If you want an "easy A" then I don't recommend taking this class to satisfy your writing 1 requirement; Lauri, the professor, even mentioned in one of our lectures not to take this class if you are looking for an "easy A". Instead, she values the growth of a student's writing and places less emphasis on the grades they get for assignments. If she sees you grow, as both a writer and a speaker, she will grade you according to the immense growth she saw in you.

Coming into her class, I thought I was a good writer, but our first midterm essay showed me that I still had a lot to learn and improve. She also loves when you have scheduled office hours with her and will work with you to find not only the grammatical errors but also unnecessary phrasing or broad stroke ideas, which were problems I honestly was not aware of in my midterm essay. She has a great personality and is understanding and empathetic to the incoming freshmen who are getting used to college. Also, PARTICIPATION matters! if you have a problem with speaking in front of a class, maybe do not take this class. I was participating in her class constantly, and I kind of felt like my participation helped me get the grade I got because of what I brought to the table. If you can get out of your comfort zone, then you will see that participating in her class is actually quite fun!

She also does a quarterly topic that her class will focus on. My quarter's topic was the value of stand-up comedy, which was an unorthodox topic but was fascinating and cool to talk and discuss about. If you want to take her class, just be aware of the topic she is doing for the quarter as it could determine whether or not you want to take this class. And honestly, I feel like the different topics she does quarterly will affect how she teaches or instructs her class. For my quarter, we just watched a lot of Netflix shows and did a lot of in-class discussions about what we watched.

Would I recommend you take her class? Yes, if you do want to improve as a writer in your future courses at UCLA. Otherwise, I wouldn't take her class just because her grading is much more critical, and there are easier English teachers you can get an A in. Also, she doesn't have a grading rubric (b/c again, she doesn't value grades) so you are going in blind when doing your essays.

Lauri was awesome! The class was about analyzing stand up comedy, so it requires a Netflix account. But theres only two essays plus discussion posts, and she gives super helpful feedback on both of those. She's funny, kind and definitely worth taking,

I would totally recommend this class. Professor Mattenson is the best Professor I have ever had. She is so kind and so helpful, she will never be rude and is always open minded. The class load is not too bad but do make sure to read all the readings and watch all the shows as they are essential for participation points and for doing good in essays. Make sure to participate during class and discussion forum because it counts a lot for your grade but it's not too bad. The class is very interesting and Professor Mattenson really helped my writing skills improve and my idea of how an essay should really be written.

I took this class online because of covid-19 but I didn't mind the online platform! Lauri is such a sweet person and really wants you to succeed, meaning that she's 100% willing to give you the help that you need. There were only two essays this quarter, one around week 5 and then the final paper; she dropped one of the papers we were supposed to do because of election season (she understood how stressful it could be). The class is centered around the social, educational, and political value of comedy, and honestly I feel like my eyes were truly opened to what comedy is really about. I loved the discussions we had in class (which is for the most part what we did in class, discuss the shows and articles that go with them so make sure to keep up), everyone was so welcoming and nonjudgmental. I really recommend taking this class, it was enlightening and I feel like my writing really improved, plus I had more freedom to write the way I wanted to.

I took this class virtually during COVID

This class is incredible. Lauri is such a caring and genuine person and it really shows in this class. A lot of the work is watching Netflix comedy shows and then reading documents that go along with a general theme of comedy. Then you discuss in class. Talking in discussion forums on CCLE was important, and then we had a couple papers we wrote that made up a majority of our grade. She gives very honest and blunt feedback. It seems hurtful and it is really difficult to learn to take criticism and reconstruct your hard work; however, Lauri has improved my writing for the better. I would definitely recommend taking this class to get your diversity and writing I requirement!

This class was absolutely amazing!!!!! Dr. Lauri is an absolute gem. She is so thoughtful, helpful, and gives you so much one on one attention. I took this class online but it was so amazing!!! You learn so much, and your worldview changes so much. I am not even into English , but I would take this class over and over again.

I LOVE this professor. She really cares about her students, and offers tons of advice for those who need help. I came a little nervous to this class since English isn't my strong-suit, but Professor Mattenson's class made writing fun. I thoroughly enjoyed this class and would take her again!

You watch videos ~1hr each, take thorough notes on them, and write four papers on them throughout the quarter. The professor is extremely helpful when it comes to teaching students how to write, and is a genuinely kind and caring person.

I originally only chose this class to get credit for both Diversity and Writing I, but it quickly turned into one of my favorite classes that I've ever had.

The class revolves around analyzing comedy routines on Netflix (which serves as your textbook, though Prof. Mattenson accommodates) and analyzing the comedians' works for their impact on the socio-political sphere.
As long as you watch all of the routines, take thorough notes, and actually take the time to write your papers, you'll do well. You'll also likely come away from the class with some mental notes on how your writing needs to improve to be the best it can.

Lauri is awesome! Great person and fantastic teacher. She's very approachable and helpful during office hours. She really cares about each student and the content of the course. The homework takes a long time because you just watch hours of stand up comedy, but I felt like it was easy because I enjoyed it so much. Definitely recommend this class.

Lauri's class is really engaging and interesting! Her class is focused around stand up shows and their social implications. There's a total of four writing assignments due throughout the quarter and all of the homework assignments just include watching stand up shows. Watching the shows is interesting, although the downside is that it does take up a bit of time, since most of the shows are around an hour long and she wants you to take detailed notes on them for one of the writing assignments.
Personally, I didn't have too many issues with the writing assignments, but if I did, I felt comfortable enough to talk to Lauri about methods of improving. It's very obvious that she truly cares about her students and she's interesting in helping students improve.