each day. He posted two discussion posts each week and you only needed to respond to one per week. We had 3 test total (each dedicated to one theorist) and each exam was free response to three questions (10 sentences max). He also gave us the topics that would be covered in the exam questions at the beginning of the week. I think the class structure was clear and not at all demanding. As long as you go to all lectures and pay attention, you will do well.

Overall, I don't think Sigmon is a bad professor, but he's not the best by any means. His lectures in person were definitely more interesting than online, as we had online lectures for the first four weeks of the quarter. He basically just reads the slides and adds a few comments here and there. The midterm consisted of writing five short essays, and for the final, we had to write six. We also had to write a term paper due three days before the final. The TAs made us take difficult quizzes every week before we were lectured on the material which created a very stressful environment. I would spend all my Sundays on these quizzes, and though I did fairly well on them, everyone was extremely stressed, and the average of the quizzes were consistently low. The quizzes were only worth 10% of the final grade, but the TAs expected so much from us. I somehow managed to snag an A, but this was probably the most stressful class I've taken at UCLA so far.

I did not read past week 2 and got an A. The tests are 'tough' but I finished it in half the time allotted so it's doable. The tests were also short answer to a bunch of different prompts. All I did for the midterm and final was look at the slides literally the night before and recall the key points in relation to whoever he put on the study guide. I attended most lectures and discussion sections but found myself so tired--it was something about being in Dodd Hall and his lectures. Sometimes he was funny but you really have to be motivated to take goooood notes. I took notes but never reread them like ever so it might've been easier had I done that. Just focus on his interpretation of the readings and when it comes to the tests just answer it in the way you think he would answer it. My TA was Joseph Murphy and he was helpful too in giving a rundown of what was covered in lecture.

Not sure why there aren't more honest reviews about Sigmon. He's the worst sociology professor here at UCLA. Avoid him at all costs. His lectures add no value because he just reads off his slides in a monotone voice making it very hard to stay engaged. Sigmon doesn’t believe in using technological devices so be prepared to take notes with a pen and paper. Worse of all he is very unaccommodating to students who’ve gotten covid and have shown no empathy.

I really liked this professor, he gave really entertaining lectures and actually made the material interesting which is impressive considering it's a theory class. The workload is somewhat heavy, but most of it is pretty straightforward so as long as you attend all the lectures and discussions you should be fine on the exams and term paper.

I absolutely LOVE Professor Sigmon. He is so humble, funny, kind, generous, caring--an excellent human being overall. He makes the material so interesting and understandable. If I were to learn the material by myself, I would be completely lost. He, however, offers bite-sized pieces of the material, and he often uses amazing real-life stories to explain concepts. Attendance is not required but helpful. The exams are a reflection of the powerpoint slides. No trick questions!