WORST CLASS EVER. I have never received a B in my life before I took this class. I took this class to get into the communication major and it was extremely difficult. The only things in the grade book were the midterm exam, the essay, and the final exam. The midterm and final exams were extremely difficult, asking for the most obscure things the professor may or may not have said during lecture. The TAs docked off points for the stupidest reasons. The paper was seemingly easy, and my TA, Tristen Hagen, said the paper is a great way to 'bring up your grade.' However, she GAVE ME A C ON THE PAPER. and could not explain why besides that I was too generous with commas. Nothing about the content of my paper. She refused to regrade it, so I went to Suman about it and he laughed in my face. He said he would lower my grade if he looked at it and dissuaded me from asking him to take a look at what I thought to be unfair grading. He was extremely unhelpful, rude, and did not care about his student's success. not to mention that the entire class was asynchronous, but we had to take our tests in person and closed note.

This class is very tedious and should only be taken if you plan to be a Communications major. The professor has taught this class for many years, and has a very specific set of rules for the class. You are not allowed to take notes on a laptop, so you have to take all of your notes by hand. The tests cover an extreme amount of content, so you have to study far more than you would expect. DO NOT take this class for a Social Analysis GE, because there are far more interesting and manageable options.

Class involves a ton of memorization. It's a lot of information to take it. All notes must be hand written. Material was interesting, it's just taught very fast and you never spend too long on a certain subject.

grade heavily depends on TA. don’t take this as a GE.

As the majority of these ratings suggest, this class is one of the most controversial intro classes you can take at UCLA. Based on the course content alone, Comm 10 was one of the most influential in helping me understand what I wanted out of my four years here. If you are less focused on getting the best grades and more focused on improving yourself as a person, this course will be incredibly engaging and stimulating, and you'll do well in the course as a result. It'll open your mind to basic aspects of life that are overlooked. There is so much content that you have to learn inside and out - enough to be able to teach your friends about - in order to receive good grades. But if you stay focused and interested in the material, it really is not that hard to do well on the exams. Suman's office hours and the TAs as well are essential to attend if you want to earn an A on your paper and the exams. Suman is a brilliant man that loves to share his knowledge with his students, so take advantage of this!

Just make sure you don't get behind in this class. Very hard to cram at last minute so if you want to succeed and not let this class mess up your GPA stay on top of the readings and attend every lecture!

Everyone talks about how daunting COMM 10 is for good reason. The class is based on three exams: the midterm, paper, and final. The midterm and final are subjectively graded and cover an extensive amount of material. However, this class has many more pros than cons. The content is extremely interesting and Professor Suman really knows his stuff. If you are interested in Comm this class is a great introduction to all that the major encompasses, but it is not a class to be taken if one is looking for an easy A. You get out of this class what you put into it.

I was really scared to take this class because of some of the reviews, but I actually really enjoyed it! I took it during A sesh so everything was sped up a bit, but it was totally manageable! Suman is great although it will take some time to get used to him. I didn't enjoy his teaching style at first but ended up loving it later and now I'm currently taking another one of his classes!

There are a lot of negative reviews for this class, and most of what others have said is true. You really have to work hard in this class to keep up with all of the material and get an A. Lectures and discussions are not mandatory but absolutely necessary in order to do well in the class. I did think that the material, especially in the first half of the class and the very end, was very interesting and easy to comprehend because it is so applicable to daily life.

Notes are key! Take good notes and make use of all 20 pages you are allowed to have for the midterm and final.

Start studying early! Can't emphasize this enough. A large portion of the midterm and final relies solely on your retention of material covered in lecture (which you aren't allowed to have notes on for the tests).

On tests, time management is very important. There are simply a lot of questions and essays that need to be written within the time frame, so make sure to budget your time wisely.

I loved the content of this class. I actually really like Suman, and I found the lectures to be incredibly engaging. Although it was tough, I kind of appreciated the no technology rule because it eliminated distractions and I retained more information handwriting my notes.
The midterm and final are definitely difficult, but they are somewhat fair. Everything that is asked is something that was taught in lectures or is in the readings, so memorize absolutely everything you can. It is just hard because we learn so so much information. If you can, memorize every single list that he gives you in lecture. Those made up a lot of exam questions. But honestly, if something is listed on the lecture guides at all, you should try to know it. Take advantage of the 20 pages of reading notes you are allowed to have, start early, and make them as organized as possible. Having in-depth, organized notes felt like free points on the short answer questions because I basically had the answers right there. Before the midterm, really try to get a very in-depth feel for what your TA is expecting on the essay portion. Knowing exactly what they were looking for really boosted my score for the final. Also, manage your time wisely on the exams. It's a lot to get done in a relatively short time.
My biggest issue with the class was TA Joy Heller. She was extremely rude, unhelpful, and condescending throughout the course. I often refrained from asking her questions and even attending discussion at times because of how awful she was to us. She was so unprepared, usually only bringing her cellphone, and she would just ask questions without really contributing to the conversation herself. Oftentimes, it appeared that she was extremely unfamiliar with the content, and we usually had to guide the discussion ourselves or we would just sit in silence. Other TAs had detailed slides that seemed very beneficial for their students, while I ultimately gained nothing from attending discussion. I saw another comment that said she graded easy, but that was not my experience or the experience of a lot of people I talked to. In fact, a few of her other students and I had to get regrades by different TAs because of her simply unreasonable grading. If you can, avoid her at all costs.
Overall, people are not lying when they say COMM 10 is hard. However, it is not impossible. It requires a lot of dedication and effort, and that sometimes does not even feel worth it. Just really keep trying, and give it your all. Good luck!