I took Esdin Winter 2015. Based on my experience from his class, his class isn't the easiest class i took at UCLA, but it certainly isn't the hardest. To receive an outstanding grade in the class, you just need to stay on top of things. I highly recommend recording his lectures and listening to them carefully after class. Don't rewrite your notes, but update them instead, and make flash cards. Rewriting your notes is helpful but it will take for ever completing a packet. try making flashcards because it's a form of active learning and will help you grasp the concept even better. I also recommend studying at least 4 days in advance for his exams. His exams are super detailed, and he marks off points if you don't answer with the correct wording he uses in lecture. Lastly, take advantage of discussion!. even though discussion is a reiteration of past lectures, it's important you study your notes before discussion and participate!!!! Participation counts!
Exams are entirely lecture based. I don't recommend buying the book because there is barely an overlap between the lectures and the book. If you have Arnold as a second professor, then I recommend buying the book because his notes are a copy of the book, and the book makes more sense. I hope my review is helpful and wish you all the best with this class.

Disclaimer: This class is curved, and it can either help you or hurt you!!!!!

Very easy GE. Go to lectures and read the course reader. But don't read the whole book, just read the part prof mentioned in class. Then, you get an A!

Edsin is such a sweet man but he was not very engaging and expected a lot from students. The class is easy until the midterm/project/final destroy you. Actually, the project is quite easy and it, along with the workbook, are major grade boosters. But memorizing all the material was near impossible for me.

Just had Esdin/Friscia for LS2 Winter 2016. Friscia was a slower and more clear lecturer that Bruincasted his audio so you wouldnt have to. Esdin's test questions were MUCH trickier, sometimes badly worded and unnecessarily confusing to be honest. I did well in the class because I have been studying biology/doing research for years (got a perfect score on every standardized bio test), but even so I knew that the questions could be very tricky for people with less exposure and practice to critically think about biological systems. Overall I would recommend, but make sure you can memorize details and think critically during exams.

Class material was not too difficult, mostly memorization. Lecture lacked clarity but course reader was clear.

Grade Distribution:
Exam 1 - 100 points
Exam 2 - 100 points
Discussion quizzes - 40 points
Discussion attendance and participation - 10 points
Final Exam - 180 points
Total - 430 points

Professor Esdin:
Esdin is a very great professor. You can tell how passionate he is about teaching and how well he knows his stuff. His lectures in the second half of the course were more organized than Friscia's in the first half. They also are mostly pictures, so you really have to listen in lecture to fill in the gaps. His lectures aren't podcasted, but he allows you to record. This is absolutely necessary. He covers a lot of information in a short amount of time, so you need to go back and make sure you got everything he said in your notes. There is no textbook for this class that is necessary, so just rely on lectures to study. I went to office hours a lot and I thought that was pretty helpful. We basically just sit in a room and he stands and answers our questions. You can ask clarifying or out there questions, and he's happy to answer all of them. I really liked Esdin. I would recommend him.

TA Jeanette Alcaraz:
Discussion sections were pretty helpful with going over material. Though at the end of the quarter, we didn't cover the material as in depth as the beginning of the quarter. But either way, Jeanette is very sweet. She knows her stuff and is very approachable. I would recommend her as a TA.

Exam 1 Grade: 87/100
This first exam covered all of Friscia's half. It was around 30 or so multiple choice questions with a couple few short answer questions. On the back of the test, there were a lot of fill in the blank questions. And stupid me didn't turn the test over, so I lost a good amount of points because of that. The test was pretty fair otherwise, Just pay attention to things he says out loud in lecture. Because there are some questions on that stuff that isn't explicitly in the notes.

Exam 2 Grade: 82/100
The average for the second exam was 72.4. It was unanimously considered significantly harder than Friscia's midterm, though it's noncumulative. This round contained Esdin's lectures. This had a similar format to the first midterm. A good amount of multiple choice with some short answer. No fill in the blank though. Basically just study the lecture slides and listen to recordings. Let me just say that he loves his action potentials.

Discussion Quizzes Grade: 37/40
There are four quizzes in the odd weeks of the quarter in discussion on four papers posted on CCLE. They are mildly interesting, but mostly pretty dull. Just study it really well the night before and you should do fine. The quizzes are ten questions of multiple choice, fill in the blank, and true or false questions. Pay attention to details when you read the papers.

Discussion attendance and participation: 10/10
Attendance to lecture isn't mandatory, but you need to go to discussion to get participation points. Basically go every week and you should get these easy points.

Final Exam Grade: 144/180
The average for the final was 134.3. The final was cumulative, but Esdin took out most of his material covered in the second midterm. The final is primarily focused on the new material after the second midterm. The final was multiple choice and a couple short answers. It was a bit tricky, but doable. Again, just study all the lectures.

Overall Grade: B+ (360/430)
Overall, I did okay in the class. I felt like I earned a higher grade, but LS classes distribute grades on some sort of quota system with 20% As, 20% Bs, 40% Cs, and 10-20% Ds. It's a bit unfair. And to be honest, if I didn't fuck up on the first midterm, I may have gotten an A-. This is definitely not an easy class. It's a lot of information in a short amount of time. But if you study hard enough, you should do fine.

Esdin talks very fast. His slides are often sparse, but that's only because he wants you to attend lecture. He has a bit of an ego, but which professor doesn't. His tests are tricky, but if you study enough, you will do fine. A straightforward, albeit sometimes annoying, professor, and an okay class.

Professor Esdin is an awesome lecturer. He makes his lessons clear and concise, always transitioning from the big picture to the details of the topic. He does move at a fast pace, but going through the recordings of his lectures definitely helps. It's difficult to catch everything by listening to his lecture once, so I recommend recording his lectures and giving them a listen throughout the week. There were always a handful of people at his office hours, and although I only attended a few of them, Professor Esdin was always willing to help and answer any questions we had for him. Yes, his exams are challenging, but they're fair. He never asks students something he never mentioned in class. If students put in the time and effort, they will definitely obtain the grade that they want. I hope I see Professor Esdin in my future classes.

The content is interesting and the professor gives clear lectures. If you read the course reader, lecture is not necessary to attend, however he does keep a sign in sheet. The syllabus splits up the grading into participation, discussion. quizzes, a midterm, final, and a project. The project consist of a large part of the grade and is not very difficult. I have heard mixed reviews on the midterm difficulty level, because there is a lot of material to memorize in the course reader in preparation. Overall I would definitely recommend this class and its a pretty easy A.

This class was so interesting, all he cares about is for you to remember a few ideas for your own health. There is one project that assesses your diet and physical activity, but everything is mapped out for you, and almost everyone gets a good grade on it.