• absolutely loved this class. i came into comm 1 knowing that public speaking was something i'm more comfortable with than the average person, so personally, i had a lot of fun with the speeches. even if public speaking scares you, this class will WITHOUT A DOUBT make the thought of giving a presentation a little less terrifying, help you develop as a speaker, and give you more confidence in your abilities! i swear to you!! karen is the sweetest woman and she will make you feel comfortable and okay with however your speech turned out.

• theres 4 speeches:
1. elevator pitch (you'll get the points no matter how bad your pitch is lmao, she told us this)
2. ceremonial (a speech honoring someone notable or introducing them to speak)
3. informative (a speech that provides someone with more info about a topic than they may have known before, teaching)
4. persuasive (convincing someone to agree with your argument)

• if we're talking about practical classes to take in college, this is one of them! and you will leave the class feeling like you actually gained valuable skills and experiences.

• LAST THING, you'll get to know your classmates since its a small class, and everyone will be so encouraging. made the quarter ending bittersweet but i loved it <3

This class was great. Professor Mack's lectures were always well organized and engaging, her videos were interesting and relevant, and the final was not difficult at all. Throughout the quarter, I guarantee that you will improve your public speaking skills exponentially. Professor Mack encourages you to write speeches about topics that interest you and share that with the rest of the class. The size of the class is also fairly small, and you really get to know your fellow classmates from them presenting their speeches. Overall, I had a blast taking COMM 1 with Mack, and I would definitely recommend it.

Professor Mack is the sweetest woman ever. She gives really good feedback and the class itself is really easy. I'm not a huge fan of public speaking, but the class did help me with both the delivery and writing aspects of speeches. There are 4 speeches and 1 paper. You get to choose whatever you want to talk about for the speeches so it made writing them fun and interesting. The paper was easy (you could number the questions so it wasn't even an essay really). I wouldn't buy the textbooks; I opened them once and never looked at them again so save your money. The only thing is that Professor Mack would take off points for really small things, but I still ended up getting a 93+ on all my speeches. The days that weren't speech days were lecture days and while they may seem dry, I would still recommend going because it helps for the final. I'd really recommend taking this class! It's an easy GE and the only work you have is writing and practicing your speeches, which isn't a lot at all.

Professor Mack is really nice and gives really good feedback on each of your speeches. The class is generally a few lectures with about 4 speeches in total. Participation is a part of your grade, meaning you have to stay for other people's speeches and give feedback. People usually give interesting speeches, so it isn't even that bad. The lectures are sometimes not very interesting, but near the final, you get a study guide that tells you al you need to know for the exam. Readings were not essential, but helpful to really elevate your speaking skills. Overall, this class was an easy A and definitely helps build a skill set in public speaking.

If you are interested in learning about public speaking techniques, in both writing and oral presentations, or want to gain more experience, this is the perfect class. The professor is an amazing person, giving her students the best platform to learn the new techniques and to also display their new techniques through presentations given to the class. The class has multiple different oral presentations, each having a different focus and different length. There is a final at the end of the class that branches off from each topic discussed in class and the real world at large. Being someone that doesn't mind public speaking, but no where near being a pro, this class gave me both new tools and new confidence to stand in front of an audience and give a confident presentation. I really enjoyed this class and learned great life lessons for my future. As I am not a Comm major, I still found this class as very useful and a class that didn't add crazy stress to my life.

Mack is so sweet, major elementary school teacher vibes. It was kinda weird taking this class completely online because of COVID but honestly I think it made doing the speeches easier since it was from the comfort of my home. If you take it online you can just keep yourself muted and cam off when it's not your speech day, she doesn't count in class participation. I actually switched from Bridgewater to Mack early in the quarter and I'm so glad I did because Bridgewater would randomly call on people and ask them random questions and generally waste a bunch of time. I believed the reviews on Bruinwalk and thought Bridgewater would be fine but he's like one of those old white men that are pretty self-centered. Mack is the opposite, she cares so much about all of her students. She was so accommodating throughout the quarter and even changed the final to a no-harm final because of everything going on. The class wasn't much work either. 1 elevator pitch that can be pre-recorded, 1 ceremonial speech, 1 informative speech, 1 persuasive speech. Lecture days are kind of dry but you really don't need to pay much attention because she gives you a final study guide that has everything you need to know. You also don't need the textbook at all and you really don't need to watch the speeches she assigns either, but I'd recommend doing so because some of them are pretty interesting. If you're going to take comm 1, take it with Mack.

Professor Mack is one of the most helpful and kind professors I've experienced at UCLA. The courseload is reasonable and professor Mack is extremely accomodating. She expects the speeches to be fully rehearsed and researched but does not grade harshly in my opinion. The textbooks aren't really needed since she reviews all the important things in lecture. I definitely recommend Professor Mack!

Professor Mack is literally one of the sweetest and most understanding professors you'll have at UCLA. Her class does not have a heavy workload aside from the speeches, however, you do learn a lot about different techniques to improve oral communication. She always gives very helpful feedback in order to improve on the next speech and is very thorough in her expectations, leaving very little room for confusion. Even as someone who doesn't like public speaking as much, this class was very helpful and informative!

Selling Comm Stud 1 Textbooks
--> A Concise Public Speaking Handbook (Beebe 4th edition) $30
--> The Essential Guide to Rhetoric (Keith and Lundberg) $10
--> Words like Loaded Pistols - Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama (Leith) $15
Selling them as a bundle. All 3 books for $50!!

Please email me at ************* if interested!

Karen Mack is one of the sweetest professors I had had thus far at UCLA. She really enjoys her class and loves seeing her students thrive. She is a fair grader and the majority of the class is focused on a series of speeches that you have to perform in front of the class. Her lectures explain exactly how she wants each easy to be done.