Pretty much everyone at UCLA takes Ling 1 as a GE, and Walkow was a good professor. His lectures were clear and super organized, and he gave online quizzes and short essays instead of a midterm and final.

This class was one of my favorites!
Really interesting concepts, made easier to understand in section
very organized powerpoints
4 (very short) essays and 5 quizzes, take-home, very easy, no midterm or final

Fabulous professor. Time is a little rough sometimes. Luckily, the professor is extremely knowledgable. Very respectful to students and a great person overall.

This is my first evaluation in ucla.
Before entering as a freshman, I have heard from past students that Lin1 is a really easy class, with an easy A. However, this year it turns out to be different. Professor Walkow is a German.(according to himself) You can search online and you will find out he is a visiting professor from University of Massachusetts.(NOOOT MIT) University of Massachusetts does have a good Linguistic department though.

The class starts at 8:00, so you should get up early which is painful for most students. His lectures are
straightforward from the ppt, which you can find on the CCLE. But he always gives it out in the morning, so it is not possible for you to PREVIEW. However, you can read the book, and most of his examples and contents come from the textbook.(You don't have to buy it, but it can give you ideas about what's going on and hints for essays.)

No homework, no midterm, and no finals, which is great. Four essays and 5 quizzes occupy your whole grade, and essays are due every two weeks.(though many students do their essays at two days before the deadline)

Quizzes are online, with 30 multiple choices in 45 minutes. You can either take it on Friday's night or any time on the Saturday. Questions sometimes are confusing and are more complicated than the theories, definitions, and concepts he introduces in the class. Usually when the class is not doing well, he gives a curve.

Essay topics are weird, to be honest. The first one we had is " Can dogs learn human language". The reading material is experiments conducted by somebody I don't care. The second one is like "Does language we speak shape how we think", and the reading material is from a debate of the Economist, which is interesting. The third one is weird, and I wish you good luck because some of my peers got 100. The last one is DUE ON THE FRIDAY AFTER THANKSGIVING!!! It is really annoying.

Essays are graded by TAs. If you TA is harsh, then good luck.

Overall Walkow is knowledgeable and knows his material really well, but I still couldn't help myself from falling asleep in the last 20 minutes. His class is like a pain on Fridays, but you don't have to go to the lecture to get a grade for both quizzes and essays.

Walkow's class was pretty easy. There were no midterms or finals. Only 4 essays and 5 mini-quizzes assigned throughout the quarter. The quizzes were easy because almost all the material was provided during the lecture. The class was somewhat boring to me but that's because it was at 8am. If the class were at any other time it'd probably be more interesting. The four essays are really about a page to a page and a half. (500-750 words). The course isn't hard and you don't really need to buy the textbook but it could be used for reference. Take the class and if you actually pay attention you can get an A.